Never Let Go - Page 6

She really wasn’t good with boys.

Mahogany didn’t know how wrong she was about Naoki.

One of the boys from our zone had the biggest crush on Naoki. Naoki had a crush on him too but because guys made her nervous, when he approached her a couple of weeks ago, she was rude. She’d regretted it since it happened. And since today was a ‘special day’, she decided that today she would apologize to him and see if he was still interested. However, there was one big flaw in her entire plan—she wasn’t good with boys. Despite what it might’ve looked like… she just wasn’t.

“The truth? How do I tell him the truth? Just—what? Come out and say it or?—”

“Yes, the truth. You’ll be fine. Just… be your natural self. Be comfortable. Like you always are. And when the time is right… just,” I shrugged. “Tell him.”

Naoki lightly smiled and nodded. “Okay. I?—”

“Damn, Nay. Them shorts look good as hell on you baby.”

She looked at me with wide eyes before finally looking over her shoulder. Lucky her. She wouldn’t have to approach him after all. He was a couple of feet behind us. Naoki was like that; magnetic. It wasn’t just her looks that drew people in, she had an infectious, bubbly personality.

“I don’t know why you’re looking surprised,” I whispered with a giggle.

She bashfully grinned just as he walked up beside her. Before she could say anything, he had his arm draped over her shoulder. I noticed her tense up a bit and gave her a reassuring smile.

“Hey Denim,” she spoke. “Thank you. You all on my hair though, nigga. Dang!”

There she was. The Naoki everyone knew and loved.

He laughed. “My bad, baby. Come over here and blow on these dice so I can win and buy you some more.”

“Don’t forget you said that when you win neither,” she flirted back, with a grin.” Looking over at me, she quietly asked if I was cool.

I nodded. “Yeah, girl. I’m good. I’m about to kick it right here though.”

The dice game was too in the mix. Well… too close to him. I just… I needed a minute. It wasn’t just about him. It was about being seen… the way Leighton had seen me. The way she seen us. I didn’t want people to notice. I didn’t know what that would look like to them. She said it was beautiful, I could only imagine it looking weird.

She moved Denim’s arm from around her shoulder. “Hold on,” She told him before turning to me, “I’m not leaving you?—

“You’re not leaving me,” I interrupted with wide eyes, giving her a look. “I’m right here and you…” I nodded toward in Denim’s direction, where he was…. “You’re going to be right there.”

Naoki glanced over her shoulder. “Can you believe he?—”

“Duh!” I giggled. “Of course I can believe it. I told you, you’re that girl!”

She rubbed her lips together, biting back her smile. “You sure you’re going to be okay?”

I nodded, lying. I was a nervous wreck, but I couldn’t let her know that. The liquor served a purpose after all. I had a little more courage. “Yes, I’m going to be fine.”

“Are you going to come over?”

“As soon as I give myself the peptalk I don’t need from you!” I lied with a light laugh. “Go blow on those dice, girl.”

We shared a laugh. After about a minute, Naoki finally walked off and I turned around to gaze up at the mystical hues in the sky. The sun was setting. Pretty soon, at nightfall, The Cosmo Show would begin. People, all over, got together on the same day to watch the sky. On today, the sky was more than its usual blue, green and red at nighttime. Every year, on today, the sky… it did something. Something magnificent. It lit up with shooting stars, from various directions. Today, was the most magnificent day in the whole wide world.

Cosmo Day was all about intention setting. People got married on Cosmo Day, meditated… just about everything. Women prepared the most for Cosmo Day. Some even tried to make sure they had babies on the day… as if they could control that. To be born on Cosmo Day meant you were special. A miracle. Cosmo Day Babies were deemed the ‘chosen ones’. I wondered if that’s what it was. Wondered if it were true. I wondered if I was magic. Wondered if I had superpowers. Maybe it wasn’t him at all. Was it me? Did I?—

“Happy bloomday.”

The hairs on the nape of my neck stood and I tightened my grip on the cup, crushing it. He was right behind me. Wishing me a happy bloomday. Those two words were the best gift I’d received all day.

Hell, in all of my eighteen years of life.

A happy bloomday from Jahad Baptiste.