S1Ep5: Fine Shyt

Onyx

We end up at a Pancake House in West Kenton, sequestered in the back, with Big Swole serving as a barrier between us and the rest of the patrons.

All the uptight old money Negroes I met with my ex should have prepared me to be around the Primetime Prince, but thankfully, he and his overgrown security are more down to earth than I thought they’d be.

And watching him try to be cute with Sachi has been more than endearing.

He’s smitten. Everything she says he’s skinning and grinning, the apples of his high cheeks permanently showing. His chunky pinky ring glints in the light as he grabs at her hands to hold them, making me and Big Swole snicker.

Sachi tries to act bothered, rolling her eyes and sighing, but she doesn’t move when he cages her into the booth, and pushes her plate to him so he can cut her pancakes into squares.

“So, how did y’all meet?” I ask, taking a sip of water.

They cut their eyes to each other, Dontaé smirking, and Sachi scowling.

“I cussed out his mama at work and she called his big ass on me.”

I spit out water, narrowly missing them as I turn my head to the outside of the booth. Big Swole and Dontaé chuckle as Sachi folds her arms.

“Sachi!”

“That lady is a piece of work and he know it. Serves her right, ‘cause now her son won’t leave me alone.”

“My mama love you, Slim. She can’t wait ‘til you come to a game with her.”

“I’d never!” she hisses, turning her attention to her food.

“Your mother moved out here, too?”

Dontaé nodded. “Yeah she here with me. And Big Swole is my cousin.”

“Family affair, that’s cool.” I smile at Sachi, who grumbles under her breath.

“Yeah, I woulda slid to y’all earlier but my other cousin’s back in town.”

“Cousin?” Sachi perks up, turning toward him. “Nino?”

“Uhm. I was gon’ convince him to pull up but you said–”

“Call him. Matter fact, tell him to pull up to your crib. I said no to the store runners, not a big boss!”

“Sachi–”

She waves me off as she watches Dontaé take out his phone. 

“You know Nino not sociable, Slim.”

“Facetime him.” Sachi snatches the phone out of his hands just as the line picks up. I can tell she’s turning the camera around, though no words are being said, so instinctively, I cover my breasts.

“My bestie’s back, and she’s mean like you. Pull up to Woadie’s crib so y’all can be antisocial together.” Sachi cheeses before handing the phone back to Dontaé. 

“You comin’ through?”

Whoever’s on the phone doesn’t reply verbally, the only sound being the facetime call ending.

“You done, love?” Big Swole asks me, motioning to my plate.

He chuckles when I stretch my eyes. Why is everyone okay with her auctioning me off?!

“Oh, stop, Onnie. Nino really is cool. He don’t be around a lot, so I ain’t even think about him, but he’s perfect for making new friends, and you need a fuckin’ friend. And his shop is prolly hiring, too.”

I scowl at her. “I see you’ve been talking to Obi.”

“He asked me if my store was hiring, and I had to remind him you got fired from Millard’s the summer I started working there. They still have your picture in the manager’s office. Untwist them panties girl.”

I roll my eyes, and meet Big Swole’s gaze. He shrugs, before getting out of the booth and helping me out.

“Why they ain’t try to hook me up with you?” I whisper to him.

He leans down until his lips are at my ear. “My ol’ lady back home finishing her master’s degree, and she’d set this bitch off if she even thought I was steppin’ out on her.”

I shake my head, walking away from their chuckles.

A skinny arm wraps around my neck, and tightens when I try to shake it off.

“You acting like I don’t get niggas, Sachi.”

“Not true,” she says, pulling me away from the front door of the restaurant, letting Dontaé and Big Swole pass us by.

“How long were you with that uppity nigga? Freshman year, right? And before that, you ain’t have no boyfriends, foreal. You’re gorgeous, but if you’re gonna ever foreal heal from him, you need practice actually talking to niggas. It’s slim pickings out here anyway, but Nino is a good first step. The nigga really is mean, but he got money, no kids, no baggage, and stays out the way. You can figure out how to run game on him. You could do worse.”

She shrugs, and spreads her lips in a toothy smile.

“What the hell, right?” I sigh, making her smile widen as she leads me outside back to Dontaé’s car.

---

Dontaé informs us that while his mother lived in a house in West Kenton, he usually stays in a penthouse close to the Premiere Stadium downtown.

It’s stunning.

Floor to ceiling windows. All black interior, including a black stone fireplace and black marble countertops. Open concept. Buttery Italian leather sofas that invite me in.

I sigh as I take in the luxury around me. It makes sense; the Primetime Prince has been part of the duo that led the Kenton Eagles to three finals in the last five years, but still.

Big Swole sprawls over a loveseat as Dontaé turns on a television that comes out of the ceiling over the fireplace.

Just then, the elevator opens, and Sachi turns and grins.

“Heyyy, Nino Brown!”

I turn, my eyebrows kissing, but my mind completely blanks.

Of course he’s tall like the rest of them, but that’s where the similarities end. 

Nino could only be described as a pretty boy. Light skin, full, pink lips, slanted eyes that were upturned, and fine hair waved up like the Pacific Ocean. Even with the tattoos crawling up his neck from his white tee, he’s just pretty.

He nods to Big Swole, Dontaé, and Sachi, before leveling his glare on me. Dark brown eyes surveying my entire body, but not in a lustful way at all. Very calculated. Almost clinical.

“Pop a squat, nigga!”

He keeps his eyes on me as he licks his lips, making them glisten.

“I ain’t stayin’.” His voice is way deeper than I thought it would be, and has a hint of a Southern California accent, completely different from Big Swole and Dontaé.

“C’mere.”

I scrunch up my face. “Nigga, you come here.”

His jaw ticks, and step by step he comes toward me. He looks like he rolled out of bed, with black joggers, Gucci slides, socks, and a jean jacket covering his white tee.

Nino stops in front of me, blocking my view of the tv, and holds out his hand. His tattoos extend all the way there, with even abundance etched on the inside of his palm.

Rolling my eyes, I place my hand in his, and let him help me up.

He towers over me, easily six-one or six-two. His hands are rough from using them, his calloused thumb rubbing the back of my palm rhythmically.

I feel almost hypnotized gazing up at him. His jaw is clenched, from the muscles in his temples moving, as the tips of his eyebrows meet in the middle.

“Take out your phone.”

Sachi slides up and hands my phone to him. He takes it and dials a number, letting it ring until his pocket begins to vibrate.

After it vibrates twice, he ends the call and hands my phone to me to take out his own phone.

I dart my gaze downward, my face crumbling once more at what he has me saved under.

“Fine shit?!” I shriek, meeting his slanted gaze.

But he just takes my phone again and saves his number under Papi 🖤.

I snatch my phone from him, but he’s not bothered. If anything, he’s mildly amused, a ghost of a smile passing through his face.

He turns and nods to his cousins, before walking out of the penthouse without so much as a see you later.

Sachi smacks her teeth after the elevator doors close.

“He knows he coulda offered to take her home. Come on, Swole. I’m sober enough to drive now, and I got work tomorrow.”

I’m so bewildered, I barely remember to wave back at Dontaé before we leave, too.