Indigo Summer (16 page)

Marcus

Indigo
Summer was the most selfish girl I had ever met, and I was done wasting my time on her. She was obviously stuck on Quincy, like some people were stuck on stupid. And to blame me for her best friend moving away, well, that proved just how immature she was. She wasn't ready for a guy like me anyway. It was time I moved on. Sasha was way more mature, much smarter, and better than that—she liked me, respected me. She was there for me when Justin died. She had been just as crazy about Justin as I had been, and she was the only person I could talk to about it. The only person who understood exactly what I was feeling. We made a pact to help each other through it.

Miss Beverly's house was filled with grown-ups, including neighbors, some friends of hers and a few family members. We were all determined not to allow her to spend Christmas alone. There was plenty of food, and people were sitting around talking about grown-folks stuff. Sasha and I slipped out the front door and onto the porch. Although it was a chilly Atlanta night, we pulled our coats tighter and bore the cold. I grabbed her hand in mine. Tried to warm it.

“Sasha, do you think that it was because of Justin that we were brought together—you and me?” I asked. “Like fate or something?”

“I hadn't thought about it that way, but yeah, I guess so,” she said. “If it hadn't been for me babysitting him, and you tutoring him, we wouldn't have even met. I'm thankful to him for that, because I like you, Marcus. I like you a lot.”

“I like you, too,” I said. “And I would really like to take this friendship to the next level.”

“At one point, Marcus, I thought that it would be cool if we could be more than friends,” she said.

“And now?” I asked.

“I have a boyfriend,” she confessed. “He's away in college. He's a freshman at Duke. We've been together for three years now.”

“An older dude, huh?” She smiled. “How can you have a long-distance relationship like that?”

“It works for us. There's no pressure. I trust him, and he trusts me.”

“What about that kiss the other day? The one between me and you. What was that all about?”

“I don't know. I guess I was just sad because of Justin. There were a lot of emotions rushing through me. I'm sorry if that confused you, Marcus. But I love Drew. My heart belongs to him.” She looked at me with those beautiful light brown eyes of hers. “Besides, your heart is somewhere else, too. I don't really know where, but it's definitely not with me. Am I right?”

Honesty flowed so freely between us. That's what I liked about Sasha. She kept it real. I decided to tell the truth.

“There is a girl that I really like. Her name is Indigo Summer. But it doesn't really matter because she has a boyfriend, and won't give me the time of day,” I confessed. “The thing is, I know this boyfriend of hers ain't about nothing. He's only after one thing, and that's to get in her pants. And she can't even see it.”

“Why don't you tell her that?”

“Been there, done that. She's not interested in hearing what I have to say, so I'm letting her find out for herself.”

“I wouldn't be so quick to give up on her. She's going to need you when he finally does break her heart.” Sasha was so mature. She was beyond her years in wisdom. “You will be there for her, won't you?”

“I'm not so sure now. She's not even speaking to me, and to tell you the truth, I'm sick of trying.”

“My daddy always taught me that anything worth having, is worth waiting for.” Sasha smiled. “Is she worth having?”

I shrugged. “I don't know.”

“Just as fate brought us together, if it's meant to be with you and Indigo, it will be.”

“I guess so,” I told her, and intertwined my fingers with hers.

“Can we just continue to be friends, Marcus?” she asked.

“Always and forever,” I said, and meant that.

 

Even though Justin was gone, he was still with us in spirit. He had done a good thing—bringing me and Sasha together.

Indigo

It
was almost midnight when Marcus's Jeep pulled up in front of his house. I rushed to my window, peeked through my blinds as he hopped out, wearing a brown leather jacket, a striped shirt underneath, and a pair of jeans that looked brand new. I was willing to bet he got them for Christmas. His hair was freshly cut, and his face clean-shaven.

When his light flashed on in his room, I became anxious. Waited for him to start throwing Skittles at my window, just as he always did when he came home. No matter what time of day or night it was, he always reached out to me. But tonight was different. There were no Skittles against my window. And after a while, his bedroom light went out. It was the first night that he hadn't at least tried reaching out to me. Even when I wasn't speaking to him, he still reached out.

I didn't have any Skittles, but I had some peanut M& M's and threw one at Marcus's window. He didn't respond. So I threw two more, and by the third throw his light came back on. He lifted his blinds and his window and looked at me with a look that I hadn't seen before. One that held no excitement in his eyes.

“What's up, Indi?” he asked dryly.

“Where you been?” I asked. “I been waiting for you all night.”

“Waiting for me, why?”

“Meet me at the creek,” I said.

“Indi, it's late and I'm tired. Can we just talk tomorrow?”

“It's important,” I said. “Meet you there in five minutes.”

Before Marcus could protest, I closed my window, and pulled my blinds shut. I slid on a pair of Mudd jeans, pulled a thick sweatshirt over my head, slipped on my sneakers and grabbed my jacket. I tiptoed lightly down the stairs, careful not to wake anyone in the house; didn't want to be questioned about where it was I was going at that hour, especially by Daddy. He wouldn't understand. I slowly pulled the front door opened, crept outside and onto the porch. The cool Atlanta night air immediately brushed across my face, causing me to frown as I braced against it. I pulled my jacket tighter and made my way to the side of the house, and down to the creek behind my house.

When I got to the bottom of the hill, there was no sign of Marcus. Had he stood me up? How could I blame him after the way I'd treated him? I shivered as the cold air reached my backside, had somehow crept up through the legs of my jeans. It was too cold to wait much longer, but I decided to give it a good five minutes before I chalked it up as a loss. I sat on the huge rock, praying that nothing would crawl out of the water or from beneath a rock. Wasn't in the mood for critters tonight.

“What are you doing out here in the middle of the night, girl?” Marcus asked. Startled me, as he walked up from behind.

“Waiting for you.” I smiled when I saw him. He was so handsome, even in his plaid pajama pants and hooded sweatshirt. He had on tube socks with the slippers that hugged his feet. A baseball cap was turned backward on his head. “Wanted to tell you thanks for the gift.”

“You could've told me that from your bedroom window.”

“I know, but I wanted to see you.” I flirted with Marcus, my next-door neighbor, who I suddenly found myself attracted to. “Where did you find a doll like that? You had to search high and low for it.”

“Can't tell you where I found it. It's a secret.”

“I appreciate it. It was very thoughtful. The best gift I got this year.”

It was the truth. Although my parents had spent tons of money on the stuff they bought me, I didn't appreciate it as much as I did Raggedy Ann.

“You're welcome,” he said. “It's late. Why aren't you in the bed?”

“Because I wanted to talk,” I said.

“Talk about what?”

“You were right all along, Marcus. About Quincy. I saw him at the movies tonight. He was with Patrice. She was all up on him and stuff, and he disrespected me right there in front of everybody.”

He was unfazed by the news and just looked at me.

“Did you think I was just telling you about Quincy to hurt you?” he asked.

“I thought you were jealous of him.”

“I had no reason to be jealous, Indi.” He lifted his cap and ran his hand over the waves in his hair. “I told you that stuff because I didn't want to see you get hurt.”

“I know that now, Marcus,” I told him. “And I know that you didn't have anything to do with Jade moving away either. I'm sorry for that too—for treating you bad.”

“Don't worry about it, Indi. I'm not mad anymore,” he said, and sat on the rock next to me. “Remember my little friend, Justin?”

“Yeah, the boy you been tutoring in math.”

“He had a stroke on the other day, and he didn't survive it.”

“You mean he died?”

“Yeah.”

“Man, I'm sorry to hear that. I know you were crazy about him,” I said, remembering how Marcus's eyes always lit up when he talked about Justin. My heart ached for him. “I hope his mother is okay. I prayed for him once. I guess my prayer didn't get through in time.”

“Or maybe it did get through, but God had another plan.”

“I don't know. Maybe,” I said. “Marcus, are you still interested in taking me to a movie sometime?”

“Nah. It's not really appropriate for me to be taking someone else's girl to the movies,” he said.

“I just told you, I'm not Quincy's girl anymore.”

“You're not my girl either,” he said.

I deserved that, and whatever tongue-lashing he had in store for me.

“That's true.” I sighed. It was getting cold, and I was anxious to get inside and to my warm bed. Didn't want to embarrass myself by reaching out to him, and having him reject me. I wasn't prepared for any more hurt. “I'm going inside.”

“Cool,” he said, and sat there as I stood and headed up the hill. “Hey, Indi.”

“Yeah?” I stopped in my tracks. Turned toward Marcus. He was standing now. Waited for him to speak. He started walking towards me.

“You wanna be my girl?” he asked, and in my heart I knew that I did.

I thought back to the time that Quincy asked me that same question, remembered how unsure I was, and even after I said “yes.” Remembered thinking, “wow, the most popular guy in school wants to date me.” I thought it was a privilege and an honor that he chose me. But after giving it some serious thought, I realized that it was a privilege and an honor for him to have a girl like me. One who was not so quick to give it up to any boy, the first chance she got. I might not be the prettiest girl, or the smartest girl, my body was still a little underdeveloped, and I could still whip all of the neighborhood boys in a game of one-on-one in the middle of Madison Place. Which meant I was a borderline tomboy. But the truth was, I was still made of the good stuff. How did Nana put it? I'm from good cloth.

“Yes,” I said to Marcus. “Yes, I will be your girl.”

He never said another word, just moved closer to me. Pulled me into his strong embrace, wrapped his arms tightly around my waist, and just held me.

Indigo

Halftime.

My nerves were on edge as I stood in the doorway of the gymnasium, my little short skirt creeping up my backside. My hair flying everywhere as my leotard top hugged my chest. I glanced over at Tameka. She winked, but I could tell that she was just as nervous as I was.

“You ready?” she mouthed.

I nodded a “yes” before the music echoed through the gym. An old school tune, “Brick House” by the Commodores, bounced off the walls as Tameka and I ran to the center of the floor, posted up and began to shake booties. We led the routine for our dance team, shaking to the music for at least three minutes before the rest of the team joined us on the floor for their part. The entire student body cheered as we did our thing. Some people were shaking in the stands. Boys were whistling, and others were clapping.

We performed to three different songs, and after the third performance, sweat poured from my forehead and I used the back of my hand to wipe it away. Miss Martin winked and smiled as we took a bow. I was glad it was over. Glad that everyone remembered their parts, and didn't stumble over clumsy feet. In perfect formation, we exited the gym, shaking our hips as the music trailed off. Quincy was standing next to the bleachers with all of his boys from the football team. Even though football season was over, they still hung together like a posse or something. When I looked up, his eyes met mine. He blew me a kiss, and then wormed over toward me.

“You were good out there, Indi.” He smiled. “Girl, you can dance.”

“Thanks,” I said and kept moving.

“Me and Patrice ain't together no more,” he went on to say, and then grinned.

The entire football team heard him and all eyes were on me for a response to his little announcement. I glanced at Tameka, who was pulling up the rear of the dance team line. She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.

“You wanna go out with me sometime?” Quincy went on to ask. This caught the attention of every person within earshot. It was as if we were on candid camera or something. I stood there, not really contemplating an answer. I already had one. But I was in awe that he would even ask me such a question.

“No, I do not want to go out with you.” My hands on my hips. “But thanks for asking.”

I took off down the hall and into the girls' locker room to change out of my performance clothes, and into my jeans. Left Quincy behind with his ego on the floor. His smile changed to a frown as his boys talked junk to him. I didn't care. I didn't have any time to waste on Quincy Rawlins. Needed to get changed and back into the gym for the second half of the basketball game.

In the locker room, I pulled my clothes on quickly. Rushed back to the gym, and found my favorite seat on the bleachers behind the team. Marcus was at the free throw line, the ball in his hands as he prepared to shoot. He leaned over, bounced the ball a couple of times and then shot it into the basket. With a swishing noise, it went in. All net. The crowd went crazy. I screamed as he put it in the basket a second time, and the crowd went crazy again. He trotted down court, dressed in his white jersey and shorts. He searched the stands for me and when his eyes finally met mine, I blew him the biggest kiss that I could possibly manage.

After the game I waited for Marcus to get changed. Our team lost to another school, but Marcus was always in good spirits. Even after a game that we lost. He didn't care about losing, because he wasn't really into sports all that much. He just went out for basketball because he wanted to spend more time with me after school. Dance team practice and basketball practice took place at the same time, and afterwards we hung out. Just about every day.

His gym bag across his shoulder, he headed my way. Planted a kiss on my forehead.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, I'm cool. It was just a game,” he said. “You know sports is not really my thing. I'm just out there for the exercise. And to spend time with you. You know, I still have my Master Plan.”

“And just how do I fit into that Master Plan?” I asked.

“I haven't figured that part out yet.” He smiled. “But you can rest assured, you do fit somewhere.”

“Well, when you figure it out, you let me know.”

“I'll do that,” he said, and then wrapped his arms around me as we braced for the cold night air.

He held the door for me, as I waved goodbye to Tameka. We didn't hang out as much since Marcus and I started dating. There wasn't much room for her. Besides, she was seeing some boy at another school since she broke up with Jeff. I didn't really know all the details about the breakup, but it had something to do with another girl being pregnant.

I didn't hear much from Jade either. She had found a new best friend at her school in New Jersey, and after awhile, our lives seemed to drift apart. It didn't mean we weren't friends anymore, but it meant that we were changing, growing. Life goes on, even when we don't want it to.

“Come on. I'll race you to the car,” Marcus said.

We took off running toward Marcus's Jeep and I left him in the dust. Ended up at the car long before him.

“Why you so slow tonight?” I asked, touching the passenger's door.

“Sore, girl. I been playing basketball all night.” He smiled. “Besides, I let you beat me.”

“Right. You let me beat you, and the sky is really purple.”

His strong arms wrapped around me as I leaned up against his Jeep. His lips touched mine and I shut my eyes and kissed him with passion. Thanked God for Marcus. What I felt for him was hard to put into words. He was more than just a boyfriend. He had become my best friend.

 

As we drove down I-20 toward the Fulton Industrial Airport, I looked over at Marcus. Smiled. He smiled back.

“You know it's too cold to be out in somebody's field watching planes land and take off,” I said.

“It's Friday night. You know that's what we do on Friday night.”

“I know,” I said. “But it's also the middle of January.”

“I'll keep you warm, Indi.” He smiled and looked at me with those soft eyes.

“You taking me to Mickey D's afterward?”

“Buying you a Happy Meal,” he teased.

“I want a Quarter Pounder with Cheese, dude.”

“What you need is a salad with a light dressing on the side,” he said.

“You must have me mixed up with Charmaine Jackson.” I looked at him cross-eyed, and adjusted his radio station. Tuned it to V-103.

“Oh, yeah, my bad.” He laughed. “That was Charmaine who needs a salad.”

“You are really silly, Marcus,” I said. “I told Nana that boys are stupid.”

“Not all boys are stupid. Just some.” He smiled that beautiful smile of his as we talked junk to each other.

At that moment, I knew that I loved me some Marcus Carter.