Teenage Love Affair (15 page)

“Z
sa,” Ameen screamed into my voice mail as I listened to my phone messages. I was preparing to go to Malachi's house, so I stood in front of the mirror and entertained myself by listening to Ameen's begging. “You're really playing me, huh?”

“Yup,” I said as if he could hear me and I were not listening to a prerecorded message. “You got it.”

“Ai'ight, when I see you I'ma mess you up,” the message continued.

“Whatever.”

“Zsa.” Ameen called my name as if I were really going to answer. This cat had to be crazy; surely he knew he was talking to a machine. “Ai'ight, I see what I'ma have to do for you,” he carried on.

“What?” I said to Ameen's message. “Get lost?”

“Don't worry, I'll be seeing about you again.”

“I'm sure, Ameen.” And the machine moved on to the next crazy message he'd left me. I had at least three more all saying the same thing and the last one saying he just wanted to talk to me because he loved me.

I rolled my eyes to the ceiling. Ameen didn't appreciate me when he had me, so there was no need for him to try to cupcake with me now. Anywho, I decided that I didn't like the way my lavender sweater was fitting me so I changed into my pink V-neck long-sleeve T-shirt with
NAME BRAND PRINCESS
written in rhinestones across the breasts. And then I looked at my Ck jeans and felt like they were played so I changed into a pair of Deréon jeans, and Coach boots. I slid on my rhinestone jewelry, made sure the ring I wore on the necklace around my neck was in place, and was now satisfied that I was beyond cute.

I cut my voice mail off, tossed my phone in my pink Coach bag, picked up my keys, and was on my way to see my baby.

“Where are you going, looking all cute?” my mother asked me as she and Hadiah sat in the living room watching a movie.

“To see Malachi,” Hadiah said. “Tell his brother, Matthew, I said hi.”

“Hadiah, please.”

“See you later, Zsa.” My mother laughed.

“Okay,” Cousin Shake said, “I like Malory, but don't let me have to come and get you, 'cause I will come and drag you out of that house if you're not home before the streetlights come on.”

I didn't even dignify that with a response, especially since it was already five o'clock in the evening and the streetlights were already on. I simply waved and continued on about my business. Once I got in the car I peeked in the mirror and checked my makeup one last time. I put on a little more gloss and then I pulled off down the street.

Malachi didn't live too far from me, so I was at his house in no time. For some reason I was nervous. I mean, I knew his parents and they knew me, but still I didn't know how they would receive me, being as they were all so close to Staci. I rang the bell and tapped the heels of my boots nervously. A few minutes later Malachi was opening the door.

“Damn, girl.” He looked me over. “You got a man? 'Cause I'm sayin' you just my type.”

Why the heck am I cheesin' so hard?
“What does my man have to do with me and you?”

“That's what I'm sayin'.” Malachi's ten-year-old brother Matthew came to the door and said, “What's good with you?”

“Back up, Matt,” Malachi said.

“I'm sayin' is this your girl or can I get up on her?”

I had to laugh. This was too much. Matthew was the spitting image of Malachi when he was his age. “Little boy,” I said, “please.”

“So wassup with your sister, then?” Matthew said, giving up.

“Ma,” Malachi said as we walked in the house, “get your son.”

“He's just admiring a beautiful woman,” said Malachi's dad, who was just as handsome as his sons.

“Senior,” Malachi's mother, Ms. Karen who resembled Angela Bassett, said, “stop embarrassing the girl. Come here, Zsa-Zsa, and give me a hug. I haven't seen you since you were a little girl.”

I walked over to Ms. Karen and gave her a hug. “You are really a beautiful young woman.” She looked at Malachi. “Did you ever tell Jazmyn I said hello?”

“Yeah, Ma.”

“You better. Now, Zsa-Zsa, how is my son treating you? Do you know he never stopped talking about you over the years?”

“Ai'ight, Ma,” Malachi said.

“I swear I was so glad Senior wanted to relocate back up this way I didn't know what to do.”

“Ma, don't you all have a weekend retreat you're going on?” Malachi looked at his watch. “You're going to be late.”

“Junior,” Ms. Karen said, calling Malachi by the nickname he only allowed her to call him. “Just wait a minute. I need to take a picture of you two before we go. I still have one when you two were little. I need another one.”

“Ma.” Malachi sighed.

“Boy,” she said, “what did I tell you?”

“Ai'ight, Ma.” He walked over to me, placed his arms around my waist, and we posed for the photo.

“Nice,” Ms. Karen said in approval. “Very nice. Okay we have to go now. You know my rules, Malachi. I don't mind Zsa-Zsa but no one else and no overnight guests.”

“Bye, Ma. See y'all later,” Malachi said, grabbing me by my hand.

“Okay, okay.” She smiled at me. “It's really nice seeing you again, Zsa-Zsa.”

“You too, Ms. Karen. You too.”

“Your mother is really sweet.” I smiled at my baby as we entered his room. Malachi's room was in the basement of his house. It was a typical male's room, a full-size black wooden platform bed, basketball posters on the wall,
Sports Illustrated
models on the back of his door, and a pipe running through the middle of the floor from the ceiling.

I was so nervous that I kept playing with the pole in the middle of his room.

“You like the pole?” he asked, reaching for the stereo remote, and a few seconds later an old Luther Vandross classic filled the room.

I laughed. “Funny.”

“Come over here.”

“In a minute,” I said, walking around his room and poking through some of his things.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

I couldn't say “trying not to be nervous,” so I said, “Just looking around.” I took the top off of a shoe box on his dresser.

“Leave that alone.” He rose from his bed.

“What?” I gave him a one-sided smile. “What, you wanna do something?”

“All I know is that if you open that box it's gon' be a misunderstanding.”

“What, you got some nasty pictures in here of some chicks? Don't let me run across Staci in here naked.” I started combing through the box and found a crumpled and old piece of paper. I pulled the paper from the box and began to unfold it.

“Zsa.” He laughed, reaching for the paper. “Stop playing. Now give it here.” He reached for the paper again.

I was laughing so hard that I swear slob was due to fall out of my mouth. “I'm not giving it to you.”

He reached for it again. “Give it here,” he said playfully.

I quickly stuffed it down my shirt and in my bra. “Now you're really not getting it.”

Malachi looked at me like I had lost my mind. “I hadn't planned on going in there this early in the evening but I will.” He gave me a devilish grin.

“Don't be fresh. Now let me read it. Unless, of course we're keeping secrets.”

“Ai'ight.” He laid back on the bed. “Go 'head, read it. But remember that the next time we're in your room.”

“Don't even try the reverse psych on me. Not falling for it.” I pulled the note from my shirt and began to read it. “You wanna be my girl? Circle yes or no.” Immediately I stopped laughing and tears filled my eyes. “You still have this?”

“Yeah,” he said, looking at me as tears slid down my cheeks. I was so stupid, why was I crying? I crawled on his bed and sat next to him. “I don't believe you still have this.”

“It's corny, I know. But it means something to me.” He kissed the tears on my cheeks. “Don't cry, ma. 'Cause when I ask you to marry me, I'ma write that note on the back of this one.”

“And I'ma circle no.”

Malachi turned over and started kissing me. “You gon' circle no?” He looked me dead in the eyes. “Huh?”

I wished I could lie, but I couldn't. “I could never tell you no.”

“I didn't think so,” he said as we kissed again, and just as I wrapped my arms around his neck my phone started ringing. “Don't answer that,” he said.

“It could be my mother or my sister, though.” I rose from the bed and pulled my phone from my purse. It was Ameen, so I sent him to voice mail. No sooner than I tossed the phone back into my purse did the phone ring again. “Damn.” It was Ameen again. I sent him to voice mail, and the phone started ringing all over again. This time I cut the phone off.

“Who was that?” Malachi looked at me suspiciously.

“Asha,” I said quickly.

“You lying to me now?”

“Alright, it was Ameen.”

“Ameen?” He paused. “He's still calling you?”

“Yeah.”

“Now, you know if that was Staci calling me you would be having a fit.”

“I'm not telling him to call me.”

“Well, tell him to stop calling you.”

“Okay, Malachi, I will.” I walked over to his TV and picked up the dice on top. “You play craps?”

“Craps.” Malachi laughed. “What, you looking to get spanked? Sent home crying?”

I placed my hands on my hips. “Boy, please, this is not hopscotch. I will house you in some dice.”

Malachi cracked up. “Baby, don't even do it to yourself. Please. Now if you want, I'll let you beat me at the Wii boxing game, but you will never house me in dice.”

“A hundred dollars says I will.”

“Oh, my baby talking big bucks?”

“You gon' put up or shut up?” I rolled the dice around in my hand.

“Ai'ight.” He hopped off the bed. “Ladies first.”

“But of course.” I juggled the dice in my hand and then said to him, “Blow on these for me?”

“Yeah, ai'ight.” He laughed.

“Haters never win,” I said as I rolled the dice and popped them against the wall. “Seven!” I jumped up and down. “And you know this.”

“Whatever, that was luck,” Malachi said as I rolled again.

“You can't beat me.” I started talking smack. “You think you so big and bad, but what, what you got?”

“I got a turn,” he said, pointing to the dice.

I sucked my teeth as they came up snake eyes. “Whatever. You put that bad luck in the universe.”

Malachi laughed. “That ain't all I'ma put out in the universe.” He tapped me on the butt and then rolled the dice.

“Snake eyes, buddy,” I said. “Give it here, give it here.” I popped the dice against the wall and voilà, I was kicking Malachi's you know what. By the time we were done, I'd won three hundred dollars from him and he was staring at me saying, “You think I can borrow a few dollars?”

“Maybe.” I started to dance as a Michael Jackson throwback came on. “Dance with me.”

“Did you forget that I wasn't your boy Courtney? I'm not dancing to no Michael Jackson.”

“Men dance,” I said, moving from side to side.

“Not this one. Now chill and come here.” He sat on the edge of the bed.

“What?” I smiled and stood before him.

“You know I love you, right?” He placed his hands on my hips.

“Yes.”

“And you know I would never hurt you intentionally, right?”

Suddenly my heart started skipping beats. “I know.”

“Good.” He snatched the cash from my hands. “'Cause you being jacked. I want my money back.”

“Oh, no, you didn't!” I playfully jumped on top of him, lightly punching him on the arm and tickling him in his hard belly. “Give me my money!” I couldn't stop laughing, and being that I was acting so silly and Malachi was now tickling me, I was unable to keep a steady hand and money was flying all over the place. Yet, in the midst of all of this somehow and some way we started to kiss passionately, as if we'd been desiring this kiss all of our lives.

Just when I thought sparks were about to jump off, Malachi said, “Zsa, we gotta slow down.”

I sighed. “Why?”

“Because”—he paused—“not only do I not have any condoms, the timing is not right.”

“So you don't want none? You must be the only seventeen-year-old in America not trying to get down.”

“Don't try and act like I'm some corny li'l dude. I'm just trying not to get you strung out.”

I laughed. “Yeah, right.”

“Nah, listen.” He looked me dead in the eyes. “I can't even lie to you and front like I'ma virgin or when I see you I don't want none, because I do.” He paused and looked me over. “I want some bad. But you got a lot going on right now and the last thing we need is an unexpected baby, or to be chasing a late period. I am not beat for that. Plus, I'm not messing with you until I know that you and Ameen are completely through.”

“Ameen? I'm not messing him.”

“All I'm saying is that for right now, we gon' lay here, watch some TV, and chill.”

“Chill?”

“Chill. You ai'ight with that? I mean, let me know, you want to be wifey or you want to be a jump off.”

“You know what I want.”

“Then relax. I love you. I'm not going anywhere, but there's a lot more going on with you right now that's more important than taking our relationship to a sexin' level. When the time is right it'll happen.”

“So what do we do in the meantime?”

“Chill.” He kissed me.

“Okay, we can chill.” I laughed. “But you still ain't getting that money back.”