In answer,Vic nodded in time to the booming beat.
Lizzie and Kelly joined Jacinta in window shopping. Only Michael and Jessica remained off to the side, Michael browsing the CDs in the impulse-buying section near the register and Jessica pretending to neaten a stack of tee shirts.
Brian set Mina down. “For real, though.You ready to blow?”
Mina nodded her head Jess's way. “Gotta ask my boss.”
“No,” Jess said before Brian could ask. She looked at her watch. “She still has ten minutes before closing and another thirty of cleaning.”
Brian laid one of his prettiest smiles on Jessica, his brown eyes teasing. “Come on, Jess.You know I'm only home a few days.”
“Uh-huh. And?” Jess's hands flew to her hips. Mina saw in her face that Jess was working to keep her gaze steely. Like most girls, she was openly tickled that Brian James's light shone on her. Mina saw it in the hopeful twinkle in Jess's catlike hazel contacts. They brightened more when Brian put his arm around Jess's shoulder.
“You know Mina has curfew. Help a dude out,” he said, making Jess his co-conspirator.
“That's what you get for dating a young 'un,” Jess said. Her eyes rolled but without the usual annoyance.
“What can I say? I like 'em young.” Brian laughed when Mina smacked his arm.
“Come on, Jess. Let her go early,” JZ hollered from the front,Vic's earphone up to his ear.
“No,” Jess said his way. Her eyebrow rose toward Brian. “Uh-uh.”
“Don't be like that, Supe,” Brian said.
Mina nearly giggled. Only Brian and JZ could get away with calling Jess “Supe”âshort for supervisor. Jessica actually grinned. Everyone loved getting a Brian James nickname.
“She can't leave before eleven-thirty. That's her shift,” Jess said, working to sound authoritative. Her lips pursed. “But she already vacuumed too early. So as soon as we close she can roll.” She swished her hair and smirked. “But you owe me, Mina.”
Mina groaned. “I'd rather stay till eleven-thirty.”
“Don't say that,” Brian said. His fingers tap-danced down Mina's back, leaving goose bumps along the way. “Supe might change her mind.”
“She still has ten minutes,” Jess reminded him, as Brian tugged on Mina's arm.
Brian picked up a pink tee and held it up to his chest. “Is this my color?”
“You're only making more work for your girlfriend,” Jessica said. She pulled it from his hand and tossed it at Mina, who caught it clumsily.
Mina obediently refolded the shirt, careful to follow the Seventh Heaven formulaâright sleeve, left sleeve, left side, right side, two body folds up, neckline last. She did it without thinking; six-hour shifts, four days a week for eight months did that to a person. She shook her head in a firm no when Brian went to grab another tee. He came up behind her, pretending to help her fold.
“Hurry up and clock out,” he whispered. His mouth lingered on her ear and nibbled, making Mina grin and her legs rubbery.
“Get a room,” Jacinta yelled from across the empty store.
Brian stepped back, threw his hands up in a hands-off gesture, then leaned against a shelf of jeans.
Michael came over, taking his place beside Mina. He draped his arm over her shoulder. “I saw those baby doll flats you were talking about. They're cute.”
Jess's eyebrow arched. “What are you? The token queer eye for the straight guy?”
Mina's jaw dropped, but before she could defend Michael, he easily traded barbs back.
“Only if you'll officially join us as the token bitchy, pretending-to-be-rich girl.”
The diss escaped his mouth smooth as butter, so casual a passerby would have missed the nasty undertone.
Had Michael backed down it would have been an invitation for Jess to dig deeper for another venomous diss. It was her way. But game respected game. Jess flipped her weave, her expression cool, and busied herself brushing lint off the folded jeans.
Brian tweaked Mina's side as he said, so only she could hear, “She gon' let you go now.Watch.”
Mina pressed invisible wrinkles out of the shirt she'd refolded and pretended to check the other shirts, to make sure no tags were sticking out or sizes out of place. She bit back a grin when Jess, with an exaggerated sigh and eye roll, said, “Just clock out, Mina. Your
clique
is only making more work.” Her lip went up in a partial scowl.
Mina's legs worked triple time, just short of a run, as she walked to the store's back room. She grabbed her purse and jacket and was clocked out in three minutes. She breezed by Jess and bid her a hasty, “Thanks, Jess.”
Jess's eye roll was halfhearted. She and Mina's bond was a shaky one, based more on their mutual love for Sara, Jessica's twin, than anything else, but that was enough.
Jess followed the louder than ever clique to the entrance, eager to put down the store's glass closure and lock up. When everyone was out, she shouted after Mina, “You still owe me,” then let the glass come down on Mina's response.
Brian slid his arm around Mina's waist. They walked in sync, lagging behind the others.
“I got you off work early. So you owe me too,” he said, a devilish grin on his toffee-complexioned face.
Mina smiled up at him. Even in his Duke hoodie, she could see he was more muscular than when he left, broader too. Remembering how good it felt to lie her head on his firm chest made her tingly.
Owing Brian, she didn't mind.
The Gang's All Here
“You gon' make us both get into some things
that'll scare grown folks.”
âDavid Banner ft. Chris Brown, “Stuntin is a Habit”
Â
Â
I
t's just like old times
, Mina felt like shouting as the clique chilled in JZ's family room. Sitting at the juice bar with Brian, she surveyed the usual chaos, soaking in every ounce of the energy emanating from her friends. Her heart fed off it.
It was like being in a time warp bubble from the summer. Todd, Michael, and JZ on the sectional sofa playing Madden, smack-talking insults and obscenities; Jacinta flitting between plucking with JZâa happy intrusion to his game that he would have never allowed a year agoâand conversing with Lizzie and Kelly at the arcade-sized Pac-Man game. Greg standing with them, guiding the girls through each level's danger spots, as he waited his turn at the “real” gaming on the sofa.
Greg went with the flow like he'd been friends with all of them forever, fitting in easily since he and Kelly became an official couple over the summer.
Mina knew if JZ or Michael brought a girl around, it would hardly be as nice a match. And they must have known it too because neither of them ever had.
Not that me and the girls wouldn't accept her,
Mina thought, checking herself. The fact was, guys seemed to find things to bond over, while girls seemed to focus on the differences.
And then there was the whole competition thing.
She'd run up against her fair share of girls JZ was dating who always seemed to get her and Jay's sibling-rivalry friendship twisted. If she had to explain to one more chicken head that she and JZ were only friends, a choke hold was going to go along with the explanation.
She giggled at the thought. More than likely she'd get Jacinta, the brawn among the girls, to do the choke-holding.
Brian pulled her stool flush against his, forcing Mina's attention back to him. She draped her legs over his to prevent them from being crushed by the bar stools. His hands cuffed her sides as he leaned in, closing off their part of the room with his intimate stare and seductive grin.
“You miss me, Toughie?”
“Nah,” Mina said, unable to keep a straight face. An explosion of “aw man,” went off from the couch, but Mina barely heard. Brian kissed her gently, pulled back, and in a voice that melted her heart, said, “I missed you.”
Her heart trotted as Brian kissed her again, this time longer, his hands pressing against her hips as he leaned in closer. Mina's head swam. She and Brian hadn't been this close since August. If you didn't count the many times she'd watched him play on television, it had been four months since they'd seen each other. The time apart had been all text messaging and phone calls. She kept her phone on so much she'd worn out two batteries already.
Oh my God, I'm swooning
, she thought, giddy, and to prove it, lost her balance when Brian eased his hold on her hips.
“Mmm, good hands,” she murmured when he rested his hand on the small of her back to steady her.
“Uh-huh.” A playful smile lit up his face. “What you know about how good my hands are?”
“A little sumpun, sumpun,” she said shyly, suddenly dumbstruck by his presence.
He was really here, home with her again. She quickly zapped the bothersome side note that he was only home for a week before heading back to school. Instead, she stared into his face, taking in the way his long eyelashes framed his friendly brown eyes, wanting to make sure the moment was real. Being up close, very close to her delight, she saw he looked different, somehow older and more mature. A clean thin line of facial hair framed a more square jaw, and his eyes seemed wiser, like he knew things.
How can that happen in four months?
she wondered, content to sit there inches from his face, his hands lightly stroking her backside.
His left hand kept up the gentle stroke as the right hand lifted Mina's left hand. His thumb rubbed the silver heart-shaped ring on her finger. He grinned. “Just checking.”
Mina squinted. “You thought I was going to stop wearing it?”
“You know how y'all chicks do.” Brian's thumb played with the promise ring he'd given her, twisting it around her finger slowly. He gazed at her, his eyes narrowing as if probing into Mina's mind. “You probably just put it on 'cause you knew I was coming home. I need to do one of those spot inspections on you one day ... catch you off-guard.”
“And if you do, you're gonna be all burnt 'cause I'll have it on,” she said. Her heart did a small happy dance when Brian squeezed her hand lightly and winked. “Shoot, I wish you
would
come home one day on the fly.”
He dropped her hand gently, then resumed massaging her lower back. “Yeah, but you know that's not gonna happen. The season gears up for real after break.”
“Yeah, I know.” Mina frowned. “Am I gonna see you at all?”
“Nope. Not until school ends.” He pulled her closer so they were face-to-face, practically sharing his stool. “So you know what that means, right?”
Mina pushed his chest and feigned pulling away. “Don't even say something nasty.”
His face fell in exaggerated offense. “I wasn't.”
“Yes, you were,” Mina said, chuckling. She gave up her weak resistance, resumed their face-to-face stance, and put on her best wary tone. “What? What does that mean, Brian?”
“It means I only have a couple days to tap that ...” He patted her butt then.
He burst out laughing and tugged at Mina as she pulled away, playing mad.
“See, I knew you were gonna say something rude,” she said, untangling herself.
He grabbed at her, trying to pull her back, but she quickly slipped out of his grip and stood beside his stool.
“Just for that, I'm making you wait,” she said, even as her body grew warm thinking about being alone with him.
“Don't be like that, Toughie,” he said, faking sadness.
He swiveled in the stool so she was standing between his legs and wrapped his arms around her. She instinctively put her face up to his for the kiss she knew was coming and lost herself in it. Her hands stroked the back of his neck. Right as her body screamed “uncle,” she pulled back, smiling.
“Still making you wait,” she teased seductively before walking off to join the girls at the Pac-Man game.
“You so wrong for that,” Brian yelled after her.
Mina blew him a kiss.
“Brian, you must have lost your touch,” Jacinta said. “I thought y'all would have
been
gone.”
“Your girl on that tease tip,” Brian said. He watched the rowdy game of Madden for a few seconds before standing up and stretching his long legs. He walked over to the more subdued Pac-Man game, bear-hugging Mina from behind. They swayed lightly, side to side.
“Shoot, from what she told me, I'm surprised she didn't jump you when we picked her up from work tonight,” Jacinta said, her grin sly. She moved away before Mina's smack could connect.
“Don't be telling all my business,” Mina scolded.
“Actually, Brian, Mina told
me
that she's ready to take the pact with me,” Lizzie said. She winked at Mina and they laughed.
Brian snorted. “Abstinence pact?” he hollered over the rising noise. “Todd, you still not handling your business, son?”
A round of bawdy teasing broke out as the guys gave Todd a hard time for complying with Lizzie's year-long virginity pact. Todd took it in stride. The only evidence that he was embarrassed were his hands, first the right, then the left, pushing through his unruly hair.
“She's the boss,” Todd said, his blue eyes gleaming playfully.
“Okay, boss,” JZ said, never taking his eyes off the plasma screen.
“Liz, you my girl and all, but Todd a better dude than me. I would have stepped on you long ago.”
“Thanks a lot, Jay,” Lizzie said, scowling.
“Hmm ... Greg's not saying nothing,” Jacinta said. “Which means either Kelly broke the pact and gave him some orâ”
“Or that Greg works out a lot to distract himself,” Greg said. His hand covered Kelly's on the game's joystick as he helped her dodge the colorful ghosts hot on her trail.
Kelly smiled, embarrassed, refusing to join the public discussion of her sex life or lack thereof. She and Lizzie had taken the pact together before she and Greg started dating. She wasn't about to share that, as cool as she was with the pact, she was having a harder time than Lizzie being casual about it.
Todd ran over from the sofa, his hand up for a high five.
“Dude, that's what I'm saying,” Todd said. He and Greg exchanged a pound. He yelled over to JZ, “See, Greg knows what it's like to live like a monk. I condition like twice a day so I won't go serial killer.”
The clique cracked up at Todd's animated grimace.
“
That's
why you're looking so buff,” Mina said.
Brian kneed the back of her leg lightly. “Oh, so you be checking him out?”
“Hells yes,” Mina said. She lifted her head for a kiss and Brian leaned over, planting one on her. “Seriously, though. I was like, dang, T is getting huge.”
With all the action at the back of the room, JZ and Michael put the game on hold and joined them.
“Ay, I just thought about something,” JZ said. He put his arm around Lizzie. “Liz, keep your stuff on lock because I think it's helping T's game.”
“I
know
it's helping my game,” Todd said, his eyes an exaggerated pool of sadness.
Lizzie put her arms around his waist. “So I improved your game? Cool.” She stood on her tiptoes and laid an affectionate peck on Todd's lips.
“Son, you mad aggressive on the court lately. I never connected it with your dry spell, though,” JZ said, marveling at the thought. “Maybe I should try that.” He laughed loud and hard. “Sike.”
The sound of Lil Wayne penetrated the clique's laughter. Jacinta pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and the ring tone grew louder, shushing the group.
“Hey,” she said into the phone, walking away.
Conversation resumed about Todd's newfound energy and aggression until Jacinta returned and announced, “I'm getting ready to roll, y'all.”
JZ's eyebrow rose. “Where you dipping to?”
“That was Raheem,” Jacinta said, pushing the cell back into her pocket. “He over at my aunt's house, so I told him to pick me up. Girlfriend duty calls.”
Mina caught the hardening of JZ's stare despite how quickly it came and went. Her stomach rolled at the tension she felt in the fleeting glare and she attempted to joke it off. “Jay, looks like you gotta call one of your little jump offs tonight.”
“Who said I wasn't gonna do that anyway?” JZ said, smirking. “I was just waiting for all y'all couples to bounce.”
“Geez, are you kicking us out?” Lizzie said.
“Well, you know what they say?” A broad grin spread across JZ's face. “You don't have to go home but you gotta get the hell out of here.”
Brain dapped him up. “I know that's right.” He squired Mina toward the stairs. “Let's dip.”
Kelly, Greg, Lizzie, and Todd followed behind them in the midst of a chorus of good-byes.
“That's messed up about you, Jay,” Mina said, over her shoulder.
He saluted her. Just as she and Brian hit the stairs, she heard Jacinta say, “You gonna walk me out, big head?”
JZ's voice came back strong, “For what? You'n know your way out all of a sudden?”