He smiled. “Playboy? Nah, that's not me.”
“Mmmph, yeah right. I can't tell. All night all I saw were a buncha chicks clucking around you.”
He laughed. “Yo, you real funny, for real. Wasn't none of 'em checkin' for me like that.”
I waved him on. “Oh, puhleeeze. That's what your mouth says. But I know what I saw.”
He laughed. “Oh, damn. It's like that? Let me find out you tryna put a claim on me.”
I tilted my head, sweeping my bang over my forehead. “Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not.”
He stared at me real hard, then broke into a wide smile. “You real feisty.”
I smiled back. “Yup. And don't forget it.”
Briana walked over with her hair pulled back in a ponytail and her lipstick wiped off from around her mouth, asking me if I was ready. She told me she'd bring the car around and pick me up out front. I waited for her to walk off, then said, “Look, it's been real. I gotta go.”
“A'ight, let me walk out with you.”
“Suit yourself,” I said, trying to act like I wasn't pressed.
“So, what's good with you? Where you from?” I tell him I'm from South Orange. “Oh, a'iiight. That's wassup. You a freshman?”
I shook my head. “No, I'm a senior.”
“A senior, daaaaamn. That's wassup. What's your major?”
“Dance.”
He smiled. “A'ight, a'ight. That's wassup. I've never seen you on campus before. You go to Seton Hall?”
I shook my head again. “No, South Orange Performing Arts Academy.”
He frowned, repeated what he heard. “
South Orange Performing Arts?
Wait, you're a
senior
in high school?”
“Yup.”
“Damn. That's a good school. You gotta be on top of ya game to get up in there.”
I shrugged. “Something like that.” But he was right. South Orange Performing Arts Academy is one of the hottest schools in Jersey. Shoot . . . in the country! And it's one of the hardest to get into. The only way you getting in is through an examination and application process. And then you better be bringing it in the classroom, or you'll end up on probation, then tossed out if you don't step it up.
He smiled. “I'm impressed.”
I smiled back. “Thanks.”
“So, how old are you?”
“Seventeen . . . well, I will be in two months. What about you?”
“I just turned eighteen.”
I smiled. “So, I guess you're too old for someone like me.”
He laughed. “Nah, you good. You seem chill.”
Briana pulled up, blowing the horn as if I couldn't see her. I shook my head. “Well, I gotta bounce. Nice talking to you.”
“Yeah, you too. But I didn't get your name.”
“That's because I didn't give it. It's Kamiyah. And yours?”
“Sincere.”
I smiled. “Nice to meet you.”
Briana blew her horn again. “Girl, will you hurry up already,” Brittani yelled out of the passenger-side window. “We're starving.”
“Yo, I'ma let you go. Can I get your number?”
I smiled, eyeing him real sexy-like. “Are you going to use it?”
He eyed me back. “No doubt. I wouldn't ask for it if I wasn't.”
I motioned him with my finger to come in closer, and when he leaned his head in toward me, I whispered it, grazing my lips against his ear. He grinned.
“Yo, I'ma hit you up tomorrow, a'ight?”
“If you do, cool. If you don't, oh well. It's your loss.”
He laughed, walking backward toward the house. “A'ight, hold that thought. Make sure you pick up.”
I opened the car door. “You just make sure you call.”
“I got you.”
I slid into the backseat, then rolled the window down as Briana pulled off, and yelled out, “If you don't call me by eight o'clock tomorrow night, lose my number.”