one of a hundred different streets here. It could take all day,â she warned him.
City rounded the car, then hopped in on the driverâs side. âWord? Iâm good with that.... I like being in the company of pretty girls. First, answer something for me, Dynasty? I consider myself to be a pretty smart dude, and you stumped me earlier, and itâs been bothering me ever since. What does that morph, eta . . . you know what Iâm talking aboutâthe stuff you study. What does all that mean?â
âOh you mean morphology, semantics, and etymology. Theyâre studies of words. Respectively, word structure and form, words and language forms, and word origins.â
City whistled. âBeautiful and smart? Today is going to be a great day, Dynasty. No, this week is going to be a good week. I promise you that.â
Dynasty blushed. No one had ever called her beautiful or smart, or promised her a good day or week. She knew there was something she liked about City.
6
PATIENCE
T he dude who Silky said was hers was beautiful. Clear skin and well groomed, his hair looked like heâd just left the barbershop. Diamonds, the size of plump raisins, gleamed from both his ears, almost blinding her. Winking, he licked his lips, then spread his mouth into a crooked smile. His white teeth clashed against the dimness of the truck and the gold grills on his homeboysâ teeth.
Mmm . She inhaled the boyâs beauty when Silky moved away from him and settled herself on the guyâs lap next to him. Patience blinked slowly and gulped even slower. She was in serious trouble. Trouble because as much as she knew she shouldnât be in the truck, and as much of a rage as the good Bishop Blackman would be in if he ever found out, she didnât care. Sorry, Bishop. The caramel-dipped guy who sat across from her with flawless skin and a thin line of hair over his yummy lips made her forget the most important thing sheâd been taughtârespect her parents. Heâd moved her with only a smile.
âSâup, lil momma?â he asked, sitting across from her, handing her a bottle of something that looked like liquid amber.
Her knees were inches away from his long legs, but her heart was already in his hands. Patience shrugged and inched back into the seat. That was her way of declining his offer.
âWhatâs the matter? Something holding your tongue?â
The three other boys laughed.
âYeah, homeboy. You holding it. You know they always freeze when you speak,â the guy sitting next to her said.
Why and who were they ? she wondered, looking from the guys to Silky and sliding farther over from the boy next to her. Silky smiled and hunched her shoulders.
âSo . . . are you like a backup dancer for Silkyâs mom or something?â Patience asked Pretty Boy, noticing that his arms were very toned. Pretty Boy had to be his name or at least his nickname. He was too beautiful to be called anything else.
Pretty Boy raised his brows and froze for half a second. His expression registered shock. He shook his head and grinned again, blinding her with that ultra-white crooked smile.
The other three boys were silent, while two of them looked from Patience to Pretty Boy to Silky, then began Ping-Ponging their eyes back and forth between the three again.
âHmm,â the one with Silky on his lap growled, then wrapped his arms around Silkyâs middle. To Patience he sounded like a rottweiler and looked like one trying to claim her best friend as his territory.
âI told you!â Silky cheesed, comfortably leaning back into the boy. âThis here is my girl. I. Know. Her. What I say? I told you!â
Patience looked sideways at Silky. She knew her best friend meant her no harm, but she was starting to not appreciate being the only one who seemed not to know what was going on.
âTold them what?â
Pretty Boy reached over and grabbed her knee. âYou a good
City rounded the car, then hopped in on the driverâs side. âWord? Iâm good with that.... I like being in the company of pretty girls. First, answer something for me, Dynasty? I consider myself to be a pretty smart dude, and you stumped me earlier, and itâs been bothering me ever since. What does that morph, eta . . . you know what Iâm talking aboutâthe stuff you study. What does all that mean?â
âOh you mean morphology, semantics, and etymology. Theyâre studies of words. Respectively, word structure and form, words and language forms, and word origins.â
City whistled. âBeautiful and smart? Today is going to be a great day, Dynasty. No, this week is going to be a good week. I promise you that.â
Dynasty blushed. No one had ever called her beautiful or smart, or promised her a good day or week. She knew there was something she liked about City.
6
PATIENCE
T he dude who Silky said was hers was beautiful. Clear skin and well groomed, his hair looked like heâd just left the barbershop. Diamonds, the size of plump raisins, gleamed from both his ears, almost blinding her. Winking, he licked his lips, then spread his mouth into a crooked smile. His white teeth clashed against the dimness of the truck and the gold grills on his homeboysâ teeth.
Mmm . She inhaled the boyâs beauty when Silky moved away from him and settled herself on the guyâs lap next to him. Patience blinked slowly and gulped even slower. She was in serious trouble. Trouble because as much as she knew she shouldnât be in the truck, and as much of a rage as the good Bishop Blackman would be in if he ever found out, she didnât care. Sorry, Bishop. The caramel-dipped guy who sat across from her with flawless skin and a thin line of hair over his yummy lips made her forget the most important thing sheâd been taughtârespect her parents. Heâd moved her with only a smile.
âSâup, lil momma?â he asked, sitting across from her, handing her a bottle of something that looked like liquid amber.
Her knees were inches away from his long legs, but her heart was already in his hands. Patience shrugged and inched back into the seat. That was her way of declining his offer.
âWhatâs the matter? Something holding your tongue?â
The three other boys laughed.
âYeah, homeboy. You holding it. You know they always freeze when you speak,â the guy sitting next to her said.
Why and who were they ? she wondered, looking from the guys to Silky and sliding farther over from the boy next to her. Silky smiled and hunched her shoulders.
âSo . . . are you like a backup dancer for Silkyâs mom or something?â Patience asked Pretty Boy, noticing that his arms were very toned. Pretty Boy had to be his name or at least his nickname. He was too beautiful to be called anything else.
Pretty Boy raised his brows and froze for half a second. His expression registered shock. He shook his head and grinned again, blinding her with that ultra-white crooked smile.
The other three boys were silent, while two of them looked from Patience to Pretty Boy to Silky, then began Ping-Ponging their eyes back and forth between the three again.
âHmm,â the one with Silky on his lap growled, then wrapped his arms around Silkyâs middle. To Patience he sounded like a rottweiler and looked like one trying to claim her best friend as his territory.
âI told you!â Silky cheesed, comfortably leaning back into the boy. âThis here is my girl. I. Know. Her. What I say? I told you!â
Patience looked sideways at Silky. She knew her best friend meant her no harm, but she was starting to not appreciate being the only one who seemed not to know what was going on.
âTold them what?â
Pretty Boy reached over and grabbed her knee. âYou a good
Similar Books
