Page 17 of Chrome

“I’m sorry, Ms. Jordan. I didn’t know. Mel said you were okay with this. I guess I’ll check with you from now on. Come on Mel, let’s get you home.” Harli had some respect for any and all adults. She knew I wasn’t going for nothing less than.

The section remained quiet until the girls left. Once they were out of sight, the side chatter started. Fade tapped my wrist lightly for me to turn her loose, but I refused to do so. She was embarrassed as well. To have yo’ child stroll up in the same clubas you and talk to you like you wasn’t the one that gave them life was enough to send a person over the edge.

“Aye Zinc, make sure Onyx get home safe. We ‘bout to head out.”

“That’s a bet. She straight?” he inquired. He was overprotective to any woman I considered mine and looked out like a brother would.

“Hell yeah. I’ll hit you later. Ladies, it was nice meeting y’all. Get up with somebody from the crew and they’ll make sure y’all make it home safely,” I chimed before walking off hand in hand with Fade.

I didn’t know what was going through her head, but I knew she was ready to get the hell away from that awkward ass shit. I didn’t stop moving until I was opening the door to my car. Tonight, wasn’t a bike kind of night. I knew I was coming to get fucked up.

Fade hopped in the front seat without saying a word. She was probably hurt and pissed all at the same time. I could only imagine giving my mama the lip Mel did her. I promise my ass would’ve been dangling from the railing fuckin’ with Neon’s crazy ass. However, I knew not all mother’s operated in a violent matter.

I finally joined her in the front and pulled off. I lit the pre-rolled blunt, took a few pulls, and stretched it in her direction. She took it from me and inhaled deeply without coughing afterward letting me know she got down with the green. I smirked and kept pushing to the Cole Towers. It was one of the few luxurious hotels we had in the Lake. I figured we could chill and if she wanted to get some shit off her chest, I was all ears.

“It’s a bottle in the glove compartment, too, if you want to keep sipping.”

She opened it up as soon as I said it and popped the cork. She sipped and smoked without saying a word. She needed a minuteto herself, and I wasn’t gon’ interrupt it. Sort yo’ shit out as long as you need to. I wasn’t a rushing ass nigga. She walked out with me and that was good enough.

She wasn’t no young ass bitch you could convince to let what happened go. She was a mother at the end of the day, and you could tell she cared a lot about her child. She was probably second guessing her parenting. Who the fuck knew but I was gon’ make sure she was straight and felt like the woman she was by the time she left me.

By the time we made it to Cole Towers, it was already a lil’ past midnight. I didn’t know what her plans were for the next day, but I knew what they were tonight. Fade finally passed the blunt as she looked around.

“This isn’t my place of residence, Chrome.”

“I’m aware. You ain’t never give me the lo so I had to do something. You need a minute before you go to the crib and possibly kill that lil’ girl anyway. Come up and cool off. When you ready to go, we will. You straight on that?”

She sat quietly deep in thought before she said, “Fuck it. Tonight, ain’t shit but a joke anyway.”

She hopped out and sashayed across the parking lot with me right on her heels. I knew now was a bad time to admire her but damn. Fade was stacked and everything on her moved like water. I mean, she had me questioning whether or not I was ready for her or not. It wasn’t an ounce of insecurity that dripped from her personality. She hadit.

Entering the hotel, I grabbed her by the hand and approached the desk. For a nigga that didn’t like all that physical shit, I found myself wanting to feel her even if it was through a simple connection like holding hands. She was soft as fuck and that was driving me crazy.

“Welcome to Cole Towers, how can I help you?”

“I need a room for one nights stay.”

The receptionist went to pecking on her keyboard and looked up with a smile. “I’ll need your driver’s license and a card to put on file.” I handed over both requested items without letting Fade go. Moments later, “Okay, Mr. Black, you’re in room 469. Here are your belongings and room keys.”

I grabbed what she extended and pocketed them. We hit the elevator to the right of us and rode to our designated floor. It took us a minute to find the room but eventually we did with her heading straight for the showers once in it. I tossed my shit on the nightstand and stripped down to join her.

Once I stepped into the shower with her, she immediately turned around and hugged me as she cried silent tears. I couldn’t do shit but allow her to take comfort in me. Women didn’t show their vulnerability to just anyone. I felt honored that she was willing to let go like this in front of me.

“Take that shit on the chin and get right,” I advised.

“That shit is embarrassing, Chrome.”

“Chrasmere. Chrome is for them muthafuckas that ain’t never been this close to a nigga.”

“You have a nice name,” she whispered.

“‘Preciate it. Back to what you was saying though. How she act, ain’t on you. She ‘bout to be eighteen and I can bet she done told you she was grown more than once already. That’s teenage shit but that’s jealousy of the kids she thinks got freedom. Sheltered kids always feel like they missing out on something when these streets ain’t nothing nice.”

“All I wanted her to do was graduate and go to college. I don’t ask her to do shit other than that. I swear I don’t know what I did wrong to make her act like that.”

“Aye, look at me.” With a finger under her chin, I lifted her face to mine. Fade was too damn pretty to be crying over a child who was gon’ test her harder than she did tonight. I hated shewas going through it though. “This ain’t yo’ fault. Don’t change how you parent ‘cause it’s gon’ be appreciated in the end.”

Releasing a deep breath, she nodded subtly and turned around. With her back pressed into my chest, we stood there with a silence forming around us. I didn’t know what was going through her head, but I wanted her to feel heard. Kids were gon’ do what they wanted when they wanted. Neon told me once I hit eighteen that her days of being my scapegoat was over. I didn’t understand what she meant until I went to jail for crashing out at the mall. I was no longer a minor and had to deal with shit on my own. Mel was about to enter that same stage and if she didn’t change her ways, she’d end up somewhere she didn’t have no business.

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