Page 117 of Not My Type
“Oh, church girl,” his mind wandering.
I point at a road. “Deh so is a short cut to one of the best river inna Jamaica”
“Arite tour guide,” his chuckle sweet in my ear.
I look over my shoulder at him. “Yes come on let me show you inside,” I imitate a tour guide’s voice.
Everyone starts looking at us as we approach the veranda. “Hey Zara, a yuh boyfriend dat?” My cousin Gabriella asks and I simply nod.
“Mi know him from Instagram,” she tells me even though he’s in front of her. The other cousins are just there looking. In awe, I guess?
“Him can dress,” they say to me. Why dem nuh just tell him?
Nickoi laughs at them treating him like a celebrity. “Wah unuh seh unuh rate the image?” he asks them.
“Yessssss!” they say in unison eyeing him flirtatiously. I mentally roll my eyes. Mi nuh like how them a look pon mi man enuh.
“Come and meet my aunts Nickoi,” I pull his hand and he walks with me. My aunts smile at me. Miss Hanett has a lot of children. I don’t even know some of them.
“Michelle pretty daughter this and her boyfriend?” Aunt Lucy says to us. She talks a lot. Cya forget that about her.
“Yuh fat likeeee... look how yuh use to mawga,” she chuckles. This fat line again. Jesus, mi affi go on a diet then.
“She always nice tho,” Aunt Toya defends. They’re my father’s sisters.
Speaking of the devil, I hear his voice around the domino table. “Unuh think mi ramp!?” He laughs. He’s playing domino with my uncles and my cousin Dino. Anybody would a think a argue him a argue.
“A Dino that?” Nickoi asks and I look at him in astonishment. He’s staring at me in shock too.
“You know Dino?” I finally speak.
“Then nuh muss,” he says. “Know him from KC when mi use to run and them thing deh.”
I-
“What?” I gasp.
Imagine me end up in a relationship with a KC man. When I was attending St. Hugh’s I avoided them like deadly diseases. Now look where life brought me.
Right inna one a dem life yuh drop and buss yuh face mi gyal.
“Yes Zara,” he chuckles. What a bwoy full a surprises. Nosahhh.
I look at Dino for a while. “Gwan go talk to him nuh,” I say.
“Dino,” I call and his eyes connects with mine. He gets up immediately with the goofiest smile on his face. As usual.
“Never know you would a come enuh,” he walks up to me.
“Well mi guess mi surprise you,” I shrug.
He spots Nickoi. “Prezi!” and they both dap up each other. “You and mi likkle cousin dehhh?!”
“Yah a me lock har dung,” he says with the cockiest grin. Ugh. Nickoi. I blush and walk inside. I spot Gavin and Sash in the middle of a convo with our cousin Eva. We didn’t get along growing up. She always grudge you. For what? Man, looks?
She looks at me. “Wah’m?” Instantly I feel the tension after so many years.
I smile, it works every time. “Nothing, good to see you,” I land my gaze on Sash peeping outside. Muss a man out deh.
