Page 70 of Not My Type
If I weren’t Jamaican, I wouldn’t understand his slangs or make sense of what he’s saying.
“My big brother take over until him just draw back from it so a just me and mi know yuh wah know exactly what, so mi sell drugs and cars. My brother still helps with the car dealership even though him leff the drugs,” he explains.
This is too much but a me ask. I don’t want him to feel bad, and I already promised not to judge him. “Thanks for telling me,” I start, unsure what to say.
“Mi understand seh it probably too much fi you.”
“So that nuh mek yuh... um, have a lot of enemies?” I ask and he nods.
“Nuff, but mi guards ever up and that’s why if we do come out officially to people yuh affi live here with me,” he says and I look at him shocked.
Mi a risk mi life.
“Yuh nuh need fi worry still,” he tries to comfort me.
“Look I am not judging you, and I like you for who you are but if yuh bredda lef it why can’t you?”
I’m a bit angry because this sounds dangerous for him, and also for me. He takes up his spliff ignoring me. “Nickoi! A you mi a talk to!” I stand up. Mi never know seh yuh have dem anger yah.
He looks up at me and with a cold tone he warns, “Watch yuh tone.”
“Wah you a go do?” I ask, my eyes fixed with his cold emotionless ones. He hisses.
“Mi just a help mi mother with the business zeen? Somebody affi dweet. You have a life where you got a chance to be a child... I didn’t. Me get expose to the real
world before I was ready. I didn’t get to choose,” he says. I really wasn’t looking at it like that.
“Look, I’m not gonna judge you. I’m gonna stay by your side and support you in whatever you do,” I say like a promise.
He looks at me with a beaming smile then he puts down his weed and pours out more Hennessy in his cup. He drinks it. Why him like it so much?
“Let me have some,” I say and he looks at me with his eyebrows raised. He’s surprised.
“Nuh you say— ”
I put my index on his lips and he gets quiet. Look at you nuh! I bring his cup to my lips and the liquor burns my throat on its way down. It makes my body shiver.
“I wanted to see why you like it so much.”
He smiles. “How is it?”
“Strong... I guess that’s why you like it. It makes you numb.”
We fall in complete silence. Maybe yuh right... maybe a him coping mechanism along with the weed.
Yuh nuh see as yuh start stress him, him start smoke? my subconscious blames me.
I didn’t stress him. My eyes finds him again. For some reason I wish I could read his mind.
“Yah... Why you drink it?” he asks.
“Just told you,” I rest my head on his shoulder.
“No the real reason,” he asks before he puffs his spliff. I smile at him.
“What do you wanna hear?” I smile, looking at him.
Nickoi puts his hand around my neck, bringing his lips close to mine as he blow the smoke in my mouth. Ouuu, thats sexy. He smiles at me. I cough before I meet his gaze.
