“Why not?” I wondered aloud.
“She too known. Granted, it’s unlikely someone would fuck with her because of who she related to, especially Sif, but it’s always a fucking crash dummy willing to do some shit for a payday.”
“True.” I nodded, watching Unique calculate in his head how he needed to reroute.
It took us about half an hour to get to Banks. When he pulled up, I saw a pretty girl with his same onyx complexion, long dark hair, and pretty eyes I could see from a mile away, tapping her foot impatiently and checking the dainty Rolex on her wrist.
She was beautiful, and I wondered how she’d been making it in the dating world with seven big scary ass brothers and a father who was probably even worse than them.
She spotted Unique’s truck and picked up her bag, walking over in her tights and wrap top in a baby pink color. From the looks of things, she danced ballet.
“Hi.” She slid into the back seat, all the way over to Unique’s side so she could get a look at me. Her skin was blemish free and like glass. Her smile was bright and endearing too.
“Hi.” I reached my hand back to her. “Kabrina.”
“Kabrina, you are so pretty. I love your eyes.” She giggled.
“I love yours, too, and you are just as beautiful—if not more,” I complimented.
“Sit back and put on yo’ seat belt.” Unique sliced through our moment, making Banks roll her eyes and sit back before buckling up. “I’m gon’ be late because of you.”
“You’ll live. Cemone said you got promoted to lead, so they’ll wait for you,” she sassed, typing away on her phone like a busy woman. The sight made me giggle.
“Why you ain’t call somebody else? You got six other brothers, love.” Unique peered into his rearview mirror briefly as he drove.
“Khari and Bashar are always too busy. Cemone and Shakur are never in town, and Lequay be wanting me to babysit his bad ass sons in exchange for him picking me up.”
We all burst into laughter at the last one.
“Why? He ain’t even got no job,” Unique asked, causing Banks and I to crack up.
“No idea. And Asif, I just didn’t want him to. My classmates got a crush on him and be fanned out when he pull up. I don’t get it because he’s an old man.”
That made Unique and I guffaw.
“Sif is old?” Unique frowned, amused but confused.
“Yes. Anybody over twenty-five is old as fish grease,” she replied.
Even though she was way off on that one, I remembered being her age and thinking someone in their twenties period was old. I distinctly remember a classmate saying her brother was twenty-two and lived at home and how I thought that was insanity for his ‘old’ ass. In hindsight, he was a damn baby still, somewhat.
“Is Low old?” Unique asked, and judging by the way Banks froze up when I looked in the back seat at her, I could surmise that she had a crush on whomever this Low person was.
“Nooo. Low is just grown, not old.” She grunted then said, “Anyway, Kabrina, are you coming to my last days of summer party?”
“I am. Unique invited me so I could meet the family,” I said.
“Oh my gosh. I’m so happy. I can’t wait for you to meet my sisters-in-law. They’re very pretty but they’re still nice, I promise.”
I’d met them on the yacht that afternoon, but as AJ’s girlfriend, so I was a bit nervous as to how they would receive me now that I was coming in as Unique’s wife. I could only hope that they wouldn’t be giving me the side eye or standoffish, because I had no plans of leaving Unique and would have to see them often since the family was quite close knit. My only saving grace was that the yacht incident was so long ago.
Not wanting to burst Banks’ bubble by stating I’d briefly met the ladies at the yacht party that she hadn’t attended, I just chuckled while nodding and said, “So I’ve heard. I can’t wait to meet them.” I smiled back at her, catching Unique’s eyes for a beat, then turned correctly in my seat to take in the view of the city. “Are you going somewhere, or is this just a normal party?”
“She ain’t going nowhere but to the hood for USC,” Unique chimed in.
“I have a last days of summer party every year, but yes, I am going to USC. My daddy is sad.”
“Sad, why? You’re still in state.”