Page 96 of Search My Soul
“You’re a rapper, right?” Wale’s eyes shot over to mine with a smirk on his face.
“Yes, ma’am. Are you a fan of my music?” Arrogance dripped from his tongue, but he earned it. His music was really good, and I occasionally played a few of his songs on repeat in the car.
“My best friend is a huge fan of your music. I didn’t realize you were from here.”
“Oh, fasho. Born and raised. I moved to Miami a few years ago, but this will always be home to me.” I nodded, impressed that Darion’s family seemed to be full of successful men.
“That’s what’s up. If you have time, can I take a picture with you? I know my girl would probably freak out.”
“Of course. As a matter of fact, call her on video chat so I can say hello.” I grabbed my phone so fast I hadn’t even thought about how this would go. Once Puma answered the phone, I flipped the camera over so she could see him. I heard her screams through the phone and started laughing. My girl was so dramatic, but I loved her.
“I can’t believe this shit! Damn, you’re even finer than I thought. You kind of look like my husband,” Puma blurted. My mouth fell open because I hadn’t expected her to say that.
“I appreciate it, lil mama. I’ll be going on tour soon, so if you ever want to come to one of my shows let me know. I’ll hook y’all up with some front row seats and backstage passes.”
“Are you serious? I’m already planning my outfits in my head. Thank you, thank you. Bestie, I love you so much!”
“Who the fuck are you talking to?” Murk’s voice roared in the background. “Who the fuck is this buff ass nigga that you’re on the phone with?” I turned the camera toward myself and laughed when I saw Murk glaring into the camera.
“Yo, sis. What kind of shit are you on? You’ve got my wife on the phone with a knock off version of me. What kind of bullshit is that?”
“Who the hell is he calling a knock off? If anything, I’m the original version, nigga,” Wale barked. Puma wasn’t lying when she said they looked similar. I would have assumed they were related to one another because of the resemblance. Wale was more muscular, but their similarities were uncanny.
“Who the fuck is he talking to? Does he know I will beat the fuck out of him? And he big as fuck so I might just have to shoot his ass,” Murk grumbled.
“He was just joking, brother. I called Puma because he’s one of her favorite artists so I thought she would be excited to see him.”
“Yeah, all right. Keep fucking with me and her favorite artist gon’ be on a shirt.” I immediately hung up the phone because Murk’s mouth was reckless as hell.
“Look at you messing up a happy home,” Darion teased.
“I didn’t do anything. I thought my girl would want to meet her favorite artist. I forgot how unstable her husband was,” I replied with a shrug.
“Messy ass.” Darion chuckled, then went back to his plate.
“Well, tell him he has nothing to worry about. There are too many bitches out there for me to take somebody’s wife. Ineed my bitches to be available to me at all times. I’m selfish as fuck,” Wale barked. The two of them went back and forth, making jokes and reminiscing about their childhood together. I enjoyed hearing all of the stories about their childhood. A few other family members came over to the table and they all kept me laughing for the rest of the night.
Darion’s family treated me as if I was a part of the family, so I never felt out of place. Even his uncles kept me entertained. We played Spades and I wasn’t nearly as good as I thought I was.
“Yeah, you might be pretty, but you can’t play worth a damn. The next time you need to sit on the sidelines, baby girl,” Unc Matt exclaimed. I laughed so hard, I snorted.
“I’m not that bad. I just need to warm up.”
“The hell you ain’t. Baby, we’ve been playing for an hour. Ain’t too much more warming you can do.” My belly jerked from me laughing so hard. I was grateful DJ extended the invitation to me because his family was hilarious. While we were playing, my phone vibrated on the table. Since I had already spoken to my girls, I decided not to answer right away. I felt a pair of eyes on me, and when I looked up, I noticed Darion staring at me. There was no need for me to ask why he was staring because when my phone went off again, he glanced down at it before looking back up at me.
“Are you gonna get that?”
“Not right now. I’m gonna silence it though. I need to be completely focused so I can win this next round,” I joked.
“Yeah right. You might as well answer that phone, sweetheart. Whoever it is might give you some good luck.” Uncle Matt chortled.
“I can’t believe you are tryna play me like this. Watch what I’m about to do in this next round.”
“I’m sure it won’t be any better than the last three,” Wale interjected. I flipped him the middle finger because I was tired of his shit too.
“All of y’all can go to hell. I don’t have to take this.”
“The truth hurts. The next time you want to roll with the big dogs make sure you have what it takes. We’re going easy on you this time, but the next time we won’t spare your pretty ass.” Darion’s head whipped over in his direction so fast it scared me. “I don’t give a damn about you making faces. I said what I said, and you can’t fight me.” Darion and Wale argued like brothers, and it reminded me of Tycen and Murk. Those two were always play fighting and roasting one another.
