I smirked.
Stepped closer –righton the line of probably too close – meeting her gaze as I told her in a low tone, “Onlybecause you said please.”
She gulped a little.
I saw it.
Iheardit.
Got her.
“Goodbye, Calvin.”
I straightened to full height to wave. “Bye Li-Li.”
She’d already started moving down the sidewalk, but looked back with a frown. “Li-Li? Don’t do that,” she laughed, then crossed the street.
Ass swaying in little peeks under the hem of her sweatshirt.
She is bad as fuck, man.
“That box-head nigga from upstairs gone fuck you up about that girl,” Arthur cackled, fromwaycloser than he’d been when I stopped paying attention to him. “You know that’s his lady, right?”
I sucked my teeth. “Nah, he fumbled her.”
“They ain’t done – they was together too long – I’m telling you,” Arthur warned. “And that boy got money.”
My face dropped into a frown as I turned to grab my ball. “So? I got money too.”
“The fuck you hanging around here for then?” he countered, and I sighed.
“Because this is home? It’s low-key, nobody bothers me for autographs and shit.”
“Cause don’t nobody know who you are.”
“They know who I am, be serious.”
“Shedon’t.”
Damn.
Okay.
He had me on that one.
“Don’t you have a list of maintenance requests you should be handling right now instead of bothering me?” I asked.
“I ain’t on the clock yet.”
“But you’re punched all the way in onmybusiness? That’s craaaazy,” I said, heading into the side door of the building.
With himrightbehind me.
“Somebody has to look in on you – make sure you’re not getting too comfortable.”
“What doesthatmean?” I asked, frowning as I stopped at the door to the stairs.
He shrugged. “I’ve seen a lot of cat get a little too comfortable sitting out. Start doing other shit – never make it back to the game. Look at Ambrose McNeil.”