Hoodie (26 page)

“Don’t be mad at her,” Emma said, and kissed his neck.

“Don’t even be doin’ that. I’m still mad at you for earlier. Avoidin’ me all day. Now you think you can just talk all sweet and kiss my neck and that’s that? I forget about how you treated me?”

“I’m sorry I avoided you,” Emma said into his neck.

She kissed him again and heard the familiar low rumble in his throat. He was fighting the urge to respond to her, but she was relentless, and she pushed him down on the soft grass, climbed on top of him and straddled his hips.

“There people out here!” he said.

“I’m just going to kiss you,” Emma said innocently. The sun was to her back framing her face with light, and he was sure that she transformed into an angel.

She bent down and kissed him, long and slow. He responded to her then; he had no choice. He’d swim with hungry sharks or sky dive without a back-up parachute if she wanted him to, he thought absurdly. He’d do anything for this girl. He thought he would even renounce his faith in God, would go with her to hell just to be with her. He’d burn for eternity to feel the softness of her lips.

He kissed her hard realizing he wanted more and could not get it. His mother was home. They had no place to go. He would have to content himself with simply kissing her here out in the open for all of the park visitors to see. Fuck ‘em, he thought.
They
could go to hell.

He inched his hands up her thighs to rest under her skirt on her bottom, squeezing her playfully and breaking the magic of their kiss as she sat up abruptly slapping his hands away.

“We’re in public! Hello?” she said, looking wildly around.

“Girl, you kiss my neck then climb on top of me and then you gonna give me shit about squeezing yo’ ass?” Anton asked.

Emma grinned and crawled off of him.

“You just a little tease,” he said, sitting up. “Someone need to teach you a lesson ‘bout bein’ a tease.”

“Yeah? And if that someone were you, what would you do?” she asked.

“I’d bend you over my knee and lift up that ruffley skirt of yours and—”

“Stop! That’s enough,” Emma said. Her face was beet red.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

They fell into a comfortable silence with one another, watching the lake, running their hands over the spring grass, listening to the conversations of birds overhead.

“You know, I don’t know who got who in this relationship,” Anton said at last.

“What do you mean?” Emma asked.

“Well, it’s like this. I can make you come by just lookin’ at you—”

“Anton!” Emma squealed.

“Now wait, just lemme finish. I can do that to you, and it make me feel like I got all the power in the world over you. And then you say somethin’ or you touch my arm or kiss my cheek or somethin’ simple like that, and I feel like gettin’ on my hands and knees and worshippin’ you. And then you got all the power. I can’t figure it out. I really can’t.”

Emma smiled at him. She watched his face, his brows furrowed in concentration.

“I don’t understand it either,” she said finally.

“I like it though. I mean, it weird and frustratin’ sometimes, but I like it.”

“Me too.”

“So this what bein’ in love is like? I ain’t never felt this before,” Anton said.

“I guess it is,” Emma replied softly.

“Well, okay then,” Anton said, taking hold of her hand and staring back out on the water.

CHAPTER 17

FRIDAY, MAY 7

“Hi girls!” Emma said cheerfully, plopping her purse and lunch bag on the table. Morgan, Aubrey, and Sarah stared back and forth between her and her company. “I brought along some friends today. Mind if they sit with us?”

Kareem wasted no time wiggling his large body in between Aubrey and Sarah. Settling in, he took note of their facial expressions and couldn’t decide which one looked more terrified. Johnny D and Lamar—who actually made it to school that day—acted as bookends, nestling the three as tightly together as possible.

“So, I’m sure Morgan informed you two that I’m dating Anton,” Emma said, addressing the two frightened girls on the other side of the table. She had taken a seat beside Morgan.

“Well, I wanted to avoid any awkwardness,” Morgan noted with sarcasm.

Anton couldn’t help but laugh. “Kareem, don’t be lookin’ at her like that. It’s obvious she don’t want you near her.”

“Baby, that not true, is it? Tell me that not true,” Kareem begged Aubrey. He grinned at her.

“Oh my God. Can you scoot over please?” Aubrey said.

“Um, no he can’t,” Sarah said from the other side of Kareem.

“Say, is that a real Louis Vuitton?” Lamar asked Sarah. He fingered the purse.

“Yes, and please don’t touch,” Sarah replied, snatching the bag away from him.

“Man, Emma, why yo’ friends gotta be so uptight? They need to relax,” Lamar said. And then looking at Sarah, he added, “Baby girl, I didn’t mean no harm by touchin’ yo’ purse. It’s just so pretty. Like you.” He let his fingers lightly brush the top of her hand as he winked at her.

“Emma, I’m changing tables,” Sarah said, standing up suddenly.

“What? Like in third grade? Come on, Sarah, he’s just playing with you. Chill out,” Emma said laughing.

Sarah narrowed her eyes at Emma and slowly sank back into her seat.

“Okay, introductions,” Emma said. “Aubrey, Sarah, Morgan, this is Johnny D, Kareem (he placed his arms around the girls flanking him when he was introduced), and Lamar. And obviously you know this is Anton.”

“Hey,” Anton said.

Neither Aubrey nor Sarah responded as they were busy trying to shrug off Kareem’s heavy arms. Morgan turned to face Anton.

“It’s nice to meet you, Anton,” she said, and he realized that it was the first time she actually smiled at him. It was strained, but still a smile. He’d take what he could get. “It’s nice to meet the rest of you, too,” she added, looking at the other boys.

They all smiled, and Emma began feeling hopeful. Perhaps this could actually work, she thought.

“Aubrey, is that yo’ real hair?” Johnny D asked.

“What does that mean?” Aubrey asked affronted.

“I mean it so thick and shiny. It all yo’ hair?”

“Yes, it’s all my hair.”

“Well, I know you girls be gettin’ those extensions or weaves or whatever. I don’t know what you be doin’ to yo’ hair half the time. It just look so perfect, I had to ask. Was I out of line?” Johnny D asked.

“Yes,” she snapped, and he chuckled.

“No, see man, the black girls, they get the weaves,” Kareem explained. “The white girls, they get the extensions.”

“Nah man. It the other way around,” Lamar pointed out.

“Man, is you stupid? You ever seen a white girl with a damn weave?” Kareem asked.

Lamar considered the question.

“I think it true what people say. You hang out with people who look like you,” Johnny D said. “All you girls got perfect, shiny hair. You all look alike. It’s like some twins up in here.”

Morgan rolled her eyes. “Except that there’s four of us,” she muttered.

“You all pretty,” Lamar chimed in. “But you all prolly know you pretty.”

Aubrey couldn’t help but grin. She’d never been talked to this way—so frank and honest—and she wasn’t sure she didn’t like it. It was silly and fun.

“So how long y’all been friends?” Johnny D asked.

“A long time. We went to private school together,” Sarah answered.

“Private school?” Anton asked, looking at Emma. She shrugged. “You ain’t never tell me about private school.”

“Well, you only just met her, remember?” Morgan said. She instantly regretted her words.

Anton chose to ignore her. Emma flashed her an angry look. Kareem was too busy making eyes at Aubrey. And Lamar kept trying to touch Sarah’s hand.

“We went to a private school together until sixth grade,” Emma pointed out.

“So why you not go there now?” Kareem asked, addressing the question to Aubrey.

“It closed down,” she answered, feeling more comfortable by the minute.

“And they ain’t no other private schools around?” Johnny D asked.

“I’m sorry, do you want us to be going to a private school?” Morgan asked. As much as she tried, she could not keep her mouth shut. “I’m just confused. Why all the questions?”

“They just wanna know about you,” Anton replied. His voice was controlled though he felt his temper rising.

Morgan said nothing.

“My parents couldn’t decide on one they liked,” Sarah said, noting the tension between Morgan and Anton. “And once they found out that the others were coming here, they figured it was okay to send me too.”

“I see,” Johnny D said. “So you four travel ‘round in like a pack or somethin’.”

“We kill as a pack, too,” Aubrey replied.

The boys laughed out loud.

“Okay. You funny,” Kareem decided. “Now how ‘bout you be my girl?”

This time Aubrey burst out laughing.

“What?” Kareem asked, feigning confusion.

“So which one of you fine ladies is going to prom with me?” Lamar asked.

The girls looked at one another grinning.

“Prom was four weeks ago,” Sarah pointed out.

“Man, I can’t even deal with keepin’ up with this schedule. All this school shit goin’ on all the time. I can’t keep nothin’ straight,” Lamar said.

“No man, it’s called, you ain’t been at school since March. Why you even here today? You know you gonna have to go to summer school,” Anton said.

“Man, you trippin’. I planned to go to summer school all along, man,” Lamar replied.

The entire table erupted with laughter. Nate watched from a distance, alone with his thoughts of jealousy and rage. There were his friends sitting with strangers, laughing and talking like they shared so much in common, like they could ever hope to understand one another. His anger intensified when he saw Kareem hug Aubrey, no doubt teasing her about something. He watched her try to push him off, and noticed, too, that she did it with a smile on her face. Fucking bitch, he thought. What the hell was going on at this school? Damn campfire kumbayah bullshit, he thought. He was sure the whole world was going crazy.

***

“Just for a little bit,” he pleaded tugging at her waist.

“I can’t, Anton,” she said. “I have rehearsal this afternoon.” She swatted at his hands, but he ignored her and drew her closer to him.

There were people everywhere, packing their bags and moving briskly down the hallway for the exit, and he was so happy not to care. The relief of finally coming out in the open was the elixir he had been waiting for, and now all he wanted to do was hold her to him and kiss her, let everyone see, and damn them to hell if they had a problem with it.