Why is he just watching me like that? I’m broken, she thought.
She’s so beautiful, and she doesn’t even know it, he thought.
Tiara handed him her empty plate and wiped her hands on her sweatpants.
“Shit.”
“What’s wrong?” Stevelle asked her, confused by her sudden outburst.
“I didn’t pack any clothes from my apartment.”
Stevelle stood up from the bed like he hadn’t heard anything she’d just said and left the room with the plate.
“OK,” Tiara said out loud. “I’ll just wear this. Again.”
Seconds later, he returned without the plate, but instead, he was holding about ten shopping bags. Tiara peeped them and saw that they were from both clothing and shoe stores.
“Your whole apartment has been cleared out. Everything in it was trashed or donated. I told the manager to do whatever he wanted with it. He agreed to let you out of your lease early under the conditions that he could keep whatever was left inside, and I agreed. So, all the stuff you had in there is gone. I made sure to grab your pictures and shit, though. It’s all in a box in the living room. Feel free to go into it whenever you’re ready and separate whatever. If there’s anything you want to hang up in this room, we’ll do it. And as far as clothes and shit, I had Keys go grab you some shit this morning as soon as the stores opened,” Stevelle said.
“Keys? You had Keys go shopping for women’s clothing?” Tiara said, trying to hide the smile on her mouth, but it read clear as day in her eyes.
“I mean,” Stevelle shrugged his shoulders sheepishly, “she one of my boys, but she’s still . . . you know, a girl.”
Tiara couldn’t hold it any longer. She burst out laughing.
“Aw, nah! Let me see this shit. We might have to make another trip!”
“Chill,” Stevelle said, placing the bags on the bed so Tiara could rummage through them. “She actually picked out some pretty dope shit. If I woulda went, I woulda had you looking like a wholesome schoolgirl.”
Tiara laughed again but was shocked to see that he was telling the truth. Keys had hit her style right on the nail. Everything in the bags was dead-on the head with the hammer.
“Oh my God! She even got the right type of jeans,” Tiara said incredulously because it was always hard for her to find jeans that fit both her butt and her waist. “OK, Keys, I see you.”
“I’m glad to see you smiling like this,” Stevelle chuckled. “I’ma leave you be so you can get dressed. In the meantime, I have some calls to make so I’ll be in the living room. Holla at me when you’re ready so we can talk real quick.”
“A’ight. Wait! Stevelle?”
“What’s up?”
“Um . . .” Tiara hesitated with what she was about to ask. “So earlier, you said I could go through the box and take out whatever I wanted to hang up.” Tiara gave a long pause.
“Yeah?” Stevelle asked wondering where Tiara was going with this.
“Does this mean you’re like . . . letting me stay with you?”
Stevelle looked at her like she was silly and shot her a face. “Duh, nigga, where else you gonna go?” He winked and shut the door behind him.
“Smart-ass,” she said under her breath.
“I heard that!”
His voice behind the door made her jump and fall into a fit of giggles. She was definitely feeling him, and she didn’t care if she was making it obvious. She wondered what it was about him that had made her like him so much and so quickly. She didn’t know if it was the way this little dimple would show on the left side of his cheek when he smiled, or if it was the heartiness in his laugh. Or maybe it was the way he carried himself with a lot of confidence, but somehow was still humble and didn’t come off cocky about himself. Whatever it was, it was enough to give her butterflies in her stomach. She wanted to open the door and chase after him like a high school girl, but despite her giddy feelings, she knew they had some serious shit to handle. Her feelings toward Stevelle would have to wait for now because there were bigger fish to fry.
After looking through the bags, she threw on a pair of light blue jeans, some pink and white Nike Roshes, and Nicki Minaj screen T-shirt to match them up.
Stepping out of the room, she joined Stevelle on the couch. He was on the phone when she made her entrance, and he nodded at her to acknowledge her presence. She saw the box he was talking about on the ground. She was glad he had been thoughtful enough to grab her pictures. She didn’t have any from when she was younger, but she had made some really good memories with Elaya since they’d escaped the facility. She cherished the few pictures she did have. She sat quietly on his beige love seat patiently waiting for him to finish his call and give her his attention.
“A’ight,” he was saying. “Yup, I’m about to find all that out right now, and I’ll hit you back a little later.” He paused for a second and then laughed. “Yeah,
