“Let’s get up outta here, Ma. Where you parked at?” Tone asked.
“Out front. My girlfriend is sittin' in the car waiting for us,” Sonya explained.
“Let's go. We out,” he blurted.
Trying to play it cool, Tone grabbed Sonya's hand walked her through the bus terminal. Playing the role of loving boyfriend, he occasionally made small talk as they walked.
“So, when you gone tell me what happened in New York,” Sonya wondered.
“Homegirl, slow down. Now ain’t the time or the place to talk about that shit,” he informed her. “We’ll talk about that later.”
Sonya had so many questions she wanted to ask him pertaining to the shooting incident. Who was the other dude Tone was shooting at? Did he think it was his bullet that hit the old lady? But she didn’t want to press the issue, at least not now. In her mind Tone would be here for the foreseeable future, so they’d have plenty of time to talk.
The short walk from the bus station to the car went smoothly. Tone finally breathed a sigh of relief when the car pulled away from the curb. He glanced back once or twice to make sure that they weren’t being followed. Then a broad smile spread across his face. Now he could relax. The hard part, or so he thought, was over.
Although Tone had arrived safely in Baltimore, his journey was just beginning.
Now it was Baltimore or bust for him. He had to make this move work. Returning home, broke and a wanted man wasn't an option he wanted to exercise.
3
Tone glanced out the back window of his girlfriend’s blue Honda Accord. It finally dawned on him that he had really made it to Baltimore. In the backseat his girlfriend was pressed up against him, her head resting on his chest, her eyes glancing up at him almost in disbelief.
“What you staring at,” he gently asked.
“You,” Sonya admitted. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
“Believe it or not, here I am,” Tone joked.
Sonya continued to stare starry eyed at her boyfriend. Her thoughts were solely on Tone as she romanticized their reunion. Now that they were together, Sonya couldn’t imagine it playing out any other way. Something bad happened in New York with the shooting, but something good came out of that, they were together. Sonya prayed Tone wouldn’t get homesick and return back to New York. She feared if that happened she’d lose Tone to the system for a few years or worst. In her mind, that was the only thing that could break them up. So she planned on doing everything in her power to convince him to stay.
The car slowly came to a stop at a red light. This gave Tone the opportunity to do something that should have been done from the moment that they entered the car. Unfortunately, both their minds had been elsewhere. However, now he had the chance to make things right. Tone had been so preoccupied by the thought of being arrested and Sonya had been so infatuated with his physical presence that they both neglected to make a formal introduction.
“Tone,” he said, extending his hand toward the driver as they exchanged a formal greeting.
Her first words to him were, “So you’re Tone, huh?”
She said it with a hint of seduction in her voice, as if she had heard so much about him. Maybe Tone’s reputation may have preceded him. The thought made him smile and wonder what had been said between them. Tone was well aware how spicy females could talk about their boyfriends.
“I didn’t wanna say nuttin’…. I was waitin’ to see if Sonya would introduce us. But the bitch is so sprung she can’t even think straight,” she remarked in a northern accent. “Brianna, but people call me Bri.”
From the soft grip of her handshake, Tone became aware of femininity. He was staring at a very attractive light skin female with light brown eyes and juicy bubble lips. He held the grip a little bit longer than necessary, as he locked eyes with Bri. It was a covert flirtatious move, done right in front of his girlfriend.
“Aiight bitch, that’s enough,” Sonya playfully stated. “Let go of my man’s hand.”
“Bitch please,” Bri responded. “Ain’t anybody thinkin’ bout him except you.”
“Yeah, right,” Sonya joked. “I gotta keep my eyes on you Morgan State hoes. I know how y’all get down.”
As soon as the stoplight turned green, Brianna continued to cruise the streets of downtown Baltimore. As she drove she talked, carrying on a conversation almost exclusively with Tone. She badgered him with silly questions as she drove, as if she’d known him well.
“It feels good to be out of New York right? You like it down here? You happy to see Sonya?”
A couple times Tone had to catch himself. He was on the verge of saying something smart, like shut the fuck up. He knew that wasn’t the nice thing to say, so he didn’t. He knew it would kill the vibe. But he was growing increasingly annoyed by her questions. For the sake of peace, Tone remained polite and continued to enjoy the ride. Soon he realized it was just talk and Brianna didn’t mean anything by it. She was just running her mouth.
“Where you from,” Tone wondered, picking up on her accent. “Brooklyn? Queens? You can’t be from the Bronx.”
“I ain’t from the city,” she stated strongly as she drove. “Why do people always say that?”
“Then where you from?” Tone reiterated
“The Bricks!” Bri responded.
“Fuck is that?” Tone commented.
“Newark,” Sonya interrupted.
“Oh, Jersey. Got you,” Tone acknowledged.
“What you know about the Bricks, huh? New York niggas don’t come over there for some strange reason. We party in the city, but y’all don’t come to Jerz,” she stated.
“Pppllleeeeeaaaassssseeee,” Sonya cried. “Don’t get this bitch started wit’ that geographical
