Page 82 of Just Listen
“Yeah, yeah.” I waved him off.
“Aye, Jah, did you ever tell your sister what I said?” Somebody questioned in the background.
Jah glanced over his shoulder. “I’m on the phone with her now.”
Hearing that, I frowned. “Who is that?”
Junior focused on me. “That’s the rookie, Desi.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, and he’s been begging me to introduce you to him since this season started. At first, I was a little leery, until I got to know him, but he’s a solid dude. So, fuck it. Here, nigga.”
Sitting back, I watched my brother pass his phone to his teammate.
When Desi’s face came into view, he was smiling. Although, I had seen him a handful of times, it felt like he was around all the time, being that his face was plastered everywhere, and he was a top contender for rookie of the year. He was also very much handsome, with golden brown skin, and a curly, tapered fro. Naturally, he was tall as fuck, as most professional ball players were.
“Hey, how you doing, beautiful?” He questioned, flirtatiously.
I gently smiled. “I’m fine.”
“Okay. Well, I was wondering if I could get your contact info from either you or Jahrein. Because I’d love to take you out sometime—”
“Nah, nigga. It aint happening,” Malice rudely interjected, as he leaned across my lap, and placed his face in the camera.
Unbeknownst to my brother, he’d been sitting next to me the entire time.
“Malice—” I got out, before he totally removed my phone out of my hand.
I guess that Desi must’ve handed the phone back to my brother, because Jahrein Junior was back on the screen. “Say, what’s up? Who are you to my sister?”
Hooding my eyes, I waited to hear his response.
“I’m Khari’s daddy, and we’re in the process of figuring everything else out,” Malice claimed.
“Figuring it out? So, that means that y’all aint together, right?” Junior probed.
“Nah. It means that she been with me day and night. And we working on building something.”
“So, y’all exclusive?”
Malice shrugged. “Yeah, you can say that.”
“I can say that?” Junior regurgitated. “Nah, man, you got the wrong one, with this finicky shit. Either it is, or it aint. Cause as you can see, it’s other niggas out here, and you can’t hold up no spot, unless you sure about her.”
“Yeah, I hear you. Jaylah knows what it is—”
“Jah, I’ll call you back. Let me holler at him, right quick,” I interrupted.
“Yeah,” Jah muttered, before ending the call.
I shook my head, before holding my hand out. “Can I get my phone back, please?”
Wearing a frown, Malice placed my cell back in my hand.
I sighed. “Now, for your information, I don’t know what anything is. You’ve done nothing more than avoid addressing what your plans are. You can’t even look me in the eyes and tell me that you’re done with Paisley. And my silly ass has been looking past that, while trying to keep you from going around her. That was honestly dumb on my part, because it’s been helping you avoid accountability. Admittedly, you haven’t been lying to me. You just avoid my questions altogether. But life has a funny way of showing you what needs to be done. And this is telling me that I need to reel things back, and let you figure out what you want. So, it’s time for you to go home, Malice.”
“Go home?” He scowled. “Now, all of sudden, because that ball dribbling nigga is on your bumper, you want me to leave?”
