Page 125 of Just Listen
“Riah,” Jhyrah spoke up in a serious time. “Now is not the time. We don’t interfere with the bigger picture. Ever.”
Never going against what our big sister said, Riah stood. Like a big baby, she pouted, while stomping towards Sincere Junior. After giving each other looks, we all followed suit.
After gathering around Sin J, we clasped hands. Magically, Malice was standing next to me, holding my hand, while my mama was suddenly on my opposite side, holding the other. Naturally, Riah was standing with Sin J, as he had an arm hooked around her. His head was bowed, while Ronny prayed over him and the fight.
Then once the prayer was done, I realized that Sin J was now leaning down, with his face buried in the crook of Riah’s neck. He was saying something to her, while both arms were now wrapped around her. She said nothing, while simply nodding. He continued to hold onto her, which is why I think she caved and kissed him.
Right after that, he stood upright, but kept his arms wrapped around her. He was holding her closely, and didn’t let go, until after she hugged him back. And only then did he seemingly come alive, and turned to face the world.
I guess that me and Malice were both standing back studying them, because he suddenly chuckled.
“I guess we just witnessed in real-time a woman’s work. A nigga be needing that shit.”
***
We were seated on the second row, ringside, to ensure that we could see all the action. Naturally, there were cameras everywhere, as the fight was televised. Of course, Sin J was the main event. So, there were other fights before his. And I was enjoying every moment.
I think for me, boxing was one of the most exciting sports to witness in person. So, I was into it, and so was Malice. Unfortunately, my energy completely shifted towards the end of the last fight, before Sin J was set to come out. The people on the row behind us had to do a little shuffling around to make room for two people, as they were sitting in their seats. With the worst luck, fucking Zae ended up sitting directly behind us.
Malice was so into the fight that he hadn’t really been looking back, plus he’d never seen Zae, as far as I knew. So, he was chilling. However, that was a completely different story for me. The moment Zae settled into his seat, I looked back and we locked eyes. Wanting to be cordial, I gave him a light head nod, hoping that would suffice.
When Omari aka Guap started rapping to bring out Sin J, our whole crew stood. For a moment, I nixed Zae’s presence off and focused on my brother-in-law’s muthafuckin’ entrance!
Goosebumps peppered my skin as I witnessed how the crowd went crazy for Little Sincere. I’d been to most of his fights, but it was still amazing to see how far he’d come, and I was proud to say that he was my sister’s husband. I could tell that Riah had shook the earlier drama off, as she was screaming at the top of her lungs for him.
I was clapping and cheering, when Zae leaned forward and spoke in my ear. “How you doing a thing that used to beourthing, with the next nigga? That nigga know that he’s standing next to my woman?”
When Zae was still perched at my ear, Malice turned to look at me. “The fuck is this?”
I leaned my head away from Zae.
Malice glared at Zae, as Zae stood upright. Tauntingly, Zae smiled at him.
“Say, who the fuck is that lame ass nigga to you?” Malice fumed.
I sighed, knowing that I couldn’t lie, especially when the truth could easily come out. “That’s my ex.”
Heatedly, Malice nodded.
Ding-Ding-Ding
The fight officially started and distracted us all. We all sat down, eager to see some action. Almost immediately, Sin J’s opponent, Rayford, was motioning side to side, as he walked Sin J down. As soon as he posted up, he swung, and missed. Sin J responded with a mean uppercut to the jaw, knocking Rayford off his feet.
The crowd erupted.
Rayford was down. The ref started the count, when he reached ten, everybody went berserk. Naturally, I was screaming and cheering, then once again, Zae knelt to speak in my ear.
“You know what you doing. Doing all that shaking and moving, making that ass jiggle for daddy—”
Zae never finished his sentence, as Malice reached over me and shoved him back. Then before I could process what was happening, he’d jumped over the seats to where Zae wasseated, to continue his assault. Even with the loud crowd, that slap Malice delivered caught the attention of everybody in the immediate vicinity.
Somehow, Zae found himself pinned against his seat, as Malice viciously pummeled his face. Meanwhile, I was in a state of shock. Eventually, Wale climbed over his seat to grab Malice, as the security was fighting their way through the crowds.
With all the chaos, and the fight being officially over, the security never did reach us, as Wale and couple of my brothers managed to pull Malice out of the stands, before we all collectively followed Riah, and flooded the ring.
I felt like a chicken with it’s head cut off, while my brother-in-law celebrated his victory, and Malice had an arm hooked around my neck, speaking in my ear.
“Ion know what the fuck you think this is, but Ion play like that, Jaylah. On my mama. You and this friendly shit gotta stop. Somebody gone fuck around and die tonight.”
