What Ya Girl Won't Do (6 page)

“Okay, let me know if I can help,” he said before walking away to help some of the other customers who had just walked inside the shop.

“He looks like an alien,” Ja'Nay whispered.

“I know,” I'reon whispered back.

“They have some interesting stuff in here,” Ja'Nay said, sniffing the different incense and picking out the ones she liked.

“Look at me, I'm a Rastafarian,” I'reon joked as she put on a hat with fake locks hanging from it.

Kylee and Ja'Nay began cracking up. “You a damn fool,” Kylee said.

“Come on, let's get outta here; the movie starts in an hour,” I'reon said while placing the hat back on the shelf.

“Are you ladies all right out here?” another worker came from the back and asked with a smile.

“We coo . . .” Kylee turned around and hesitated, not believing it was Mr. Vernon's lawn guy. What were the chances of running into him twice in one day?
This has got to be a sign,
Kylee thought.

“Damn this nigga fine,” Ja'Nay said under her breath as she sized him up.

“I'm wit' you on that,” I'reon agreed checking out the man with the Jamaican accent.

“Kylee, right?” he asked.

Kylee shook her head yes. Ja'Nay and I'reon both had confused looks on their faces, wondering where Kylee knew this dude from.

“I'm beginnin' to think you followin' me,” he said with a smile.

“No, honestly, I'm not. Me and my girls was just walkin' around and wanted to come in here to see what they had,” she started explaining.

“Calm down, ma, I was just jokin'.” He laughed, cutting Kylee off.

“Umm ummmmm,” I'reon said, pretending to clear her throat.

“Hi, I'm Ja'Nay, and you are?” she asked, holding her hand out for him to shake.

“Eli.” He smiled while shaking her hand.

“Okay, Eli, that's a cute name. But, um how you know my sister?” I'reon questioned.

“And how come I don't know you? Where she been hidin' you at?” Ja'Nay added.

“Calm down, y'all.” Kylee laughed. “This is my neighbor's
lawn guy,
” she said with big eyes.

“Ohhhhh, so you the infamous lawn guy,” I'reon said, giving him her stamp of approval.

Eli was confused.

“Can you come cut my grass?” Ja'Nay joked.

“Please, excuse my friends,” Kylee said, shaking her head. “They a little crazy.”

“It's okay, I can tell they like to have fun,” Eli said, smiling.

“Let's go look at the necklaces. Nice to finally meet you, Eli,” I'reon said before grabbing Ja'Nay by the arm and leading her off, leaving Kylee and Eli alone.

There was an awkward silence.

“So, did you ladies find everything all right?” he finally asked.

“Yeah, this is a nice store. You work here, too?” Kylee asked, looking around.

“Yep. I work here, too.”

“Dang, I guess it's true when they say Jamaicans be working three and four jobs at a time huh?” Kylee asked.

“That's not always the case.” Eli laughed. “We have lazy Jamaicans, too.”

“Sorry,” Kylee said, realizing she was stereotyping Jamaican people.

“Don't be. You can only speak about what you hear.” Eli smiled.

“Eh, Eli, I'm about to run get me somethin' to eat. You want somethin' while I'm out?” the tall alien-looking guy walked over and asked.

Eli shook his head no. “I'm good.”

“Okay, I'll be back in a few.” He looked Kylee up and down. “
Cho! Coo deh ass,
” he said before turning to walk away.

“What he say?” Kylee frowned.

“Nothin',” Eli said, shaking his head.

“He said somethin' and I wanna know what,” she said, putting her hands on her hips and waiting.

“Naw, ma, you gon' get mad,” Eli said, laughing.

“No, I won't,” Kylee promised.

“Naw, I'm not gon' tell you,” Eli said, shaking his head no.

“Please,” Kylee begged.

“All right, ma, how about I tell you the next time I see you,” Eli toyed.

“I don't believe you. And besides, who said we gon' see each other again?” Kylee asked with a cocky attitude.

“Trust me, we will.”

“How you figure that?” Kylee smirked, hoping he was about to ask her out on a date.

“Did you forget that I work next door to your house?” Eli asked with smile.

“Oh yeah,” Kylee replied, slightly disappointed

“Come on, sis, we need to leave if we gon' make it to the movies on time.” I'reon walked over and interrupted.

“Oh, okay, here I come,” Kylee said, not wanting to leave yet, at least not without exchanging phone numbers.

“What movie y'all goin' to see?” Eli asked.

“We goin' to see
Flight.
The movie with the other Denzel Washington in it.” I'reon looked over at Kylee and smiled.

“I didn't know there was more than one,” Eli replied.

“Oh, believe me there is,” I'reon assured him.

“Okay, well don't let me hold you. Y'all enjoy the movie,” Eli said.

“Thank you,” Kylee said, not knowing what else to say.

Kylee stood in disbelief as Eli turned to walk away. She couldn't believe he just left without asking for her number or anything.

“So what y'all talk about?” I'reon pried once Eli was out of their sight.

“Nothin' really,” Kylee said, still in shock.

“Well did you at least get his number?” Ja'Nay asked.

“Nope,” Kylee replied peevishly as they all headed out of the shop.

“That's you, my man?” the alien-looking guy walked back into the shop with a bag of food and asked Eli.

Eli shook his head no. “Not yet,” he said, before turning to walk away, disappearing behind the black curtain.

Kylee pulled up in her driveway, shut the engine off, and got out of the car. She looked over at Mr. Vernon's well-manicured lawn. Her heart sank as she headed up the walk because while she'd been out running errands, Eli had been next door working.

“Damn, this the second time I done missed him,” she said, disappointed as she walked up the steps. It had been well over two weeks since she'd last seen Eli. Kylee opened up the screen door and watched as a business card fell to the porch. She bent down, picked it up, and read it. She then turned it over and read the note on the back of it:

Kylee smiled happily as she unlocked the door. “I want more than my lawn serviced,” she said and continued into the house.

Kylee threw her keys and purse on the sofa and paced back and forth through her living room while reading Eli's note over and over. She debated what would be a good time to call him; even though she didn't need her lawn serviced hearing Eli's voice would make her day. She didn't want to seem desperate and call him too soon, nor did she want to wait too long, fearing he might lose interest, but with the way she looked that was the least of her worries. After about twenty minutes of going back and forth with herself, Kylee decided to go ahead and make the call.

She pulled her cell out of her purse and dialed the number on the front of the card. Her heart raced as she waited for someone to answer.

“Kingston's Landscaping,” Eli answered.

“Ummm, yes, I found this card in my door and wanted to make an appointment to get my lawn serviced,” Kylee stated nervously.

“Okay, let me see what I have open.” Eli smiled, recognizing Kylee's voice. He paused for a brief moment as he checked his calendar. “Okay, I have an opening for your lawn next Thursday at ten o'clock
A.M.
and an opening for dinner tonight at eight o'clock
P.M.
Will either of those times work for you?” he asked boldly.

Eli caught Kylee off-guard with his dinner invite, but that didn't stop her from accepting his offer. “Both times are fine with me,” she answered happily.

“Okay, cool. I'll be by to get you at eight,” Eli said.

“You want me to drive?” Kylee offered, fearing he would show up driving a hooptie or, even worse, the lawn-care truck.

“You good. I'll drive.” Eli laughed.

“Are you sure?” Kylee asked again, just to be certain.

“I'm sure. Don't worry; I won't pick you up in my lawn truck.” Eli laughed.

Kylee laughed too. “I know you wouldn't do that,” Kylee lied, wondering how he knew what she was thinking.

“Yeah, okay,” Eli joked, knowing that was her exact concern.

“I'm serious.” Kylee giggled.

“I'm sure you are. Okay, ma, a customer just walked in. I'll see you at eight, okay?”

“Okay.” Kylee had a huge smile on her face as she pushed the end button on her cell phone. “Ooooh, I love his accent,” she moaned as she dialed Ja'Nay to tell her the good news.

“I was just about to call you,” Ja'Nay answered.

“Bitch, guess what?” Kylee started.

“What?” Ja'Nay quickly asked, knowing it had to be juicy by the way Kylee started off the conversation.

“I'm goin' out to dinner wit' Eli tonight.” Kylee smiled widely as she grabbed her purse and made her way upstairs to her bedroom.

“Whaaat? What happened? He caught you stalkin' him again and felt sorry for yo' butt and decided to ask you out to dinner?” Ja'Nay joked.

“Ha-ha, very funny.” Kylee chuckled. “No, for your information, when I got home from Walmart, he'd left a business card in my door and told me to call him.”

“Okay, now that's what I'm talkin' about! My girl is finally goin' out with the lawn guy,” Ja'Nay replied happily.

“About damn time he asked me out,” Kylee stated, taking a seat on her bed and lying back.

“I know right. Where he takin' you?” Ja'Nay questioned.

“Wow, I don't even know. I guess I was so happy, I didn't even think to ask,” Kylee admitted, before sitting up.

“Oh my goodness. Bitch, you need to get it together.” Ja'Nay laughed.

“I know.” Kylee laughed too. “I don't care where he takes me. I just wanna spend some time wit' him.”

“I feel you on that,” Ja'Nay agreed. “Okay, well, I need to finish gettin' dressed. I'll hit you back later.”

“Wait a minute,” Kylee called out.

“Wassup?” Ja'Nay asked.

“I thought you said you was about to call me.” Kylee stood up from her bed and walked over to her closet to find something to wear.

“I was.”

“And, what did you want, Blondie?” Kylee laughed as she looked through her clothes, trying to find the perfect outfit.

“Oh yeah.” Ja'Nay laughed too. “Quann called me,” Ja'Nay said carefully and waited for Kylee to respond.

“What the fuck he want?” Kylee snapped.

Ja'Nay took a deep breath before speaking, because she knew this conversation was about to take a turn for the worse like any other time she mentioned Quann's name. “He called to apologize and said he wants to talk to me.”

“And I know you told him to go to hell right?” Kylee asked with a serious attitude.

Ja'Nay closed her eyes. “No,” she said, exasperated.

“Wow is all I can say.” Kylee stopped looking through her clothes and frowned.

“Damn, Kylee. I'm sorry I can't be as cold-hearted as you. I'm not cut like that, okay? Quann made a mistake, he apologized, and I accepted it. What's the big fuckin' deal?”

“The big fuckin' deal is you caught this nigga fuckin' the same bitch he introduced to you as his sister! This bitch lived wit' him, y'all was goin' shoppin' together, out to the club, you was even babysittin' this bitch's son, and you still can't see the big fuckin' deal, huh? Damn, bitch, Stevie Wonder can see what the deal is!” Kylee snapped furiously as she paced back and forth through her bedroom.

Ja'Nay sat quietly as Kylee went ham on her like she had always done.

“I mean come on, Ja'Nay, you that pressed to have that nigga in ya life? Quann ain't shit, ain't never been shit, and ain't gon' be shit. I can't understand how come you can't see that!”

“I can, but I love him and you can't help who you fall in love wit',” Ja'Nay protested.

“But you in love by yourself, Ja'Nay. If Quann loved you like you loved him, he wouldn't be messin' around wit' all these different hoes. You deserve better,” Kylee said, calming her attitude, hoping to get through to her best friend, but knowing when it came to talking to Ja'Nay about Quann, it was like talking to a brick wall.

“I deserve to be happy and if bein' wit' Quann is makin' me happy then you should be happy for me,” Ja'Nay said.

“How can I be happy for you when you messin' around wit' a nigga who treats you like shit?” Kylee asked, hurt. “Do me a favor and find you a nigga who knows how to treat his woman; then I'll be happy for you.”

Kylee became furious all over again. She didn't expect her best friend to be as cutthroat as she was when it came to men, but she did at least want her to grow some balls and stand up for herself and not let Quann continuously run over her.

“Well do me a favor, Kylee, you do you and let me do me, okay?” Ja'Nay stated, fed up with how her best friend always judged the decisions she made when it came to men, especially Quann. Kylee had acted the same way when Ja'Nay had dated Julio and Darnell, too. It seemed like no matter what, no one was ever good enough for Ja'Nay in Kylee's eyes.

“Okay, I got'chu. Look, I'm 'bouta get off this phone 'cause I can't stomach stupidity so I'll holla at you later,” Kylee said, hanging up. The last thing Kylee wanted to do was hurt her best friend's feelings, but she didn't know what else to say or do to try to get through to her. Kylee was tired of Ja'Nay constantly letting Quann run over her and felt it was time for her best friend to take a stand. Feeling disgusted, she threw her phone on the bed, walked back over to her closet, and continued looking for something to wear.