Boyfriend Season by Kelli London Page A

coming to Starbucks? In only three more steps, she had her answer. Through the coffee shop was an opening. A welcoming room full of wonderment, awe, and words. A bookstore. A huge chain store with rows and rows of books that tickled her mind and made her mouth water. Never mind the sweets that were housed in the glass enclosure only ten steps behind. Here were the real treats that could help her get where she wanted to be. Yes, they’d gone to the library, and she’d appreciated that. But those books she’d have to return. These books could belong to her.
    City fished in his pocket and pulled out a plastic card. He handed it to her. “Since you like dictionaries so much, I was thinking you could get a new, updated one, and one of the books you mentioned the other day while we were riding.”
    Her eyes were stretched wide, and she was sure her smile was the same. She couldn’t remember what book she’d told him about, but she could use the dictionary. An unabridged one with the complete list of current English words was something she’d wanted for a long time. She just hoped the card had enough money on it.
    â€œThere’s about ninety dollars left on the card,” said City.
    Before she knew it, she’d stood on tiptoe and had her arms wrapped around him. She kissed him on his cheek. “Thank you so much, City. Because of you and all you’ve done for me today, I may have a chance of getting into my dream school, Winchester Hills Prep.” Her eyes teared. No one had ever done something so fantastic for her before. Then a thought occurred, and she tried to make it disappear, but it wouldn’t. The project girl instincts she’d tried to hone since middle school said there might be a catch. What did he want in return? She’d only shown him around, and he’d paid her for that, so why wouldn’t he want some sort of payment now? She handed him back the card. “I can’t take this—I don’t have anything to offer you for it.”
    City pushed it back at her. “You have a lot to offer, Dynasty.” He put his finger to her temple. “This. Your brain and what you want to do in life is payment enough . . . and maybe showing me around from time to time. I get lost in this country place. I’m from the city. I need a grid to maneuver—streets in numerical order.” He smiled. “Now get your dictionary and . . . oh, that’s right, the book to help you get into college.”
    â€œThe SAT book.”
    â€œYeah, that book. Then one more surprise.”
    North Point Mall was located across the street and up the block from the bookstore. Dynasty sat back in her seat, flipping through the new dictionary. She guessed it had to weigh close to ten pounds, and she couldn’t wait to devour the words until her mind felt just as heavy. The car came to a stop, and she looked up. They were parked in front of the food court entrance, and she could see a merry-go-round spinning through the glass.
    â€œShe should be here in just a second,” said City, as he scrolled through his cell phone, then looked out the driver’s window.
    Who is she? Dynasty wondered, but not for long.
    A bump caused her to jump and look behind her. A pretty girl with short hair styled to perfection knocked on the trunk, and walked to City’s door. Another beautiful girl with an expertly spiked Mohawk trailed behind her. Both had huge Gucci bags and were dressed to the hilt. City opened his door, then asked Dynasty to get out.
    â€œMeka, baby!” he said to the girl with the short hair. “Whatcha got for me?”
    Meka smiled. “Whatever you need . . . and if not today, then later. Just let me know the size, and you know I got you. Oh,” she said turning to the girl with the Mohawk, “this is my BFF, Santana. Whatever I don’t have, she does.”
    City nodded. “Family business? You know I like that. Speaking of