Lovers & Haters by Calvin Slater Page B

nice hips, hoop earrings, and stilettos that his copper-complexioned fantasy was wearing.
    â€œNot you too,” Xavier said.
    â€œWhat you mean by that?”
    â€œI mean, I know what you’re gonna get at me about. Between you and my mother, I can’t win.”
    â€œI’m still not following you, guy.”
    â€œMuch like you, my mother is tryna put her pimp hand down on me at the crib to force me into slingin’ prescription pills.”
    â€œDamn, I got the wrong mama.” Romello laughed. “Here I am having to hide my hustle from my peeps and you are getting a free pass to make money. Does she need another kid?”
    â€œSo you can’t be serious for a minute, man. I’m not trying to get caught up in the quick money. I want an education—something that’s going to last me until retirement. Sure, it’s not gonna bring me the Rolex, expensive ride, or the fat crib instantly, but in the long run I’ll get all those things, without getting my ass locked up like my father.
    â€œBesides, if I’m locked up, who’s going to look out for my little brother?”
    â€œIt ain’t what you think. We ain’t getting paper by hustling pills. Zulu is into boosting cars. I know a guy named Slick Eddie at the scrap yard who gives us four to five thousand a pop.”
    â€œMan, I’m not a car thief—don’t know anything about stealing cars.”
    Romello thought about it for a few ticks. “We are not car thieves, homeboy.”
    â€œWhat you call it then?”
    â€œI prefer to look at it as young men who use different tactics to earn a living while trying to work through growing pains to become successful pillars in our community.”
    Xavier couldn’t keep from laughing. “You’re full of it.”
    Romello was a hot mess.
    â€œAll I’m asking you to do, X, is to think about it.” Romello looked out at Samantha on the dance floor. “I know you don’t have a driver’s license, do you?”
    â€œNope.”
    â€œBut you can drive, right?”
    â€œYep.”
    â€œThis would be a chance for you to make some bread, man. Don’t mess up the opportunity. You can be our driver.”
    Samantha was out on the floor and getting her groove on. She was dancing with Harvey Wellington, the golden boy of Coleman High. He was the light-skinned, snotty nose quarterback of the Coleman Wolverines, who had all the college recruiters after him. With his constant smoking and drinking, the boy stayed high on the high school campus.
    â€œHow are you going to be able to compete with that?” Romello asked Xavier. “That kid has a full ride to the University of Michigan on an athletic scholarship. And look at how he dresses. You know his folks are forking over big bucks on his clothing. Samantha’s parents like that white bread, successful fairy-tale stuff for their daughter.” He took another look at Xavier’s wardrobe. “You . . . you would be just a ghetto toy.”
    â€œRomello, you’re my dog, and sometimes you make sense, but for now, you sound dumb. It ain’t all about the clothes, son, but the swagger behind the man. Just sit back, drink your drink, and watch how Daddy handles his business on the dance floor.” Xavier started out to the dance floor.
    â€œShe’s dancing with the golden boy!” Romello screamed out to Xavier, almost on the ground from laughing.
    Romello called for his troops to reassemble at the table to watch Xavier fall flat on his face trying to holler at Samantha.
    â€œI got twenty dollars that he gets into a pushing match with the golden boy,” Romello said, starting a bidding pool.
    â€œI’ll take your twenty and add another ten,” Tyson wagered.
    â€œY’all fools are cheap. I’m going all the way with forty,” Alex said.
    After Go Go and Arson threw in their bets, Romello and his crew watched as Xavier finally