Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 73556 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73556 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
“Hey, man. Thanks for calling me back.” He regarded the dentist’s business card that was lying on his desk, partially hidden under a glass of cold Canada Dry Selzer water.
“Hey, Romey Rome. What’s up, brother? Tooth better?”
“Yeah, Tony, that’s what I wanted to discuss with you. I know that you’re out of town right now, but I have a follow-up visit with your dentist after work today. I need to ask you something.”
“Yeah, of course. You sound serious. That’s not like you. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong, but I want to be considerate. So, uh, your sister… Question for you. Is Genesis married, or seeing anyone?” Roman took a taste of his coffee and waited for the other shoe to drop.
“You motherfucker!” Tony screamed into the phone. “You sneaky, no-good son of a bitch.”
“Huh? What?! It’s just a question.” Roman placed his cup of coffee down onto his desk. He couldn’t say he was surprised by Tony’s response, but he’d been hoping for a better reaction.
“It’s just a question my ass, man. You’re always cooking something up. You were probably salivating like a dog once you saw her!”
“No, that’s not true… I noticed her, yeah, but it was what she said that sealed the deal for me. I like her conversation.”
“Her conversation? You mean her ass. When have you ever gave a shit about a woman’s personality or gift of gab? Love ’em and leave ’em, Roman? This is crazy, because after I sent you her way, for a split second, I thought about you probably trying to hit on her. She gets hit on all the time at her job. But then I said, ‘NAAHHHH! My boy wouldn’t do me like that!’ I’m surprised that you’d cross this line.”
“If she gets hit on all the time, which means other men can see how beautiful and captivating she is, why are you surprised?”
“There you go with that smartass mouth…I should knock another one of your teeth out. You are the player of all players, and if you think I’m going to let yo’ gigolo ass seduce my sister, you’ve got another thing coming. Let’s not even talk about all the shit we did while in the Marines. I know you didn’t forget that night when we fucked the same girl, at the same time. Wild shit! I can’t have you wit’ my sister, man!”
“Gigolo?” Roman cackled. “Who uses that term anymore? Am I a jive turkey, too? As far as the threesome, we were young and drinkin’ heavily that night.”
“…It happened twice. Two different months!”
“Anyway, all that matters, is that that was in the past. I’m your friend. I wouldn’t do anything to try and hurt your sister. I’m just interested in her and me going out.”
“Going out to the hotel, you mean.”
“Hotel? My bedroom is just fine,” he joked.
“You ain’t shit, Roman!” Tony burst out laughing, but Roman could tell he was truly concerned.
“I’m just kidding, but all jokes aside, man, it’s not like I’m tryna marry her! Just go out for a drink or something.”
“Roman, don’t play dumb. The end goal for you is always sex. You’re trying to fuck my little sister and vanish, like you do all the other women that come your way. Here I was, trying to help your snaggle-toothed ass in your time of need, and you—”
“I’m not snaggle-toothed.”
“ANYWAY! I tried to help you, and you turned this into Tinder. This ain’t no dating app. Don’t try to get friendly with Genesis, man.”
“I didn’t have to tell you anything. This was a courtesy call.” He took another taste of his coffee.
“Oh, really? You’re not her type anyway.” It was hard to hear him over the sudden clanking noise in the background, as if Tony were at a busy restaurant.
“And how in the hell would you know what her type is? Did y’all sit around recently in your pink silk pajamas, braiding each other’s hair and painting your toenails, discussing all the cute boys you like while eating popcorn and listening to slow jams on a YouTube playlist?”
“Because I just do, fucker. She likes the Lebron James types.” He could hear the smirk in his friend’s tone.
“Okay, well, that sounds a lot like me then. I’m her type after all.”
“How in the hell are you anything like Lebron James?!” Tony chuckled.
“He’s tall. I’m tall. He can play ball. I can play ball, too, though it’s not my favorite activity in the world. Regardless, I’m not so bad. He’s got money. I’ve got money. In about ten years, I might have a receding hairline, too. So, what’s the difference besides him being Black and me being White?”
“I ain’t never seen her date a White guy before, but that’s not really the point. We’re boys. Brothers from another mother. Roman, you know this is inappropriate. You know you’re wrong, or you wouldn’t have even called me and asked me to call you back about this.”