the concert, while listening to the smooth blend of R&B love songs, Leesha reached over in her bra and upped half a blunt. I waved my hand from side to side in objection.
“Un uh, Girl, you can’t smoke that mess up in here. We may get stopped by the police. Furthermore, I don't want the smell of it in my clothes.”
“Hush. I got this.” She waved me off, reached in her leather black Gucci handbag, pulled out a lighter, and fired it up. “Crack your window. That will help so that the smell won’t absorb in our clothes.”
I reached over and pushed the button, and the window slowly glided downward. She took a few puffs and fumbled around in her handbag. I looked away, taking in the scenery as I drove down I-85.
Atlanta was my favorite city and living here had been an absolute dream. The city was obviously doing something right because it was growing at a rapid pace. I could be so happy here if I had the right person to share it with, I thought.
Leesha sprayed something up in the air. I sniffed in its gritty scent. “That smells good,” I told her as I zoomed past a SUV.
"You like it?"
“Yes, what is that? The new Black Friday perfume by Nicki Minaj?”
She looked at me sideways and twisted her upper lip. “Hell nawl, this is that new Apple Mango Tango by Febreze. I stole it out of your bathroom. I ain’t gon’ be squirting my expensive shit out to cover up the weed scent. No, ma’am. I save my good shit for my body.”
I thought to myself, Well, damn, that’s where I recognized that scent from.
I pushed into the parking lot of The Atlanta Civic Center. It was packed from one end to the other with ticket holders. Females were getting out of their vehicles with the fresh dos and banging outfits. A few couples walked towards the building holding hands. Parking lot attendants directed traffic.
A black BMW rolled along in front of us at a snail's pace. The driver of the Beemer was instructed by one of the attendants to park next to a red truck. I rolled my window down, and we were directed to park in a vacant space not far from the BMW in front of me.
We stepped out of the car and walked up to the entrance, where Leesha spotted Fabian in front of us walking with some skinny brown-skinned woman who looked to be in her mid thirties. She was wearing a dark blue halter dress. Fabian turned his head and our eyes briefly met. He jerked his head back around so fast it's a miracle that it didn't go flying off his neck.
I shook my head, wondering why he was acting like he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He could have mentioned when we talked earlier that he was attending the concert with a friend I would have understood. It wasn't like he was my man.
Leesha whispered, “Chile, that’s the best he can do? And no that bitch didn’t leave the house looking like a stank ass hoe. That trick skinnier than an ant’s dick.”
I shook my head and tried my best not to laugh at the nutcase. Skinny Minnie was obviously doing something right because at least she had a man.
We made it to the auditorium and showed our tickets at the door. The inside of the place was huge. Fluorescent lights hung down from the ceiling, casting a festive glow over the concertgoers. Nearly all of the four thousand seats were already occupied, although forty-five minutes remained before show time. We found our front row seats and settled in.
Forty-five minutes later the curtains opened and Keith Sweat swaggered out on the stage with the microphone in his hand singing his throw back song, ‘Nobody.’
I could hardly breathe while watching him sing. He glanced down at Leesha and smiled.
“Yo’ smile is so pretty you can make the sun shine at night,” Leesha yelled out to him, embarrassing the hell out of me.
After the third song, I was breathless from his voice. The ladies were mesmerized and a bunch of them were standing at the stage reaching out for him to touch their hands looking like some straight groupies, and my cousin was one of them.
I covered my face with my hand when she eased her black thong down, whirled it around like a hula-hoop, and tossed it on stage. Her undies landed on the tip