A Player's Prayer

Thirty-One

"Squish!" B squealed excitedly as she and Renzo ran over to each other. Reaching down she gave him a hug, rocking them side to side.

"Hi Nini." He smiled. He was much taller than when she last seen him which wasn't that long ago.

"You missed me?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah of course." He said in his raspy tone, sounding more like an adult than the little baby she first met. He was now picking his own haircuts at the barbershop and calling her up to talk about the girls at his school.

He even dressed differently too now that Smoke was well acquainted and now a major part of his life. He always had him dressed in the latest. B noticed he even had his own signature chain, a clean cuban link with a pendant of Lorenzo holding him the day he was born in the hospital.

"I missed you too twin." B cooed, giving him another tight squeeze.

"Not everybody yo twin yo." She heard Smoke say, being a hater.

"Oh please." B chuckled, standing to her full height to give him a hug.

"Before you leave, find me I gotta talk to you about something." He said as they pulled away from each other. She nodded dismissively, knowing she would just call him if anything.

She made her way over to where majority of her family members gathered eating, talking shit and playing dominoes. She grabbed the plate her grandma made for her, nicely held down with some foil, and ate her food while she spoke candidly with her younger cousins.

"So B that's your boyfriend?" Her cousin Tati asked, pointing at where Amar'e stood.

"Ooh yal in my business today." B smirked as the girls laughed. "But nah that's not my boyfriend until he ask me to be his girlfriend even though he's delusional and thinks I already am." B was a true believer in the fact that she was not a stop along the way but a destination. Niggas needed to back some action out behind the words.

"Word niggas now a days don't even ask no more and I hate that for them cause if you don't ask then I'm single." Her other cousin Tiff chimed in.

Amar'e made his way over to her from the crowd as if he could hear them talking about him, nursing a fat blunt and holding double styrofoam cups.

"Ew you be drinking this lean shit too?" B frowned, watching him take a couple pulls from the blunt before slowly sipping from the tall cups.

"Chill I don't drink it like that no more." He smirked. "But you said we was celebrating so I let your cousins pour me one, happy birthday to your brother and all that."

"Disgusting." She mugged, shaking her head. "When you're like forty and your belly draggin down to ya knees and shit don't be surprised."

"And you gonna be right there wit me holdin my shit up." He teased as she laughed. Getting lost in the crowd, B introduced Amar'e to her friends and family that he didn't get the chance to meet yet. The most important people she wanted to introduce Amar'e to was her aunts and uncles on her father side. Although all her father's siblings had different mothers, they were always close and kept in touch. For the most part.

"Uncle Marv what's good." B called out to one of her uncles with a smile.

"Nah no way that's my lil niece." Marvin said with a smile, knowing it was her before he could even turn around due to her distinct raspy voice.

"Your favorite niece." B emphasized, knowing her cousins would have a fit if they heard. They gave each other what felt like the longest hug before B introduced him to Amar'e.