Page 8 of It’s The Dawg In Him For Me

“There is a block party around the corner. You know the drug dealers, gang members, the scammers, and the hood stars all gonna be out there,” Raven expressed.

We all looked at each other and knew we didn’t have to ask anything else.

“I’ma go get dressed,” I said, getting off the couch.

“And we gonna help you,” Denise said, getting up with Ari and Raven following her to my room.

I pulled different outfits out of my clothes, some that I bought, some that I made. Ari, Denise, and Raven was picking out fits that I felt was too much for a block party, and I decided to keep it simple with some tight leather pants with some cuts going up the sides with a white crop top, and stacked my diamonds around my neck and wrist.

Once I got dressed, I did my hair, and they touched up theirs; it was later than we thought it was.

“Damn, that Don got us moving slow,” Ari expressed.

We all laughed.

“It’s okay, ‘cause by the time we get there, the type of niggas we like should be there,” Denise added.

After another shot and passing the blunt around one more time, we left outta my crib and could already hear the music coming from the next block over.

“Aye, this shit finna be lit,” Ari laughed.

We walked up the street, and as soon as we turned the corner, the whole block was jumping.

Kids were still outside running through the open fire hydrant while their mamas sat in lawn chairs on the sidewalk talking shit. Smoke from the grills filled the air. Somebody had ribs going, somebody else was frying fish, and the smell damn near made me forget we had just finished eating.

Music blasted from the speakers sitting in the back of somebody’s truck while a crowd surrounded two old heads arguing over dominoes like they were playing for a million dollars.

“See,” Raven said, smiling. “This is what the fuck we need.”

I nodded. “I'm not gonna lie, I needed this.”

They all knew I did.

For the past few months, I've been working my ass off in school, projects after projects, showings after showings. A bitch been busy, so the lil’ break I was getting, it was well deserved.

We made our way through the crowd, stopping every few feet because somebody knew somebody and wanted to talk real quick.

That was one thing about the Bronx. Everybody knew everybody.

“Nylah!”

I turned around when I heard my name and smiled.

“What?”

“I saw that dress you made on your IG. I need that!” a woman said in passing.

I laughed.

“When I have my things hanging in D’s store, I got you.”

She nodded and walked off with a smile.

“See,” Raven said, pulling me close to her. “When ya shit hits the store, you are going to be a big name.”

I nodded. “Keep sayin’ that shit so that the universe hears it.”

We stopped by the food tables. Me and Ari grabbed a drink while Raven and Denise fixed a plate, and we found a spot where we could watch everything that was going on.