Free Material Girl by Keisha Ervin Page B

pretended to pose for a camera.
    Dylan thought she was out there with the way she dressed, but Tee-Tee took style to a whole ’nother level. He wore his hair in a low and close platinum blonde buzz cut. On his face he donned a pair of Maison Martin Margiela shades and candy apple red lipstick. On his body he sported a red long sleeve fitted shirt, but what set off the top was the fact that it had a trail of fringes on the sleeves. For him to be a man, Tee-Tee had a body most women would kill for, and he loved to show it off. To showcase his voluptuous behind and thighs, he rocked a pair of extra-tight lime green skinny leggings, and purple five-inch stilettos.
    “You are fierce, darling!” Dylan gave him two snaps in a circle. “Strangé-strangé.”
    “Will the real Amber Rose please stand up?” Tee-Tee rolled his torso like a belly dancer. “Don’t I look just like her? All I need is a li’l angry brown chipmunk to be my Kanye West.”
    “You are a mess.”
    “Oh, I forgot to tell y’all Angel called today,” Billie announced.
    Angel was Billie’s younger brother and Dylan’s secret crush. Since junior high they’d been sworn enemies, but beneath the surface lay a deep attraction between the two of them.
    “He said that he wanted us to come to L.A. in May for the announcement of his fight.”
    “All right! I miss boo.” Tee-Tee sat back down and smacked his lips.
    “Now, you know Angel is Dylan’s man.”
    “Yeah, okay.” Dylan side-eyed her. “Where did that come from?”
    “My mouth, heffa,” Billie challenged. “Everybody knows you got a thang for my brother.”
    “You must be smokin’,” Dylan said, trying to keep a straight face.
    “Anyway, what you want to drink?” Tee-Tee asked her.
    “I’ll have whatever you’re having.”
    The next thing Dylan knew, an hour had gone by and she was on her third cranberry and Absolut. State was nowhere to be found, and her friends were starting to get suspicious. Dylan wondered if the anxiety she felt could be read on her face. Why did State have to go and prove Billie right? More importantly, how could she have been so wrong?
    “Okay, let’s all quit pretending that it’s not a big-ass elephant in the room,” Tee-Tee blurted out, unable to hold it in anymore. “Is State coming or what?” He looked Dylan directly in the eye.
    “Uhhhh . . .” She paused then shrugged.
    “I knew it.” Billie chuckled and shook her head. “I told you his ass wasn’t shit.”
    As Dylan felt an ocean of tears burning the rims of her eyes, she glanced out the window and spotted State parking his car.
    “There he is!” She pointed and shouted, happy that he showed up.
    “Shut the front door.” Tee-Tee gasped, surprised.
    Yeah, sure he was an hour and a half late, but for him to even attempt to come through on his promise was a huge accomplishment for their relationship. It solidified that what she’d been praying for was coming true. He was trying to change, and this time, he wasn’t going to play with her heart.
    State opened the lounge door and time stood still. An unexplainable confidence exuded from his skin. He made women hotter than Jamaica. Everything about him was dangerous; but the sweetest thing about him was that he was all hers.
    “All right, Clark Kent.” Tee-Tee licked his lips.
    “Wassup?” State softly kissed Dylan on the mouth.
    Being around her and her peoples was like playing with fire, but State couldn’t let Dylan look like a fool in front of them, especially Billie. He knew Dylan would be hearing her mouth for weeks if he didn’t show up. Plus, he’d hurt her enough in the past to last a lifetime.
    “Hi.” She spoke and gave a broad grin.
    “How y’all doing?” He gave Billie and Tee-Tee a head nod.
    “Better now, honey.” Tee-Tee winked his eye.
    “Sorry I’m late.” State ignored him and sat down. “So, what y’all drinkin’?”
    “Um, I’m having an apple martini,” Billie responded, flabbergasted that he’d