Courtin' Jayd Read Online Free

as Keisha Cole and Missy Elliot blare out of her speakers, making the trunk shake.
    â€œNo, Mickey. I need it now. I have my outfit picked out for tomorrow and it includes my red Bebe sweater. You’ll have to take me to your house to get it.”
    â€œAh, hell no. I’ve got to get home,” I say, emphatic about not going to the other side of Compton today. I’m not in the mood for seeing Mickey’s family, her man included. “Besides, that’s out of her way to go all the way to her house and then back to mine.”
    â€œNot if she takes the 105. And besides, you were supposed to give me back that sweater weeks ago. I’m not getting out of this car until I have it in my hand.” Nellie can be more demanding than Mickey sometimes. It’s a wonder they’re friends at all.
    â€œFine. I’ll give you your damned sweater,” Mickey says, barely catching the on-ramp to the 105 East from the 110. I don’t feel good about this detour at all. I knew I should’ve taken the bus home, even if it meant getting a little wet. It’s better than dealing with Mickey’s side of town any day.

2
Hot Head
    â€œIn and out, out and in you go/ I feel your fire then I lose my self-control.”
    â€” LISA FISCHER
    A s we approach the Long Beach Boulevard exit, my stomach tightens up and I get the feeling that something’s up. It could be paranoia, but I know better. Every time I come to Mickey’s house, some shit goes down. If her mama and daddy ain’t at each other’s throats, then her brothers and sister are tripping. Not to mention that her man is usually in close proximity, which is always a negative experience for me.
    â€œI hate coming to your side of town,” Nellie says, expressing my sentiments exactly. “Why couldn’t you just bring my sweater to school when I first asked you to?”
    â€œBecause I forgot. What’s the big deal? You only live five minutes away from here,” Mickey says. “And Jayd, doesn’t your daddy live over here somewhere?” Mickey intones, recalling my first visit to her crib where I mentioned I was familiar with her hood. Most of my friends from my old school, Family Christian, live out this way, including Rah’s grandparents.
    â€œYeah, he lives by the old Lynwood High.” Even though my dad lives directly behind the Compton Swap Meet, his side of town is considered Lynwood and he’s very proud of not actually living in the city of Compton, just like Nellie.
    â€œWant to stop by and give him a shout-out?” Mickey says, making light of the fact me and my dad barely speak. I haven’t seen him since we went to a family picnic together a couple of months ago. He called and left a message afterwards but I never did return his call. I’ll make sure to give him a call tomorrow. Even if I can’t stand the man, he’s still my father and my elder, which means I have to respect him, or so he says to me all the time.
    â€œWe don’t have time for family visits or any other kinds of stops. I need to get home and touch up my hair,” Nellie says, tucking a wayward strand behind her ear before silencing her ringing cell.
    â€œNellie, you act like you live in another county,” Mickey says pulling into her driveway where her family’s outside kicking it. “You live right up the street from me, same area code and all.”
    â€œYeah, but you live in Compton and I live in Rosewood. Very different energies between the two places,” she says, sounding as bougie as ever. I knew Nellie’s foul experience with Tania and her crew wouldn’t have a permanent effect on the diva in our girl.
    â€œYeah, whatever. Tell that to the brothas who’ve pledged their lives to the streets of Compton, right on your block,” says Mickey, and she would know. Her younger brothers and her man are in that category. And speaking of which, her man pulls up