Page 9 of Blake University: HBCU Chronicles: Brynleigh & A.Z.

A.Z

It had been a year or more since I’d been out on a date, but I already knew that Brynleigh wasn’t the Netflix and chill type.

What was funny to me was that some females like Allison who acted so prim, proper, and bougie, would give that pussy up fast as hell without a man having to put in any real work.

Then there were females like Brynleigh that didn’t walk around trying to portray some classy lady like facade that had boundaries and weren’t letting men handle them any kind of way for the sake of being chosen.

I was eager to get in her head. Find out more about her.

Maybe even find out what led to her selling drugs.

When I pulled up in front of her building, I realized I was familiar with the area.

The apartments she lived in were very nice and not cheap either.

She hadn’t given me her apartment number, and I needed a code to get into the building, so I texted her to let her know that I was outside.

About a minute later, she emerged dressed in green pants that had wide, flared legs, and a matching green mock neck top that stopped just above her belly button.

She was only showing a little skin, so she still looked sophisticated.

Her hair was slicked back in a bun, and I could tell she wasn’t wearing make-up, but she had lash extensions that brought her eyes out and gave her a ‘put together’ look.

Brynleigh was fine. There was no denying that.

As I got out of the car, we locked eyes, and I smiled. Despite her agreeing to go out with me, I was still shocked that she’d actually smiled at me, and it didn’t appear forced.

“Damn,” I placed one hand over my heart. “Hell is probably freezing over. You actually smiled at me, and it looked like you meant it.”

Brynleigh’s grin widened, and she shook her head lightly. “I keep telling you not to push it, buddy.”

With a chortle, I rounded the car and opened the door for her. A light floral scent filled the air as she moved past me. “You look nice.” My gaze lowered to her backside as she got inside my car.

“Thank you.”

On the Roof, was a nice rooftop restaurant with a dope ass view of the city. I had only been once with my parents and Tyra, but the food had been good. Thinking of Tyra made me grip my steering wheel tight. I cleared my throat and glanced over at Brynleigh.

“How well do you know my sister?”

“Not that well. I just know her through mutual friends. Every time I see her, she’s polite, and we converse for all of fifteen maybe twenty minutes, and that’s that. I can’t say I’ve ever hung out in her room or been alone with her other than the night I helped her.”

Pushing out a deep sigh, I made the effort not to let Tyra’s demons alter my mood.

I still hadn’t had a conversation with her.

A part of me wanted to just let it go, but I couldn’t.

“I just don’t like when she gets sloppy drunk, and it seems like the shit just came out of nowhere.

Tyra never got in trouble when we were growing up.

It was always me, and she was never social.

She didn’t go to parties in high school, she didn’t even go to prom.

I know most people get a little wild in college when they were away from home, but the way she’s acting isn’t even her.

I can’t even talk to her and find out what’s wrong without us getting into an argument. ”

“Well for starters, even when she’s doing something or behaving in a way that you don’t like, treat her like the adult that she is. Damn near snatching her arm out of the socket isn’t going to put her in the mood to receive anything that you have to say well.”

I hated when people called me out on my bullshit and were right. “I know. I’m working on that. Which is why I haven’t even said anything to her about the other night.”

“I can tell that Tyra is a good person, and she isn’t the wild party girl type. Maybe she’s going through something and just needs a little empathy and support. No judgement.”

I nodded my understanding. “I can make that happen. How old are you?” it was kind of late in the game to be verifying if she was legal, but we hadn’t done anything, so better late than never.

“I’m twenty-four. How old do I look?”

“Shit, you know black don’t crack. You damn sure could pass for eighteen or nineteen. I had to be sure. You work in a tattoo shop, have hella tattoos, and you’re always at college parties, but it’s still not safe to assume.”

“Understandable. At least you care. Some men don’t give a damn.”

“Hell yeah, I care. I don’t even want anything under twenty-one let alone under eighteen. Men over twenty that still date chicks in high school are cringe in my opinion.”

“Agreed. I never dated an older guy but unfortunately, I went to school with plenty of girls that did. One of my classmates was sixteen when she got pregnant by a twenty-eight-year-old.”

I scoffed because that was common but still nasty as fuck.

I was very interested with the fact that she sold drugs.

I wanted to know how and why, but she had already accused me of being the Feds.

Nobody doing illegal shit wanted to be questioned or have it talked about, but I’d never met a female drug dealer before.

I did want to get to know Brynleigh. The fact that she had let her guard down and was being nice to me was progress for us.

“What’s your major?”

She was asking me questions. Maybe that meant she was interested. Even if she wasn’t interested at least, she was putting forth the effort to be cordial. “Business.”

“That’s dope.”

“Yeah, I want to start a record label when I graduate. There’s nothing wrong with working for someone, but I want to be my own boss. I also want to love what I do. I love music and with the smarts that I have and the connections, I think I could be successful.”

“A record label can be very lucrative. That’s a good idea.”

“You’re always at Blake U events. You didn’t want to go to college?”

“Hell no,” she chuckled. “The closer I got to graduation, I couldn’t wait for it to be over. Neither one of my parents went to college, and they didn’t press me to go. It only took about a year and a half for me to start regretting not at least giving it a try.”

“It’s not too late. And you know Blake U has a program for people over the age of twenty-five.”

“I’m not making excuses, but going to a university and trying to work full-time would be a lot. I won’t count it out though. I actually take a few classes now, and I start a few more in a couple of weeks.”

Taking my eyes off the road, I glanced back over at her. “Word? What kind of classes do you take?”

“I just finished a Safe Sleep class, and I’m going to start a breastfeeding support class.

I want to start my own business too. I want to be a postpartum doula.

Mainly for newborns. Another term can be night doula.

I think it’s important for new mothers to be able to get adequate rest without feeling guilty about it. ”

“Now that’s dope,” I nodded with admiration. “One thing I learned being raised around a bunch of rich people is rich people don’t hesitate to get other people to raise their kids, clean their homes, and cook their meals. And they damn sure don’t feel guilty about it.”

Brynleigh giggled. “Of course, I can’t provide the service for free, or I won’t be able to pay my bills, but I really wish way more parents could afford to hire help.

I’ve heard a lot of people say, she laid down and that made that baby she should take care of it.

But everyone deserves a support system. Even if they can only afford a night doula for one night a week. ”

“What would your services include?”

“Not much besides feeding the baby and changing his or her diapers. I might even do baby related things like washing the baby’s bottles, folding his or her laundry, making sure diaper bags are packed and ready to go.

I don’t want to be responsible for a lot of house cleaning and things for the house as a whole.

Just watching the baby so mom can sleep. ”

“I like that idea. I would say I pray for those babies, but you’ve proved that even when you didn’t want to be nice to me, you can be a very sweet and caring person.”

“I’m always sweet. You just rubbed me the wrong way being judgmental and shit.”

“I can give you that. Maybe I did take it a bit too far. But how did you get into you know doing that. If you don’t mind me asking.”

“I do mind you asking, but it’s cool, I guess.

I just needed quick money,” her shoulders hiked into a shrug.

“Penz pays me pretty good. Probably more than I’d make working somewhere else with no degree or real experience.

Even with me making a decent salary and saving most of the money, it’s taking that shit too long to add up.

I live with my sister, and I want my own place soon.

I also pay for my classes out of pocket.

I just want to reach my goals and be able to do what normal adults do like live on my own.

Once I make that happen, I’m done with the pills. ”

I didn’t want to hit her with a what if scenario because I was sure that she knew being arrested was a possibility.

If she was willing to take that risk, what could I say about it?

I pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant and found a park that was relatively close to the entrance.

I opened the car door for Brynleigh and subtly inhaled her scent as she stood near me.

When we approached the door of the restaurant, I held it open while she walked through.

There wasn’t much of a wait and six minutes after arriving, we were being led to a table on the building’s rooftop.

“Aren’t you such the gentleman?” Brynleigh actually appeared to be impressed when I pulled her chair out for her.

“I open doors for you. Pulling out chairs and opening doors are one in the same. If I do one, why wouldn’t I do the other?”