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THE DEEP ATTRACTION

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Can't Help But Wait by Trey Songz

"Baby girl, you are a star, and I can't help but wait."

KAMARIA WOODS
SEPTEMBER 24th, 2007
MONDAY 3:25 pm

KAMARIA FLIPPED HER fresh set of braids over her shoulder as she squatted down reaching into the the box full of suave body wash bottles , pulling three more out to stock them on the shelves.

It was 10 more minutes til her shift ended, and she hated Monday's. She felt like they were a waste, because her shifts were only around two hours, that's was no money going to her pockets.

Still she came faithfully, knowing she needed the job. It just could be frustrating at times along with school, home work, and everything on top of that.

She grunted lowly biting down on her bottom lip. Hearing the bell she continued restocking since her co-worker who was 23 was supposed to be working the register.

Still she continued restocking the box of body wash quickly when the bell ring again making her groan lowly standing up straight. She dragged her feet going towards the front of the dollar general seeing two females standing there with nothing at the register. This signaled maybe they needed help finding something.

Walking around the corner, kamaria pulled all her braids over to sit on her right shoulder. She forced as tiny smile on her face getting behind the register coming face to face with Cayeton, and surprisingly Taraji.

"Oh my gosh hey girl. I didn't know you worked here." Taraji spoke genuinely smiling as she focused on kamaria.

"Heyy," she wiggled her fingers back at Taraji not knowing how to reply to that. She wouldn't consider her a friend, more of an associate which Taraji knew.

Cayeton couldn't bring herself to speak as she eyed kamaria up and down with her fresh new hair due looking as pretty as ever since the added blue in the back of her box braids gave her natural dark skin color a pop to it.

"So this is where you work." Cayeton more so stated with a nod placing it in the back of her head while she had her arms crossed over her chest.

"Yep. Where do you work?" Kamaria asked tilting her head while the jab went right over tarajis head. Kamaria had no problem with Cayeton, but she could tell feeling was not at all mutual. The way Cayeton looked at her told it all. It was written all over her face, she had no desire to even associate herself with kamaria.

Cayeton gulped looking around, "It's not your job to ask me personal questions, sweetie." Cayeton replied in a petty manner. It was obvious she literally refused to call her by her respected nick name but she could care less.

"You right. What can I help you with?" Kamaria gave it to her. She had a total of 7 more minutes until her shift was over and she didn't want to end her day off bad, because she had to go straight home, and tutor Samir.

"Y'all have curling irons right?" Cayeton questioned rhetorically watching kamaria nod rolling her tongue over her top row of teeth. "Okay can you show me where," she finished off.

Kamaria wanted to say something slick, like the fact that she was getting a cheap ten dollar curling iron from dollar general that would probably do no justice with its janky features—but it wasn't her place. She wouldn't continue to jab at her, there was no root to the animosity and she wouldn't entertain it.

"Sure.." she trailed off walking from behind the counter going all the way to the left as they followed behind her. Taraji and Cayeton followed behind her from a distance when Taraji finally chose to speak again to Cayeton.

"How do you know lil bit?" She asked her bestfriend in a hushed manner, and Cayeton rolled her eyes so hard that the had possibility of getting stuck.

"This the girl I was telling you about, who I think is fucking my man behind closed doors. I don't know I definitely get the vibe between the two of them, and she's known him way longer than I thought." Cayeton disclosed to Taraji.

"Wait wait, your man is slim?" Taraji asked incredulously now wondering how she didn't put the two pieces together before. Maybe she had been so worried amongst other things that she let it fly right over her head.

"How do you know him, and how you know I was talking about him?  Are they fucking?" Cayetons heart plummeted against her chest feeling like she would have a break down any moment.

"No I don't think so. I just know of him because we went to the water park over a week ago and something happened that made me think he had a thing for her. So that's the first person who came to mind. I'm sure it's nothing though." Taraji assured her now realizing maybe she spoke out of term.

Cayeton was her bestfriend, and they talked about almost everything. Some things though she just kept to herself because she had no business telling. This was one thing she should've minded her business about.

"Wait what happened?"

Taraji bit down on her bottom lip, she didn't want to withhold information from her bestfriend because Cayeton wouldn't do it to her, even if she wanted her too.

"Wait til she goes." She referred to kamaria who round the corner as they followed and she walked down slightly further before stopping infront of the flat irons and curling irons that were together.

"See I told you cay." Taraji mushed her head at the fact she told her they would be with the flat irons. Cayeton rolled her eyes crossing her arms.

"Alright here y'all go, I'm gone." kamaria chucked up the deuces as she left not bothering to say anything else as she walked around them going to the back where she was about to clock out.

"Okay tell me." Cayeton said dying to know the gossip on this girl. She felt like her track record wasn't as clean as she made it out to be.

"Well, you know the boy I mess with, Dwayne?" Taraji questioned gaining a nod from her bestfriend to continue as she searched through curling irons. "Well his younger brother Zane was trying to holla at her when we met—shit now that I think about it Dwayne was too before she shut his ass down. That's probably why he was so mad mad about me defending her a few days ago, but that's another story."

"So yeah, he was trynna holla at her but she wasn't going for it cause he was turning twenty and she only sixteen. She got a good head on her shoulders. He was still trying to talk though asking to be her friend and that's when slim popped up." She said quickly making cayetons eyebrows shoot up.

"First of all, why she trippin over a four year difference? You mess with his brother ain't that's a four year difference?" She questioned making Taraji shrug.

"Uh, I don't know I never cared to ask her. Plus, I'm almost 18 so that's different. Lil bit turned sixteen a few months ago, shit when I turned sixteen I still kept saying I was fifteen because I forgot." Taraji shrugged in her defense. "Back to it though."

"So slim popped up, and he told Zane to basically back the fuck up off of her cause she said no. Then Zane was like is he her brother and slim waved him off dismissing him—never directly answering the question—before he pulled lil bit away and it looked like he was real mad at her so I jus assumed they had a thing. Come to find out that they didn't , lil bit swears of it. I think he got a thing for her though." Taraji finished.

"And why is that?" Cayeton asked very confused making Taraji purse her lips as her dimples sunk into her face.

"You don't know the story behind them?" She questioned quickly reading the confused expression on her bestfriends face telling her she didn't. "Why he went to juvie in the first place..." she trailed off still seeing no response "you should ask him." She finally finished.

"Why can't you tell me." Cayeton said feeling a way. They told each other everything so she had no idea why this would be an exception.

"I already told you too much, you my bestfriend til the wheels fall off you know that. But I also got a soft spot for lil bit too, she like a little sister I never had, and what happened is very triggering for her. Not only that, I don't wanna tell you and tell you the story wrong and then you live on life perceiving something that's not true because I made a mistake. If slim is your man just ask him, he will tell you." Taraji explained the best she could.

Cayeton visibly deflated because she didn't tknow if it was quite true. She had a feeling he wouldn't tell her at all, and since she wasn't around when it occurred, she was one of the small portion of people who didn't know the truth.

" okay fine I'm sure he'll tell me." She said trying to convince herself as she grabbed the box with a curling iron in a with a medium sized circle sticked on the front labeled twelve dollars before they departed.

"About time." Kyaire spoke as he finished off his bag of ruffles watching his younger sister slide into his car, then slim got back in shortly after.

"My bad," was all she said not wanting to go into detail about why her brother and his bestfriend had been sitting outside for a extra ten minutes at her job waiting to pick her up.

"What took so long today lil bit?" Kyaire questioned throwing his car in reverse like a second nature as he began to back up. She sighed placing her back pack at her feet rubbing her eye lid.

"Man, ion wanna talk about it."

"Just tell me." Kyaire insisted feeling her energy shift as she stated she didn't want to talk about why she was late coming out today. Kamaria was never late because she never wanted to do anything more than get off work as fast as she could.

"Well, really it's slims fault." She started looking towards him to see him already look at her making her squint her eyes shooting daggers at him.

"The fuck I did?"

"Ya lil girlfriend Cayeton got some type of animosity with me. She made me show her where the curling irons and stuff were even though the damn isles are labeled just to waste my time, and I heard her takin bout me too. Had I not had to have shower her—plus have a petty conversation with her and ring her up, I would've finished unpacking my boxes on time to clock out." She rolled her eyes while he listened.

"Cayeton was here? Damn ian even know." He licked over his lips letting her story sink in.

"Yeah she was. The hoe messy, and y'all know I don't go for this type of shit—especially you." She pointed at Samirs chest. "Tell your bitch, if she keep playing with me imma fuck her up, point blank ." She threatened in the most calm manner ever known to Samir.

"Aye if I was you I would get that on lock. My sister don't be making empty threats." Kyaire laughed finding  it hilarious, even more at the fact that Samir didn't even have a retort for her.

"You can't even fight, dat girl will mop da floor wit you." He shrugged just to shift the mood to a more playful atmosphere. He could see the steam rolling off her shoulders.

Kamaria just chuckled calmly. "Fuck around and find out." She said once and for all making her brother smirk at her. He loved how she could hold her own, and he liked her cold demeanor too. She never let no one get too close with her.

Her and Kourtney had been main friends since for three years and kamaria still refused to refer to her as a bestfriend because she always like to say "what's understood don't need to be explained." And even Kyaire had stole the saying from her because it was so real in a sense.

"Even if my sister do lose, ya girl betta pray she don't win— cause Kourtney ass will gut ha like a fish over lil bit." Kyaire spoke his truth, he had seen it too many times before.

Kamaria was the calm one of the duo, she avoided drama as best as she could which was how Kyaire knew Cayeton really got under her skin, she never showed aggression. Kourtney though, she was always on all ten for kamaria. They couldn't count on one hand how many's fights Kourtney engulfed in from defending a kamaria. Kamaria also didn't know how many fights she had to jump in to help Kourtney when she was winning and others decided to jump in.

Kamaria smirked at her brothers words knowing he was right. Kourtney never played over her, she was like the sister she always wanted, which was why Sarai couldn't stand Kourtney.

After the short ride over to the house slim slowly opened the car door and kamaria quickly shoved him out noticing he was going slow on purpose. "Don't got time fa yo bull shit, slim. And you betta be ready by the time I'm out the shower." She slammed the car door bumping past him.

Samir couldn't do anything but smirk. Kyaire rounded the car walking next to his bestfriend which as kamaria switched to the door full of attitude unlocking it with her brothers set of keys as quick as she could.

"Look, now you got her in one of her moods. You betta fix it cause I'm not kissing ass this time, I didn't do it." Kyaire joked pushing his shoulder, but was serious.

"I didn't even do nothing though." Samir spoke with a shrug as they walked to the door opening it since kamaria had slammed it when she went inside.

"Yeah but you did at the same time, yo ass ain't make it clear that you and my sister don't got shit going on, so Cayeton got secret beef wit my sista." He shrugged making Samir smack his teeth.

"Fuck would I have to make it clear that we don't got shit going on for. We don't even act like that, she just as much as my sister as she is yours. And our parents together. I wish y'all would stop saying that shit, it's weird." Samir mugged feeling his stomach churn as the words left his mouth.

"What you getting all mad with me for. I know you don't got shit going on wit my sister—I wish you would try me like that." Kyaire frowned looking at his bestfriend like he had grown two extra heads, "At the same time, lil bit is really the only female you communicate with , not in a romantic way but just in general. Y'all comfortable with each other and y'all got a bond, especially when y'all ain't at odds with each other like recently. So that might rub the girl who is interested in you, the wrong way."

Samir ran a hand down his face. "Look ian finna lie to you, yo sister fine as hell." He pursed his lips watching a scowl grow on kyaires face.

"But, I wouldn't do that for a number of reasons. Now I do look at ha occasionally, and other people always point it out too, but that's as far as it'll get. Again, I don't want Cayeton at all. She was interested in me before she even seen what I looked like, that rubbed me the wrong way. She's got hella hopes off of jail house lies. So I really don't care what she or anybody else think bout me and lil bit, cause I know ain't shit like that is goin on between us...you hear me nigga?" Samir questioned his bestfriend.

"I mean as long as we both understand what it is, ain't no confusion. I preciate yo honesty, but if I catch you looking at my sister crazy wit my own eyes, imma fuck you up." Kyaire licked over his lips dapping him up before pulling him in momentarily.

"I'm finna head out for a minute to go check up on jayce and see what it's hittin fa . I should be back by da time you done with lil bit, and kyree should be home from practice by 5:30" he informed him.

"Aight say no more." Samir flopped on the couch while Kyaire picked up his keys from the table where kamaria evidently threw them. Kyaire left out leaving Samir in the living room and he reached for the remote.

He turned the tv on before he put on Disney channel that was playing a new show that had just come out called wizards of waverly place. He leaned back into the couch spreading his legs open as he got comfortable watching the tv waiting for kamaria.

It wasn't even four yet so they were still good on time, and he knew she had a attitude so he didn't even think to complain about waiting. He didn't even want to get tutored right now anyway as so many thoughts plagued his mind.

Was he really that see through, or was everybody just looking to much into it.

He couldn't help but think about what he heard Kourtney say, then Simone, then tameeka, now Cayeton, and even Kyaire just showed him the doubt he had as well about how close him and kamaria were. Was he the only one not seeing what everyone else saw.

He couldn't help how natural it came to them, they had know each other since they were in elementary school. He swore it wasn't like that but everyone saw it differently because he had familiarity with kamaria.

Just like his mind was plagued of kamaria she came sauntering out of her room in better spirits than before now that she had washed all the bad energy off of her, sporting light yellow silk pj shorts with a matching button up silk shirt.

The yellow looked so good against her dark chocolate colored skin. She had her new braids pulled back by two individual braids tied up in the back. He bit down on his bottom lip slightly.

"You straight now?" He questioned making her pause in her tracks turning around on her heels to face him as she blocked the plasma tv center.

"Yeah I'm good," she muttered crossing her arms across her chest refusing to apologize. She would never eat words that she 100 percent meant. "You want tater tots, I'm finna make some." She rubbed her stomach feeling hungry. It was her peace offering.

"Why you say it like that?"

"Say what, like how?" She questioned raising her eye brows in confusion since she hadn't said anything out of the ordinary.

"You say Ta-ter like Tay-Tah. Like Tayta." He kept his eyes trained on her still moving his legs calling her out, not missing how the corner of her mouth twitched trying not to smile. "Imma call you that now." He declared with a shrug.

"Uhh no you ain't, and you could've just said you ain't want none." She shut it down waving him off as she continued her stroll to the kitchen to make her tater tot's before they began.

Samir smirked though, the nickname sounded corny but he still thought it was cute, and it fit her, so he was sure that's what he would call her it from here on out. She just didn't know it yet but it would stick.

After she finished her task she went back into the living room, "kitchen or my room?" She questioned standing bringing his attention back to her. She glanced at the tv before shaking her head playfully at how invested he was in the wizard show.

"Where ever you feel like it." He ran his tongue over his bottom lip locking eyes with her. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife as he refused to look away first.

"Good, my back hurts. My room, chop chop." She clapped her hands twice before making a sharp turn, twisting to her room. Samir hoisted himself up from the couch holding the front of his pants as he followed her smoothly.

His strides were long, but quick as he made it to her room seeing her coming from her closet with her tote bag in tow. She glanced at him before crawling her bed. "I guess you can get on my bed I'll just switch the sheets later." She muttered since it was her who didn't want to sit at the kitchen table today.

She was stressed, her body was sore from work and practice and she just wanted to be comfortable while helping so that it wouldn't be as hard as it needed to be. He smiled at her facade knowing she didn't care as much as she tried to make it seem.

He slipped his Jordan's off of his feet leaving him in his clothes and his white ankle socks. "For ya information I took a shower and changed clothes before Kyaire picked up. I haven't been no where but in the car and here." He said placing his knee in the bed making it dip.

He sat on the edge on the bed rubbing his hands together, as she pulled out a black folder. "Alright so today I talked to your geometry teacher, she gave me all your missing assignments that's she's still taking but the dead lines are coming fast. She gave me a few packets that you been leaving behind in class—" she paused giving him a pointed look.

He avoided eye contact making her her shake her head. "Anyways, we can still do these together while i teach you in the process, so that way you can bring your grade back up, and continue to maintain it with your current work in the process. Your teacher informed me of everything y'all are working on right now as well as the past ones too."

"So the first thing we need to do is cover is what y'all already went over, so your not behind anymore." She explained making him nod.

"First let's start with surface area of spheres." She muttered pulling out the eldest papers from the folder to start first, "we need to do this worksheet because this dead line is the closest with it being the eldest." She told him watching him nod adjusting the gold cross chain on his neck.

"Aight cool." He agreed easily watching her retrieve a pencil for him but she got a blue pen for her self passing him the paper, and a binder to use as a hard surface.

"Write the equation for the surface area of a sphere—do you know it?" She question watching him shake his head no. She nodded with a soft smile smitten on her face "alright. A equals, four times pi, times R—which is the radius—squared." She finished.

She watched him write it down, "you got nice hand writing." She complimented seeing him write really neatly, probably the best she had ever seen. "When I went to tell your teacher about me tutoring you she seemed happy." She informed him.

He looked up slowly tilting his head. "I think she see the potential, but she told me you don't be trying." She went on while he rolled his eyes.

"Cause I don't get this shit." He grumbled shaking his head making her purse her lips.

"So you don't try, because you don't get it. Instead of trying and then asking for extra help where you struggling?" She asked to get a better understanding. He shrugged knowing she was spot on, when he didn't understand he didn't try to understand.

"And that's your problem, but don't worry. I'll help."

Thoughts and predictions? What y'all think is gonna happen? Cayeton and Taraji? What Kyaire said to Samir? How will kamaria help?

MYA OUT🫡