"Now these joints?" Koi said, holding up one of the Air Jordan Retro's that Wish had on display. He held them up to Derrick, nodding. "Yas Bitch..."
Laughing, he placed the back on the illuminated display case, hoping that Derrick would finally choose a damn pair of kicks so they could get the hell
on. They'd gotten the basement closed off so they could shop in peace, but he couldn't help but notice that the sales associate that was tending to
them was getting shifty. Probably thinking that they'd made them keep the store's shoe basement open past store hours so they could window shop. Fuck
that. Koi never window shopped. Now Derrick, on the other hand? He'd been shifty and indecisive the entire damn day. They'd gone to shoot hoops over
in Weimai and he couldn't figure out if he wanted to play a pick up or 1-on-1. THEN, they went for food and he could figure that shit out either.
Now...shoes?
"Eh..." Nudging Derrick, he picked up another shoe, turning it around in his hand. "You here? You've been tuned out all day..." Which, Koi wanted to
continue with, was madd rude as they were out FOR HIM, considering Koi was trying to make up for Derrick's birthday night. He'd vanished with Devyn
and hadn't taken a look back, missing the rest of his boy's party...which was fucked up. Considering Derrick never missed his parties. And considering
Derrick had also held it down on Koi's birthday night. Every shot, every line...Derrick was right there with him. So, Koi kind of owed him...although
he wouldn't allude to why or what as he'd skirted around the "where and what" he was doing when he'd disappeared.
"You still pissed at me?" He asked grimacing a little as he waited for Derrick's answer.
He wasn't gone fake, he was salty as hell...Not as salty as he probably would have been if he hadn't fucked out his frustration with Taylor for the
last couple days, but he was mad none the less. And he wanted to make sure Koi knew that shit. Not about Taylor, of course. He still needed Koi to
feel like he wasn't coming in second (even though he always was). Nah, not about Taylor, but he did want the kid to know he peeped the fuccked up shit
he pulled on his birthday. So yeah, he hit him up. And yeah, Derrick spent most of the day giving the nigga short answers and dry laughs at his dumb
ass jokes. And he wasn't done with it, his attention on Wish's collections of Foamposites as Koi tried talking to him again...Fuckboy.
Derrick sighed as the Kidd nudged him and asked if he was there. "Yeah, I'm here. They aiight." He honestly wouldn't know because he hadn't turned
around to look. He was gonna freeze this nigga out until the perfect moment to...And there it was. You still pissed at me? Derrick allowed
himself to smirk before wiping it off his face and turning to finally face Koi.
"Not because you skipped out on a really dope party, nah -," he was baiting him. Setting him up for a cold ass finish. "Because you a liar, Kidd."
Koi's grimace turned into a scowl as Derrick faced him, his face stone-set, unsmiling. Otherwise known as the look he'd been wearing the entire damned
day. Wasn't Derrick tired of holding a grudge with his boy? Okay, so it had only been a day or so, but Derrick had made it a point to not say a single
word to Koi until that day. And that was only because Koi invited him out! A white flag, if you will...which Derrick was pretty much shitting on. Koi
couldn't really blame him though as he knew he would've been equally as annoyed if the tables had turned. He got it...he just didn't like it.
Especially as Derrick was never this mad Koi. Like...never. This shit was new and it was all sorts of uncomfortable as Koi laughed and joked
like they normally did...and got shot down every time by Derrick's saltiness. He knew it was selfish as fuck...but, he kind of wanted his boy back.
His "never bothered, talkative ass nigga" friend instead of this pissed, moody as fuck dude that was killing their bro-trip. And even though Derrick's
expression was murder, at least he was talking. Right?
Wrong. His voice was spitting as much salt as his expression was, Koi's eyes widening at the reason behind Derrick's anger. What the- what
was this silly nigga TALKING about?Koi was a liar? And his reasoning was what? Koi's eyes widened as he chuckled, his surprise at Derrick's words
completely understandable in his book.
"You shittin me, right?" He asked, his voice lowering as girl that was helping them out stared at them blatantly, her eyes not even averting as she
sniffed out the first scent of obvious drama.
"A liar. Wow." He nodded again, but for a reason that had nothing to do with fly sneakers. His boy called him a liar, which if Koi could be real
transparent, was one of those words you never called someone that you thought of as a friend. That shit was a punch in the gut, Koi not really knowing
where it came from of why Derrick thought that it needed to be a new adjective in a list of things that described who Koi was.
Yeah, he said it. Koi Kidd was a liar. He had lied about he and Devyn being “just homies”. He had lied about not giving a shit what people thought
of he and Devyn. And, as much as he hated to believe it, Derrick was starting to believe he was lying about smashing the “homie”. Not with how
she and Koi had been fucking lip locked in the middle of his party after the kid stole his dance. And then their disappearing act? Derrick knew damn
well they hadn’t snuck off to fucking dye each others hair…Derrick offered Koi a “Kanye shrug” as he asked if Derrick was being real with him.
He 100% meant what he said and he knew what buttons he was pressing.
“What do you mean how do I figure? I straight up ask you what’s up with you and Devyn and you feed me some bullshit? Me? You trying to tell me you
don’t think that’s fucked up.” Koi knew it was, but Derrick also knew what his response to his “bitching” was going to be. “And don’t
say it’s none of my damn business, because we both know that, but you could have just said that shit at first.” He had a point. Even if he
didn’t really care about making it because, Koi being a liar was far from what Derrick had a problem with.
“And yeah, maybe I’m a little bit mad about you ditching the party...But I might have expected it if you’d’ve been straight with me
in the first place.” He stepped closer to him, “You acting different bruh, and now I know it’s because Devyn got you whipped.” If
he’d been a battle rapper that would have been when he dropped the mic on his bitch ass. Derrick shook his head, selling his disdain for the “new
Koi” and moving back into his own space. He let his words hang in the air and work on the Kidd the way he knew they were going to.
It really would have been nice if Derrick didn't ask him dumb ass questions. Koi'd said what he meant. How do YOU figure? Meaning that he
didn't get the stupidity in Derrick's assumption that he was a liar. A fucking liar. Strong ass words with barely any reasoning behind them. Because
the truth was clear. Koi didn't owe anyone details about his life and his decisions. He was fucking accountable to Derrick. He never had been and he
never would be. This wasn't fucking Life Addicts Anonymous and Derrick wasn't his "sponsor". And Koi wasn't a liar. He told Derrick to miss the hell
out of Ansley Roberts, the underclassman with a recurring case of crabs. And when he wanted to get permanent golds, Koi talked him out of that shit.
And oh! The whole "I want to keep weed in my locker" during sophomore year? Who ran the length of the campus just to warn his boy about the locker
raid? KOI. That's who. But he was a liar now?
"It's not." Koi answered, his mouth opening to say the very thing that Derrick said next. And don't say it's not my damn business... Why?
Because it wasn't. Koi never held back on telling Derrick the things he needed to hear. Because it concerned Derrick and because Koi always looked out
for his boy. But Koi's business...was just that. Koi's. It didn't concern people it didn't involve. Hell, even Dhonny didn't have a clue, the rant he
spewed off at Koi when he mentioned Devyn's pregnancy scare still ringing in his ears. Koi, unlike Derrick, had some shit that he kept close to his
fucking chest. And he didn't feel bad about and he wasn't going to let Derrick try and make him either.
"Don't tell me what I could've said about my business..." Koi hissed, his eyes going back to the attendant, a warning for her to mind her own turning
her head. He sucked his teeth as Derrick continued to bitch at him about his "feels". The fuck was this whole situation anyway? Derrick pissed off
because Koi omitted shit about his own life? Why was this getting under his skin like it was?
Huh. That was why. Whipped? Did he just fucking say that word to Koi? WHIPPED? Koi stared at Derrick, the warning in his eyes present.
"I told you about that word..." Koi grunted as he watched Derrick's bold ass back away from him, moving back into his own space.
"And I don't see why you have to use it every time I ditch you for Devyn. What the fuck is your issue with her, huh?"
Oh was somebody getting a little in his feelings? Good. At least he wasn’t the only one. Derrick was man enough to admit he was still mad as hell
that Koi had cut in on his dance that was about to become so much more. He had been mere seconds from getting his fingers in it and
the Kidd swooped in like the King of Cockblocks he was. Deep down Derrick wanted to believe that Koi hadn’t beat that night. That he wasn’t a
complete asshole and he hadn’t fucked Devyn while she wasn’t in her right mind...could happen right?
It really wasn’t relevant to the conversation they were having now. Right now the Kidd had death in his eyes, ready to tear Derrick a new one yet
again for telling the truth. Devyn had had him wrapped around her little finger since the first time Derrick laid eyes on the two of them together.
Koi wanted her and was willing to do anything she asked to have her. Derrick could say that shit because it was fucking true. He’d seen Koi
literally hand her $50 from his gotdamn wallet simply because she’d asked him for it. That wasn’t the Koi Kidd Derrick knew. The Koi Kidd Derrick
knew, would have told her she could work for it and directed her to his dick. He was really gonna play like he wasn’t acting brand new?
“Are you even listening to yourself talk, bruh? You don’t see why I get pissed off everytime you ditch me? Are you serious?” Derrick
had started talking with his hands, really selling this outrage bit. TO be quite honest Derrick did pretty well on his own without Koi. Yeah, he
missed his wingman sometimes. The two of them barely shot the shit like they used to, but guess what? If that was fine with the Kidd, it could be
doubly fine for Derrick. He wasn’t out here begging for nobody’s attention.
“My problem ain’t with Devyn. It’s with you and your inability to see shit right in front of you. Why you so hell bent on not admitting you got
love for Dev? We all see it. You the only nigga that ain’t acknowledged it yet.”
Oh, but Derrick was about to make him. Koi was going to leave here fully aware of just how tight a hold Devyn had on him...and in true Kidd fashion,
he was going to run from it.
This...was really fucking stupid. The conversation was wearing on Koi's nerves, hearing Derrick complain about shit that wasn't even valid. He'd been
tired as hell from a day of "silent treatment" and now, this? The reason finally coming out and it being something that they'd already discussed. This
issue with him being some sort of wrapped up in Devyn...which Koi was calling straight up "malarkey"...only because it kept him from calling it truth.
But it wasn't truth, even though Derrick was killing himself to make it so. Really though? His boy was on some bitch shit and if Koi wasn't straining
himself trying to keep the sting out of his comebacks, he would've told Derrick so. But he tried to play it cooler than Derrick was, his hands
emphasizing the fact that he was more than pissed at Koi. Rolling his eyes, Koi's brow furrowed even more in irritation.
"Hesitant to do what? Sweat her like y'all niggas be sweatin' her?" He spat back, his chill waning as Derrick kept pushing buttons that were about to
get him in a real fucked up predicament. Why THE FUCK was it even Derrick's business how he saw Devyn? And when did he become the mother fucking say
so on how and when Koi needed to admit it? There was no thirst to be had because Koi understood what they had. They were friends. Yeah, the kicked it.
But that's what they were. Because more than anything, Devyn understood too. And that understanding was a hell of a lot more important than some
fucked up title. Or emotions. She stopped pressing the shit that she couldn't change. Like how Derrick needed to stop pressing the shit as well!
"It's not your fucking business what happens between us...I mean...me and Dev." He corrected himself, scowling as Derrick looked at him like he knew
shit that Koi didn't.
"And fuck am I supposed to be acknowledging?! Something you THINK you see?"
Derrick rolled his eyes as Koi spoke up, accusing him of sweating Devyn like he did. Ha. As if anyone could thirst after Devyn Devereaux the way Koi
did. Not that Derrick blamed him, Devyn was one of the baddest to ever do it, but Koi jumping up on his fucking high horse and thinking he was better
than the rest of the niggas that sweat her? Good night. He could miss him with the bullshit. Besides, Derrick sweating her wasn’t up for debate. He
was more than willing to admit that he was interested in Devyn. Interested in being more than her damn homie. More than Koi was to her...in fact...
“I’m man enough to admit I want her. She fine as fuck in every aspect and she chill as hell. Why you won’t do so much as say that shit is
fucking beyond me.” Boom, truth. Nothing new either. Koi knew what it was with Derrick as he’d caught him licking his lips at Devyn’s ass plenty
of times. He wanted her. Probably more than Koi realized, but that was neither here nor there. Koi was still talking, telling Derrick yet again that
it wasn’t his business what happened between…
Derrick allowed himself to give a short laugh, listening to Koi correct his use of the word “us”, to “me and Devyn”. He shook his head,
speaking over the Kidd as he finished up with his denial. “We just gonna gloss over how you fixed yourself just then? Okay-,” he nodded, an amused
scoff on his lips, “I didn’t even say anything and you knew what you meant by “us”...Just say it, Kidd. You’ll feel better.”
Did Derrick give a shit if he felt any better about dodging his feelings for Devyn? Not at all. She also knew he wasn’t going to give him the
satisfaction of admitting shit about Devyn. He didn’t have to. It wasn’t the point. All Derrick needed to do was get the Kidd thinking.
Koi wasn't admitting shit. Especially the kind of shit that wasn't true. Derrick's spill about how "man" enough he was to admit about wanting
Devyn a waste of Koi's time because it didn't have shit to do with him. Great. Derrick was thirsting after yet ANOTHER one of Koi's girls. Sure. That
was something new. Wanting to wife up to someone that he wasn't ever going to fucking get was real admirable...and desperate. But that wasn't
KOI...especially when he knew...hell, everyone knew that Koi Kidd didn't DO titles...and Devyn was included. Devyn was his best friend and granted,
they were magnetic when they got together, but that was it. There would never be any title shit going on between them...because Koi wanted it to STAY
the way it was. The way they were? Couples didn't stay that happy. They didn't stay that transparent with each other either. There were things that
he'd told Devyn that people hid from their "significant others" on purpose. Because of judgement. Because of secrecy. Hell, just because they felt
like it. But he didn't have to hide with Devyn. They were good... And he could keep being good to her without the stupidity of adding some
name to her that in the end, wouldn't amount to a fucking thing.
Koi ignored Derrick's comment, taking a seat in one of the plush chairs in the room. The arguing was not what he signed up for when he'd taken Derrick
out that day. Koi'd hoped that Derrick would sweep his birthday night under the rug and they'd move the fuck on. But no. Today was becoming "admit you
have feelings for Devyn" day. And Koi was over it. Especially when all the talking and arguing had his tongue tying, dropping words like "we" and "us"
while he was talking about Devyn in front of Derrick. He couldn't say that in front of his boy because only Koi and Devyn knew what "us" meant. People
(like Derrick's ass) took that shit and ran with it, like he was doing now...driving home his point YET again. THIS was why he didn't let Derrick in
on his business. Because the nigga had NO CHILL! Everything was black or white with his boy and there was NO gray area. Either he was with Devyn or he
wasn't. Either he was the same ole' Koi or his wasn't. It was irritating the shit out of Koi that he had to give answers about shit that wasn't even
Derrick's business!
"Motherfucker, kill all that shit!" Koi's voice rose, echoing as silence fell in the room. The associate's eyes were as wide as fucking doughnuts
before she said something about giving them a moment to make their final purchases and dipped out.
"Ain't nobody making fucking declarations of love when there AREN'T declarations to make. I'm done fucking talking about it!" With a frown, he fell
silent again, a faint pain at his temples making him anxious to get the hell out of that store and drop that nigga back off at his house.
Motherfucker, kill all that shit!. Oop. Derrick had struck a deep nerve. Just the one he was looking for to be honest. Koi was on
edge, and right now Derrick just knew he was straining himself trying to think off more excuses for not admitting his love for Dev, not only to
Derrick, but to himself. Koi Kidd didn’t do titles. Everybody knew it, but few knew it was because he was scared as shit of it. Not that he cared,
but Derrick was a little curious as to why he would be. Kidd? Born with a silver fucking spoon in his mouth to an NBA legend and a completely badass
MILF that was the wifey niggas dreamed of? Derrick used to think he didn’t title them because he wasn’t a one chick kind of dude. Hell, Derrick
knew first hand that he wasn’t a one chick kind of dude, but Devyn? Dev had changed the game...Speaking of game changing…
Derrick threw his hands up in surrender as Koi yelled about being done with this conversation. Derrick was finished too. He had Koi exactly where he
wanted him, thinking about his “non-relationship” with Devyn and questioning who is is and who he used to be. Having an existential crisis and
shit. Ha. He sighed, shaking his head as he prepared for his fake ass apology. He was done pushing.
“Ah, shit, Kidd...I’m tripping. I mean…-,” he paused again, licking his lips and biting back the “truth”. “I guess I’m a little more
pissed than I thought about the party...it’s not even that big of a deal, bruh...My bad.”
Bullshit. It was all bullshit, but the Kidd didn’t need to know that. Derrick sighed leaning against one of the displays as he hung his head, his
eyes finding the floor as he let a silence settle. He would give the Kidd a minute to bask in his apology and then…
...I'm tripping. Well, Koi couldn't deny it...Derrick was right about that shit. He was tripping. So far up Koi's ass about shit that didn't
even concern him that he was about to lose more than a fucking ride home. Koi glared at him through narrowed eyes as he explained himself, talking
about the butt hurt that he was still feeling about Koi dipping out of his party. Figures. Koi smirked as Derrick admitted to his feelings
still being hurt, leaning forward in the chair as he stared at him. He knew Derrick was up in his feelings, but to project it onto Devyn? That was
fucked up. But it was expected. Derrick liked to be the center of attention and Koi had kind of stripped him of that at his own birthday party. It was
kind of messed up, he could admit that. But they needed to move past that and bringing up shit about Koi's feelings for Devyn was NOT the move.
Thankfully, it seemed that Derrick was moving past it, his apology coming soon after.
"Yeah. Your bad." Koi repeated, letting the quiet fall between them for a second. Shit, he couldn't even be mad at Derrick. He wanted to be,
especially with him pressing Koi the way he had been moments before. But...Koi couldn't be mad at him. Not over this.
"Are we done?" He asked, a short laugh leaving him as he got up from his seat and walked to where Derrick was standing, grabbing him into a loose,
playful headlock, rubbing his short fade roughly.
"Because if you're done with that buuulllshit..." He let him go, laughing. "Then we cool." Koi meant that. He understood anger. He got it. And could
forgive that. But he hoped that Derrick understood something unspoken. "Devyn and Koi" weren't up for discussion. Ever. Koi was done hearing opinions
from Derrick.
"Since you done being sensitive, pick a couple of pairs and let's get out of here."
![[*]](images/davis/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
