A Girl Like Me by Ni-Ni Simone Read Free Book Online Page B

hair to the back.
    â€œTwo brothers and two sisters. I’m the oldest and my sisters are twins. And you?”
    â€œAll brothers and I’m the youngest.”
    â€œYeah?”
    â€œYeah, it’s five of us.”
    â€œWhat? It’s five of us,” I said, a little too excited.
    â€œYou like having a big family?”
    â€œNot really,” I said. “If I wasn’t the oldest, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œBecause then I wouldn’t have to take care of everything and everybody.”
    â€œYou take care of everything and everybody? Why?”
    I paused. I was becoming a little too comfortable. “No reason. My mother just works all the time.”
    â€œWhere’s your dad?”
    â€œDead,” I said too quickly for him not to think I was lying, so I changed the subject. “Your concert was the truth,” I smiled. “Word up, you did your thing.”
    â€œYou, too, Li’l Ma. You looked soooooo pretty out there. And when you started singing, did you hear the crowd go wild? You got talent, Li’l Ma, for real.”
    Was Haneef sayin’ I had talent? I believe he was. “Thank you,” I blushed.
    â€œHow long have you been singing?” he asked me.
    â€œSince I was five.” I told him the story of how I would sing all the time, skipping the times and leaving out stories of how my mother had me singing for drug dealers so she could get drugs. And before I knew it, we were kicking it like old friends. Like he was just a regular ole dude. And I couldn’t believe it. He made me feel so comfortable that home seemed a world away.
    This was crazy. Not only was I with the number one hip-hop sensation, but I was chillin’ with him. Kickin’ it. Laughing and talking. Exchanging stories like it could possibly go further than this moment, or further than tonight, but knowing for sure that things in my life never worked out like that. So I took it for what it was worth and enjoyed—whatever this was.
    Haneef cut on the radio and the commercial for the radio contest was playing the winning song I sang, stopping right before my mother wrecked my life on the phone. “Listen at you, girl. And here I thought I was hot.”
    I rolled my eyes to the sky. “Sweat yourself, why don’t you?!” I joked…I hoped I didn’t sound stupid.
    â€œYou really wrote that song you were singing?”
    Out of embarrassment, I held my head down. “Yes.”
    He lifted my chin. “That was beautiful.”
    â€œThank you.”
    Haneef smiled and pulled me softly to his chest. “Yo, you know what I want you to do?” he said as we started to slow dance to the music playing on the radio.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œWhen you drop your first CD, I want you to write a song and dedicate it to me.”
    I cracked up. “And call it what?”
    â€œLove Letter,” he laughed. “What else? And be like this is for my boo, Haneef.”
    Was he serious? “My boo?” I said, taken aback. “Uhmmm, I’ma be like this is to please a fan.”
    â€œA fan?” he frowned, as we continued to dance.
    â€œYeah, a fan.”
    After a few moments of silence, he said, “I want you to sing to me.”
    My eyes lit up with such delight, there were no words to describe how I felt. There I was with the man of my dreams in the middle of the sea, and he wanted to dance with me. He placed his hands around my waist and I locked my fingers around his neck and looked directly in his eyes.
    The moon shone on us like a spotlight as we swayed back and forth. I was in heaven.
    â€œYou have a beautiful voice,” he insisted. “And I would love to hear it again.”
    I swallowed, took a deep breath, closed my eyes, followed the melody floating around in my head, and sang about this being more than just a silly crush.
    After the song ended, he said, “That was hot.” He