Page 16 of Dima
“What’s funny?”
I was instantly annoyed. He hadn’t said a thing to me the whole ride but found something to laugh about.
“You know you don’t have to be so stiff around me, right?”
“Stiff? I’ve never been stiff.”
“You are right now. Look at you sitting at attention and shit. Why you scared of me?”
“I’ve been around a lot scarier men than you. I’m not scared of you, Dima.”
“Good, because I don’t want you to be.”
“Just because I’m not like the hos you’re used to, that doesn’t mean I’m scared or afraid.”
“You are a funny girl, Maeve. Always trying to win when I haven’t even set a challenge.”
“As long as you know I’ll win.”
I didn’t know why I was always snappy around Dima. It seemed like I had to put up this attitude to keep me from wanting to be close to him.
Dima brought out something in me that I wasn’t ready for. The way he made me feel made me want to know him. I changed the subject to salvage the little conversation we were having.
“Where are you from?”
“I’m from Jackson. I grew up in the Queens.”
“How come I never seen you around?”
“I guess we never ran in the same circles. I mean, you didn’t technically grow up in the hood now, did you?”
“Something tells me you didn’t grow up in the hood either.”
“You don’t know nothing about me.”
“Which is why I’m asking you these questions. I need to know where you come from before I can fully trust you because, right now, it feels like you’re hiding something, and that’s fishy.”
“I’m not hiding anything, Maeve. If I was, don’t you think Guard would have found out by now?”
He had me there. If he was hiding something, Guard would have definitely been on top of that. It wasn’t much he missed when it came to protecting this family.
“I guess you’re right about that.”
“I know I am. Where is your mom?”
Instead of telling me the first thing about him, Dima caught me off guard with a question of his own. It was something that I thought he knew because everybody else in the city did.
“She passed,” I said, looking down into my lap.
I hoped not looking at him would make wherever this conversation was going easier. I could see the sympathy in his eyes when I looked up. That sympathy told me he really had no idea what happened to my mother. It told me he regretted asking the question, but it was too late to take it back.
“I’m sorry, Maeve. I didn’t know.”
“Yeah. I guess you didn’t.”
I adjusted myself in the seat before letting my body fully relax. I knew this wouldn’t be the end, and if I was going to talk about my mama, I at least needed to be relaxed. I wouldn’t be able to open up in that way without loosening up.
“You want to talk about her?”
