I looked at the News in amazement learning that Ri’s shop had burned down to the ground. It was crazy that just a few weeks before that, it was thriving and now it was dust. I kind of felt bad for him, but then when I thought about I didn’t really feel that bad after learning that he was selling drugs to kids. That day that I went with Flame, I had never seen anything like that before. Sure, I had saw strung out adults but to see babies addicted to drugs was something that was so gruesome and sad to me.
The news reporter when on and on about the fire while until her segment was over and they were on to the next story. Flame slept comfortably beside me ignoring the fact that I was hooping and hollering about this damn fire. I shook him gently and he ignored by advances and then it got a little rougher. I could tell that he wasn’t really sleeping anyway.
“Babe!” I yelled, and he jumped up with a scowl on his face. He hated to be wakened up even if he was fake sleeping.
“Isn’t it so crazy that Ri’s shop burnt down to the ground, just two weeks after you payed him that visit,” I asked, getting up and fastening my robe around my body.
“I don’t know,” he said, brushing me off and rolling back over.
I thought about the day that he had come clean to me about his childhood and the house fire that his foster parents had died in. Though he hadn’t set the fire, he didn’t stop it either rightfully so. The wheels in my head were now turning as I wondered if I had indeed been sleeping with the fireman.
Flame could smell me thinking up a storm and he turned over, sat up and faced me.
“You know I would jeopardize anything that you have or implicate you in anything right?” he asked me seriously.
I went and sat beside him not sue of what to say if he was telling me what I thought he was.
We sat quietly for a moment, but our silence spoke volumes. Flame hadn’t come out and told me anything, but his silence told me everything that I needed to know.
“So, what now?” he asked as if he was stuck just like I was.
Silence.
“We keep going. As long as that part of your life doesn’t affect me, we are good. Just be safe and remember that you can’t be the hood vigilante forever,” I rested my head on his shoulder and for a moment we just sat, one delicate kiss he placed on my forehead, letting me know that he had heard me.