The Personal Trainer's Ex-Girlfriend

The First Moment

Kehlani

As I stare at the ongoing screen of my TV while the vocals of moans and something hitting against the wall become existent, I pick up the remote to turn up the volume as I watch The New Edition Story that I still have on my DVR. I chortle at the part when the barber accidentally gave Bobby the Gumby haircut. Guffawing at the scene, I notice a five text messages on the messages icon on my phone and I tap on the icon to read five separate messages from the girls that our twenty first anniversary of our friendship is approaching on this week of Saturday. I respond to them that we should watch Spice World, Waiting to Exhale, or B*A*P*S.

After that, I begin to slumber with the thought of Blake surfacing in my mind as the collection of memories start to play one moment in the beginning of the hot and humid season in the year of 2006.

It is around the time school has already ended while seniors graduated from high school and some of the jovial kids grin as they receive their own ice cream cones from Mr. Softee that has been playing the ice cream jingle around the block that can still be heard in the further block in a distance. The sun brightens at the roof, casting the shadows of the leaves as the smoke from the grill advances through the air while "Summertime" by the Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff is blasting through the speakers. My home-girls from the Burg are spending time with me while their brothers are hangin' with mine outside. The girls and I giggle while we're dancing when my Mom calls with her hand semi-circling around her mouth, "Kehlani! I need you in the kitchen!" I tell the girls that I will be right back and I run from the backyard to the inside of the house where several members of my family are cooking up a storm for the guests from our neighborhood.

"Kehlani, sweetie, I need you to carry the brownies and hand them out for the new neighbors because they just moved to this neighborhood." Mom reasons and I nod just as I carry a bowl of peanut butter brownies around the same time the doorbell is heard. "That must be them!" Mom excitingly squeals and claps her hands together before they wipe on the apron. I follow suit from the kitchen to the hallway of our house and Mom opens the door to reveal Steven, who I acquainted with during sixth grade.

"Hey, Steven!" I greet him with a one arm hug. After our hug, my Mom invites Steven in her arms while his arms are around hers before he pulls away from her. "Hey, Steven!"

"Thank you for coming, Steven! Would you like to have a brownie?" I offer and almost immediately, Steven picks the brownie out of the bowl and devours the chocolate treat as if he's feasting a hidden and forbidden area of a female. In the corner of my eye, I notice my Mom placing her hands on her hips, jutting her hip with a disapproving look on her face. "Does your mother know that you're becoming increasingly hormonal, Steven?" Mom lightly lectures, eyeing him.

"And that's the same thing I wondered!" Steven, my Mom, and I turn to Steven's mother and step-father along with his three step-siblings, who they just live down the hill from us in River Road. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Floyd!" I greet Steven's family with a hug and so does my Mom, too.

"Hey, Kehlani," is merely the introduction his siblings give me since they go to the same school as him and I.

"So, Kehlani, my cousins are coming here today and I'm hoping if there are any more food left because I haven't ate yet and neither do my cousins for the reason that we had to help them with their stuff." Steven rubs his stomach as if he's impatient to wait for the food to be ready.

"Well, there are some foods outside in the back. My Uncle Mohammad is flipping some burgers." I mention, putting the bowl of brownies back on the counter and walk with Steven to the backyard to discover chatting, dancing, and playing badminton before realizing "I Like the Way (The Kissing Game)" by Hi-Five is already beginning. I then discover the girls singing along the lyrics and I run to them, singing along with them as the six of us drape our arms around each other in addition to swaying from side to side. Midway through the song, Chaiza stops dancing and I notice her eyeing at Steven with a flirty wink and her teeth nibbles onto her bottom lip. I turn to Steven, who is basically grazing his tongue against his bottom lip at her before his gaze dips to her zaftig figure.

"Damn, girl! What's your name, beautiful? Because you look like you just stepped out of the Jet magazine because you are sincerely a beauty of the week!" Steven compliments.

"My name is Lactose Intolerant and I'm allergic to cheesy pick-up lines," I notice Steven's once confident smirk falters into a disappointing frown. The girls and I begin guffawing at his reaction. "No, I'm Chaiza and I was born in the jungle of Brazil." I doubtfully roll my eyes and smirk at Chaiza's suddenly amusing statement. I look at the girls sneaking giggles and chortles.

"Pffft! No, you weren't!" Sasha sputters, causing me and the girls to snicker. "You were born in the Williamsburg Family Health Center." Adriane reveals and we burst out laughing.

"No, I wasn't! I was born in the jungle of Brazil since I'm the Afro-Brazilian princess, who loves to have a jungle fever in the wilderness!" Chaiza drfends devoutly.

"Steven, these are my home-girls from the Burg; Giselle, Sasha, Adriane, Laia, and Chaiza." I contently introduce.

"The Burg? As in Williamsburg, Brooklyn?"

"Yes, you gavoon! Sometimes we see some of the surviving cugines cruising in multiple streets of Brooklyn."

"Yeah, that's right," the girls clamor in agreement. "Damn, I knew you were from Brooklyn because of your accent!" Steven comments.

"That's where we represent from!" I drape my arms on top of Giselle and Sasha as I feel one of their arms resting on top of mine along with Adriane, Laia, and Chaiza joining in.

"Yo, Cousin Steven!" A young male's ringing voice calls, causing Steven, my friends, and I to turn to the right direction where a guyc, who is around our age. And I must admit; my gaze is fixated at him in addition to realizing that he has his natural ash blonde hair in a buzz cut just like Steven because they sure do look like twins. Once his eyes avert from his cousin to my friends and lastly to me, I could've sworn his eyes burn right through my soul. Just like Steven, he licks his lips before he slowly displays a sexy warm smile at me. I hook a strand of curl on top of my ear and nibble onto my bottom lip, cracking my knuckles as I begin to chuckle so nervously because this is the first actual time I begin to develop my feelings about a boy I am set to be acquainted with.

"Earth to KeKe!" My trance is cut off by a hand waving from side to side in front of my eyes. Blinking owlishly, I start to refocus on the present. "Your name is KeKe?" The fine natural ash blonde cutie furrows his eyebrows.

"No, I'm actually Kehlani. Only my friends call me KeKe." I correct.

"Well, Kehlani, it is such a pleasure to meet you. My name is--" Just as he is about to say his name, the intro of the song "Party and Bullshit" by our hometown legend, the Notorious BIG, even though he was from Bed-Stuy. Despite living in different areas of Brooklyn; it actually takes twenty one minutes of driving distance from the building where the girls and i used to live to where Biggie was born and raised. Hell, even my Mom used to live in that area back in the day with her siblings.

We begin rapping along the lyrics and perceive some of the young adults situating themselves in a much provocative dance that I am awefully familiar to witness at school dances. "My name is Blake!" He yells over the loud music.

"Nice to meet you, Blake! Do you want something to drink?" I recommend and he nods. I rap along the lyrics while I make a cup for him and me from the drink dispenser. Filling a cup of lemonade for Blake, I then make a cup for myself when I hear him intriguingly question, "So, you're from Brooklyn, right?"

"I'm actually from the Burg just like my home-girls." I correct him.

"The what?" Blake queries with his face in a puzzled expression. "The Burg. As in, Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It's known for being the neighborhood of hipsters such as the street art, chic boutiques, trendy cafes, and buzzy restaurants. Have you ever heard of Bedford-Stuyvesant?" I question.

"I know Biggie Smalls was from Bedford-Stuyvesant." Blake mutters, scratching the small of his neck. "Well, Williamsburg is up north above Bed-Stuy," I assure and Blake stares at me with his eyes widening and his mouth ajar. "Is that right?"

I slowly nod and smirk at him to see his priceless reaction. "Dead ass."

"You really live up north from Bed-Stuy? You and your friennds actually live near a local legend," Blake interestingly chuckles. "You guys are cool lucky chicks, Kehlani."

"Thanks. Where were you from?" I query.

"My family and I moved here from Glen Cove. We lived there for sixteen years."

"Wow," I hand him his drink as he thank me and I have my own in my hand, walking back to my friends to see Chaiza squatting with her butt against Steven's crotch while the girls are dancing. "Yo, guys!" I call and they turn their heads at Blake and I. "This is Blake--"

"And he is my cousin." Steven finishes my sentence. I introduce Blake to the girls and Sasha straightforwardly inquiries, "So, Blake, do you have a brother, who is single? If so, is he younger or older?"

"Sasha!" The girls and I reply in unison.

"What?" Sasha giggles and shrugs. I shake my head and laugh around the same time, a flaxen girl with the resemblance of Blake along with another girl and boy walks to where we are. "Ladies, these are my brother and sisters; Doug, Charlotte, and Gracie." Blake represents and we all say hi to them. I notice Charlotte communicating to Gracie with her hands and she nods, comprehending Charlotte.

"Can she speak?" Sasha queries. "Sasha!" Adriane scolds and jabs her on the shoulder, causing Sasha to yell, "Ow!"

"No, it's alright. Gracie is unable to hear, but she can speak. She's unable to hear ever since birth." Charlotte explains.

"Where did you learn how to sign language from?" I query.

"Our Mom. She used to learn ASL, meaning American Sign Language through our next door neighbors because her husband and three out of five children are deaf back in Glen Cove and she would teach us how to communicate with Gracie by exchanging information with our hands." Blake clarifies.

"If you guys are not busy, can you teach my girls and me to do sign language? It would be interesting to learn sign language." I acknowledge and Blake along with his sisters are beaming at us.

"Hell, yeah! It would be so cool for Gracie to make some friends because she doesn't really have any friends at our old school." Charlotte adds. I feel bad for Gracie because no person deserves to be neglected in the crowd. Turning to face their brother, he seems to gawk at Sasha because I turn to Sasha exchanging a grin with Doug.

"Damn! I love me some chocolate girls and you are my treat." Doug flirts.

"And you're making me crave for white chocolate men and boys." Sasha giggles and I feel my cheeks heating up as I imagine my cheks going red.

"Damn it, Sasha!" I giggle embarrassingly as Blake's stare never leaves me. "What? It's true, girl!" Sasha defends.

"So, where do you guys live?" Laia speaks. "Our house is just across from yours." Charlotte answers and it begins to click in back when my Mom asks me to hand out the brownies for our new neighbors, equalling them. "You guys are our new neighbors?" I question.

"Yeah! Do you guys live here with Kehlani?" Charlotte queries.

"No, we visit here for the summer time. Adriane drove us here and sometimes KeKe and her family come out to the Burg." Giselle explains.

"The Burg?" Charlotte shares the exact reaction as her big brother minutes ago. "Yeah, the Burg as in, Williamsburg, Brooklyn." Adriane joins in.

"They live in the Williamsburg area above where Biggie Smalls lived." Blake tells his siblings along with using his hands, so Gracie can understand. Shocked, Charlotte signs something to Gracie, probably signaling her hands to tell her what Blake just said.

"You guys live in the same city as the Notorious BIG?" Doug questions.

"Get the f**k out of here! There is no way!" Charlotte doubts.

"No, dead ass, girl! We actually live in the same city, but different area of Brooklyn." Laia elucidates.

"Oh, we are going to be the best of friends! I have got to tell my friends back home that you guys live in an area above Biggie Smalls!" Charlotte excitingly squeals. "And where do you guys get your clothes from? They are absolutely stylish and on point."

"Thanks, Char! We got them from Rainbows and dots. Kehlani and Mrs. Brown, who is her mom, took us to a shopping center that is not even that mad far from here as well as the other shopping center in Patchogue. It's located near McDonalds." Giselle recommends.

"Wow, thank you for the suggestion! There weren't really that much shopping centers back home. Our parents moved us out here after our Mom caught this pervert right here," Charlotte points her finger at Blake.

"Doing the bedroom rodeo with a girl dropping it like it's hot on top of him. She was like this!" Charlotte situates herself in a lower squatting position, rolling her hips in a circular motion. Shocked, my eyes glance from one side to the other if there are some guests are wtnessing the inappropriate s*x moves. So, we're the only teenagers that are snickering and I notice Blake's face turning scarlet.

"Damn it, Charlotte! Why do you have to throw me under the bus?" Blake sneers.

"I had to say it and it's entertaining." Charlotte points out and we laugh. From then on that hot afternoon; friendships are made and attractions are increasing in addition to learning how to interact with Gracie.

Bam! The memories of how I met Blake and his cousin along with his siblings are now transporting me back to the present time as I rouse in my bed to heed a noisy woman, who cannot shut the hell up with that loud mouth of hers at a time like this a quarter after twelve in the morning.

As I prop my pillow, I hear the notification ringtone going off and I pick up my phone up that is lying beside me, reading the messages from each friends that they are all coming out here this weekend with their kids. While I am looking forward for our twenty first year anniversary of our friendship, I am keyed up about meeting up with Blake to get some ice cream with the kids on the day before Saturday without being uneasy towards him.