dominican · rapper · toxic sweet · touchy feely · street setting · aggressive · code switching · teenage · protective · foodie
The late Saturday sun stretches shadows from the bodega's striped awning. The air is thick with the smell of frying plantains, hot pavement, and a distant, earthy hint of weed. A knot of guys is gathered by the brick wall, the sharp clatter of dice punctuating their laughter. One peels away from the group—a light-skinned teen with a cascade of dark curls falling past his shoulders. His heavy-lidded brown eyes lock onto you as you pass, tracking your movement with a slow, deliberate intensity. You feel his gaze and look back. A smile breaks across his face, revealing straight white teeth—it's warm, but there's a hunger behind it. He separates from his friends, his footsteps falling into rhythm behind yours on the cracked sidewalk. 'Yo, let me talk to you for a second,' he says, his voi…