by Xyla Turner
"Man, it's nothing. She wasn't feeling well and one thing..." He started but Randall pushed him across the room.
"Do not lie to me." He pointed to the lines of cocaine on the table. "What happened to you?"
"No, no..." Miles shook his head. "You of all people don't get to look at me like that. I'm fine. I'm doing just fine. Okay. Yeah, I have some fun but we all can't be the choir boy of the NBA. Okay? We can't all run camps, raise money and turn fine ass women down to chase some fat ass chick. Sor..."
Without a thought, concern, or a blink of an eye, Randall pulled back his right fist and punched Miles across the left side of his cheek, causing his head to jerk to the right as his body lifted and knocked over the love seat. As soon as he landed on the ground, Randall straddled him and went to punch him again.
"If you ever," he hissed. "Ever in your entire goddamn life, talk about her in that way, you will deal with me."
Randall's voice wasn't an octave above a whisper but the seething threat was evident and the utter pain that he felt was not in his fist but his heart. Someone he called a friend was conning him.
"Now, tell me. What's the Grestler Corporation?” Randall asked.
"N-n-n-not-thing. M-m-man. It was just a, just a business. Amy and me started it to, uh, get her close to, to you," he stuttered. "Sh-she was interested in you. Looking to, uh, marry up. So, so, I owed her and, uh, it was her idea. Her idea to get hitched to you. I, I tried to tell her. You, you weren't like that but she thought she could. I swear that was all."
"But there was money that you took from me. You were extorting money from me." Randall's hands were firmly around his neck. "Ten goddamn years."
"M-man, it wasn't a lot." Miles wheezed. "I swear it, man. You wouldn't miss it. I, I was just trying to get mine too."
Randall's heart was so torn that he couldn't believe the one person who walked into this game with him would be his betrayer. That sinking feeling caused the anger to surge, which made his fingers squeeze harder.
"Ran..." Miles gargled; bringing him back.
He let go of him and said, "You're not even worth it. You're fired and I don't ever want to see you again. Are we clear? I mean it Miles. I do NOT want to see you ever, not representing any players or anything. If I see you, you're going to jail."
Randall stood up, turned over the table with the cocaine and stormed out of the luxury apartment. His father's words came back to him about not being able to tell that 'one person' about your day. How much it hurt and Randall felt that way now.
He needed to see her.
The pebbles tapped her window, one after another, until the light begin to shine through. She was probably asleep but Randall didn’t care.
He needed her.
Once he could see her head, Randall held up his phone.
Need to see you.
The curtain closed and then the front door opened.
"Randall, what's wrong?" She looked at him and her face frowned as her eyes started to search his body.
"Just need to see you." He opened the security door and grabbed her hand; effectively pulling her to the one chair that could fit on the porch.
Randall sat down and pulled Mindy, who came willingly, onto his lap and buried his head in her chest.
"Randall?" she called softly. "What's wrong?"
Her hand ran up and down his arm but when she reached his hand, her entire body stiffened. Mindy picked up his hand and saw that it wasn't just swollen but had open cuts on his fingers.
"Randall!" she exclaimed while trying to pull away. "What happened?"
"Shhh," he mumbled and tried to pull her back.
"No," she said while effectively moving off his lap. "Stay here. I'm getting ice."
When she returned two minutes later, she put his hand in a large bowl of ice water. Once that was secure, he pulled her back on his lap with his good hand and again, buried his face in her neck. Mindy found herself rubbing her hands through his low cut.
"I'm sorry," Randall finally said.
He knew that she wasn't sure what he was sorry about but she sat there and let him hold her. He loved her for that.
An hour later, after he felt her falling asleep with her head on his, Randall let go of his woman.
"Go to bed," he whispered.
"You alright?" she slurred.
"I am now." He smiled and stood her up.
"Okay," she shuffled towards the door. "Night."
"Night, Minnie."
Chapter Ten
"Mindy, I know you've made your decision already but have you thought about the alternatives?" Beatrice cautiously asked her daughter a couple of weeks after the blow-up at dinner.
She tried not to bring the subject up because Mindy was so adamant about her stance and she was just as stubborn as they came. On one level, she hoped that man of hers would have brought her back to the light but she knew her daughter. Determination if not for the sake of vengeance, she'd go to the grave before giving up. The moment Sandra and Shane interjected their opinions about Mindy's leaving, Beatrice knew, she'd dig her heels in deeper.
Her husband always said, Mindy was the most sensitive of the three and it wasn't because she was the youngest. It was because she had so much to live up to and always looked for approval but somewhere along the way, she’d stopped. When Sandra moved out, Mindy began to act out in various ways. The same happened when Shane went off to college and never came home. Beatrice always thought she'd be relieved but that wasn't the case. Mindy wasn't happy that the family she grew up with was no longer intact. People grew up, changed, married, and moved on.
This left Mindy to figure things out on her own. It was probably more comforting for Mindy to hide in the shadows of her siblings but now with the attention on her, she might have realized, she had nothing to show for all of her hiding. This becomes a factor when you get to a certain age and begin to look back. Were the deeds worth it, was there a return in value and what was there to show for years of labor or the lack thereof. Those were the thoughts that made a person evaluate their life.
"It's done Mom. I'm moving in a couple of weeks," she replied; simply not wanting to continue the discussion.
"Yes, I know, honey," Beatrice said while she cracked the egg over the pan. "I know. I just want what's best for you."
"Mom, I'll be fine. It's just time for me to start looking out for myself. You know what I mean? It's hard to explain but I just need to do this." Her voice started to fade as she heard a car pull up.
"That's him again." Beatrice noted. "That man don't give up, huh?"
"No, he doesn't." Mindy stared absently at the door.
Randall had been by every morning or had someone stop when he couldn't deliver breakfast or lunch for Mindy. At first, she tried not to eat the food but she felt bad that it was going to waste, so she started to eat the meals and not only were they all delicious but they were the slap your mama kind of good.
"Glad I just made breakfast for me," Beatrice joked as she stirred the egg.
Mindy left the kitchen to go and retrieve the food. However, instead of leaving this time, Randall stayed and was leaning against his truck. She stared at him for a beat while he held up his phone.
Although, this was the universal signal to check her phone. The buzz shocked Mindy causing her eyes to look at the screen held firmly in her hand.
Will you talk to me?
She cringed as her heart ached to speak with him. Let it all pass and act as if nothing happened. That's what Mindy wanted but she wouldn't. Not even for the love of her life.
Yes.
Randall’s head bent to look at his phone, then he pushed off his truck and sauntered towards the steps. Mindy stood in her long pajama pants, a Betty Boop long sleeve tee and a knee-length robe. She had a good mind to be embarrassed but knew Randall never cared. He saw her wearing a scarf tied tight around her head and said she was beautiful. He was the one that should have been on a GQ magazine. Tall, dark and handsome was Randall Jefferson, but he
never cared.
“Hey,” he greeted her.
“Hey,” she called back.
He remained at the bottom of the steps as she hovered in the door under the spring weather.
“Do you need help with the move? I'm having my people ship everything there this week,” Randall asked.
“Uh, no. Um, are you serious?” Mindy exclaimed.
He propped on foot on the bottom step and said, “Told you Minnie, I'm not giving up on us. I bought a house that's close to Brown and while you shine, I'll be there to get some of those rays.”
“Randall,” she whined and shook her head. “What are you doing? Why?”
The fight almost fled her as the weight of what he said smacked her upside the back of the head.
Randall stepped up to the second step and held out his hands, palms up, in front of him.
“You want to make me suffer? So be it. You want to start your own business? Fine. You want to travel the world or be a lifelong student? Great. You want to find your inner animal or live, laugh and love? Sweetheart, that's fine with me but know this, you'll live with me, laugh with me, love me and grow with me. You want to find yourself? That's cool with me but I'm going to help you search and that's not up for discussion.”
A hot tear ran down Mindy’s face as all the bottled emotions surfaced to the top. She hadn't wanted to fall for the NBA player, the man or any man for that matter. She just wanted to find herself and it hit her that she had found much more than that.
Randall sighed and put his head down, seemingly contemplating his feet. Then as he started to speak again, he saw movement. Mindy was walking across the small porch with a tear-stained face. He almost leaped up the stairs to meet her as they collapsed in each other's arms.
“Don't do this,” Mindy sobbed. “You gotta stop.”
His long arms wrapped around her waist to lift her up, so they were at the same eye level.
“We’re doing this,” Randall confirmed before he kissed her parted lips.
It was only supposed to be a peck but once her arms circled around his neck, she took it deeper and he lost the will to stop. Randall backed them up so they were against the post that connected the railing to the stairwell that led to the ground. Mindy's legs continued to dangle as the two of them demanded more from each other's lips.
"Well," a voice cut through the haze.
Randall suddenly placed Mindy on solid ground and backed up.
"Sorry, Mrs. Bee." He apologized.
"No need but I ain't raised no floozy, so if you're going to go at it like rabbits in heat, at least bring it in the house." With those parting words, she opened the security door and walked inside.
Mindy looked at Randall and started laughing.
"Excuse my mom." She shook her head. "She's a mess."
"I love your mom. She speaks the truth." He stared at her.
"I'm, uh, sorry about that." Mindy pointed to the spot they previously occupied. "I didn't mean to, uh..."
"I'm not." Randall raised his eyebrow and stepped towards her.
The back of his hand slowly moved to tuck a loose strand of Mindy's hair behind her ear. She quickly brought her hand up to cup his and let her head rest on his fingers.
"Randall, I haven't changed my mind," she informed him. "I'm still moving. I am going."
"Okay. I'm going with you," he followed up. "I'm not changing my mind, either."
Mindy let go of his hand and said, "Well, I guess I'll see you there."
"Count on it, Minnie." He lingered around before he stepped closer to tip her chin up. "Love you."
Then he pecked her lips before he jogged down the steps and drove off.
"So, what are you going to do about him?" Diamond asked with a perfectly arched brow raised.
"I'm not going to do anything. He's made his stand and I'm going to grad school." Mindy shrugged it off as if that was all there was to it.
"You do know you're not fooling me, right?" Her sister-in-law to be looked over her imaginary glasses. "You remind me of me with your brother. We tried to act like there wasn't anything going on and it wasn't until he thought I was making a move that he decided he needed to make one. So, I get it. However, the one thing you might not know is that I fell in love with your brother in South Carolina. Way before we came back to the district and started our entire rodeo. I wouldn't admit that even to myself and the road and struggle was longer than it needed to be."
Diamond took a sip of coffee before she finished. "Learn from my mistakes. There’s nothing wrong with being on your own, independent and doing you. Girl, I get it. Believe me. However, I'm not convinced you'll run across the love of your life too many times. I also know, you'll not find too many stand-up guys like Randall Jefferson. He went out of his way to help my career just because I let him use my charger. Which happened to be so he could hear his nephew say his first words. They don't make men like that anymore, besides your brother of course, but you get my point. You'd be a fool to let this pass and I'm saying this because I love you."
Mindy nodded because there wasn't much else to say after that endorsement. She was right and not all the pride nor stubbornness in the world could make her point wrong.
Chapter Eleven
Randall continued to stop by for breakfast but he didn’t engage her too much. In her journey to be independent and secure, he knew it had to be her decision; not one that was thrust upon her or she'd resent him forever. The one thing he could do was make sure there was ample opportunity to make that happen, which is why he stayed as relevant as he could in her life.
Early Saturday morning, while Randall was catching up on the news; someone knocked on the door. It had to be someone from the community because nobody could just come up without being announced. When he opened the massive door, he saw Mindy dressed in a pink dress with cork colored wedge heels, holding a large basket.
"Hey, is everything alright?" Randall asked.
"Yeah, everything is perfect," she said as she walked inside the house like she'd done it every day.
"Okay," he muttered and closed the door.
He was about to asked how she got up, then he remembered he'd given her all access to the property; no notice or anything required. It was almost like her having a key.
Mindy had marched to the kitchen with Randall in tow and began to spread out the food on the counter.
"Mindy, what's going on?" he asked.
"Well, you've been carrying the load for breakfast and lunch, so I figured I'd surprise you with both today."
Randall wasn't sure whether to run or kiss her but he knew this had to mean something significant.
"Wait..." He walked towards her. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying, are you hungry?" Mindy said as she turned to face him.
"For you? Yeah."
The mood instantly changed and a tingle started to run up and down Randall's spine.
"That so?" One side of her mouth tilted in a smirk.
"Hell yeah." Randall stood with his feet shoulder width apart and his arms crossed over his chest.
The look on his face had to reveal everything but he just sat there in awe of what was happening in that moment. The two of them were joking yet the sexual tension had catapulted out of control in less than one minute.
"Randall, look. We weren't together so I can't be mad about you bringing a date, right? I just thought we were close enough friends to let the other know about stuff like that. If you didn't want to bring me, that would have been fine but I felt like you just kept it a secret and everyone knew but me," Mindy said, finally confessing to him and likely herself how she felt about what happened at the fundraiser.
This admission took Randall by surprise. The reality of what she thought happened simply was not true.
"Sweetheart, that's not what happened. I didn't explain it earlier because it just sounded like an excuse. I swear to you, I wouldn't have kept something like that from you. I would have wanted you to be there with me. You're the onl
y one I want on my arm. Are you kidding me? You're my Minnie Mouse." He shook his head. "My agent and that woman were running a scam. What I thought was for an inner-league endorsement was my ex-agent and her scamming me out of money. She wanted to bag someone in the league, if you can believe that. I still don't."
Mindy's eyes grew as the realization hit her about what had occurred.
"That night with your hand busted ..." she started.
"Yeah, it connected with my ex-agents face a few times. He was in his penthouse apartment all coked up with that chick." Randall shuddered at the thought of how he could have done such a thing. "Ten years of friendship and for what?"
"I'm sorry," Mindy said as she took a few steps closer to Randall.
Then she placed her hand on his chest. "That's not cool."
"What is cool," Randall said as he wrapped his hand around her wrist, "is you coming here."
She smiled.
"You need to eat," Mindy replied. "I've been slacking."
"Yeah, Minnie. You have." He pulled her towards him with a quick jerk of the wrist. " What can you suggest to make it up to me?"
Standing on her tiptoes, she pressed her lips to his and stayed there. Randall didn't need any more nudging because he quickly released her hands to grab her thighs and wrap them around his waist.
"No counters." Mindy pulled away from him. "Don't put me on a counter."
"Oh, sweetheart. We're going to my bed," Randall confirmed. "We'll do the counter later."
"Oh my!" She laughed.
When the two of them finally surfaced, they lazily fed each other the breakfast and lunch Mindy had brought earlier. She was sitting on the counter, while he was positioned on the bar stool in front of her.
"So, can you now tell me where these restaurants are? I have to add them to my list," Randall asked.
Mindy had completely forgotten that she hadn't shared that information with him; which caused her to laugh.
"What's so funny?" He touched her little nose.
"Sorry." She tried to get herself under control. "It's just that, I made all of the food I sent you."