Accidental Arrangements

by Alexandra Warren

  And Danny joined me, taking the one adjacent to mine as he replied, “Wouldn’t have it any other way. But who you here with, Jules? Or are you solo-dolo tonight?”

  I waved my hand out towards the crowd, trying my best not to sneak a peek to get an update on Levi when I answered, “Nah, I came with Hope and Mia. They’re out there somewhere.”

  “What are ya’ll on strike or something? I’ma have to tell T her man Kelvin is trippin’.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh, knowing that was far from the case as I explained, “Kelvin is cool. We just have lives outside of that place, contrary to popular belief.”

  “Well let me at least buy you a drink or somethin’. It’s the least I could do considering the way ya’ll take care of me over there,” he said as he waved down the bartender.

  The offer was definitely tempting, especially since I was desperate for just about any distraction. But since I was also determined to make it out of here on my own two feet, I replied, “I’m good.”

  “You sure?”

  This time I nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure. The last thing I need is ol’ girl coming at my neck cause her friends think you’re in here buying me drinks and trying to get at me.”

  While I hadn’t exactly met Danny’s girlfriend, Shawntel, in person, I knew plenty about her through stories from him and Tiana who was like a sister to him. Ever since Kelvin had offered him free drinks whenever he came to The Max, he had been sure to take full advantage, which also included him pouring his drunken little heart out about the woman he loved who drove him half crazy; not to mention her homegirls who acted like private investigators when it came to Danny’s whereabouts.

  But of course, he was far from concerned as he brushed me off to say, “Ain’t nobody worried about those silly ass girls. And besides, I should be the one worried considering the way ol’ buddy been eying me down this whole time. Wait a minute… is that Levi Graham? The ball player?”

  “Yeah, that’s him,” I answered with a roll of my eyes, though my heart was giddy now that I knew I had his attention.

  “Maybe Wes is actually good for something…” I thought to myself as I listened to Danny go on to say, “That nigga is so cold in hoops. I don’t know how he’s not in the league right now.” Before continuing on to ask, “You know him like that? Or he just sweatin’ you?”

  This time I shrugged when I nonchalantly answered, “He’s my roommate.”

  And to no surprise, Danny’s face scrunched instantly when he repeated, “Roommate? Like your roommate-roommate? Or just your ex-nigga who’s still on the lease so he’s not moving out?”

  I laughed again as I explained, “He’s really my roommate, Danny. I have one bedroom and he has the other.”

  “Yo, that’s wild. You think you can get his autograph for me?” he asked as I finally decided to peek out towards Levi, catching his eyes along with the scowl he was wearing.

  Checkmate.

  I leaned in, being sure to brush my hand against Danny’s bicep just to stick it to Levi, even though I was only telling him, “I’m sure he wouldn’t have a problem if you asked him yourself. He’s super regular.”

  “You should bring him by the shop one time. Tell him I’ll shape him up for free,” he insisted just as I peeked out to Levi once again and found him a lot closer than he was the first time. A lot closer and completely alone.

  And as I watched him approach, I was sure to keep my smile intact as I replied, “Well… here’s your chance to tell him yourself.”

  Danny’s face lit up as he extended his hand. “Yo, what’s good man? I’m Da…”

  But Levi didn’t even let him finish, keeping his attention locked on me when he said, “Jules, what the hell is this all about?”

  I smirked. “Just your everyday bar chat.”

  “So that’s how you’re doing it now?” he asked as if somehow I was the one in the wrong; as if he hadn’t just skipped off to the dance floor with my damn friend.

  But regardless of the game we called ourselves playing, Danny had clearly missed the memo as he got off of his bar stool, stepping to Levi and completely out of fan-mode when he said, “Aye, man. I don’t know what your deal is, but…”

  “Danny, I’ll… be right back,” I told him as I stood up, being sure to step between them before things got too out of hand. In fact, I literally had to take Levi by the hand so that I could drag him through the crowd to the only relatively private spot near the bathrooms.

  But once we made it there, I had no problem ripping into him. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  The sweet, charming Levi was long gone as he stepped to me, trapping me between his body and the wall when he looked down at me and snarled, “Don’t play with me, Jules. You knew exactly what you were doing.”

  “Talking to a loyal customer and friend of mine? You’re right. I do know what I was doing,” I replied with a roll of my eyes as I turned my face away from him.

  But he brought it back, his hand against my chin forcing me to look at him when he asked, “You really think your ass is slick, don’t you?”

  “And you don’t? Come dance with me, Levi. Come fuck with me, Levi. Come rub your dick against my fake ass booty, Levi,” I mocked, snatching my face away from his hold.

  Finally, his hardened facial features began to soften when he ran his fingertips along my collarbone, causing my breathing to falter as I listened to him ask, “So you were trying to make me jealous because you were jealous over a little ass dance?”

  “That’s so elementary. I was literally just talking to a friend. What you took that as is your business,” I replied just as his fingertips began to skim my neckline; a weakness he was obviously well aware of as he took complete advantage of the fact that I was practically squirming down the wall in response.

  But instead of completely turning me into putty, he locked a gentle hand against my neck to keep me in place as he crashed his lips against mine, our tongues doing a dance of their own while the heavy bass from the club rocked through the wall behind me. It was honestly a shame how much access I gave as if I wasn’t still mad at him for… shit, what was I mad about again?

  It didn’t even matter as I groaned into his mouth just as he began to pull away, taking my bottom lip between his teeth as he let me go.

  While it was relatively dark in the club, I was confident I was red in the face as I worked to catch my breath. And since there was no way in hell I was ready to acknowledge what had just happened, I told him, “Go introduce yourself. The right way. And he wants an autograph too.”

  Levi brushed his lips with the pad of his thumb, his smirk back in full form when he asked, “Will that be enough to get you to come home with me?”

  And even though I wanted to be upset at… something, I couldn’t help but smile back as I replied, “I’m coming home with you by default. Remember?”

  Levi

  “I must say, I’m surprised you lasted this long.”

  I reached over to my sister’s carton of fries, snagging a handful and stuffing them into my mouth the same way I had always done growing up before I asked, “What are you talking about, Lily?”

  While I was ecstatic when Lily offered to bring me lunch to work, I should’ve known she was coming with an agenda. The agenda I could no longer avoid when she answered, “You around a beautiful woman with enough attitude to ruffle your little feathers and humble you? Yeah, this was bound to happen.”

  “What was bound to happen?” I asked, playing as dumb as she already thought me to be as I took a full bite of my double cheeseburger, snagging the pickle that had slipped out onto my wrapper and popping it into my mouth.

  But instead of matching my bite on her own burger, Lily leaned further into my desk to gush, “You’re in deep, little brother. Real deep.”

  Real deep seemed like an understatement as I thought about how quickly my feelings for Jules had grown; how quickly we had fallen into a routine of enjoying each other’s company, not to mention s
haring a bed more often than not since she really did have an obsession with my mattress.

  And since there was no way in hell I could give my sister that kind of ammunition, I was quick to brush her off as I washed the saltiness of the burger and fries down with a swig of soda. “Man, you’re trippin’. Ain’t nobody checkin’ for Jules like that.”

  This time, Lily sat back in her seat across from me, crossing her arms over her chest as she said, “Keisha told me she saw ya’ll lip-locking in the bar the other night. And considering all the used condoms surely hidden under a ball of toilet paper in the trashcan in your bathroom, you guys are obviously getting well acquainted.”

  “Why were you going through my trash anyway?” I asked as I took another bite.

  And Lily smacked her teeth, finally going back to her business - her burger - though she quickly hopped back into mine when she replied, “I haven’t even been at your house recently, stupid. I just know how you operate.”

  “So we’re smashin’. What’s the big deal?”

  I was going back in for my burger when a fry smacked me dead in the forehead, forcing me to peek up at Lily’s face which was pulled into a scowl. “First of all, don’t ever tell me you’re smashin’ someone. That’s gross. Second of all, my intuition tells me it’s a little more than that. You like her, don’t you?”

  I shrugged. “Maybe I do. Maybe I don’t.”

  Lily’s excitement made me flinch when she popped up from her chair and screeched, “Oh my God! You really do like her! I knew it!”

  I peeked around the dealership, glad to see there weren’t too many people around to hear, though I was still sure to whisper, “Lily, chill. I didn’t even say that.”

  She was already busy pacing the little space in front of my desk as she brushed me off with a wave of her hand. “Oh, please. You went from “ain’t nobody checkin’ for her” to “maybe I do, maybe I don’t” in a matter of minutes. You like that damn girl.”

  “So what if I do? That don’t mean shit,” I reasoned, trying to keep my attention on my food so I wouldn’t admit too much. I honestly wasn’t sure what I even wanted from Jules; wasn’t sure what she wanted from me. And since she hadn’t exactly made things clear either way, there was no way I was going to force the issue.

  Though Lily was clearly already invested as she said, “It means everything. You haven’t admittedly liked someone in a long time. A really long time.”

  “But it’s not like we’re about to be in a relationship or somethin’. We’re just… doing what adults do.”

  “Doing what adults do. Listen to you try to rationalize your feelings. That’s adorable,” she gushed as she finally returned to her chair.

  I made quick work of finishing off my burger, reaching for another handful of her fries as I told her, “Lily, will you stop? It’s not even that serious.”

  But my words were obviously not as believable as I needed them to be as she quickly fired back, “Oh, this is serious. I might actually get a sister-in-law out of this.”

  The words damn near made me sick to my stomach - or maybe it was just the food beginning to settle in - as I repeated, “A sister-in-law? Now you’re really buggin’.”

  “What? Jules is a sweet girl. A good pick,” she stated confidently as if she had even seen her in person more than once.

  Sure, she had been the one to vet her before I moved in, knew about her long before I did. But that was nothing in comparison to actually interacting with her. And since I had interacted with her plenty, I had no problem telling her, “Jules is a monster. She was just being nice when ya’ll were around.”

  “Oh, whatever. I’m sure if you actually did right by her, she’d do the same.”

  “You can believe what you want. But I’m not worried about her. I’m focused on this weak ass job and these workouts so I can get back to my good ass job,” I told her as I balled up my wrapper and shot it into my trash can nearby.

  All net.

  “What a privilege to be able to make millions for playing a child’s game,” Lily muttered with a roll of her eyes as she took a finishing bite of her burger, balling her wrapper the same way I had and shooting it into the trash can.

  Air ball.

  I laughed as I stood up from my desk, grabbing the rest of the trash along with Lily’s air ball before throwing it all away. And as I returned to my chair, I was sure to remind her, “Child’s game or not, those millions will have us eating better than McDonald’s for lunch.”

  “I’ll believe it when I see it. But in the meantime, I need you to stop playing before you let Jules get away.”

  Again, I laughed as I asked, “What are you? The captain of Team Jules?”

  “Captain, co-captain, president…” she rattled, forcing me to cut her off.

  “Anyway! Jules is a busy girl with dreams of her own that she’s trying to fulfill. She ain’t trying to add me to that equation.”

  I didn’t think much of my admission until I watched Lily’s pupils practically turn into hearts. “Awwww! You guys have had the hopes and dreams talk?! How romantic.”

  “Man, I can’t tell you shit,” I whined, though I couldn’t figure out if I was more annoyed with her reaction or my own honesty.

  But my annoyance did nothing to trounce Lily’s excitement as she insisted, “Yes you can. So tell me. What are her dreams?”

  I released a heavy sigh, leaning back in my chair as I answered, “She wants to act. And she’s really good too. We went to this little improv class and…”

  “Levi! I can’t believe I didn’t know any of this. You went to class with the girl? You just might be in love.”

  My face scrunched as I repeated, “In love? Lily, have you been taking drugs?”

  I wasn’t sure why my sister was so eager to jump to so many unnecessary conclusions, but I knew I had to nip them in the bud before it was too late. Though it already seemed like it was too late as she replied, “Oh, shut up. You’re just deflecting because you have real ass feelings for Jules. I’m happy for you though, baby bro. I hope it works out for the best.”

  “Yeah, we’ll see about that. But like I already told you, I’m worried about getting back in the league, and making enough money to keep my head above water until that happens. Whatever comes as a positive bonus, I’ll deal with accordingly.”

  “Maybe you should take her out on a real date. Dinner and a movie. Bowling. You know, something fun and normal,” Lily suggested as if anybody had asked her for dating advice. In fact, I had practically done the exact opposite.

  But since I knew she wasn’t going to let this shit go anytime soon, I tried a different route when I told her, “I don’t know why you’re under the impression that Jules is trying to be normal with me.”

  The way her face scrunched in response made me feel like I was looking in the mirror. “Why wouldn’t she be? You’re… employed, handsome, charming, a hard worker, and my brother. You really couldn’t be more qualified.”

  “I’m not trying to mess up our arrangement by doing too much though,” I admitted. Regardless of how sold Lily was on the idea, I was the one who would have to live with Jules regardless of the outcome.

  Still, my concerns didn’t seem to matter to Lily as she said, “Your arrangement? Friends with benefits is so played out. Just look at me. Friends with benefits gave me a baby girl after I had already sworn off having more kids; not to mention I also lost the damn friend.”

  My fist clenched instantly at the reminder of my sister’s situation, thinking about the way ol’ boy had dogged her out and the ass beating I never got the chance to give him. But then again, the situation also gave us a wonderful new addition to the family in Anastasia, so I suppose all wasn’t bad.

  “That’s not going to happen, Lily. Jules and I, we’re good. We’re chillin’. We’re…”

  “Going to fuck around and end up with broken hearts because one of you is going to be ready to move on from your little arrangement before the other. And it doesn’t help t
hat you live together. It’ll be thrown in your face day after day after…”

  I was forced to cut her off, holding up my hands to say, “Alright, alright. I’ll ask her out. But if she says no, I’m not asking again.”

  “She’s not going to say no, Levi. Just lay it on her thick and watch the magic happen.”

  &

  “You’re joking, right?”

  I felt stupid as Jules peeked up at me from the couch with a look of disbelief, her legs crossed with an open magazine resting between them and a bucket of nail polishes sitting next to her.

  I should’ve known asking her out on a date was a bad idea, should’ve never let Lily talk me into doing it. But here I was, attempting to save face when I answered, “I wasn’t. Maybe I should be though.”

  Jules shook her head, closing her magazine as she said, “No. It’s… sweet. And I appreciate the offer. I just don’t know if it’s a good idea.”

  “Why not? I’m single. You’re single. I like you. You like me,” I listed as if those facts weren’t obvious.

  In fact, they were so obvious that it gave Jules the ammunition to challenge, “So because the elements seem right at a surface level, we’re supposed to date now?”

  “Not date full-time. Just… go out on one... as friends... or whatever,” I stammered before quickly adding, “You know what? Nevermind.” Saving the little bit of dignity I had left as I turned to head to my room. At least that was the plan until I felt Jules’s little hand wrap around my forearm to stop me.

  And once she had my attention, she stood up from the couch to say, “I’d… love to go out on a date with you, Levi.”

  I offered her a half-hearted smile, convinced she was only agreeing to be nice to me even though nice wasn’t always her thing. Either way I had no problem letting her know, “You ain’t gotta show me pity, Jules. It’s cool. I can handle a little rejection.”

  “But I’m serious, Levi. I want to go out with you.”

  “Yeah?” I asked, my eyebrow piqued as I actually became hopeful.

  And her smile seemed to rejuvenate the interest I came in with as she nodded. “Yeah. So where are we going?”