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The Games We Play

Page 18

by Alexandra Warren


  The word “boyfriend” honestly felt a little weird coming out of my mouth. And Khalid picked up on it too, chewing through a handful of fries as he replied, “Damn. I ain’t heard you claim a nigga like that in a long time. Chance must be the real deal.”

  My sigh was borderline dreamy as I dropped my fork to emphasize, “He really, really is. And I know I was the one making a big deal about not taking it there with him. But now that we’ve arrived, it’s like… magic.”

  “Your ass is in love,” Khalid replied with a laugh, the word making me cringe since it felt way too soon to be anything of that nature. But it did feel incredible, and gave me butterflies to think about. And the fact that now I couldn’t stop smiling had me wondering if Khalid was onto something.

  I refused to give him the credit, cutting my daydream short to snap, “Don’t drag it. I’m just really happy, which only makes it suck even more that Eric isn’t happy for us.”

  While my relationship with Chance didn’t necessarily require Eric’s approval, it still would’ve been nice to have since the two were so close. Though Khalid saw things differently when he explained, “It’s not that he’s not happy for you. He’s just salty about finding out from someone else before hearing it from y’all. Salty about… not being in the know since he’s been around y’all multiple times without having a clue because y’all were good as hell at hiding that shit.”

  “Which I get. But how long does it take for the saltiness to turn into happiness?” I asked, ready to expedite the process so I could get back to basking in everything Chance.

  But it didn’t seem as if the solution was coming as soon as I would’ve liked when Khalid shrugged to answer, “Case to case basis, LoLo. But don’t worry. He’ll come around.”

  “Chance said the… wait, is that who I think it is?”

  My eyes were zeroed in on the man I wished I saw more often as he found an open seat in the bar area before motioning to the waitress for a menu. And while his eyes immediately began to scan the options, Khalid joined me in my watch to answer, “Hell yeah, that’s him. Still rocking that fresh outta jail buffness like he ain’t been free for years.”

  I tossed a hand his way before telling him I’d be back. Then I made my way over to where the man was sitting, not even tapping him on the shoulder before I asked, “Daddy, what are you doing here?”

  He turned around to see it was me, his scowl turning into a grin I hadn’t seen in far too long when he replied, “Trying to get a meal just like you are, little girl. Now are you gonna keep asking questions or are you gonna show your ol’ man some love?”

  Without wasting a second, I slipped into his arms for a hug, glad to see he had gotten better at giving them since the last time I saw him; almost as if the cold heart he had developed in prison was finally beginning to thaw. But even if he had warmed up, that didn’t stop him from scolding, “This city ain’t big enough for me to not have seen your behind in so long. You been hiding from me?”

  I shook my head. “No. Just been working, I guess.”

  “You guess? Work isn’t treating you as well as it used to?” he asked, his eyebrow piqued as if he was already ready to handle any problems I was having for me.

  But since I knew that meant trouble, I did my best to put him at ease when I explained, “No, it’s not that. Just been thinking about doing something different, or maybe taking my talents to another city.”

  That idea was another reason I wanted to go to lunch with Khalid, to get his perspective on something that had been itching at me since I got back. But my dad wasn’t even a little bit sold, his face scrunching as he repeated, “Another city? What little nigga you chasin’ after?”

  I quickly brushed him off, my voice more of a squeal when I giggled and defended, “It’s not about a guy, Daddy. I mean, he’s there too, but… this is about me.”

  Making a power move had been on my mind for a long time, particularly one that included blowing this city for good to do my own thing. And it just so happened that Chance’s location provided me an out; a bridge to assist me on my way to the place I wanted to be all along even if I had just learned about it this past weekend.

  While I could only imagine my mother’s over-dramatic reaction to even the mention of me moving, I was glad to have my father’s vote of confidence once he groaned, “Mmhmm. Well I know you’ll figure it out. You’re a smart woman. My little college graduate.”

  With that, I could only smile, turning the spotlight on him when I asked, “You’ve been okay though? Still working with that landscaping company?”

  “You’d know if you called more often,” he replied with a half-hearted smirk. One that made me feel a little guilty as he continued, “But yeah, I’m still there. Being run into the ground by the white man.”

  “I thought you liked your boss?”

  He shrugged, sipping from the water the waitress had just delivered. “He’s decent. Nice guy on the outside, but looks like the type who calls me “boy” in his head just because I have a record.”

  The same way he had been ready to solve my work problems for me was the same way I felt now, fired up that someone would judge him in that way because of his past. But I didn’t get a chance to throw out any real solutions before he was already moving on from it, turning the spotlight back my way when he said, “Anyway. You have a birthday coming, huh? The big two-six. Where does the time go?”

  “There is nothing big about turning twenty-six, Daddy. But you know your baby mama has to put together an extravagant party for everything,” I replied with a roll of my eyes, the fact that my mother still took it upon herself to throw me a birthday party every year both a gift and a curse.

  A gift because it gave her a reason to do her favorite thing; plan a party

  A curse because it gave her a reason to get on my nerves with the details when I would’ve much rather just had a small, intimate dinner.

  The mention of my mother made him sit up a little straighter, an undeniable grin on his face as he said, “I saw her little video. She’s still got it.”

  “Eww, Daddy. I don’t wanna hear all that,” I whined, smacking a hand against the thick muscle he had definitely kept intact since being locked up.

  He held nothing back when he challenged, “How you think we ended up with you? That woman has always known how to entice a man.”

  Instead of gagging at the thought, I moved right along the same way he had earlier. “Anyway…. You should come. To the party. It’ll be nice to have you around.”

  Now that he seemed to be in a better mental space, I figured it would be good to remind him he had more family than just my grandmother. And honestly, I wanted him to be able to enjoy himself again, wanted to see more of the light that finally seemed to be coming back to his eyes.

  While the grin appeared a little strain, I was still glad to hear him answer, “If you want me there, I’ll be there. Just send me the details.”

  “I will. It was good seeing you,” I told him, pulling him into a hug and doing most of the work to squeeze him tight since I finally felt confident it would be well received.

  But even though he was accepting of my love, that didn’t stop him from scolding, “Just don’t let it be too long until the next time, you hear me?”

  I nodded once I pulled away, getting ready to head back to my table until he said, “Londyn, please don’t tell me that’s the little nigga who’s got you ready to skip town?”

  His eyes were in the general direction of where I had come from, allowing me to respond, “Who, Khalid? No, he’s just a friend.”

  “Good. He looks like he still has some growing to do. Gotta get a little more hair on his chest first or somethin’. Or maybe he’s just too damn skinny to really protect my baby girl,” he listed, all things that made me laugh since I knew I’d probably be teasing Khalid about the same things later.

  But for now, I could only tell my father, “Whatever, Daddy. I’ll be in touch.”

  “Looking forward to it, baby
girl,” he replied with another smile, going back to his business while I made my way back to our table.

  The second I sat down, Khalid leaned in to whisper, “Man, how’d your dad get me that spooked from far away? Did you see how he was looking at me?”

  I laughed, thinking about the shady spiel he had just given about him while telling Khalid, “He was just sizing you up. Thought you were my man.”

  “Eww, why would I do that?” Khalid asked with a look of disgust, waiting for me to toss a hand at him before he broke into a laugh.

  Even if he thought it was funny, I was still quick to squeal, “Don’t be that way! I’m a catch, damnit.”

  He nodded to agree. “You are. And Chance hooked, lined, and sinkered your ass.”

  Anything other than, “Damn right” would’ve been a lie since Chance had definitely done all of the above. But it was a place I was happy to be in, though I still gave Khalid a stare that rivaled my father’s when I groaned, “Eat your food.”

  Chance

  “One more, mama.”

  My mother shot me the meanest side eye, but I wasn’t going to take it easy on her since I knew how important it was for her to rehabilitate her leg properly if she expected to get back to normal. And since it wasn’t like she could chase after me with a belt the way she used to do back in the day, I had no problem being a little tough with her when I said, “One more now, or ten more later when I make you start all the way over.”

  She huffed like she was annoyed with me, but still gave it everything she had to do one more ten-second stretch that would ensure she wouldn’t lose too much of the mobility in her ankle while the largest fracture continued to heal. And since the doctor claimed she was ahead of schedule thanks to the extra physical therapy we had been doing, I felt proud as I cheered, “Good job, woman.”

  Of course she brushed me off, rolling her eyes when she said, “Yeah, yeah, yeah whatever.”

  I could only laugh as I grabbed her walking boot for her, getting her back strapped in before giving her a rundown on what had been going on back at the house. “The team said the house was only about sixty-percent livable when they got in, so probably more like fifty-percent before the work I was able to do on it. But they should be able to finish getting it up to code within the next few weeks.”

  “It should’ve already been up to code according to the guy I worked with to find it,” she replied, just the mention of whoever he was enough to make me angry since he had clearly gotten over on my mom. And of course we hadn’t been able to get in touch with him since the accident, the guy going completely ghost like only a con artist would.

  My mother refused to believe it, but I reminded her anyway when I corrected, “You mean, the scammer who sold you a dangerous house for cheap and probably made a killing because he bought it for much cheaper?”

  She scoffed. “Anyway. Can you take me by there? I need to get a few things. Annie’s been more than generous, but I hate to keep asking her for everything.”

  I could pretty much assume my mother was just itching to get out of the house for something other than a doctor’s appointment, especially since I knew Miss. Annie had been making runs to the house at least twice a week. Still, I granted her wish, helping her out of the house and into my car to make what I hoped would be a quick trip.

  But just because it was supposed to be a quick trip didn’t mean it wasn’t going to come with a little drama, my mother holding up a pair of earrings she had found in the cup holder as she said, “These are pretty. I wonder who they belong to…”

  My first instinct was to make up some story to cover them up, but I quickly realized there was no longer a need for it since Londyn and I had decided to really be together. And the fact that she had left her earrings behind, an obvious sign to mark her territory, only made me smile when I finally told my mother, “They’re Londyn’s. We’re uh... seeing each other now.”

  I shouldn’t have been surprised when my mother damn near hopped out of her seat to screech, “What?! Since when? How did I miss all of this?”

  “Relax, mama. It just happened. She came with me to the city when I went up to get my stuff and we’ve been serious ever since,” I explained without needing to mention everything that had led up to that point.

  All the back and forth.

  All the teasing.

  All the… fuckin’.

  Just thinking about all the sex Londyn and I had been having made me shiver, though my mother was still caught up on the trip part of the equation when she gushed, “Well look at my handsome son being all romantic, going on post-Valentine’s Day getaways.”

  While I hadn’t at all connected the trip to the holiday, it must’ve been the leftover love in the air that made it so easy to be caught up in the moment, to savor every second, to absorb everything Londyn. Or maybe it was the fact that she felt so much more relaxed with us being in a different city, able to completely let her hair down and be mine without watching over her shoulder for her brother.

  “Probably why she didn’t want to come back,” I thought, still in disbelief that I hadn’t been able to get in touch with Eric since the day we got back. And even when I tried to get the word through M.J., I learned it was a lost cause since Eric apparently wouldn’t even speak on my name.

  As if she could read my mind, my mother asked, “How does Eric feel about you two? I know you’re his friend. But ever since Londyn’s father did that time, Eric acts like he’s her dang daddy.”

  I had never put two and two together before, assuming Eric’s overprotective attitude was simply tied to his role as big brother. But knowing that it was a little more deeply rooted than that due to Londyn’s father being absent for a while helped things make more sense as I answered, “He uh… wasn’t too happy about it. Called me a snake for pursuing her behind his back as if he would’ve taken it more kindly had I done it right in his face.”

  My mother didn’t seem too surprised to hear it, sucking her teeth before she replied, “Either way, Londyn is grown enough to live her own life and make her own decisions. It’s really none of his business what y’all have going on.”

  I nodded to agree, pulling onto her street as she continued, “But while we’re on the topic of being in other people’s business, I should probably warn you that I…”

  The second I saw Michelle standing outside of her car parked in the driveway, I rolled my eyes, taking my foot off the gas to coast to buy myself some time. “Seriously, ma? You were still on this? And here I thought I was doing you a favor by bringing you over here…”

  “I thought I was doing you a favor too! But little did I know, you and little LoLo were already on the go-go,” she replied with a corny little bounce of her shoulders that only moms could get away with. But just because she was in a jokey mood didn’t mean I was going to join her, making my annoyance clear when I put the car in park and didn’t move right away.

  As if me parking was her cue, Michelle made her way to the passenger’s side, opening the door for my mother as she gushed, “Looking better already, Miss. Ellen.”

  My mother tossed a hand her way that made her step back, opting to use her crutches instead of Michelle’s outstretched arms. “Girl, hush. I hurt my leg, not my face.”

  “Right,” Michelle replied with more of a breathy whisper, turning her attention to me to say, “Hey Chance. You’re looking as good as usual.”

  “Yeah, my girl thinks so too,” I told her nonchalantly, immediately cutting off any little ideas she might’ve come over here with.

  But the same way it had been news for my mother, it was news for her too, her eyes going wide as she pushed out, “Your… what?”

  “I’ll take the fall for this one, baby,” My mother interjected, crutching a little closer to Michelle so she could tell her, “Chance has a girlfriend now who I absolutely adore so… you can go home.”

  Hearing that my mother adored Londyn only made me feel even better about my decision, though Michelle wasn’t nearly as enthuse
d when she huffed, “Excuse me? You’re the one who invited me over here!”

  I thought about stepping in since she called herself getting loud with my mom, but I knew Ellen Washington - even on crutches - could hold her own, her tone especially slick as she replied, “And now I’m the one telling you to leave. Trust me, it’s better coming from me than Londyn. I’m sure she wouldn’t be nearly as kind about it.”

  Knowing my girl and knowing the two had already had a little run-in before only had me nodding to agree since… Londyn didn’t play that shit. She was a fireball by nature, willing to do just about anything to get her way; even when it came to me. But it was the name drop that seemed to make Michelle even more upset. “Londyn? Your girlfriend is Londyn? Eric’s little sister?”

  “Nah, it’s just Londyn,” I answered with a scowl, knowing how much Londyn hated being tied to him as if she couldn’t stand on her own.

  She could and she did, and it didn’t matter what people like Michelle thought. But I was still sure to tell her, “No hard feelings though, Michelle. I appreciate all your help.”

  “Whatever,” she grumbled, stomping off towards her car as she muttered, “Ruined too many good manicures for this shit…”

  My mother and I watched together as she sped off, the confrontation enough to have me shaking my head when I asked, “Do you really have some stuff to grab, or was that just your alibi to get me over here?”

  “No, I really do. It was a two-for-one. I’ll make it quick though,” she insisted, already crutching inside as I stayed a few steps behind.

  I was glad to see the team had areas they deemed dangerous blocked off, but I still couldn’t help warning, “Please don’t. Last time you were in a rush, you ended up like this.”

  “Boy, hush!” she shouted, making her way up the stairs one at a time the way the real physical therapist had shown her. And since I could pretty much assume she’d make it up alright with how careful she was being, I took a moment to check my phone, my grin growing wide once I saw a text notification from the one partially-responsible for all the uproar.

 

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