The Perfect Present

by Rochelle Alers

  “What’s wrong? You look like you want to say something.”

  Their eyes locked and DeShawn smiled. “I’m just so proud of you.”

  “Thank you.” She reached over the table and gave him a tight hug. “I’m going to miss you.”

  “I’m going to miss you even more.” They pulled apart and looked at each other. He wanted to kiss her, and as her bottom lip quivered, DeShawn wondered if she wanted to kiss him, too.

  Rising from his desk, DeShawn hoped that Kayla would come home for the holidays. Then again, he wasn’t sure if he was ready to see the married Kayla. Eight years ago, when he’d taken his last road trip with the Cowboys to Oakland, he’d reached out to Kayla and found out that she had gotten married.

  His heart shattered like a plate glass window being hit by a rock. Married? Of course he’d played it off as if he’d been happy for her, and even offered her two tickets to the game.

  “Aww, that is nice,” she’d said. “But Raul and I won’t be able to make it. That’s a five-hour drive, and we’re going to see a performance at the school tonight.”

  “I didn’t realize Oakland was so far away from LA,” he’d said, trying to hide his disappointment that he wouldn’t get a chance to see her.

  “Umm, someone needs a map,” she quipped. “Maybe we can get together after the game? I’d love for you to meet my husband.”

  The words my husband coming out of Kayla’s mouth jabbed the knife deeper into his already broken heart. DeShawn always felt that Kayla would end up in his arms, wearing his ring—just like one of those crazy chick flicks.

  Now, he wondered if Kayla and her husband had children, and if so, how many. And were those dimples still as sexy as they were in high school?

  DeShawn couldn’t help but think about all the times they’d missed each other over the years. She couldn’t come to his college graduation because she’d been doing an internship in LA. And when she’d given him a call to congratulate him after he’d been drafted, he’d missed the call because he was at a huge party.

  And then there was the husband. He could’ve met the man, had he wanted to, but he didn’t.

  Life moved on, and DeShawn focused on the promise he’d made to his mother. Luwan made him promise to get his degree and be more than just a jock. While he’d kept his word to her, DeShawn had also listened to his father, Stewart, who told him to get that NFL money and keep that degree for plan B.

  Teaching had never been his goal, but knowing that so many black students didn’t see male teachers who looked like them, when he took his first teaching job DeShawn finally understood why his injury had been a good thing. Though this hadn’t been the future he’d planned, it was a good life.

  Returning to his desk, DeShawn replied to the email confirming that he would attend the holiday party. He wasn’t going to take Taylor with him, because he wanted to have a good time.

  * * *

  “Welcome to Charlotte, North Carolina. Thank you for flying American Airlines and enjoy your stay.”

  Kayla yawned and lifted her hands above her head. She was happy to be on the ground, but being in Charlotte was bittersweet. Autumn was supposed to pick her up, and Kayla knew she wasn’t going to have a warm reunion with her sister.

  Their relationship had gone from bad to worse. Things had gotten so bad between them that her mother had had to make the call to Autumn to get her to pick Kayla up.

  “You girls need to get it together and stop acting as if you’re strangers.”

  “Well, technically we are.”

  Nora sighed. “Your sister is coming to pick you up. Try to be nice.”

  “I will if she does,” Kayla muttered.

  As she meandered slowly through the airport, not thinking about what time her sister was going to arrive, Kayla thought about her life in Los Angeles. She and Raul met during her sophomore year at UCLA. He’d been a theatre major at USC, and was stunning. Tall, caramel-brown skin, and a ponytail. Sitting in a coffee shop, she’d watched him walk into the building, and their eyes met. When he smiled at her, Kayla’s knees went weak and she was glad to be sitting down.

  He’d ordered his latte and crossed over to her. “Good afternoon, do you mind if I join you?”

  “Not at all.” She’d cleared a space for him at the table, then extended her hand. “I’m Kayla.”

  “Raul. Nice to meet you. Did I interrupt you finishing your screenplay?”

  “No. Besides, I’m not a writer.”

  “I thought only beautiful writers sat in the front table at coffee shops.”

  Kayla laughed. “No, I just wanted to get away from campus for a while.”

  “USC?”

  “Umm, no! UCLA.”

  “Well, I won’t hold that against you.”

  They had fallen into an easy conversation that reminded her of DeShawn, who she missed immensely.

  They had spent more time together, and over time Raul became more and more like her best friend. By senior year they’d become lovers. She’d wanted to share her new relationship with DeShawn over the years, but he was always busy. And when she saw how much of a star he was on the football field, she understood why.

  She wondered if DeShawn was still in Charlotte and if she’d get a chance to see him while she was in town. Grabbing her bags from the claim area, Kayla headed to Starbucks.

  After picking up her chai latte, Kayla took a slow sip and walked to the exit. A blaring horn caused her to look up. Locking eyes with her sister, Kayla offered her a half smile.

  Autumn lowered the passenger-side window. “Can you hurry up?”

  “Hello to you, too, Autumn,” Kayla said, remembering that her mother had asked her to be nice.

  Autumn rolled her eyes. “Welcome home, Kayla.”

  She dropped her bags in the back seat and got into the car. “Thanks for letting Mom talk you into picking me up.”

  “Well, I figured things must be pretty bad in Los Angeles if you’re coming home after all these years. So, did he hit you or cheat on you?”

  “What?”

  “Your husband. What did you do to make him leave you?”

  “All you need to know is that we’re not together anymore.”

  Autumn flung her hair back. “Oh. Right. The divorce is final and everything. Rodney and I were going to come to LA for our anniversary, but we ended up in San Diego. It was so romantic.”

  Kayla rolled her eyes. “I bet it was.” One thing she knew about her brother-in-law was that if there were a picture in the dictionary for henpecked, his smiling face would be right there.

  “Oh, sorry. Don’t want to rub it in that you don’t have a man.”

  “You can’t give us five minutes.”

  “What are you talking about? I’m just trying to be sensitive to your feelings.”

  Bullshit, Kayla thought with an eye roll.

  “Anyway,” Autumn continued, “what are you getting Mom for Christmas?”

  “Haven’t thought about it yet. I’m moving back here and I have a lot more on my mind than Christmas.”

  Autumn sucked her teeth. “Well, Christmas is less than a week away, so you might want to get something more on your mind than your move. She’s expecting a big family Christmas this year.”

  Kayla closed her eyes and began rethinking her decision to return home.

  By the time they arrived at their mother’s house, Kayla was sick of Autumn’s bragging. It was as if her sister was scratching at her pain. Typical Autumn.

  “Kayla!” Nora exclaimed when she walked in the door. Kayla rushed over to her mother and gave her a tight hug.

  “Hey, Ma.”

  Autumn sucked her teeth. “I’m here, too.”

  “Girl, I see you every day. This one is just a picture on my phone.”

  Folding her arms across her chest, Autumn rolled her eyes. “Well, I guess it’s like that when you can’t afford to come home.”

  “You know what! I’m sick of your damned mouth.” Kayla stopped herself f
rom getting in her sister’s face and shaking her by her shoulders.

  “Girls!” Nora exclaimed. “It is almost Christmas, and this is the first time that we’ve all been together in a long time. Can we have some peace?”

  “Sure, Mom,” Autumn said. “I have to go meet my husband.” She turned to her sister. “See y’all later.”

  Kayla plopped down on the sofa and looked around the living room. It looked as if time had stood still, and she felt such a sense of comfort. She glanced at the picture of her father hanging over the fireplace. Kayla missed him immensely. He’d passed away when she was six years old and Autumn was three. That year, Kayla had lost her love for Christmas and the holiday season. While she mostly held her feelings in, Autumn acted out, which meant that Nora spent most of her time making sure Autumn was all right. Kayla always felt as if she had to make sure her mother didn’t have two problem children. That’s why Kayla could not wait to graduate and move to Los Angeles. No more dealing with Autumn’s tantrums.

  “How are you doing over there?” Nora asked when she returned to the living room with a tray of deviled eggs.

  “Oh, Mom! I haven’t had these in years.” Kayla took one and nearly swallowed it whole.

  “They don’t have real food in LA?”

  Kayla laughed as she wiped her mouth. “They really don’t have Duke’s Mayonnaise.”

  “You didn’t answer my question, though. How are you doing?”

  “Mom, I’m fine.”

  Nora raised her right eyebrow. “I don’t believe you. With everything that happened, I know it was hard to come back home.”

  Kayla nodded and took another deviled egg from the tray. “But here I am, ready to start over.” She forced a smile and ate the egg.

  “I wish I could get my hands on that sucker Raul. How dare he put you in this position?”

  Kayla rolled her eyes and released a sigh. “Because he’s an asshole.”

  “Watch your mouth.”

  “Sorry. But it’s the truth. Anyway, what are you planning for Christmas dinner?”

  “Autumn and Robert wanted to do some catered thing. But I’m not eating generic mac and cheese. And we’re going to put the tree up on Christmas Eve. It will be nice to have both of you here this year.”

  Kayla rose to her feet and stretched. “Sounds fun.”

  “Don’t act like that. You and your sister need to stop this crap between y’all.” Nora folded her arms across her chest. “Why do you two act like oil and water all the time?”

  “Because Autumn thinks I owe her something and I don’t understand, nor do I care to.”

  “Listen, your sister loves you, and both of you act as if you can’t stand to be around each other. And I get pulled in the middle all the time. I’m sick and tired of it. You two are not little children anymore.”

  “Why don’t you tell her that? I’ve been gone for ten years and she’s still holding on to a grudge that I don’t even know what it’s all about.”

  “All I want is some peace between you two. That’s all.”

  “It’s hard, but for Christmas, I’m going to try.” Kayla smiled at her mother.

  “Guess who I saw at the grocery store yesterday?”

  “Who?”

  “DeShawn Carter.”

  Kayla’s breath caught in her chest. “How is he?”

  “Still fine and single. He told me that West Charlotte is having a Christmas social in a few days. You should go.”

  “I don’t know, I haven’t seen those people in years and . . .”

  “So what! Have some fun and get out of this funk. I want you to have some fun.”

  “Mom, I have to find a job, find a place to live and . . .”

  “You know Rome wasn’t built in a day. You have a place to stay, and the job will come.”

  Kayla smiled. “Well, let me take a shower and unpack. Maybe I will go to the social and check out some old friends.”

  Nora smiled. “And by old friends I know you mean DeShawn. I’ve always liked him and wondered why you two never dated.”

  “DeShawn was my friend. It was like I was one of the boys,” she said. But her mind went back to prom night, when things nearly crossed the line from friendship to that kiss.

  Sighing, she thought about the biggest regret in her life. Letting DeShawn go. But once he made it to the NFL, she thought that he would move on with his life and become a millionaire. She knew that she wasn’t going to be able to compete with all of the groupies and other women that he’d be around. And he was all the way in Dallas.

  Besides, she’d been happy with Raul, for a while anyway. But when his acting and writing career didn’t take off, he retreated into a world of fantasy that Kayla ignored until it became impossible to do so.

  “You want some dinner?” Nora asked, breaking into Kayla’s thoughts.

  “No, I think I’m going to take a shower and go to bed. This time change is taking hold of me.”

  Nora gave her daughter a tight hug. “You rest, and we’ll go shopping later if you feel like it.”

  “Sounds good, but I’m broke, remember.”

  “Did I ask you for money? I said we’re going shopping.”

  “All right, Mom.” Kayla kissed her mother on the forehead, then headed for her bedroom.

  She wasn’t surprised to see that her room hadn’t changed much. The pale pink walls were still there, and the full-size bed that she’d slept in all of those years still had the daisy comforter on it. Kayla fell back on the bed and sniffed the familiar smell of home. She closed her eyes and drifted off to the most comfortable sleep she’d had in months.

  * * *

  DeShawn wiped the sweat from his brow as he stopped in the middle of the greenway. It was unseasonably warm for a December morning. He’d been jogging for an hour to try and get rid of the stress he’d been feeling. One of the school’s biggest donors had cut their annual donation by 40 percent, which put the school even more in the red. Taylor had been emailing the board about the need for an emergency meeting. DeShawn was sure that his future hung in the balance.

  “Can’t worry about that now,” he mumbled as he started running again. He stopped short when he saw a woman who looked like Kayla stretching on a bench. He crossed over to her.

  “Kayla?”

  Her head popped up, and when she smiled, his knees went weak.

  Those dimples. That smooth skin.

  “DeShawn!” She threw herself into his arms. His body returned to the ballroom where they’d danced ten years ago. She felt good and looked even better.

  DeShawn stepped back before she could feel his desire growing. “It’s good to see you.”

  “You too.”

  “When did you get into town?”

  “Yesterday. My mama told me she saw you.”

  “She didn’t tell me that you were blessing the Queen City with your presence, Hollywood.” DeShawn drank in her image, clad in yoga pants and a cropped UCLA tank top. He wanted to touch her sculpted abs, but that would’ve been too forward.

  “How have you been?” they asked in concert, then started laughing.

  “I’m just out here trying to raise these kids,” DeShawn said.

  “Oh, you have children?” A crestfallen shadow clouded her face momentarily. “I know we haven’t talked in a while, but you could’ve told me about the babies. I would’ve sent a gift or something.”

  “Oh, yeah? For about one hundred and fifty of them. I’m the principal at Millwood Academy.” DeShawn started laughing.

  “Wow, I had no idea. You look like you’re still playing football. Obviously, I haven’t been watching it lately.” A slight blush spread across her cheeks.

  DeShawn grinned and rocked back on his heels. “I had to retire a little earlier than expected. But it was worth it. I love working with these kids. But enough about me. What have you been up to?” He glanced down at her left hand and noticed there was no wedding ring there. He wasn’t disappointed at all. Still, he wondered if she was
upset about it and when her marriage ended. What if the man died?

  She sighed and ran her hand across her face. “Well, I was working at Long Beach Community College, but budget cuts led to me being cut. So, I’m back.”

  “What are you going to be doing while you’re here?”

  “That’s a good question. I have no idea at this point. Right now, I’m just going to celebrate the holidays with my family.”

  “Sounds like a good plan to me.”

  “Oh, happy belated birthday.” She smiled again and those dimples drove his heart into overdrive.

  “Thanks for remembering. So, are you going to the Christmas social?”

  “I was thinking about it.”

  “Stop thinking and just go. We will have a great time. That is, if your husband doesn’t mind.”

  “Got rid of that problem.” She rolled her eyes. “And it was the best decision I’ve ever made.”

  “Ouch. I thought you and Raheim were in it for the long haul,” he said, not attempting to hide his smile.

  “His name is Raul, though I’ve been calling him everything but that lately.” She sighed. “But anyway. Are you going to the social?”

  DeShawn smiled and thought about seeing Kayla in a strappy gown holding a glass of champagne. She snapped her fingers in his face. “Hello?”

  “My bad, I was just thinking about something.”

  “Your wife?” Kayla asked.

  “Oh, hell no, I’m not married.”

  Kayla threw her hands up. “Whoa. You sound like you’re the one who went through a nasty divorce.”

  “Marriage isn’t for me, unless I meet the absolute right woman.” And she could be standing here in front of me right now.

  “Trust me, you don’t want to marry the wrong person. Been there, done that. But now I’m happily divorced.” She shook her head. “I never want to do that mess again. Hey, race you!” Kayla took off like a bullet. Her form from their track days was amazing. And as much as he wanted to give her a challenge in the race, DeShawn couldn’t take his eyes off her shapely ass. “Damn,” he muttered as he started running to catch up with her.

  * * *

  Kayla ran away from DeShawn, not because she wanted to race, but because she couldn’t stand there looking into his dark brown eyes and pretending that she wasn’t still affected by that man. And what a man he’d grown into. Tall, dark, and handsome was definitely an understatement when it came to DeShawn. If he was fine in high school, now he was a sex symbol. She could only imagine how many girls acted out in school just to be sent to the principal’s office. His glistening dark brown skin was almost her undoing. She remembered how she would watch him from the corner of her eye at track practice and how excited she’d get when he’d take his shirt off at the end of practice and strut around showing off those abs.