Page 26 of Off the Charts
“Ohhh. Nigga cheers to that. She's fine too,” he raised his glass. I laughed and tapped glasses with them. “How the fuck did that happen?”
I didn’t want to tell them about her sending the picture, but I didn’t want to lie. “It just did. Shit was a mistake. A good one. A few texts were exchanged then we ended up at the same place last week. I took her to the lake then dropped her off at home. The shit was natural and now I can’t get her off my mind. I feel connected to a stranger. I thought Nick was on some dumb shit when he explained how he was with his girl, but I get it. I’ve had hella women approach me, but I can brush a bitch off and forget how they look the second they walk away. Jersei is like Velcro. I try to detach her from my thoughts, and she latches back. It’s fucking me up ‘cause I barely know her. Then it’s like, I've been divorced for five years. I’on even know how to approach the shit.”
I took a heavy swig of my liquor because I felt like I’d said too much. Shawn and Nick were smiling at me. I sucked my teeth preparing myself for the bullshit they were about to give me.
“I never thought the day would come. You talking about Shawn and you finna start blushing,” Nick teased. I chuckled. “Nah, but keep the vibe going. You feel that way for a reason. Go see what that reason is. Date her. Get to know her and learn what she likes. Meet her right where she is and how you’ll know if it is right is if she’s willing to meeting you halfway. Don’t focus so much on the timeframe. Focus on what you feel.”
“Yeah and allow yourself to feel nigga,” Shawn added. “I know you have these walls up and don’t let people in, but if she feels safe enough, give her a piece of you. Start small. Welcome her into your world. Let that shit flow. I know you are counselingher son, but what happens at school is different from your personal life. Separate the two and go for it.”
I nodded, taking in their advice. Honestly all that shit sounded intimidating, but my brothers telling me yes was the extra push I needed.
“’Preciate yall boys. I’ll keep y’all posted.”
“No, your lying ass won’t but we here for you. It’s okay to try again,” Shawn stated. His phone started to ring and judging from the grin on his face, I knew who was on the other end. “The boneless wing basket?” He rubbed the side of his face smiling. “Anything else? Aight. I got you, Beautiful. I’ll be there. I’ll tell them. I love you.”
“This sweet ass—” Before the words could leave Nick’s mouth, his phone rang too. “Yeah, babe. I was just leaving. I’m on my way now. I got you.”
Shaking my head, I watched them scramble to order whatever they were asked to then leave with their words on me heavily. I could only fail if I didn’t try. The last of my bourbon burned going down and I realized these niggas left me in my thoughts and with the tab.
Beingaround Nick’s fake not in love and Shawn’s extra loving ass rubbed off on me or at least that is what I was telling myself. The truth was I’d made this my next destination the minute she became the topic of conversation. She hadn’t responded to the video I sent her last week, and texting wasn’t really my thing. I rather see a person face to face.
Since I was already popping up, I decided I shouldn’t be doing that empty-handed. Everybody in town loved The Chicken Hut, so I got Devon to make me two orders of twenty-piece wings, fries, and tenders then stopped by the market to grab some other shit I figured she needed.
The closer I got to her home I realized, I didn’t know what I was about to walk into nor did I know her true situation outside of what Zion told me but fuck it. When I arrived, I backed my Chevy Silverado 2500 into her driveway then grabbed everything I purchased before hopping out and making my way to the front door. My knuckles tapped against it a few times as I scanned the quiet neighborhood.
About a minute passed before I heard the locks sliding on the other side. I took a step back as it opened. She was barefoot with her hair in a messy bun, dressed in a sports bra with biker shorts that hugged every curve. It was clear I’d disturbed her from something. Her mouth parted and a small frown settled into her forehead, and I watched damn near every emotion flash through her eyes from confusion, joy, to lust.
“Vay—Vayce?” She wiped her forehead with her forearm, looking past me then down at the stuff in my arms. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to see you,” I shrugged and extended the bouquet of flowers to her. “These are for you.”
“Thank you.” A smile played on her lips as she accepted the roses. “These are beautiful. I will sit these with my magnolias.”
“Not a problem. I should’ve called and shit but telling you I wanted to spend time instead of doing it didn’t sit right with me. I needed to lay eyes on you. I hope that’s cool with you.”
“I um,” she looked behind her then back with a smile. “That’s cool. I’ve been out back in the garden and came in for something to drink, so it was perfect timing. You can come in.”
I searched her eyes for any hesitation. As bad as I wanted to spend time, I didn’t want to overstep but the more I thought about it, I’d already done that. I stepped into her home and was greeted by the smell of linen and a variety of fresh fruits. Her home was clean, and cozy decorated in black and grey with a brown marble undertone.
“Uh, uh nigga. Take them shoes off and go wash your hands,” she fussed.
I chuckled, placing the box and food on the counter then doing as I was told. “Thank you for letting me disturb your day.”
“It’s not really a disturbance,” she sighed. “Zy is small, but his presence is so big. I miss my baby.”
“He told me he goes out of town with his Granny each summer.” I pointed at the box I’d set on the counter. “And open that. That’s yours too.”
“Yeah, he does. They’re in D.C. for six weeks. He called me today and they were visiting the African American History and Culture Museum. Anytime I call, it’s like I’m bothering him or something,” she sighed as she opened the box.
I laughed while finishing washing my hands as I watched her reaction. It was a set of wine glasses I picked up from Harvest Goods. I didn’t know shit about the glasses, but I grabbed the most expensive ones in hopes that she would like it.
“Oh, my goodness, these are so niceeee,” she sang, examining the different colors. “What you know about Swarovski?”
“Not a damn thing actually,” I wiped my hands on a paper towel. “You said you make your own wine so I figured these would be good for you.”
“Thank you so much. We can use these soon. Now I gotta cook for you,” she did a little dance and put the glasses in the sink. “Is that the Chicken Hut I smell?”
“It is. House blend and hot lemon pepper. I’an know what you liked yet, so I got the most popular and my favorite. Hopefully it’s yours.”
