Chapter 10
When the car pulled up outside of my parents’ home, my nerves took off for the races. They trusted me to make wise decisions, but I knew they would question this one. Deontray’s reputation wasn’t a secret to anyone. While most of it was speculation, I found a lot of it to be very credible. So I was sure my parents did as well. They kept up with the happenings in the industry, just like Tiana and Mulan, so they could keep me abreast.
Once the driver got out and opened the door for us, Mi’Junae said, “Damn, who is that?”
I looked up and saw my brother. I got so excited. I hadn’t seen him in months. The minute my feet touched the ground, I ran to him. “Jayden! What are you doing here?”
“I had to make a trip back to make sure I saw you before you left again. I miss you.”
“I miss you too!”
When I finally released him from the hug, Deontray and Mi had joined us. I turned to Tray and said, “This is my brother, Jayden. Jay, this is Deontray… my boyfriend.”
His eyebrows lifted as he shook his hand. “Boyfriend, huh? That’s interesting. You tryna be spur of the moment now?”
I rolled my eyes. “This is his sister, Mi’Junae.”
Again, his eyebrows lifted. I was hoping he didn’t say anything about that video, because I was more than sure he’d seen it. “What’s up?” he said to her as he shook her hand.
“Hey. Nice to meet you.”
He nodded. I didn’t miss that he and Tray hadn’t said a word to each other. If Jay didn’t really want to talk to him, then I could imagine how things would be with Daddy. Glancing at Tray, I could see that he didn’t seem to be fazed by Jayden’s demeanor toward him. I supposed he was used to it. I grabbed his hand, and I knew he felt the tremble in it. Before we got to the door, I turned to him.
“It doesn’t matter what anyone says, or for that matter, doesn’t say. I make my own decisions. I’m not worried in the least bit about this decision. I feel it in my soul.”
I slid my hand over his cheek so he could feel my sincerity. He grabbed my hand and kissed it. He smiled at me then kissed my lips. “Thank you for that, baby.”
When I turned back to walk inside, my mama was standing there, looking excited as ever. I chuckled as we walked inside. She kissed my cheek then said, “Hello, Deontray. I’m Katrina Carrier, Kamari’s mother. I’m sure you remember, since we just met the other day.”
She was nervous, and it was too cute. “It’s nice to meet you again, Missus Carrier. This is my sister, Mi’Junae.”
“Hello, Missus Carrier.”
My mama hugged them both then said, “Y’all come on in.”
She flashed me a smile, and we followed her through the front room to the family room, in back where Daddy was. When we walked in, he stood from his seat. He hugged me and said, “I’m glad you had a safe flight, baby.”
“Thanks, Daddy. This is my boyfriend?—”
“Deontray. Nice to meet you,” he said, extending his hand.
My eyebrows lifted slightly. Hmm. That was interesting. “Nice to meet you as well, Mister Carrier. This is my sister, Mi’Junae.”
“Nice to meet you, young lady,” my daddy said as he extended his hand to her as well. “Y’all have a seat.”
I was practically in shock as I sat next to Tray. He grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze as my daddy said, “Congratulations on your award, sir.”
Deontray smiled slightly. “Thank you.”
Things got awkwardly quiet as Daddy turned his attention to the football game. I rubbed Deontray’s hand between mine as my leg bounced nervously. My dad glanced at me, and a smirk formed on his face. Finally, he said, “Relax, baby girl. I’m cool.”
I took a deep breath as he chuckled. “Mister Deontray, I’m extremely protective of my baby. I usually give her boyfriends the third degree. I realized earlier, thanks to my wife, that my baby girl is grown. She has a good head on her shoulders, and she knows how to spot bullshit. So, my job is to trust her and be supportive of her decisions. Again, though, I’m her dad, and she’s my baby. I won’t stop at nothing to protect or defend her.”
Deontray nodded. “I wouldn’t expect anything less, sir. I’m the same way when it comes to my sister. She’s my baby too.”
Mi’Junae smiled tightly as my dad nodded. “You like football? You look like you could be a wide receiver… tall, toned, and lean.”
“Yes, sir. I played in school. I just loved music ten times more.”
Daddy nodded then went back to the game. I leaned against Deontray, thanking God that this went way smoother than what I expected. Jay’s demeanor was about normal though and what I expected from Daddy. When he came and sat on the other side of the room, I watched Mi’Junae look him over. My brother was a nice-looking guy, regardless of how much he could get on my nerves.
“Deontray, how long have you been singing?” Jayden asked.
“All my life, man. Music has always played a big role in my life. I didn’t become serious about it until I was around twelve or so.”
“That’s young to already know what you wanna do and pursue it.”
“Yeah. My mama was very influential in my life. She made sure I got as much exposure as possible.”
I was grateful Jayden was following Dad’s lead. While they made small talk, I kissed Tray’s cheek and went to the kitchen to help my mama. When I saw her in there fixing bowls of gumbo, étouffée, and piling fried seafood and alligator on another plate, I knew she’d outdone herself. “Mama, my goodness.”
“I know. We about to eat good, sha!” she said, mimicking my grandmother.
I chuckled. “Thank you for talking to Daddy.”
“Of course, baby. I needed to remind him of just how much of a grown-up you are. You’ve basically been grown since you were a teenager.”
I gave her a soft smile and kissed her cheek as the back door opened. When I saw Tiana, I slowly shook my head because I knew she was headed straight to the stove to see what she could get a sample of. She snatched a piece of alligator then came to hug me.
“Where yo’ new family and shit?”
I frowned as she laughed. “Yo’ ass may as well say that shit. You been M.I. fucking A! Sorry, Mama Trina. She ain’t been texting or returning calls. She all wrapped up with her new man. Can’t find the heifer in the daytime with a flashlight.”
I slowly shook my head as Mulan walked in. “Hey, ladies! Sounds like I’m right on time.”
She giggled then kissed my mama and took a piece of alligator as well. It was that way every time my mama cooked. I had to give it to her. The woman could throw down in the kitchen.
“It smells so good in here. I had to come and see if you needed help with anything.”
I turned around to see Mi standing there. She looked somewhat nervous, and I could imagine why. Including me, there were four women in here, three of which she didn’t know. She was the minority. We were on my turf, and she didn’t know if any of them had seen what had happened to her. I smiled at her and walked over to her and grabbed her hand, reintroducing her to everyone. She’d met Tiana and Mulan in LA, but I wasn’t sure how much she remembered.
She smiled politely and shook their hands as Jayden made his way inside. “Jay, how’s school going?”
“It’s going good. I’m already ready to be done with it though.”
“Why?” I asked. “College is supposed to be fun.”
“It is, but I don’t have great study habits. I never really had to study in high school. But out there? If I don’t study, I’ll fail. I can’t have that.”
“I hear you, bruh. I suppose that can be tiring.”
I glanced over at Mi to see her soaking up everything Jayden said like a sponge. She was gon’ have to chill her fast-tail ass down. As if thinking about what had just recently happened to her, she left the kitchen. I excused myself and followed her to the front room where she had sat on the floor in front of the sofa.
“Mi, what’s wrong?”
“I need to chill out. I need to get over what happened to me and discover who I am before I go pursuing anything else.”
I put my arm around her and smiled slightly. “The way you’ve handled this thus far is admirable. I don’t know how you’re doing it.”
“Thank you.”
“Mm hmm. Now get off the floor and come have fun with us. Tiana is bound to say something off the wall to make us all laugh.”
She stood from the floor and gave me the biggest hug. I couldn’t help but smile, knowing that my presence was helping her. “And… there’s nothing wrong with admiring another man. But do make sure you are healed from issues before you pull someone into your world. Okay?”
“Okay. Thanks, sis.”
“Anytime. That’s what I’m here for.”
We made our way back to the kitchen, only for me to see Deontray watching us from where he was sitting. I winked at him, and he smiled and did the same. When we got back to the kitchen, Tiana was at the stove again, and Mama was fussing.
“Look, girl! We have guests today. Don’t have me getting loud and scaring the people off. They aren’t southern, so they aren’t familiar with how we get down. Plus, I can tell how much Mari likes Deontray. I can’t be embarrassing her.”
I glanced at Mi with a smile on my face. “How could my favorite girl embarrass me?”
My mama nearly jumped out of her skin as Tiana laughed. I walked over to her as Mi took a seat at the table. I wrapped my arms around her. “Just be yourself, Mama. You could never embarrass me.”
She kissed my cheek and smiled. “That’s why you’re my favorite daughter.”
I slightly rolled my eyes. She always said that. I was her only daughter. After chuckling, I went to the table and sat with Tiana, Mulan, and Mi. They were quizzing her up about the industry and being so involved in Tray’s career. Mi was answering their questions, but I could tell it was taking somewhat of a toll on her.
I discreetly gave Tiana a look that she understood meant to change the subject. It was somewhat insensitive to have her talking about the industry after what had just happened to her. Technically, they didn’t know that she had been raped. However, anyone that watched that video long enough could tell that she was out of it.
When Daddy hollered and Tray yelled right after, I stood and went to the room they were in. They were both standing in front of the TV, and Jayden was shaking his head at them. Jay was more of a basketball fan. I slowly shook my head as Tray turned to me. He smiled. I was so grateful that he was getting along with my family.
He extended his hand to me, so I met them in front of the TV. He surprised me when he pulled me to him and kissed my lips. My face heated up as I pulled away, especially when I saw my dad watching. I’d never really been affectionate with a man in front of him or Jayden. My dad smiled slightly and nodded at me, as if giving me his approval.
I circled my arms around Tray’s neck and kissed him again. This felt so right, and I was glad I let down my guard and just took a chance with him. While I knew things wouldn’t be perfect, I also knew that if he and I worked through things like adults, we would be unstoppable. I was dating with a purpose, and I felt like he was too… at least with me.
Falling in love with him was inevitable if things continued the way they were. When I pulled away from him, he pulled me back. He hugged me and said in my ear, “You were nervous for nothing. I’m loving your family. It’s everything I wished my family was.”
After kissing my ear, he released me. This was ordained by God, and I didn’t understand why. Ultimately, God knew, and that was all that mattered. His divine intervention had led me to a man that would rock me to my core, teaching me all about love, devotion, and what it meant to have those things reciprocated in the most pleasing way.
I smiled at him and said, “I’ll come back to get you when dinner is ready.”
“Okay.”
I walked back to the kitchen just as they yelled again. After glancing back at them, I chuckled. They would be a mess together during football season. When I walked back in the kitchen, Tiana said, “So you just flew yo’ ass all the way back to LA and came back on the verge of love and shit? I need the in between, because I’m missing something.”
Mulan rolled her eyes as Mi chuckled. I’d only talked to my mama about my feelings before I left. “I just felt a pull on my heart to him, Tiana. That’s the only way to explain it. I feel like we were made for each other. I knew it before I left. God ordained this. Had to. It was like I had no control. You know how I feel about men… that umm… that sleep around,” I said, glancing at Mi’Junae.
“Sis, you ain’t gotta say it all nice like that. That nigga was a ho. I wouldn’t want to pursue anything serious with a man like that either. Tray was a big ass ho too. He thought he was hiding it, but everybody knew how he got down. So you’re right. The two of you are polar opposites. It had to be God.”
Mama chuckled. “Mi’Junae, I like you already.”
Mi smiled. “Well, in that case, call me Mi or Nae. The people I like most call me that. My mama was tripping when she named me.”
Mulan giggled. “Our mothers must know each other since mine named me after a Disney Princess.”
Mi giggled a little. “Well, mine is deceased now. She died a little over four years ago.”
Mulan grabbed her hand and said, “Mine died last year. So maybe they’re in heaven trying to rename angels, giving God an entire headache.”
Mi laughed. I could see that we would have an amazing sisterhood. At that moment, I was inspired to write, so I politely excused myself and went to the bathroom and locked myself inside. Through hurt, happiness, and love, I would have my sisters to lean on. Sisters.