Chapter Five Solae Diamond Santiago
Crown parked behind my mamma’s pearl pink Lexus.Pulling into her winding driveway always felt like exhaling after holding my breath too long.
The flower pots on the porch, the wind chimes dancing in the breeze, and the smell of garlic, onion powder, and whatever secret seasonings only she knew how to mix caught my nose like a calling.
Before Crown could even put the car in park, my mamma swung the front door open.
"There go my babies!"
Smacking my lips, I laughed.
"Mamma, you always so dramatic."
She ignored me completely and walked straight to Crown.
"Boy, come here and let me see you."
Crown climbed out the driver’s side chuckling.
"Mrs. Sherline." he said with his arms out.
She wrapped him in a tight hug.
"Still calling me Mrs. Sherline after all these years? Boy, call me Momma. You know I raised your hardheaded behind."
Watching them together always warmed my heart.
My momma loved Crown like he was her own son, and truthfully, he'd been family long before either of us realized it.
Whenever he needed someone, she showed up.
Whenever she needed anything, a ride, her grass cut, something fixed around the house, Crown never hesitated.
"Mrs. Sherline, what'd I tell you about leaving your front door open?" Crown asked as he shut it behind us.
"Look here, boy. You don't run me or pay these bills neither. Gone wash your hands so you can eat while this food's still hot."
Standing at the sink, I giggled.
She used to fuss at Crown the exact same way when we were kids.
"Okay, Momma. I'm sorry."
He folded immediately.
She was probably the only person on Earth who could make Crown listen without arguing.
The second we walked into the kitchen, the smell of fried chicken, candied yams, greens, and cornbread nearly knocked me over.
"Jesus," I moaned. "You cooked all this?"
"No," my momma answered dryly. "Uber Eats."
Crown laughed so hard I rolled my eyes.
We settled around the table, and right on cue, Momma started talking.
"Oh, I see you got rid of that little pencil-dick Marcus."
I nearly choked.
"Girl, I told you something wasn't right with him."
"Momma..."
She turned around, wooden spoon still in her hand.
"I went grocery shopping Wednesday instead of Tuesday this week."
I frowned.
"Okay..."
"I seen Marcus pushing a buggy with some short dark-skinned man with blonde in his hair."
"Now, I would've thought that was his homeboy..."
She paused.
" had he not smacked that man on the ass before they walked off together."
Everything inside me dropped.
Somehow I'd missed every damn red flag.
Apparently, a bitch was colorblind.
Before I realized I was crying, Crown pulled me into his chest.
The tears came hard.
Ugly tears.
The kind that made your chest ache because your heart couldn't carry the weight anymore.
Why couldn't people just tell the truth?
Why waste years of somebody's life?
After what felt like forever, my momma handed me a glass of red wine and a box of tissues.
I threw it back like water.
She wrapped me in another hug.
"Baby... sometimes God has a funny way of putting exactly what you need right in front of you. You just be too busy looking somewhere else."
Her eyes drifted toward Crown before settling back on me.
Crown rubbed the back of his neck.
"Miss Sherline..." he chuckled. "That's my best friend. I'd never risk losing her over feelings."
"Mmmhmm."
she wasn't buying a single word.
The rest of the night passed with laughter, food, old stories, and more wine than I probably should've drunk.
Before I knew it, it was nearly two in the morning.
"I got a buzz now," My momma laughed. "Y'all ain't driving nowhere. Pick a room." She grinned mischievously.
"Or sleep in the same one."
I laughed so hard I almost fell over.
Before I could protest, Crown scooped me up like I weighed nothing.
"Put me down!"
"Nah."
"I'm serious!"
"You drunk."
I laughed the whole way upstairs.
He laid me gently on the bed while I continued rambling about Marcus.
Maybe it was the wine.
Maybe it was the way Crown had taken care of me without asking for anything in return.
But for the first time in years...
I really looked at him.
For the first time in a long time, I really looked at him.
His perfectly cocoa-brown skin.
Those broad shoulders.
That deep baritone voice that somehow always settled my nerves.
The quiet confidence in the way he carried himself.
The way he'd never once made me question whether he'd show up when I needed him.
Heat fluttered low in my stomach.
My heart did this weird little stutter that had no damn business happening.
Absolutely the hell not.
Crown was my best friend.
My safe place.
The one person who'd seen every version of me, the good, the bad, the loud, the broken, and somehow loved me through all of it without ever asking for anything in return.
I'd rather kick my own best friend than ruin something we'd spent years building over one confusing-ass moment of attraction.
Some lines weren't meant to be crossed.
...Right?
That thought barely had time to settle before sleep claimed me.