Chapter 15
Chapter
Fifteen
“Are you sure he’s not going to mind me crashing y’all dinner tonight?” Sunjiya asks Akeem for the fifth, maybe sixth, time.
During the initial ask, there was no fear or trepidation but the closer they get to the house, the more her nerves form in the pit of her belly. It’s obvious Quise means the world to him, so she doesn’t want to fuck this up in anyway.
“He’s cool with it. I promise. He might have a million damn questions though. Other than that, he’ll be straight,” Akeem assures her.
“Questions? Oh God! What if he asks how we met? What are we going to say? We need to talk about that,” she says nervously.
Slightly amused at her state of near panic, he glances at her face then places a hand on her thigh to comfort her. “I thought that massage relaxed you,” he teases.
“It did but I,” she says, then processes her mini freak-out moment.
A small grin falls off her lips then she sighs.
“Alright. I’m back now and you’re right.
Her magical hands rubbed away every inch of tension in my body.
Let me stop before I ruin her results. But we do need a story.
If he’s that inquisitive, we cannot not have our shit together. ”
“He’s my son; he don’t need details. All he needs to know is I saw you, had to have you, and I made my move,” he says plainly.
“So we leave out the zip ties,” she teases and he shakes his head. “I’m bullshitting but where did we meet?”
“Crescent Falls. The less lies told, the less likely we’ll fuck up. Too many lies always leads to exposure,” he says and his words land in her throat, forming a boulder of guilt. She forces herself to swallow all of it. “It’ll be fine,” he promises and she hopes he’s right.
Akeem turns off N. Dixie Highway, and three minutes later, he’s turning into the North Andrews Garden neighborhood.
Charis’s large three bedroom, two bath home sits on a corner lot.
Akeem pulls into the large driveway behind Charis’s jeep.
Before he can shift into park, the front door opens and Charis steps onto the porch.
As if she can’t see clearly from the sun, she raises her hand above her eyes and glares at his rental. Akeem spots her and turns to Sunjiya.
“That’s my ex. Let me talk to her then I’ll introduce you,” he says before leaning over and kissing her.
The sight of Akeem kissing the unknown, pretty ass woman in the car infuriates Charis. She has a whole man in her life but the sight of a woman with him, in her driveway, hits with the force of a speeding eighteen-wheeler.
“I know the fuck he didn’t,” she grits lowly to herself. “Akeem,” she calls out angrily as soon as he emerges from the Charger and he shakes his head as he treks toward her.
“Don’t fucking start, Charis. For once, act like you have some damn sense,” he says so only she can hear.
He doesn’t want to risk Quise hearing him. One thing he has never done nor will ever do is be disrespectful to her in front of him. Quise has never been privy to any hostility between them, even when Akeem found out about her affair. He models the behavior he wants Quise to replicate at all times.
After rolling her eyes and sucking her teeth hard, Charis crosses her arms across her chest then shifts her right leg. With venom in her eyes, she glares at him, still in disbelief. In the three years she’s lived in this house, Akeem has never brought a woman here, never. So who the fuck is she?
“Is he ready?” he asks.
“You not going to invite me to dinner? I like House of Mac too,” she says with a condescending sneer.
“This isn’t his homecoming. We’re all having dinner together after the game. You’re invited then, not tonight,” he says and she tsks loudly.
“Well, can I at least meet the woman you bringing around my son and to my house?” she snaps.
“Our son and his house,” he corrects her and she holds in her smile.
No matter their situation, she can’t deny that she loves how he stepped in and stepped up in Quise’s life.
The very house she lives in actually belongs to Quise because Akeem bought it for him.
She’s the parent and the utility bills are in her name but the house is in fact Quise’s. His name is on the deed.
“I know,” she replies.
“Then, act like it. You can meet her. Just leave all that slick shit on this porch,” he says and she stomps toward the car. He quickly grabs her forearm. “I’m not playing, Charis,” he warns. “Hold all that attitude shit down.” Quise opens the front door.
“Pops,” he says with a smile. When he steps onto the porch, Akeem releases Charis’s arm and embraces Quise.
“Damn, you got more gains since the last time I saw you,” Akeem says and Quise smiles. He’s been training so hard to build more lean muscle.
“Come on, man. You just saw me. It ain’t even been two weeks,” Quise says with a slight grin.
“I’m telling you. I see you. Keep it up,” Akeem says, then pats his back. “You ready?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then, let’s roll,” Akeem says. Then he turns to Charis. “You coming to meet her?” he asks.
“Next time,” she says, then looks at Quise. “Have fun.”
“I will,” Quise says, then walks toward the car.
When Quise is a few feet away, Charis rolls her eyes at Akeem again but he merely chuckles before leaving her on the porch in her apparent jealousy. He’s only a few steps behind Quise, so Akeem makes quick strides to catch him.
“You good?” Akeem asks, making sure Quise didn’t pick up on his mom’s weird ass vibes.
“Yeah and hungry,” Quise assures him while rubbing his hands together. “And I see you, Pops.” He smirks.
“What?” Akeem questions.
“She’s pretty,” Quise utters, then nods toward Sunjiya in the front seat.
“Yeah, she is, very pretty and nice. When we get in here, you just make sure you show her the gentleman you were raised to be.”
“You know how I do,” Quise says before opening the back passenger door.
When Quise closes the door, Sunjiya turns around and faces him. “Hi,” she says. “I’m Sunjiya. Your dad talks so much about you.”
“Nothing but good, right?” Quise says with a big smile.
“All good,” she says with a nod.
Akeem slides into the driver’s seat right before Quise says, “Good. Nice to meet you, Miss Sunjiya.”
“Sunjiya is cool,” she says and he nods.
When she faces forward, Akeem stares pensively. “Y’all straight?” he mouths to her and she smiles, assuring him she and Quise are indeed straight. “Any stops before we get there, ’cause it’s about a forty-minute drive,” Akeem says.
“I’m good,” Sunjiya says.
“Me too,” Quise adds. “All I want is my oxtail mac and cheese and a jerk chicken pizza.”
“Damn, two meals?” Akeem jibes.
“You know I’m trying to get right. Plus, I ain’t really eat lunch. I’ve been waiting on this,” Quise admits.
“My pockets missed when yo’ ass could eat off the kids’ meal.”
“Long time ago, Pops. You gotta get over it. I’m a man,” Quise says.
“Close to one but not quite,” Akeem says.
“Man, come on. Don’t clown me in front of Miss Sunjiya,” Quise hisses, then shakes his head. “I’m tall as you,” he says because Akeem only has him by three inches. He had a growth spurt last summer and shot up almost five inches.
“Height don’t mean shit. Tall men fall harder actually,” Akeem schools. “You’re turning into a man but you’re not one yet. You don’t even have a license.”
“But I’m working on that,” Quise says and Sunjiya smiles.
She enjoys seeing this side of Akeem. His banter is fatherly, loving, and jovial with Quise and the love between them suffocates the car in a beautiful way. Because this is a dynamic and feeling she never had the privilege of experiencing, she soaks it all in as they head to the restaurant.
By the time they pull into the parking lot of the world famous House of Mac, she’s as caught up on Quise’s exciting life as Akeem.
He’s super excited for homecoming, even though he hasn’t secured his date or a suit for the dance.
He’s hype and training for the homecoming game and almost completed his online course for his driving license.
He’s a busy, athletic teen with an inquisitive mind and big heart.
“Have you ever been here, Miss Sunjiya?” he asks as they walk toward the restaurant’s door and she doesn’t bother correcting him. Out of respect, he’s not letting go of the miss before her name, even with her insistence.
“No, never, but I looked at the reviews and some of the mac-n-cheese looks too good,” she admits.
“It’s so good. They all hit but the oxtail one smacks,” he says, nodding.
“I’m torn between that one and the lobster mac. We’re both going to be in his pockets tonight,” she says, then winks, causing Quise to grin.
“Pops got it,” he says with a shrug.
“Got what?” Akeem asks.
“The check,” Quise says matter of factly.
“How about you pay?” Akeem offers.
“I can if we all get water and share a kid’s meal,” Quise says before speeding up to reach the door. He holds it open for Sunjiya until she enters, earning a proud nod from his dad.
The House of Mac is a popular spot, but luckily they are seated in less than fifteen minutes.
A spot clears and they sit at a half-booth, half-table spot by the window.
Akeem and Quise know exactly what they want but Sunjiya is a little indecisive about the delicious looking selections.
When she finally decides on the colossal lump crab mac, Akeem hands Quise his credit card to place their orders at the counter.
The moment Quise is out of his seat, Akeem shifts his body to face Sunjiya.
He takes the moment to try and read her, study her face, see if her smile is genuine and not forced.
Less than twenty-four hours ago, she’d found out her sister was dead and she’d killed a man.
Separately, each incident is a lot to deal with, together they are big ass deals, conceivably devastating.
“If you wasn’t good, would you tell me?” he asks genuinely.