Chapter 2
“Aye, bruh. Where you at?” Maison, my brother-in-law, asked when I answered my phone.
“Headed to have dinner with Livvy. Wassup?”
“About to meet some of the fellas at the lounge. You’re hardly ever in town when we meet up, so I just wanted to extend an invite.”
“Cool. How long will y’all be there?”
“Shit. A few hours at least. Hit me up when you’re done with dinner.”
“Bet.”
His name disappeared from the display on my dashboard, and the music resumed. I was about five minutes away from the restaurant where I was meeting Livvy. We’d been fucking around on and off for almost a year, but we had no title and weren’t exclusive.
Livvy was beautiful, had good pussy, and was cool to chill with most of the time, but for reasons I hadn’t been able to put my finger on, she irked my nerves when we spent more than a few hours together.
Thankfully, my work schedule as a pilot kept me too busy to give her too much of my time, and she was cool with how things were between us.
It wasn’t every day that you met a Black pilot.
We were too few and far between, but it was slowly changing.
I became interested in aviation in middle school, and for my fourteenth birthday, my parents gifted me flying lessons.
From there, I was hooked, and when I went to college at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, I majored in Aviation Management.
The university’s School of Aviation was considered one of the best and nationally ranked. I couldn’t have asked for a better educational experience to help me reach my goal of becoming a commercial pilot.
Last night was the first night I’d slept in my bed in several nights because my routes had kept me away from home. Thankfully, I had the next few days off before my next scheduled flight. I didn’t have any plans for the evening, so when Livvy asked to meet up, I agreed because I was hungry.
I arrived at Perry’s Steakhouse maybe she can set something up.”
I began shaking my head before he finished his statement.
“I’m good on Taylor and her matchmaking. I let her set me up on two blind dates about ten years ago, and they were disastrous. I had to get a restraining order on one of the women.”
“Oh damn. I can’t believe this is the first I’ve heard of that.”
“You’ll probably never hear it from her since she claims to be great at helping people make connections.”
We laughed because my sister wholeheartedly believed that, but it couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Will you be in town for Valentine’s Day? I saw a flyer at Smokin’ Dawg about a speed dating event they’re having.”
“I’ll have to check my schedule to confirm, but I think I’ll be flying. If not, I might check it out since I don’t have any plans.”
“If nothing else, you can add another ho to this area code.”
“Fuck you, nigga.”
We spent the next few hours talking shit and watching college basketball, eventually ordering pizza. When Taylor arrived home, we were summoned to retrieve her bags from her car. After putting them in the nursery, we found Taylor in the kitchen.
“My nephew got enough clothes to last him until he’s in kindergarten,” I commented teasingly.
“Don’t start, Sy. I already hear it from Maison nonstop.”
“Clearly, you haven’t heard it enough, because it hasn’t stopped you from buying something for him every time you leave the house,” Maison said, rubbing her stomach as he kissed her forehead.
“I promise. This is the last time. Between what I have and what Mama has, our son has more than enough.”
“I don’t believe you, but okay.”
She playfully pushed him away. “I’m serious this time. If I get anything else, there won’t be anything left for people to get me for my baby shower.”
“From the looks of that room, you’re already past that point, baby Sis.”
“Whatever.”
She dismissed me, opening the freezer and taking out a quart of ice cream.
“If you ever settle down, just hope your wife has more self-control than mine,” Maison teased, wrapping his arms around Taylor’s waist and kissing her temple.
I appreciated how much Maison loved my sister.
Watching them reminded me of my parents, who were in their sixties and had been married for forty years.
I couldn’t wait to find a woman to love like my father loved my mother, and how my brother-in-law loved my sister.
Maison might be right . . . Maybe if I put forth some effort, it could go a long way.