Chapter 22 Duke #2
“Alright, I’m heading out. You might want to text everyone else and tell them to stay home. You’ve got a long night ahead of you with some begging to do. I hope you’ve watched that ‘Cry for You’ video enough times to get it right.”
I waved Benny off with a laugh, then dapped him up and led him to the front door.
“Let me text them.”
I pulled my phone from my back pocket to tell the others I’d hit them up tomorrow and they didn’t need to come.
Juelz: Too late, muthafucka. Come open this door.
Rico: Cool, I was hoping you changed yo’ mind.
Money: Aight.
I locked my phone and slipped it into my back pocket. I opened the door and Juelz was standing on the porch with a scowl. Benny laughed as he dapped him up before jogging down the steps to leave.
Juelz didn’t wait a moment before walking past me into the house with wide eyes. He looked around, then back at me.
“Well damn. How long have you been living here, and what place have you been inviting us to all this time?” Juelz asked.
“A minute. But the other place is mine too. This one is just further out.”
Juelz walked into the living room and plopped onto the couch, then looked over his shoulder.
“Damn. You never really know the muthafuckas you hang with every day.”
I stood with my arms crossed, holding my bike keys. He was going to need to speed up the theatrics. I had somewhere to be and not much time. I glanced down at my watch as Juelz sniffled like he was sitting there crying. The man got on my nerves sometimes, but he was solid as hell.
“Aye, I’m gone need you to wrap all that up. I got something to handle.”
Juelz hopped up from the couch and stretched, then turned to face me with a smirk.
“I hope it’s so you can get on your Keith Sweat. You messed up my night with her homegirl. I knew she was gone let me show her something. But no, Solana called and now they’re all over at her place.”
I groaned, knowing they were probably dragging my name through the mud over there.
“Yeah, you messed up. But I got you. You need me to come hold a boombox and everything? You gotta handle the singing, though. My mama didn’t pass that skill down to me.”
I tilted my head and turned to head outside. Juelz followed behind me, then stepped to the side so I could close and lock the door.
“I’m not going there first. She’s already upset, and she needs time. I need to stop and see Heiress first, then I’ll go by the shop. But you can head wherever you were going before I called. I appreciate you.”
Juelz waved me off and made a beeline for his bike. I chuckled as he flicked me off and took off. I grabbed my helmet, placed it on my head, then made my way to my grandparents’ place hoping Heiress hadn’t decided to leave again.
The moment I turned onto their street, I noticed a figure leaning against the porch steps. The closer I got, Heiress came into view. She looked to be deep in thought. At the sound of my engine, she glanced up as I pulled into the driveway.
I kicked the stand down and pulled my helmet off.
“Wait,” Heiress called out, stopping me before I got off the bike.
I squinted and waited. She turned and headed into the house, then came back out a few moments later with a jacket on. I watched her lock the door, then jog down the steps toward me.
Heiress looked different, like the straps on her parachute had been cut. Tired.
“Can you take me somewhere?” she asked.
I released a breath and moved to stand up. She reached out and placed her hand against my wrist to stop me. I looked back at her, but her eyes said something different than they usually did.
“I’m not taking you to the nearest bar, Heiress.”
She looked off with a roll of her eyes. “I want to go somewhere with you. It’s not a bar. I just want to talk, but not here.”
I sat back down, then reached into my pouch for Solana’s helmet and extended my hand. Heiress twisted the helmet in her hands and smiled.
“Who is Sweets?” she asked.
“Where do you want to go, Heiress?”
“Stillwater Bend.”
I nodded and helped her onto the back of the bike.
I released the brake and backed out of the driveway.
She wrapped her arms around my waist. I couldn’t remember the last time my mother had held onto me.
I hated the way it was making me feel to be in her grasp.
But I needed to deal with this if I wanted to love Solana the right way.
We rode through the streets until we made it to the Bend. This place always felt as still as its name. Like a rebirth was always waiting on the horizon. Once I parked, I helped her off the back of the bike.
We walked side by side in silence toward the tree along the edge of the river.
The branches rustled as we approached. I put my hands in my pockets and kept my attention on the stars and clouds.
I didn’t want to be the first one to break the energy building between us, especially since she had brought me here.
“I don’t want to offer you excuses—”
“Then don’t,” I cut in, leaving no room for more.
“I’m trying, Duke. I want to be real with you without it sounding like an excuse.”
I nodded and turned to look down at her.
“I was just a kid, man. And shit, I’m just a man now. But I’ve always needed my parents. I think Grams and Pops made it easier for you to forget about me. I appreciate you for leaving me with them. That’s the one good thing you did for me, outside of giving me life.”
I paused, then turned back to the water.
“I used to think once you got out of college you’d come back for me. That we would get our own place with Colby. I don’t know why any of that even mattered.”
“You were just a kid, that’s why. And so was I.
When I found out I was pregnant, I had been careless.
I was forced to keep you. I wanted to do all the things the other girls were doing in high school.
My parents told me having you would be my lesson.
In a way, I resented them and blamed you.
I rebelled so badly when you were a baby, which is why Mom and Dad took over.
I just wasn’t mature enough, and it seemed to carry into my adult years because they kept that role with you. ”
She paused.
A few tears slipped from my eyes, but I wiped them away quickly. I stayed quiet and let her finish. I knew I needed to hear all of it if we were ever going to be more to each other.
“I remember when I gave birth to you and looked down at you. Your eyes matched mine. I loved you immediately, but I was also a teenage girl who was spoiled and used to getting her way. It didn’t make for the best mother, and I can acknowledge that.
I wanted to rebel against my parents forcing me into motherhood. ”
I glanced down at her with a raised brow and she lifted her hands in surrender.
“I know, all I had to do was stop. But I say all of this to say — you never deserved the bare minimum from me. You deserved a present mom and a present dad. Colby is just as irresponsible as I was. I want to change, Duke.”
I clasped my hands in front of me and nodded.
“They got in yo’ ass, huh?” I asked.
Heiress nudged my shoulder and chuckled.
“Hell yeah. But I deserved it. The things they said to me, I think I had been waiting to hear for too long. I took advantage of them being there every time I fell. I hope you can give me the chance to try. I’m going to mess up, no question.
But I’m going to give it everything I have to be your friend, at least.”
“All I’ve ever wanted was for you to try. It’s not going to be that hard. I’m a grown man now, Heiress.”
She smiled and opened her arms. “Are you too grown for me to hold you for a minute?”
She bit her lower lip, then let it go and gave me a closed-lip smile. I could tell she had shed a few tears too. We needed this moment. I nodded and turned to wrap my arms around her. She was small, her head laid against my chest and her arms tight around me.
We stood that way for what felt like forever until she finally let go. I glanced down at my watch and realized an hour had passed. I had one more stop to make, and I hoped Solana was willing to hear me out.
“Let me get you back to the house. I’ve got one more stop to make.”
Heiress walked alongside me back to the bike with an extra pep in her step.
“Would this stop have anything to do with the woman whose helmet you had me wearing?” she asked.
I handed her the helmet and helped her with the strap before grabbing my own.
“Maybe,” I grumbled, and threw my leg over the side of the bike.
Heiress stood beside it with a big smile.
“Will I get to meet her soon?” she asked.
I lifted a brow, helmet still in my hands.
“Don’t push it. Get on the bike, please.”
I put my helmet on, then held the bike steady as she climbed on behind me with a giggle. I shook my head, made sure she was secure, then pulled out of the gravel lot.
Tonight would serve as a new beginning for Heiress and me. I just hoped I hadn’t pushed Solana too far in the meantime.