Chapter 26
FIGHT GIRLS OVER BOYS
JAHLANI
Jahlani isn’t sure what to expect as she pulls into the tree-lined cobblestone driveway within the cul-de-sac (of course).
She didn’t anticipate going and yet she finds herself at his doorstep.
Well, his mother’s doorstep. The dashboard reads half past six as she puts the car in park before stepping out to admire the house.
Its brick walls, with accents of cream-colored trim, glow slightly from the golden light of late afternoon.
A wreath of dried leaves and red berries is hung proudly on the front door, a seasonal touch that blends with the muted autumn colors of the trees lining the street.
In the yard, a few pumpkins sit on the front steps.
It’s nice. Really nice. Everything she imagined it would be, and the thought upsets her more than it should.
She should leave. Turn back before anyone notices her.
“You must be Jahlani. Come in, come in. It’s freezing out there.”
A woman who she can only assume is his mother stands at the door, flapping her arm, a polka-dot apron wrapped around her.
Despite their eyes being different colors, she sees traces of him in her.
She ushers her into the entryway and Jahlani does her very best not to gawk at the mid-century modern finishes and listen as she talks, insisting that Jahlani “drop the formalities” and call her “Gwen.” She takes the tray of food Jahlani had pilfered from her family and red wine she’d found on a shelf that seemed appetizing and tells her to join everyone in the living room.
Jahlani’s stomach flips at this, because who is everyone?
She’s not good in intimate settings with people she doesn’t know.
She doesn’t even know why she fucking came.
Panic starts to bubble inside her and she stands awkwardly in the hallway, deliberating on faking a stomach bug when Lucy swings around the corner.
She lets out a loud shriek when her eyes land on her. Jahlani falls to her knees to catch her, smiling.
“Hi, baby girl. I missed you,” she says, pressing her cheek against hers.
“Lulu, stop,” his voice calls and her heart thunders against her sternum.
Her eyes meet his over the top of Lucy’s head, and as gracefully as she can while holding her, she rises to her feet, not missing the way her knees pop.
“Jahlani,” he says, slowly walking to them until they are toe to toe. Jahlani sways Lucy in her arms as she toys with the necklace at the column of her throat.
“Hi,” Jahlani says, feeling awkward.
He smiles down at her, sliding his hands into his pockets. “I’m glad you came. I didn’t think you would.”
She nods. “Yeah. I’m not really sure how I ended up here.”
He grins. “I think I have an idea.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. It’s me. You missed me.” He clicks his tongue, shaking his head. “I knew you were obsessed with me, Jones.”
She inhales, her body tingling with want, need, mine. “What if I did? Miss you?”
The grin stretching across his face fades slowly.
“Hypothetically speaking,” she says, whispering in the quiet hallway. “What would you say? What would you do?” she says, shifting her grip on Lucy, the familiar warmth of her wrapping her in a happy bubble.
He steps forward, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “I’d say …” He blows a gust of air through his lips. “I wouldn’t know what to say, actually. Fuck,” he says, shaking his head, scratching under his chin.
She lets out a soft laugh. “Ha. Now who has nothing to say.”
His eyes lower to hers with an intense gaze. Want, need, mine. “Yeah. You tend to have that effect on me.”
She sucks in a breath, stepping back in an act of self-preservation.
He nudges his head toward the living room.
“Let me introduce you to everyone.”
Within two hours, Jahlani learns more about the Hayes family than she knows about her own.
She learns that Danica is a political science major with a minor in women’s studies and is fully committed to embarrassing Roman every waking second.
Taylor is a friend from high school who graduated with a biology degree and is now in his second year of medical school.
Gwendolyn flits in every now and then, offering bits of the food, refills, or memorabilia from Roman’s childhood for her to look at.
She disappears when another knock sounds at the door.
Danica rolls her eyes. “I swear, this woman invited the whole damn neighborhood.”
Taylor bumps his shoulder into her. “Hey, be nice.”
“Do not tell me what to do.”
“I’m not—”
Jahlani sips from her glass of wine, eyes bouncing between the two of them when Roman sidles up next to her.
“What?” he says.
She shrugs. “Nothing.”
He squints at her. “I know that look.”
She nods in the direction of Danica and Taylor, who have now taken their lovers’ spat to the backyard.
“Is something going on between them?”
“Dan and Taylor? Nah.”
“Roman,” she says, staring pointedly.
He sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. “Danica might have had a thing for him back in high school, but …”
“But?”
Roman winces. “I might have gotten drunk one night and told him.”
Jahlani gasps. “No.”
“Yeah,” he says, bowing his head.
She covers her mouth with her hand. “How could you?”
He looks down regretfully. “It wasn’t my finest moment.”
“So, what happened next?” she asks, drinking from her glass again, turning to face him.
He blows out a breath, laughing. “Danica beat the hell out of me.” He lifts the hair falling across his brow. “That’s how I got this.”
He points to the scar running across his forehead. Jahlani tsks in mock pity, running her fingertips across the strip of skin.
“Poor Roman.”
His eyes catch hers and she freezes momentarily before removing her hand, her body flushing. Want, need, mine.
“Sorry, I don’t know why I did that,” she says into her glass, suddenly very interested in an intricate bird painting on the mantle.
“It’s fine.”
He clears his throat. “So, Taylor pretty much shut her down. She didn’t talk to me for about three months.”
Jahlani laughs. “Three months?”
“Oh yeah. It was bad. Mom even thought about putting us in family therapy,” he says, scratching under his chin. “Eventually, she woke up one day and asked what I wanted for breakfast, like nothing had happened. She’s over him now, but I think she’s secretly been plotting some form of revenge.”
Jahlani steps forward, pointing to them outside. “Roman, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but she’s very much not over him, and she’s definitely plotting her revenge.”
He turns to watch them, his brows furrowed.
“I’m going to get a refill,” she says and starts to move toward the kitchen when three new bodies fill the hallway.
One is Gwendolyn with an uncomfortable smile on her face, the other is an older gentleman, holding a bottle of red wine and wearing an even bigger smile, and the third makes Jahlani’s stomach flip because she has a look in her eyes as she stares at Roman.
One that Jahlani’s grown to recognize within him.
Yearning for something you can’t have.
“Audrey,” Roman says as she waves the food in her hand cautiously.
“I made pie.”
Much to Jahlani’s dismay, the pie is really fucking good. She deliberately avoids eye contact with Roman as they seat themselves around the table. She isn’t sure why she’s so upset. They’re not a thing. She has no right to feel anything yet she does.
Want. Need. Mine.
Suddenly his breath is tickling her ear. “You okay?” he asks in a hushed tone.
“Yeah. Fine,” she says, giving him a closed-mouth smile, not meeting his eyes. “Danica, can I get the butter, please?”
From the corner of her eye, she can see his hand drag down his mouth as he watches her before turning to adjust Lucy in her seat.
For a while, they all pass around plates of food and chatter aimlessly.
Jahlani constantly turns down food, claiming that she already ate, and the conversation volleys around with Lucy being the main star of the show.
Audrey somehow managed to weasel her way next to Lucy and has now taken the role of helping Roman feed and soothe her.
Jahlani’s knee bounces under the table when Roman reaches forward to give her a napkin and their hands touch. She takes large gulps from her glass.
“Jahlani, what do you do for work?” Audrey asks.
All eyes float to her and she shouldn’t feel intimidated, especially considering she stands in front of twenty times that amount at school, but still.
It’s his family, she thinks, feeling compelled to make a good impression.
“I teach.”
A chorus of oohs and ahhs spread throughout the room and she feels her face warm at the attention. Audrey tilts her head.
“Where do you teach?”
“At the college. I’m a graduate teaching assistant—temporarily,” she feels the need to add. Audrey’s grin spreads like the Cheshire Cat and Jahlani can’t help but feel like she’s fallen into her trap.
“Temporarily?” she parrots, making a point to wipe the mashed potato from Lucy’s chin.
Jahlani clears her throat. “Well, the plan is to become a statistician. I’m doing it for my internship hours.”
“Wow,” Audrey says, blinking. “I remember during my internship how busy I was. It was such a crazy time. I barely saw my family. Do you get to see yours often?”
Jahlani blinks, tilting her head slightly as she nods.
“I mean, I live with my mom, but my dad lives in another state with his wife,” she says, sipping from her wine, her face burning. Audrey turns back, her smile faltering slightly before she slips it back on.
“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that,” she says, turning back to tickle Lucy, who suddenly spits up her food.
Huh.