Chapter 22
Alijah
Saturday Afternoon . . .
“Other than your mom and cousin, do you have siblings, a big family?” I ask Deshona as we head toward the freeway.
Our morning consisted of sex and cuddles and then a joint shower where another round of sex happened.
It’s the best morning I’ve had in a long ass time.
It also makes me want to see if it can become a part of our daily start.
The cuddling is also something new for me because my ex wasn’t the type to be under me pre or post sex.
Come to think about it, sex with her felt more like a robotic action than a connection between two people supposedly in love.
See, that’s probably why things turned out the way they did. No love lost.
“My family is small. I have an older brother, LeKendric. I don’t know my dad or his side, so there’s that. How many people am I about to encounter?”
The nonchalance in Deshona’s delivery carries a hint of pain and causes my eyes to momentarily leave the road.
“Why don’t you know your pops or his people?”
Deshona’s heavy and sad eyes shift to me, and my chest tightens with pain, but I have to disconnect to return my focus to the road. It takes Deshona a couple of seconds to respond as my breaths slow in anticipation of what she’s gonna say.
“Somewhere between Mom’s pregnancy and the delivery of me, she determined that my father was a no-good nigga who didn’t deserve to be in our lives. I grew up with dreams of being a daddy’s girl, or having that experience, only to deal with Mom’s negative slander of men.”
My brain spirals as her words hang in the air of the vehicle, and I shuffle through thoughts on how to reply. I can understand her desire for that type of relationship with her pops, as it’s the one my sister still thrives in.
“Hm. Have you ever told your mom how you feel about that situation? Do you even know the man’s name? You’re grown now; you can find that man and establish a relationship with him on your own.”
A dry, humorless sound, like a strangled cry rather than a laugh, pierces the air and instantly tanks my hopeful outlook.
“Mom isn’t open to having any discussions that involve that sorry sack of shit.” Deshona’s voice changes, and I instantly know that the last four words of her statement came from her mother’s mouth.
Damn, this shit is fucked up. How am I gonna handle today?
“Is this shit today gonna be too much for you? Maybe I shouldn’t have pushed you into it.”
“No. No. I’m good. I’m actually looking forward to seeing how you all are. It might give me hope for whoever I start a family with.”
“Sitting in my passenger seat while talking about a future without assigning me to it is dangerous, mama. Don’t have me running into a guardrail on your side to prove it’s me or nobody.”
“Lord, have mercy. Your ass has been running up in me without carpe diem. Please don’t let me find out that your elevator got stuck before it reached the top.”
“My bad. Blame it on the residue of your pussy juices on my tongue.”
Deshona laughs, and the sound bounces around the interior, instantly brightening the mood. A smile slides into place on my lips as I steer the vehicle down the highway.
“You never answered my question. How many people can I expect?”
“Oh, my bad. My family is huge, and it’ll be sprinkled with both sides. Mom doesn’t believe in separate gatherings. Or his and her side as she likes to tease.”
“Ooh. This just might be a good time.”
You have no idea. Ma is gonna love the fuck out of you.
Deshona has me in love with her, and I know Ma is about to be the same way.
She’s also one of three women I’ve brought to meet my entire family.
That in and of itself sets the bar for Ma’s reaction to her, especially since it will be confirmation of being over Monika’s bullshit.
Deshona is different than Monika. Deshona cares about more than herself.
She has a bomb ass smile and an even, warm personality that instantly pulls me in. Not to mention she’s fine as fuck.
Man, your mama ain’t checking for this woman’s looks. Just your simp ass.
I shrug and continue the drive to my parents’ crib. Thankfully, the drive isn’t long, and in no time, I pull onto my parents’ street. Cars line each side as I get closer to their house. Thankfully, there’s room in the driveway, so I don’t have to hunt for a parking spot.
“Wow. There are a lot of people here.” Deshona’s voice isn’t one of fear but awe as I nod wordlessly and exit to assist her out.
I pull the door open and smile when I look at my woman in her pink dress and multicolored wedges that complement it.
Her wavy hair hangs down her shoulders, and whatever lip gloss she's wearing has me eager to kiss it off.
Unable to stop myself, I lean in and kiss her lips as she giggles in my mouth.
“It’s not a good look for you to walk into the backyard with shiny lips.” Deshona wipes the gloss from my lips with a cocky grin.
“Shid, this won’t be the first or last time I have you on me today. Come on, let me introduce you to my people.” I interlock our hands and head toward the back of my parents’ house, where loud music serves as our guide.
The closer we get, the tighter Deshona grips my hand, and I chuckle lowly because my lady is anxious for nothing. My family is open and welcoming to everyone, no matter how many times they meet someone. Before we reach the gate, I hear Ma’s angry voice, and I shake my head.
“Tiny, if you touch another one of those sausages, I’m cutting you off. Back up so everybody can see how good they are. Goodness gracious.”
“Oh, wow,” Deshona says lowly.
I don’t acknowledge her comment as I open the gate, and my family comes into view.
“What’s good, family?” I announce once Deshona and I enter the backyard.
Various family members shout back as some wave from where they are in the yard. Ma, who was standing at one of the food tables, smiles, showing all her teeth, before she heads toward us.
“Incoming in five, four, three, two,” I whisper to Deshona.
“Oh my, aren’t you a pretty little thing. Hello, sweetie. I’m Gwen, this knucklehead’s mother.” Ma’s voice is as excited as the cheery expression in her eyes as she stands in front of Deshona.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Gwen. I’m Deshona. This knucklehead’s lady.” There’s laughter in her tone, and I chuckle while I shake my head.
“I ain’t about to be too many more knuckleheads,” I say.
Ma waves me off. “Boy, hush. Ain’t nobody worried about you.” Then she returns her focus to Deshona. “Come on, sweetie. I want to introduce you to my husband.”
Without waiting for me to agree, object, or anything, Ma links her arm with Deshona, forcing me to release Deshona’s hand.
Deshona smiles as Ma leads her away while she points to people at some of the tables they pass along the way.
My heart gallops, and I can’t help my goofy grin when Deshona doesn’t look back at me to see if I’m following behind them.
I am, because this is her first time, and I don’t want her overwhelmed, but I’m at a good enough distance to give them a chance to talk or whatever Ma intercepted her for.
“Honey, I want you to meet your son’s lady. Her name is Deshona. Sweetie, this is Alijah’s father, Darren,” Ma says when she and Deshona reach Pops, who’s manning the grill.
Pops turns with a Cheshire grin as his eyes bounce to me before his gaze returns to Ma and Deshona. “It’s great to meet you, Deshona. Help yourself to anything.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Before Pops can say anything else, Aaron and Gianna walk up with matching grins, and I shake my head.
“Well, who do we have here?” Gianna asks with a glint in her eyes.
“The way bro is standing like one of those professional linebackers, I’m assuming someone of significance,” Aaron adds.
“Excuse these two, sweetie. I promise I raised these knuckleheads with better manners. This is Alijah’s sister, Gianna, and his brother, Aaron. You two, this is Deshona, your brother’s boo thang.”
“Oh my God. Please don’t say that again, honey,” Pops says with a shake of his head as Gianna, Aaron, Deshona, and I laugh.
Neither my siblings nor I can speak on Ma’s statements, because Pops always objects first. It’s always funny to witness because Pops is so put out and disturbed by Ma’s attempt at being hip.
“I think I’m in love with your mom,” Deshona turns her head and whispers in my ear, and a thunderous shout of laughter leaves my mouth.
Ma had Deshona on a world tour after they left Pops, and I was just able to pry her away. What’s crazy is that Ma didn’t seem to want to part ways with Deshona but let me have my woman back when Pops interjected on my behalf.
“Stop laughing, bae. Your mom has been amazing. She’s welcomed me here with open arms. She hasn’t badgered me about you and me. She’s been loving, but in an authentic way that doesn’t make me feel like I should expect the other shoe to drop. She’s been . . . I don’t know, but I like it.”
“That’s what’s up. I’m glad y’all hit it off.”
Future wifey on deck, my nigga. You just might have picked a winner this time around.
“We did. We even exchanged numbers.”
Whoa, Ma ain’t waste no time.
“Don’t be using that intel on my ass when I piss you off and shit in the future. I don’t care what she says. Ma can’t whup my ass.”
Deshona giggles as her head hits the crevice of my neck, and my arms tighten around her body. I have to will my dick to act right because I ain’t about to let my family see how much this woman affects me.
“You ready to eat?” I ask.
“I think so.”
“Alright, come on. My cousin Tiny ain’t gonna show us mercy for too much longer.”
Deshona eases off my lap, and we head to the food tables to fill our plates.
Pops has done his thing on the grill while Ma and my aunties have killed the sides and desserts.
Once our plates are full, Deshona and I head to a table so we can eat.
My cousin Smitty waves us over to a table where he and my other cousin Nate are sitting.
“Do you mind sitting with them?”
“Nope,” Deshona says as we change course and head to the table with Smitty and Nate.
When we reach the table, I quickly introduce the three, then Deshona and I dig into our food. Twenty minutes and a stuffed belly later, the four of us are playing poker. My ass is losing because I can’t keep my eyes off Deshona’s sexy ass.
“Nah, you shouldn’t have counted me out without considering I might not be an amateur, cousin,” Deshona tells Smitty.
All I can do is grin as my chest expands with warmth, and a boyish giddiness surges through me when I stare at Deshona’s smile and the familiar tone she takes with my cousin. Not to mention, her calling Smitty cousin has me thinking about wedding bells and shit.
“Come on, fam,” Smitty says with a deep frown.
While I’m not even trying to win, Smitty and Nate are serious about beating Deshona simply because she’s the only woman here they haven’t beaten.
“Maybe next time, fam,” Deshona says in a taunting voice before she lays her winning cards down on the table with a cheesy grin.
“Fuck!” Smitty and Nate grumble simultaneously before they get up from the table and walk away.
I shake my head and lay my cards face down on the table because I don’t care whether I’ve won or not. My eyes meet Deshona's, and as her eyes flash with love, I know I've won the biggest thing worth having, . . . her heart.