Chapter 8 #2
“Thanks, bro. Just doin’ the best I can with what I got. But when you think that’s gon’ change for you? We ain’t gettin’ no younger,” he said, swatting the back of his hand at my stomach.
“I know. Now that I’m out of the Navy and shit, I can start to think about other things.”
“Does other things include a wife and some lil bad ass kids runnin’ around the way? You know how we used to terrorize our street back in the day,” he recalled with a reminiscent chuckle.
A ghost of a smile lifted the corner of my mouth. “You right about that. And don’t let Twan and Hines from the neighborhood up the street come over. The four of us together were some fuckin’ menaces.”
“Shit ain’t what it used to be, that’s for sure.”
“You still talk to either of them?” I quizzed.
He sucked his straight, slightly off-white teeth. “Nah. Hell nah. I stopped fuckin’ with them niggas a long time ago. Twan’s a fuckin’ hophead now, and Hines stay in and out of jail.”
I lowered my head, although I couldn’t stand there and act like I wasn’t surprised. “Damn.”
“Right. A nigga tryna keep on the straight and narrow path like you,” he joked.
“Whatever, mothafucka.”
“Yo, since you’re back in town now, you should come out to the club with me and a few of my boys to celebrate my birthday.”
“The club? Nigga, ain’t we too old for that shit?”
“Hey, even old niggas deserve to turn up once in a while. You down?”
My shoulders rose and fell. “Fuck it. Send me the info, and I’ll pull up.”
Xavier nodded with a smile. “Bet.”
Before we could continue our conversation, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I fished it out and saw it was the builder calling. “I gotta take this. I’ll be right back,” I announced before accepting the call and pressing the phone to my ear. “Hello?”
“Good afternoon, Mr. Gray. I’m calling to let you know that we’ve got your final walk-through scheduled for next month, and as long as there are no concerns, we’ll schedule your closing at our downtown office in the weeks following. Will that work for you?”
I dipped my chin. “Yeah. That works.”
“Great. I’ll circle back to get you some specific dates and times, and we’ll see you then.”
I ended the call with a smile on my face.
Everything I’d been working toward was falling into place exactly as I’d planned.
Everything except for Lex. I thought back to the Pandora charm I’d purchased and considered leaving the party to return it, but I didn’t.
Someway, somehow I’d give it to her, and hopefully it would make her see how serious I was about her.
With every encounter we had, it got harder to play the background and not blow up her life or mine.
One week later.
From the colorful streamers taped to the living room walls and dangling from the ceiling to the brightly wrapped presents with bows and gift bags with tissue paper sprouting out like freshly bloomed flowers, the Gray family home was more than ready to celebrate my father’s fifty-ninth birthday.
It was no secret that Mama took birthdays seriously.
She had the whole main level of the house decorated for Pop’s special day and always made sure to bake us our favorite cake flavor every year.
His was a double-layered German chocolate cake.
I snatched one of the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies from the jar in the kitchen, leaving half of it hanging from my mouth as I placed the gifts I’d bought next to the others.
I’d stayed up until two in the morning trying to “wrap” them, until saying fuck it and tossing everything into gift bags with no tissue paper.
It was the thought that counted, not the presentation, right?
After everyone ate dinner and watched Pops open his gifts, I knew I’d be leaving there soon with a full belly and to-go plates for the next couple of days.
But I wasn’t complaining. I’d spent so many years at sea missing out on family get-togethers that being home after so long felt like the only gift I needed, and it wasn’t even my birthday.
The basketball game played loudly on the sixty-inch TV mounted to the wall, while Liv set up the first game when her phone started to ring near the couch.
“Oak, can you grab it and tell me who it is?”
I walked over and scooped up her phone to see a picture of her and Lex on the screen. She was calling, and my heart fuckin’ somersaulted in my chest. “It’s Lex,” I responded.
“Answer it for me.”
I rolled my eyes. “What makes you think I wanna talk to your friend?”
“Just shut up and answer it before she hangs up.”
“Fine.” I reluctantly agreed before swiping to accept the call. “Hello?”
“Oak?”
“Yeah, wassup.”
“Oh, h-hey. Where’s Liv?”
“She’s setting up the game right now. It’s Pop’s birthday.”
“Oh, okay. Well, I don’t wanna interrupt. Tell her to call me later, and tell Mr. Gray I said happy birthday,” she replied.
“Hold up and let me put you on speaker so he can hear you.”
I pulled the phone away from my ear and tapped the speaker phone option. “Aight, say it again.”
“Happy birthday, Mr. Gray! Y’all enjoy your Gray family game night!”
“We will!” my family replied in unison.
“Oak, hit the FaceTime button so she can see me and Mama’s matching PJs,” my annoying ass sister encouraged.
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t nobody wanna see them.”
“Speak for yourself.” Pops chimed in before playfully tapping my Mama’s ass.
Liv frowned with disgust. “Okay, gross. Quick, Oak. Call her while I delete that mental picture from my memories.”
I tapped the FaceTime button, and Lex accepted soon after. When her face popped up on the screen, I felt it again. That fuckin’ kick in my heart. What the fuck is she doing to me?
“H-hey,” she said awkwardly.
“Ain’t seen you around in a minute,” I reminded her. Her ass knew she’d been away from me too long. “You been good?”
She jerked a quick nod. “Yeah. I’m fine. You?”
“I’m straight.”
“Mm-hmm. Did your dad get everything he asked for this year?”
“I’m sure he did. Can’t say the same about me, though,” I answered truthfully.
I saw the hesitance in her eyes. I’d put her on the spot. The minute I saw her lips slowly drift apart, I slowly stepped off into the kitchen to act like I was grabbing something from the fridge and speaking up before she did.
“I got you something,” I announced as I opened the refrigerator. My voice was low, although I hadn’t been able to stop the words from spilling off my tongue completely.
Her brows rose with surprise. “What? Really?”
“Yeah.”
“What is it, and what’s the occasion?”
“Guess you gotta wait until I see you again to find out.”
She smacked her lips while trying to smother a budding smile. “Don’t tease me. I hate it when people do that, especially when you know I wanna know what it is.”
“Why would I tell you? That would spoil the surprise.”
She pouted. “Because I wanna know.”
“Then you know where to pull up to get it,” I replied.
“It’s late.”
Her statement made me take a glance from the nearest kitchen window. The moon hung low in the night sky. I scoffed. “Barely. It’s like nine o’clock. Where you at?”
“Home.”
“You want me to come get you?”
She rolled her eyes. “No. But you could at least give me a hint about what my gift is.”
“Why settle for a hint when you can come see it in person?” I questioned as a playful smirk formed on my lips.
I trekked back into the living room and handed the phone to Liv. I knew it wasn’t fair to bait her into coming to see me, but I needed to see her. It was like I couldn’t quite function right without her. All I could do was hope it worked. At least that way, both of us would get something we wanted.
Time seemed to fly by after playing a couple of rounds of charades.
To my surprise, Lex pulled up about an hour later—right on time to join in on Liv’s next game, which worked better with an even number of people anyway.
I noticed she was wearing her engagement ring almost immediately, and that shit hit me harder than I expected.
I didn’t know what had changed between the cabin and now, but it was clear she’d had a change of heart.
The petty side of me wanted to forget all about the charm I’d bought her—to return it and get my money back.
But it was too late. She already knew about it, and her curiosity wouldn’t let her not at least see what it was.
After playing a couple more games, she volunteered to be on refill duty with me for the drinks and helped to take everyone’s glasses into the kitchen.
She set the two glasses she had in her hands onto the countertop before twisting her neck toward me. “Okay, Oak. I’ve been patient enough. Where’s this gift you speak of?” she inquired.
“It’s in my truck. We can go out and get it once we’re done with this.”
“Yeah. I don’t wanna get in between your dad and his whiskey sours. If I wasn’t driving, I’d definitely partake.”
Lex and I shared a quick laugh before returning the refilled glasses to the living room.
We stepped outside onto the front porch.
I drew in a deep breath, instantly filling my lungs with the fresh, crisp air.
My thumb jabbed the key fob still buried in my pocket, and the truck unlocked.
I opened the door and reached inside the glove box to grab the small, pink Pandora box with the charm nestled safely inside.
“Here,” I said, forgetting everything I’d rehearsed in my head, and practically handing her my feelings wrapped in a pink satin ribbon. “I saw it and thought of you.”
She outstretched her hand for the box, and after seeing the word Pandora written on the front of it, I knew she could tell that whatever was inside wasn’t a thoughtless gift.
It was anything but, and I was nervous as hell that she’d think I’d done too much.
I did my best to play it cool as I watched her intently, acutely aware of every reaction and facial expression she had, even if she didn’t know it.