Chapter 5 #2
That was until I heard footsteps. His presence hit like a damn brick wall.
The room went quiet the second he stepped in, and his eyes locked on me immediately.
He didn’t smile. He didn’t say hello. Maliah shared pictures of everyone in her family but her dad, so this was my first time even seeing what he looked like.
This man was tatted the fuck up. He wore a white T-shirt with a diamond Cuban chain resting on his chest. I could tell that he was comfortable in his home because of the Nike sweatpants, matching socks, and slides he wore.
Here I was dressed like Carlton Banks, and her dad came dressed down like he was ready to play the block.
They always say that spoiled girls have a bald daddy, but the man standing in front of me had a low cut with waves just like me, with a beard that was full and fell about two inches off his face.
I thought her dad would be some short, bald, round belly, square ass nigga, but boy was I wrong.
He looked like a street nigga for sure. Probably a reformed one, but a street nigga, nonetheless.
“Whose family?” he said, low and commanding.
He was laced in authority, and as I stared at the man of the house, I remembered this was why I didn’t do the family shit.
BLEEK
I stepped into the dining room and scanned the space around me.
Instantly, my eyes locked on the kid sitting at my table with this damn Freddy Krueger-colored cardigan on.
It didn’t even look like something that he would wear.
This is the one Maliah had been smiling about all damn day since I extended the invitation for dinner.
The first thing I noticed was the way he carried himself.
He seemed calm, collected, and confident.
He was throwing me with the damn cardigan, but I knew that had to be him wanting to make a good impression.
My statement was rhetorical and didn’t require a response because whose fucking family was he joining?
Not this one. Eternity gave me a look, and I already knew what it meant. She wanted me to behave.
As I sat in my seat at the other end of the table, I looked over at him.
He was sitting directly to the left of me.
I took notice of everything. It was the tattoo creeping up his neck that caught my attention.
That ugly ass sweater couldn’t hide that.
The ink told me that he was indeed one of these little YNs for sure.
I knew that, like her mother, Maliah would undoubtedly follow in her footsteps when it came to having a thing for the bad boys.
I could tell that he had a fresh haircut by how sharp the edges of his hairline were.
He had strong bone structure and bushy brows that didn’t have any shape to them.
They hovered over his eyes, and that gave him a sneaky appearance.
It didn’t make it any better that his eyes were small.
Muthafuckas with beady slit eyes like that always looked shady.
“Hello, sir. My name is Tahari,” he said, extending a hand toward me.
I watched it for a long moment. His eyes were steady, and they didn’t flinch as he stared at me directly in the eyes.
He was showing that he was respectful, but still, I didn’t move right away.
I let the silence stretch and let him sweat it for a second.
Finally, I leaned forward and grabbed his hand.
A man’s handshake told a lot about him, and his was solid.
It was firm, and I squeezed his hand a bit just to show that I didn’t fuck around.
“Mr. Browne,” I said, returning the greeting.
Even with my squeeze, his grip didn’t falter. Good, I thought inwardly. That mattered more than the cardigan and more than any smile Maliah could throw my way when talking about him. I didn’t have time for any of my daughters to be with a bitch ass nigga. So far, so good.
I let go and studied him a little longer.
The kid had confidence. Maybe even some smarts.
But if he wanted to date my daughter, I needed to know so much more.
I wanted my baby girl to be with someone who not only had her best interest at heart but also someone who would always put her first. Someone who would always protect her.
The same way I do with Eternity. I looked across the table and locked eyes with my wife.
She looked so damn breathtaking without even trying at that.
She didn’t even bother to put on makeup for tonight.
Some light, clear lip gloss did the job.
Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and a maxi dress was what had her looking so stunning.
It was that natural shit that I loved about her.
That natural shit was what had gotten her the two girls sitting at this table.
When she spotted me staring at her, she smiled. I looked down at the table and noticed the bouquet of flowers, and instantly my eyebrow rose.
“A gift from Tahari for the woman of the house,” she said quickly because she knew that I was going to ask.
I turned and looked at him quickly.
“Where my flowers at, little nigga?” I asked.
“That’s on me. I got you next time, Mr. Browne.”
“You’re confident that there’s going to be a next time?”
My brow rose as I waited for his response. We were staring into each other’s eyes.
“I mean, that’s up to you.”
I ran my tongue over my top teeth while nodding my head up and down.
“Her favorite flowers are tulips,” I let him know, just in case there was another time.
And with that, Eternity called out to the chef to start serving food.
Plates were passed, silverware clinked, and the smell of roast and fresh vegetables filled the room.
Maliah chattered easily beside me, her excitement for this moment spilled out in ways only she could pull off.
Maylee bounced in her seat like she was on a sugar rush, and MJ sat stiff with his arms folded.
We were damn near through the four-course meal, and he was still giving Tahari that classic big-brother glare every so often, but that was expected.
He was literally little me in every shape and form.
The room grew silent while we waited for dessert.
Tahari sat with his hands resting on the table and his posture straight.
He was respectable for sure. He smiled politely at the jokes Maliah made, laughed at the right times, and even thanked the chef for serving the food.
I watched him closely. His eyes flicked to me occasionally.
I didn’t talk much because I was more observant, if anything.
I noticed the way his fingers drummed lightly on the table.
And I noticed the way his gaze darted to the clock on the wall every thirty minutes or so.
When he wasn’t checking on that, he was checking his watch.
Something about that told me he had somewhere else he wanted to be.
Some part of his life was waiting for him.
I wondered if it was another little girl.
I remember what it was like to be young.
I made a mental note. The moment couldn’t have been anything, but it was just something that I took notice of.
I’m sure that he had obligations, but right now he was here with my daughter, and that mattered more.
In my eyes, whatever had his ass checking the time shouldn’t be of importance.
I leaned back slightly as I just watched things play out before me.
Occasionally, when we made eye contact, my gaze didn’t falter, and neither did his.
Whoever his daddy or male role models in his life were, they did a damn good job of showing him how to conduct himself in a room of men.
I even noticed how, even though MJ was mean-mugging him, he didn’t pay that any mind.
Dinner continued when the chef brought out dessert.
Small talk continued to fill the air. Since I wasn’t doing any digging, Eternity got down to it.
While listening, I learned that Tahari was twenty years old and that he met Maliah in their school.
When he revealed that information, my eyes shot at MJ, and he just gave me this look.
“I never met him before,” MJ admitted as if he was reading my mind.
“Na, he never did. I had to disenroll when something with my dad came up.”
Tahari kept it short. And with his statement, a dark cloud started to creep into the room. Of course, Eternity did what she does best, which was to take control of the moment. She quickly changed the subject, and just like that, the lighter mood was brought back.
The room quickly filled with Maliah’s laughter, Maylee’s giggles, Eternity’s gentle smiles, and MJ’s occasional smirk, which broke through the stiffness he had been putting on for most of the night.
After taking the final scoop of my cheesecake, I sat back in my chair and just looked at how everyone at the table was vibing.
It felt close-knit, and that shit was scary because I was still the head of this family.
I’m the man everyone looked to. And right now, I was quietly testing Tahari.
He was already showing that he was the kind of person who could fit in.
And I mean perfectly, when he and Maliah started finishing each other’s sentences, how Eternity and I do, I could have broken my plate over his damn head.
He was smooth, too damn smooth. Slick niggas played slick games.
I had to make sure he didn’t hurt my baby girl.
Every glance he made at the clock, I saw it.
Time was on my mind too. I looked over at Mali and saw just how her eyes lit up as she was watching him talk about some bullshit.
I had to have a one-on-one talk with him.
I needed to lay out my expectations. I just might take Sha up on his offer and toss Tahari’s ass in the damn trunk.
I picked up my glass and swished my drink around before taking a sip.
I let the burn go down slowly as I watched how everyone at the table interacted with him.
Tonight, I’d let it play out because he was impressing everyone else under this roof.
But when he and I had time to sit down, the atmosphere would feel different.