“I was talking to your. . .”
“Toni,” I interrupted Caleb with hiked brows. Calling Toni my mother would’ve set me off. He cleared his throat as everyone stood silent and uncomfortable. Caleb rubbed the front of his throat as the music played.
“What’s going on over here?” Mom appeared, making this an official party.
“Nothing, I was talking to Caleb because I didn’t know anyone else. And the boys came over to join us,” Toni said.
Mom’s eyes bounced from mine to Malcolm’s.
“Toni, they are intimidating Caleb because he is talking to you,” she said, shaking her head. “You two... leave,” Mom said to me and Malcolm, pointing her thumb in the opposite direction.
“You heard her, Toni, let’s go,” Malcolm said, extending his arm in her direction.
Backing my brother, I nodded my head toward the opposite side of the room. I’m sure Malcolm and I were coming fromtwo different points of view. We were protecting two different people. He was looking out for Toni, but I was helping Caleb. Mom gave an exasperated sigh as she caressed the bridge of her nose.
“She doesn’t have to leave. Toni, you can enjoy your conversation with Caleb,” Mom said.
Caleb tried to keep a blank stare, but his body language suggested something else. I shook my head in disapproval. He should have come to me first and I would’ve given him the heads up. All eyes landed on Toni as she shrank in the moment.
“It’s okay, I don’t want them upset,” Toni said and walked away with Malcolm.
I wanted to correct her because I didn’t care, but I knew Malcolm did.
“You two are out of control,” Mom said to me.Caleb bit down on his bottom lip, walking away, but one day he would thank me.
“Marquise, what is going on with you, Son? Fighting at your dad’s party and now you are blocking Caleb from Toni,” Mom said as she adjusted my clothes.
“Mom, I don’t care about Toni. I was trying to protect Caleb. He doesn’t need to get wrapped up in her craziness,” I announced, and Mom’s head jerked backward.
“You better be joking, young man. Toni is a wonderful person, but you won’t return her texts. I’m not threatened by her... You are my son. Do you hear me?” Mom reaffirmed.
She caught my face between her hands. As a child when I acted out, she reassured and settled me the same way.
“The cake is here,” the DJ said after he lowered the music.
I gave an instant smile, and she slammed her eyes shut.
“What did you do?” she asked.
The crowd laughed. I escorted Mom to the cake area to find Pops cackling.The cake topper was a football player gripping hisknees with a referee beside him. Malcolm and I slapped hands, proud of our creation.
“Y’all see how my sons do me,” Pops said, as the crowd erupted in laughter.
“But your knees do be cracking,” Roman, his former teammate, said.
Pops pointed in his direction. “You got an Elite Bowl ring, don’t you?”
I maneuvered into the background of the crowd, circling everyone until I located Erin. Slipping my arm around her waist, I kissed her ear.
“Sorry, baby,” I whispered, but she ignored me, focusing on Pops.
My lips found an ear again. “Forgive me, baby. I thought you were rejecting me, and I acted out,” I said.
Erin tilted her head away from me, but I strengthened my hold on her.
“Happy Birthday to you. . .”
The crowd, including me and Erin, sang to Pops. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Whitney seething. She grabbed the first guy she saw, kissed him, and I shifted my focus before they ended.
