Waving Leesa to move around because that was the same shit she always said, thinking that would move me. I ain’t give a fuck who gave her attention. When I called her, she came running. No, sprinting. She came sprinting.
I took another sip of my drink while eyeing Lessa, who still ain’t moved from around me. I didn’t want to have to act like an ass at my damn family reunion. I’ll yoke her ass up and toss her on her ass if I have to.
She huffed and took a few steps back. “Will I see you later?”
I shook my head. “Nah, not tonight. Get home safely.”
Leesa rolled her eyes and turned to leave. I watched her ass jiggle in that tight ass dress.
“Nephew, she was dressed to be on a pole, not for a family reunion,” Uncle Tim jested. “Fuck you find her ass from?”
I snickered and darted my eyes back over to Eriss. She was smiling and moving her hands around as she talked to my Aunt Mena, Mahlia’s mama.
My backyard was full of family. Before my grandma Lou passed away, at the age of nineteen, I told her I would keep the family together because it was important to her. So far, I’ve been living up to my promise. I went to a trade school and became a mechanic. I worked under my Uncle Tahj for a few years before venturing out on my own.Zyro’s Pit Stopwas my baby. I put all my sweat, blood, and tears into that shop. That shop bought this house, which was sitting on acres, and my parents’ house.
Mama jokes all the time and says the only thing I was missing in my life was a woman. A real woman. She was always cordial to Leesa when she was around, which wasn’t often, but she didn’t care for her. Mama wanted me with someone who had shit going for herself, and Leesa wasn’t it. She was just some fine shit that I fucked when I needed my dick wet. Nothing more.
The DJ I hired for the reunion played a song that had everyone lined up and doing a line dance. I watched Aunt Mena pulling Eriss with her, who tried to wiggle free. She fell in line with the rest and was hitting the moves effortlessly. My Mama came out of the house and joined in, her knees bending like she was still twenty-one. Everyone was laughing, stopping, and clapping, the whole damn yard moving in sync. Mahlia ran over to me and pulled me to join in. With my cup still in my hand, I fell in line with the rest.
It was one in the morning when I sent everyone on their way. If they were too drunk to drive, a designated driver was making sure they made it home safely, but they had to get the fuck up out of here. Mahlia and her homegirl stayed to help clean. Her son was asleep in a tent that kept the mosquitoes away. She had to goand get him home, so when she picked up the last paper plate off the ground, I approached her.
“You can go ahead and get him home. It ain’t too much more clean up,” I said.
“Um…okay. We’re actually staying at a hotel in town.” Eriss replied softly and then squeezed her eyes shut. “Sorry, you didn’t even ask for all of that.” She glanced toward the tent. “He had fun. Thanks for having us here at your beautiful house.”
I smirked and nodded. “Yeah, he had a ball. Go on. I’ll finish here.”
Eriss hesitated. “You sure? I can?—”
“I’m sure,” I cut her off with a small grin. “You’ve done enough.”
I couldn’t help but look at her cloudy eye. It wasn’t ugly. She…Wasn’t…Ugly.
Eriss caught me looking, but she didn’t flinch. She kind of held my eyes like she was testing me to see what I’d say or do next. Maybe she was used to folks asking her questions about her eye.
I cleared my throat. “Let me help you carry him to the car. It’s the least I can do. He’s knocked out cold and would be dead weight.”
“I appreciate that.”
Mahlia came over and silently looked from her friend to me. Leaving the two in that spot, I headed to the tent and unzipped it to pull her son out. Light as a fucking feather.
We walked in silence to her car. She unlocked it and opened the back door. When Eriss attempted to move me out of the way so she could buckle him up, I glanced back and chuckled, “I got it.”
Mahlia wrapped her arms around Eriss and whispered some shit in her ear that I couldn’t make out.
“Giiirl,” Eriss mumbled. “No.”
I stood to my full height and shut the door. Eriss thanked me again before jogging around to the driver’s side of her Toyota Camry. I crossed my arms over my chest as I watched Mahlia get in her vehicle. She could have stayed here tonight, but there was no telling what my cousin had up her sleeves or what nigga she was entertaining tonight. Mahlia pulled out first, honking her horn at me. Eriss followed behind her. I watched them drive down the dirt road until I could no longer see their taillights.
My phone rang as I headed to my front door, dragging a bag of trash. I squinted. The number that popped up, I was familiar with.
Love Grove Police Department.
My brother, Zyleek, was missing in action today. His kids were who Eriss’ son was playing with. Mama had gathered all of them but one in her Jeep Cherokee. Zameer, his youngest, was out of town with his mama. I didn’t even question why Zyleek wasn’t here ‘cause that nigga was wild. He stayed in some bullshit, always calling me to get him out. Like now.
I pressed the number to connect the call, and sighed.
“Maaaaan, Zyro. I got in some shit, bruh, and they just now givin’ me my phone call,” he hissed, frustrated beyond measure.
