“Welcome to the family!” Rook cheered.
Asante chuckled as we sat back down and we all drank together and laughed for what felt like a few minutes but ended up being hours.
I found myself looking over at Asante every once and a while. Even though he was smiling and working my family well didn’t mean that everything was cool for him. Shit. The talk we’d had with his family hadn’t exactly gone well. No promises had been made but it was obvious Asante didn’t feel confident with where things had left off.
He was cool with how shit was but I wasn't. Nothing was more important to me than him, not even my pride. If I had to do a little begging to get my future husband what he wanted on our wedding that was just what the fuck it was going to have to be.
I was ready to do that and a whole lot more to keep a smile on his face.
I lookedat the watch on my wrist then over at Asante who was laid out on his stomach. After our makeshift bachelor party at his club had turned into a brawl at his club, it made sense that he was exhausted. Rook had got into it with someone. I’d jumped in so of course Asante had jumped in.
It was some stupid shit. It looked like it was always going to just be some stupid shit and that was why I was never going to stop going hard for him.
I admired his sleeping face for just a little longer before I forced myself up and out of bed. I ran through my hygiene needs then headed out making sure I was as quiet as possible.
I stopped at a little cafe to grab a cup of coffee and smoked a cigarette in the parking lot before I got on the road and headed out.
I got to his hometown in three hours flat and double then triple checked the address Nadira had sent me after a lot of begging, pleading and assuring her I wasn’t going to pistol whip her pops - even if I wanted to.
When I pulled up outside of Asante’s childhood home his father was outside leaned beneath a car and digging around for something.
I cleared my throat to get this attention and he lifted and looked back at me. It was obvious he was shocked by my presence and his eyes flicked to the gun I had tucked into the front instead of the back while I closed the space between us.
“What’s up?” I greeted him.
“What are you doing here?” He wiped his hands on his jeans and faced me head on.
“I just wanted to talk to you.”
“About?”
“Asante.”
“He sent you here to talk to me?”
“Nah. He doesn’t even know I’m here. If I’d brought it up I know he would have told me to let it go but I couldn’t do that knowing what I know about him.”
“Yeah? And what’s that?” He plucked up a tool and went back to work obviously not seeing me as a threat any longer.
“That he loves y’all.”
“I don’t doubt Asante loves us.” His father messed with something beneath the hood then faced me again. “We love Asante and we want what’s best for him but-”
“You don’t think that’s me?”
“No. I don’t. I don’t think the love of his life is a fucking man. I want grandchildren and I want him to understand that just because the flesh is weak doesn’t mean he has to be weak mentally or spiritually. If God had intended-”
I cut him off. “I didn’t come here for a sermon. I came here because he loves you and I want to invite you to the wedding again face to face and man to man. I’m one of four boys and I don’t respect or agree with everything they do all the time but I love them and show up for them. You think this is what my pops wanted for me? Fuck no.” I scoffed, “but he gon’ be there because I’m his son if nothing else. We not asking you for money or even your blessing. I don’t need it, want it or give a fuck to be honest, but I do think it would be cool if you just attended and hugged Asante or some shit.”
“I respect you coming here and talking to me but I can’t support this and Asante knows that.”
“Alright, cool. Well if you change your mind, the option is open and if you don’t that’s cool too and you ain’t got to worry about us ever again. So uh, just think about if you really want to let shit get that far with you and your son and uh, we can have kids to, you know?” I exhaled.
His eyes jumped.
“Two men raising-”
I cut him off before he could even start his sentence properly.
