“How about you, Daddy?” Sanaa asked happily.
“Nahhhh. I’m good but Ashton can’t wait to look just like you and Mani,” Jahlil stated, making Kyrie and Carson laugh.
“Nigga, I’ll-” Ashton started.
“What, you ashamed?” Carson posed. “You had that same outfit on last week.”
“I thought I saw his ugly ass out on the track last week,” Kyrie added.
“If Babygirl wasn’t watching, I’d fuck both you up,” Ashton quipped.
Carson kissed his teeth. “Fuck you gon’ do to us? Bite our ankles. Man, get the fuck on.”
Emani rolled her eyes at the banter behind her and focused on Sanaa with a face full of badly drawn makeup with markers. “You wanna know something?”
“What?” Sanaa asked as Emani took her hands in hers.
“I think you’re absolutely beautiful. With the marker but I think you’re breathtaking without it. But for tonight, you do my face like yours and tomorrow, I’ll do something special for you.”
Sanaa’s face lit up at Emani’s encouragement. “For real. You not being a lying ass nigga are you?”
“Nah, I’m not good at being a lying ass nigga,” Emani replied. “Come on, make me pretty and then make Andrew, Ashton, Kyrie, Carson, and your daddy pretty too.”
“Hey!” they all sounded off.
Sanaa peeped over Donnée’s shoulder. “What about DonDon.”
“DonDon is okay,” Donnée spoke up, attempting to move from Sanaa’s line of sight.
Emani chuckled as she stood. “You know what, DonDon should go first. Don’t you think?”
“Yep!” Sanaa cheered. “Let’s go be bad bitches.”
“I thought you said she couldn’t cuss,” Andrew grumbled, and Jahlil popped him upside the head again. “Ow!”
“Hush. If she’s distracted, we get off the damn hook. Don’t be slow, boy, you starting to act like Ashton,” Jahlil replied, watching as Emani and Donnée followed Sanaa out to the room she appeared from.
After Emani’s small gesture livened Sanaa back up, the party went on. Laughs, joy, dancing and love flowing through the space. This was what Emani longed for all of her life and she finally had it – family.
From professional basketball games to studio sessions to Emani pulling the Ocean View Prep School hoodie over her head, she was looking forward to tomorrow where there was nothing to do but listen to Ashton and Carson go over her numbers and lay around the house. For now that would be a distant want because Andrew was huffing and puffing, barging into her bedroom with Sanaa right behind him in a matching hoodie, pleated skirt and matching sneakers. Emani couldn’t help herself when she had Derrick shop for Andrew’s look tonight.
“What’s all those sounds you’re making?” Emani asked, placing her earring in her ear and turning to look at him.
“He got in a fight with his tie,” Sanaa shared, hopping up on the made bed.
“Come here,” Emani spoke, directing Andrew’s feet to her. It wasn’t just the tie. It was Jahlil’s flight getting delayed and his absence. “Whose idea was it to do the tunnel walk?”
“The cheerleaders,” Andrew muttered, handing Emani the navy blue tie she bought to match his navy blue sneakers.
“His girlfrienddddd’s,” Sanaa chimed.
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Andrew defended.
“Not yet. She said you gotta ask her right to get the kissy faces. Which I don’t know why? Daddy didn’t ask Mani right and he still gets the kissies,” Sanaa commented, looking down at her painted nails.
After the marker debacle in Ocean City, Emani woke up early the next morning to make sure Sanaa got a manicure and pedicure and some lip gloss and fake make up so no one was subjected to walking around like a clown. Though the photos of the guys were hilarious, Emani wanted that to be a one-off.
“If you like her, ask her. I’ll take you to get all the things. Girls like romance,” Emani shared, motioning him to lift his chin.
