“Did you want me to chaperone them? I don’t have a problem with that.” I sat completely up then and his eyes tracked my movements.
“Nah, not chaperone. I want us to go out with them.”
The way he stood there I knew there was something he wasn’t saying and I thought we’d moved past the point where he felt the need to hesitate to talk to me.
“Aldrich?”
“I rented out the park so we could chill without being bothered. Since Mama ain’t getting on some shit that could pretend to kill her on purpose, you don’t have to worry about Ami.”
This sounded like the most roundabout way to ask me to go but it sounded like it would be fun.
“Not the whole place, Aldrich.”
He smiled and I knew he would tire of me teasing him about his money. “Yeah, I had to. I didn’t want to be bothered with fansor people questioning me about the season or other shit while we were out. I won’t see them until probably the second game of the season since we’re away in New York and they’ll have school and practice. Even now our time is being cut short ‘cause they got commitments and so do I, and even though you’ve been out some while they were here, it was almost always still in your role as Ami’s caregiver or being helpful around the house. You've gotta chill out and do something fun before you get thrown in the trenches with camp.”
“That’s really nice but how do you know I wouldn’t want a spa day over going out to the amusement park?”
“The spa day is already set up; this is just for fun.”
My jaw dropped because I had just been playing around. “Aldrich I was kidding. I don’t need—”
He leaned up from the doorframe and took a step closer to me. “Yeah, you do. That’s the problem. You don’t want someone else to look out for you and one of these days you’ll trust me enough to tell me why that is. But yeah, a spa day and a night to just chill and be a kid and unwind is bare minimum, Ling.”
“I feel as though if I refuse you’re just going to toss me over your shoulder or get your siblings to convince me.”
“I wouldn’t do nunna that.”
“Oh?” I was shocked and even mildly disappointed.
“I’d just get my mama to come in here and guilt trip you.”
I laughed because he knew that I was not about to say no to his mama because I really liked her. Hell, with the way they behaved towards each other, his family only emphasized everything that I’d been missing out on in my personal life. It was a bittersweet feeling but I was glad to be a part of it now even tangentially.
“Not you pulling out the big guns. When did you want to go?”
“We're leaving in about an hour or so. And don’t worry about food, I prepaid for park passes so that we can get whatever we want.”
“Dang not you rushing me. And that was smart because you and your brother eat enough for five people.”
He smirked and licked his lips, which was something that I needed him to stop doing. “I’ll make sure I’m ready to go when it’s time.”
“Bet.”
I waited until he walked out before I got up and shut the door behind him. I damn near launched myself to my phone and called Aphrodite because I didn’t have anyone else to talk to about this entire weird interaction.
“Hey, Sterling!” She sounded chipper and I was thankful that she wasn’t too busy doing Anthony to answer.
“We’re friends, right?”
“I mean we better be. You know all my business.” We’d talked extensively about the situation with her and Anthony and the shit that was going on with her parents. I vented about how my mother drove me crazy and even told her more about my background without revealing too much about who my people were. It’s not that I didn’t trust her, but old habits of having people judge you based on your extended family were hard to break.
“I think that Aldrich just kinda asked me out on a group date but I might be overthinking this.” I sat with my legs folded on the bed and kept my voice down like I was scared someone might hear me. I mean I was but the only other bedroom on this hall was Ami’s and everyone was in the front family room so the den was empty.
“Body is tea, personality is bomb, and the face card has an unlimited line of credit. Why in the world wouldn’t he ask you out? Did you forget that he knocked out a man for calling youa bitch?” I guess this is what friends did. Hype you up and have you thinking that you could fight the world because that is exactly how Aphrodite had me feeling.
“I’ve been told I was overweight my whole life just because I’m not skinny. And to be honest, I’m not the type of girl that I would think he would want. I don’t look the part.”
“Girl, according to what society thinks us not being white means that we’re not supposed to ever experience love or happiness. We’re letting them folks determine what works for us now?”
