Her name on his lips pulled her out of her rumination as she focused her eyes on his.
“Is that acceptable?” He repeated the question again and it scared her that she still didn’t have an answer.
“The way you spoil me, talk to me, laugh with me, you’re making it pretty impossible for me to say no.”
His mouth turned up into a sly grin that was only augmented by the spark of mischief in his eyes.
“That’s sort of the plan, Janae.”
“We’ve talked about my reservations ad nauseum at this point. I don’t want to keep rehashing them.” She reached out her hand, taking a soft loc between her fingers. Hair was sacred in Black culture. Having someone take the liberty to touch your hair without askingpermission was either a sign of intimacy or disrespect. The fact that he allowed her this privilege coupled with the fact that she would even attempt it was proof to her that something deeper was happening between them.
Her past told her to stay vigilant, to keep her guard up because like every other time she’d allowed someone close to her, she’d be let down. She probably would’ve continued down that dismal train of thought until he leaned his head closer, burrowing into her touch, giving her permission to cross this boundary.
It was her undoing.
It silenced her constant fear.
It made her want more.
Just like that, there was only one decision she could make, only one answer she could give.
“Yes, Adam. It’s acceptable to me.”
Chapter 23
“Mom, Dad?”
Adam walked into his parents’ house through the back door, following the sounds of the television to guide him to them.
He found them sitting on the love seat the way they always sat when they watched TV together. He glanced toward the screen to find the theme song for the old church comedyAmen, featuring Sherman Hemsley, playing. TV theme songs in the eighties and nineties hit like the newest chart topper in today’s music world. Before he could stop, he found himself moving to the armchair on the side and singing along with Vanessa Bell Armstrong the way he did when he was a kid watching this show with his parents on a Saturday night.
When the song and opening credits were done, his dad paused the show and looked up at him.
“I’m so glad you stopped by, son.” His father pointed the remote at him to emphasize his point. “I’ve got some really good news I wanted to share with you.”
“You got an update about your leg? Is it healing well?”
Grady waved the remote in the air. “Ain’t nobody worried about this old bum leg of mine. It’ll eventually get right.”
Adam lifted a suspicious brow. That was a bold-faced lie if he’dever heard one. Grady Henderson wasn’t a patient man on his best day. Waiting patiently for months for a broken leg to heal wasn’t remotely in his skill set.
“You remember Coach Hadley over at the university?”
Adam had a vague memory of the man trying to recruit him for the varsity basketball team even though Adam would’ve been an entering freshman.
It never ceased to amaze Adam how many corners could be cut when a coach, school, or team thought you’d bring them wins.
“A little,” Adam replied. “Why?”
Grady’s eyes widened as a broad grin simultaneously spread across his mouth. The result was a familiar shiver spilling down Adam’s spine. There were only two things that made his dad happy enough to smile like a giddy kid. Adam’s mother and the possibility of securing some sort of basketball contract for Adam.
“What did you do, Dad?”
“Don’t go getting all aggravated, boy. I’m tryna do something good for you.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose, attempting to curb the anger he could feel bubbling up inside of him. If Grady was going through all these changes to talk to Adam, there was a zero percent chance that Adam was going to like what his father had to say.
“I told Coach how those people over there at the school board don’t know a good thing when they see it and how they’re jerking you around with that interim nonsense. He said there was no way a talented player like you should have to deal with that.”
