“What you hovering for, E?” Cassidy asked.
“Ain’tnobody hovering,” Ellie replied, rolling her eyes because he knew her too well.
Cassidy looked up at her. She was twin. They carried their mother’s features so similarly.
“What’s going on with you and Sloan?” Ellie asked.
She saw a flash of hurt cross his face before he looked back down and continued with his task. Ellie instantly wanted to beat Sloan¡¯sass.
See, this is why they don’t need to be involved with each other because if she hurts him, I’m going to kill her, and if he hurts her, I’m going to skin him alive,she thought.
“Hand me that oil,” Cassidy said. She didn’t know if he was avoiding her question or thinking about what he wanted to say, but it was clear that he was affected by it. She felt her brother’s heart. She knew him so well, even after all these years. This was a heavy topic for him. He wore his heart right on his sleeve. Sloan had pinned it there and signed her name to it in permanent ink, just in case he got lost. “Cass!”
“Itain’t your business, E. Leave it alone,” Cassidy said. He poured the oil inside the fryer.
“What do you mean itain’t my business? Sloan shouldn’t be your business!” Ellie exclaimed.“So, y’all are messing around?”
Cassidy stood and blew out a sigh of frustration.
“Sigh all you want, negro, but get to talking,” Ellie demanded.
¡°I don¡¯t know what you want me to say,” Cassidy stated.His guilt was evident. His shoulders hung low, and his eyes held no joy. Her brother was carrying sadness in his soul, and it hollowed her stomach.
“Cass! She’s my best friend! How could you?” Ellie asked.
“How could I not, E?” He scoffed and looked out over the backyard.He asked the question like the thought of not having Sloan was absurd. His passion was palpable, and Ellie was stunned.“She’s beautiful and smart and funny and driven and independent and…” Cassidy stopped talking and clenched his jaw as he gritted his teeth. His nostrils flared as he thought of Sloan, and Ellie stood there enraged.“How could I not?”
“And what about me? Neither of you cared to think of me? She knows my rules about my friends and my brother, and I know you. What happens when you become disinterested? When somebody prettier comes along? You just came home; you got two decades ofcoochie to catch up on. You not trying to settle down and stick to one woman. You gon’do something stupid. Then, I’ma have to choose between you and my friend, and of course, I’ma choose you, but I lose her,” Ellie argued.
“I was a kid, E. You’re judging me off shit I did as a teenager, man. I’m not out here hopping from woman to woman no more, trying to smash everything moving. It’s different with Sloan.”
“Oh, yeah? What about Lola? Cuz you left the party with her,” Ellie stated.“You saying it’s different with Sloan, but you sliding with Shy’s assistant? Somebody Sloan will have to see and interact with?”
¡°Nothing happened with Lola,” Cassidy answered.
¡°Nothing happened?” Ellie challenged.¡°You didn’t fuck that girl?”
¡°No,” Cassidy answered resolutely.
¡°You Didn’tkiss her?” Ellie asked.
Cassidy sighed in exasperation.
¡°A kiss is something, Cassidy. Sloan will cut that damn girl¡¯s lips off over a kiss. Any misstep with Sloan matters!” Ellie argued.
¡°I know, man,”Cassidy sighed.
Ellie shook her head.“Sloan is family, Cassidy! There are certain boundaries you just shouldn’t cross! Especially for no stupid-ass casual hook-up!”
“Itain’t casual, E,” Cassidy declared. “It’s so far from casual, it’s crazy.”
It was the second time she had heard this admission, and Ellie fought the urge to yell at him some more.
“And yeah, I thought about you. I’ve always considered your friendship with Sloan. I know what she means to you. I thought two things could be true at once. I thought I could have her, and she could still have you, but it doesn’t even matter because it’s over. It was over before it even started,” Cassidy said.“Don’t be mad at her. Thisain’t her fault. It was on me. I’m the one who complicated shit. I opened that door, and she shut it down. She’s too good for me.”
Ellie had never seen Cassidy this affected. Her brother usually presented a strong front, no matter the circumstances. He was trying, but she could see that Sloan hit differently for him.
“Do you love her, Cass?” Ellie asked. His silence was loud as he tapped on the window to get their father’s attention.“You all set up out here, old man!” he shouted.
