“I need more. Those few months . . . that wasn’t enough.”
Her eyes shut as tears escaped them while she came. I kissed them away before kissing her lips as she used my hips to pull me in deeper.
Chapter
Twenty-One
Eli
I wassurprised when Isaac asked me to have dinner with him and Senior. Since the party last week, I hadn’t been talking to him. I asked him what his intention was putting the strippers on Falcon, and he said it was to welcome him back into singlehood. All I could do was laugh. He was determined to make sure there was nothing between me and Falcon, and I shouldn’t have been surprised by that.
As I sat in my car, I wanted to call Falcon and tell him about what I was sure was about to be a shit show. Senior and I hadn’t talked since my last show. I’d unblocked him, but he hadn’t tried to reach out. No surprise there. As much as I wanted to call Falcon for moral support, I didn’t. It was time for me to be a big girl and stand on my own.
I headed toward the door, heart racing in anticipation. While a part of me hoped we’d get through this meal like a normal family, there was a part of me that knew that wouldn’t be the case. I rang the doorbell then let myself inside. Senior and Isaac were already in the kitchen fixing their plates.
“Wassup, baby sis? Glad you could make it.”
Isaac leaned down, and I gave him my cheek to kiss.
“Thanks for the invite,” I replied, heading to the sink to wash my hands.
“Hey, lil girl,” Senior spoke.
“Hey, Senior.”
“How are you?”
“Fine. You?”
“Good.”
With a bob of my head, that was it. We finished fixing our plates and headed to the living room. They wanted to eat while watching TV, which gave me a little relief. Usually when Senior wanted to talk about something, he made us eat in the dining room. He’d made what I would say was his best meal—barbecued chicken, yams, and mac-n-cheese. I was surprised to see he’d also made a salad to go along with it.
“Why do they even call these drumsticks? They’re chicken legs,” I asked, lifting the chicken to my lips. I wasn’t really expecting either of them to answer, more so speaking to myself.
Isaac chuckled. “Because they are shaped like drumsticks, baby love.”
“The ice cream? Not music drumsticks right?”
Confusion filled me. My top lip lifted and brows wrinkled as I stared at the chicken. With a shrug, I took another bite, making them laugh again.
“The bottom part, silly. It’s just better to say drumsticks. Well, back in the day it was,” Senior said. “It was more . . . classy and polite to avoid saying legs at the dinner table.”
“Issa leg to me,” I grumbled. “Damn good one too.”
“It’s good to see you’re in good spirits,” Senior said with a smile. “Maybe that’ll make this conversation smoother.”
Oh God.
Of course.
I remained silent, trying to get a few more bites in, in case I needed to leave abruptly.
“Now that this fake relationship is over between you and Falcon, I wanted to make sure you knew things have to go back to normal,” Senior said. My chewing slowed down. I wasn’t sure where he was going with this, but I definitely wasn’t expecting the conversation to be about Falcon. “The season starts this week, and there can be no static between Falcon and Isaac. That means there can be no static between us. For whatever reason, Falcon sees you as his little diamond to protect, and they can’t have issues because he’s worried about the way we treat you. If you’re going to be friends with Falcon, then you need to make sure you keep him out of our family business.”
And just like that, my appetite was gone. Looking at Isaac, I asked him, “Is that why you told me to come over here?”
Isaac waited until he was done chewing to speak. “Yeah. The fake relationship is done, but I know he still cares about you. Senior and I agreed it’s best if you keep him out of our family shit. Falcon and I have to be on good terms, Eli. You know that. We can’t be going back and forth because of you. So whatever problems you have with us, you need to talk about with a therapist or some shit. Just not him.”
