“Oh, you wanna put on a show, huh? Make sure you come with that same energy when this gate open,” Carter said.
My eyebrows lifted slightly. That bull looked like those damn mad bulls in the cartoons. I could have sworn I saw smoke coming from his nose. Once Carter got his hand in his rigging, I helped him by tightening it.
“That’s right. Show that muthafucka what he in for,” Uncle Legend said in a quiet voice.
Carter nodded, then looked at the guy holding the gate. He lifted his left arm and nodded again at the man at the gate.When it swung open, the bull left the pin like he was a prisoner escaping from death row. He was jumping so high. It made me nervous for Carter. Those seconds seemed to tick by slowly while that bull contorted its body all sorts of ways.
Carter was holding on for dear life but still spurring his ass. When the bull turned in our direction, I could see Carter’s lips moving. His cocky ass was talking shit to the bull. I had to chuckle, but that didn’t last long. Carter’s body was starting to lean. I averted my gaze to the clock, then back to him. Not even a half second after the buzzer, he fell off.
We were all hollering and jumping in the air. I hopped off the back of the chute and made my way to the dirt while the clowns got the bull out of the arena. I slapped Carter’s hand, and we jumped in the air, slightly turning our bodies, causing them to bump. This was my nigga, and I was beyond proud.
I glanced up at the stands and saw our families going crazy. My eyes slid over to where I knew the Hendersons were, and they were just as hype, even Noni. After hearing his score of eighty-nine point seven, we made it to the tunnel to see Bali waiting at the end of it to congratulate Carter. He quickly made his way to her and lifted her in his arms as he hugged her.
In about twenty-four hours, they would be an engaged couple. It had been a long time coming for them. Their entire lives they’d wanted each other, even before they knew what it even meant to be in love. If only Noni and I could have been that way. I always thought Bali’s attitude was worse than Noni’s, but I was quickly learning that Noni was more deadly. She bottled a lot of her emotions, then eventually exploded.
Bali was more outspoken and rarely practiced restraint. Noni tried to change for me, but I felt like that shit made her miserable. I couldn’t see past myself, and that was why we were in this situation. I didn’t know how it would go with me being at her parents’ house tomorrow evening for Carter’s proposal, butI refused to miss one of the happiest days of his life. She would have to just get over it.
CHAPTER 12
NONI
When we walked into my parents’ home, I was grateful Bali hadn’t gotten here yet. I wanted to be able to avoid Red at all costs, and I knew he would be arriving with them. After Carter proposed to Bali, this Sunday dinner was going to turn into an engagement party. It wouldn’t be a formal one, but a party amongst family. Daddy said he would call everyone once Bali arrived. That would give Carter time to propose.
A few people would be here. Obviously, Milana, Ferris, and Asad would be here, since I rode with them, but Ashanni my siblings, and the Semiens would also be here. I was also pretty sure Mr. Red and Mrs. Shana would come, too. They were playing it off like they wanted to celebrate Carter’s winning ride and Red’s new record time.
I took a deep breath and got out of Milana’s truck. Before we could get to the door, I saw Daddy standing in the doorway with a frown on his face. When I got close, I said, “Hey, Daddy Mayor.”
He stared at me for a moment, then pulled me in his arms and hugged me. I was pretty sure Bali had told him what happened, especially since Aunt Tiff wanted to talk to meyesterday. Milana wouldn’t have told her a thing. Daddy had to have called her and asked her to talk to me. I didn’t remember a word she’d said, because I was barely listening.
I was thinking about Red the entire time and how I could have fucked up his mental by the shit I did. I wasn’t sorry about what I did. I was sorry about doing it this weekend at the rodeo. Red had me fucked up. I was tired of being everything for him and getting nothing in return.
When Daddy released me, I walked inside to go and speak to Mama and Remy. After rounding the corner, I saw Iesha. My eyebrows lifted. I supposed Seven got some act right in him for her to be here. She stood from her seat and smiled. “Hey, girl,” she said.
“Hey.”
“We ain’t together. I’m just here to see Bali’s moment. Afterwards, I’m leaving. I might end up punching your brother in the mouth.”
I chuckled. She just didn’t know . . . Whether he was right or wrong, she wouldn’t get away with that. Ain’t nobody would just sit here and let her whup our brother’s ass. That was for us to do. “Well, you better get ready for him to be in your face. Ain’t no way he gon’ just act like you aren’t here.”
“Oh, I am prepared to shut him down,” she said and giggled.
I walked away from her and went to find my mama. She was in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on dinner. She glanced at me, then took a deep breath.She knows, too.“Hey, Mama.”
“Hey.”
Before she could say anything else, I walked out to the back patio and hugged Remy. Thankfully, he was on the phone and didn’t have time to get on my nerves. Just as I was about to head back inside, Daddy walked outside.
“Let me talk to you.”
I wanted to roll my eyes. I didn’t want to talk about that shit. It was over and done with. I knew that Red fucked up. I knew that I fucked up by bringing that shit to the rodeo.Whatever.
“Fix that attitude. We out here talking because of shit you did. Had you not fucked up out there, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I’m the last muthafucka you need to have an attitude with. Secondly, whether you wanna talk about the shit or not, I’m the Storm. I’ll fuck around and flood this bitch. Take you a deep breath and regroup.”
I closed my eyes for a minute. I knew he was serious as hell. It wasn’t like he and I hadn’t talked about my breakup with Red and how torn up I was about it. When I reopened my eyes, I saw he’d gone to the far end of the patio and sat, so I went over there and sat next to him.
“I’m finna say some shit my mama used to say all the time . . . shit I never listened to. Two wrongs don’t make a right. I know you petty and shit, but you was fucking with that man’s career. What if he would have went out there and got hurt or killed? Would you have been able to live with yourself? Then you did it with his brother’s best friend. That was cold as fuck, Noni. I know Squared ain’t perfect, and he got a lot of shit to work on, but he still loves you. You broke up with him. You don’t think that’s punishment enough?”
I didn’t respond to him. The things I chose to deal with regarding Red were my decisions. I made the decisions because I knew I had some shit to me as well. I realized, though, that I couldn’t deal with my decisions to accept him the way he was. He promised to make changes, but those changes hadn’t happened yet.
