I tapped her thigh a few times to signal I wanted her to stand. She stood and stepped back a few steps. I followed, then turned to walk toward the door. Then turned back around to face her.
“Fuck those people. Is that what you want to hear me say? Your home is here and you don’t owe them a muthafucking thing. Stay.”
Solana released a sigh. “I know.”
That was my cue to leave the conversation alone. She wasn’t confused about a damn thing besides trying to please muthafuckas who had run her out of her own home. Her manager was slimy as fuck. I’d been around my fair share.
“I need a minute. If you’re still hungry, I can bring you back food or have someone else bring it,” I told her.
Solana frowned and crossed her arms. “No, I can get it myself. You can go. I guess this is how you act when I don’t blindly follow your every word. That’s fine.”
I stroked my jaw and chuckled. She wanted to argue, but I wasn’t feeding into it.
“Have a good night, love. If you change your mind, text me and I’ll make sure you get those ribs.”
I turned and left the room without giving her a moment to say something she couldn’t take back. I twisted the lock on her front door, then jogged down the steps and did the same with the back.
I pulled my phone from my back pocket and shot Juelz, Benny, Money, and Rico a text telling them to meet me at my house. I sent the address before I could change my mind. This would be their first time coming to my place outside of the city. Only my family and Solana knew about it.
I rode my bike and let the rumble of the engine and the cool breeze clear my head. The moment I made it home, I ordered wings and beers for delivery, then made sure the house was straight before everyone arrived.
I wasn’t sure if Benny would make it with Willow pregnant. He liked to stay close to her and Charlie at all times, which I understood. If I had my own family, I imagined I would be the same way. My doorbell sounded and I headed for the front.
I pulled the door open and Benny was standing there with his hands stuffed in his pockets. I stepped aside to let him in, then closed and locked the door behind us as I followed him into the kitchen. I walked around the island to the fridge to grab a bottle of water or a beer.
“I’ll take the water. Willow was already giving me a look when I told her I needed to head out. You know she stillassociates you with your hoe behavior from school,” Benny mentioned as I handed him the bottle.
I waved him off and popped the top on my beer, took a swig, then placed it on the counter.
“Man, you can’t believe everything you hear,” I told him.
“I told her hardheaded self that, but you know how she is. Especially when Shirah’s loud ass gets involved.”
I chuckled at the mention of Shirah. She was wild and always the life of the party. Funny thing was, I hadn’t seen her around in a while. But I hadn’t seen many people since Solana walked into my life.
“Man, tell me about it. I haven’t seen her loud ass either. She still giving yo’ boy a hard time?”
Benny shook his head and took a drink of his water. “Jordan can handle it. I think he likes that kind of thing. But I know you didn’t call me out of bed with my girl to talk about them. What’s up?”
Benny was a straight shooter who didn’t do much extra talking, so I knew small talk only went so far with him. Usually I wasn’t big on it either. I leaned against the counter and nodded.
“I was trying not to rehash all this, but thinking about it, I don’t need advice from folks who would prefer to be single.”
Benny pulled out the chair against the island and waited for me to say more. I told him who Solana was, which didn’t seem to surprise him much. Then I went into what she had been through before coming here and the situation with the stalker. I didn’t go too deep. I already felt like I was sharing things she hadn’t given me permission to. But I needed someone outside of the situation to help me think straight.
So I kept going and told him about her manager popping up out of nowhere wanting her to go back, and how she mentioned she was considering it but not to stay. Then I stopped and waited.
“Damn. Willow and I actually saw her when she first came into town. We were walking with Charlie to the movies in the square. Then we saw her again later. We kind of figured it out but it wasn’t our place to say anything. It seemed like she wanted a fresh start. But I say all of that to say this — you know she might just need to go back, right? Would you rather be at her side helping her through it, or sitting here pouting with us?”
The question was simple, but exactly what I needed to hear. My fear of being set aside was showing up in a situation where it had no place.
“Well damn, you trying to get home bad, huh?” I asked, then laughed. Benny joined in with a nod.
“My peace and my heart are back at the house. I’d do anything to keep it and get back to it every night. Keep that in mind. When Willow told me she was going back to her old spot to wrap up her old life, I thought that meant we were done. That she wasn’t coming back to be with a man who had a crazy baby mama and a child.”
I almost forgot everything he had gone through to get where he was with Willow. It was hard to see the journey when you were staring at the end of the rainbow.
“Tierra was definitely crazy as fuck.”
