Chapter
Fifteen
“Areyou sure he’s not going to mind me crashing y’all dinner tonight?” Sunjiya asks Akeem for the fifth, maybe sixth, time.
During the initial ask, there was no fear or trepidation but the closer they get to the house, the more her nerves form in the pit of her belly. It’s obvious Quise means the world to him, so she doesn’t want to fuck this up in anyway.
“He’s cool with it. I promise. He might have a million damn questions though. Other than that, he’ll be straight,” Akeem assures her.
“Questions? Oh God! What if he asks how we met? What are we going to say? We need to talk about that,” she says nervously.
Slightly amused at her state of near panic, he glances at her face then places a hand on her thigh to comfort her. “I thought that massage relaxed you,” he teases.
“It did but I,” she says, then processes her mini freak-out moment. A small grin falls off her lips then she sighs. “Alright. I’m back now and you’re right. Her magical hands rubbed away every inch of tension in my body. Let me stop before I ruin her results. But we do need a story. If he’s that inquisitive, we cannotnothave our shit together.”
“He’s my son; he don’t need details. All he needs to know is I saw you, had to have you, and I made my move,” he says plainly.
“So we leave out the zip ties,” she teases and he shakes his head. “I’m bullshitting but where did we meet?”
“Crescent Falls. The less lies told, the less likely we’ll fuck up. Too many lies always leads to exposure,” he says and his words land in her throat, forming a boulder of guilt. She forces herself to swallow all of it. “It’ll be fine,” he promises and she hopes he’s right.
Akeem turns off N. Dixie Highway, and three minutes later, he’s turning into the North Andrews Garden neighborhood. Charis’s large three bedroom, two bath home sits on a corner lot. Akeem pulls into the large driveway behind Charis’s jeep. Before he can shift into park, the front door opens and Charis steps onto the porch. As if she can’t see clearly from the sun, she raises her hand above her eyes and glares at his rental. Akeem spots her and turns to Sunjiya.
“That’s my ex. Let me talk to her then I’ll introduce you,” he says before leaning over and kissing her.
The sight of Akeem kissing the unknown, pretty ass woman in the car infuriates Charis. She has a whole man in her life but the sight of a woman with him, in her driveway, hits with the force of a speeding eighteen-wheeler.
“I know the fuck he didn’t,” she grits lowly to herself. “Akeem,” she calls out angrily as soon as he emerges from the Charger and he shakes his head as he treks toward her.
“Don’t fucking start, Charis. For once, act like you have some damn sense,” he says so only she can hear.
He doesn’t want to risk Quise hearing him. One thing he has never done nor will ever do is be disrespectful to her in front of him. Quise has never been privy to any hostility between them, even when Akeem found out about her affair. He models the behavior he wants Quise to replicate at all times.
After rolling her eyes and sucking her teeth hard, Charis crosses her arms across her chest then shifts her right leg. With venom in her eyes, she glares at him, still in disbelief. In the three years she’s lived in this house, Akeem has never brought a woman here, never.So who the fuck is she?
“Is he ready?” he asks.
“You not going to invite me to dinner? I like House of Mac too,” she says with a condescending sneer.
“This isn’t his homecoming. We’re all having dinner together after the game. You’re invited then, not tonight,” he says and she tsks loudly.
“Well, can I at least meet the woman you bringing around my son and to my house?” she snaps.
“Our son and his house,” he corrects her and she holds in her smile. No matter their situation, she can’t deny that she loves how he stepped in and stepped up in Quise’s life. The very house she lives in actually belongs to Quise because Akeem bought it for him. She’s the parent and the utility bills are in her name but the house is in fact Quise’s. His name is on the deed.
“I know,” she replies.
“Then, act like it. You can meet her. Just leave all that slick shit on this porch,” he says and she stomps toward the car. He quickly grabs her forearm. “I’m not playing, Charis,” he warns. “Hold all that attitude shit down.” Quise opens the front door.
“Pops,” he says with a smile. When he steps onto the porch, Akeem releases Charis’s arm and embraces Quise.
“Damn, you got more gains since the last time I saw you,” Akeem says and Quise smiles. He’s been training so hard to build more lean muscle.
“Come on, man. You just saw me. It ain’t even been two weeks,” Quise says with a slight grin.
“I’m telling you. I see you. Keep it up,” Akeem says, then pats his back. “You ready?”
“Yes, sir.”
