Alijah grins as he nods and moves to the sink to put the taste spoon inside before he grabs another one. My stomach growls when I’m reminded of the steak that sizzles on the burner furthest from where I sit. Alijah moves the two rib eyes in the pan and flips them on the other side. I do a little jig when I see the nice color on the steaks. Alijah is about to serve us steak bites, mashed potatoes, and cauliflower. My mouth waters with anticipation because from the smells alone, I know this food is about to melt in my mouth.
“Hungry much?” Alijah asks with a cheesy grin.
“Mhm. You got it smelling like a chef is throwing down in here.”
“There is.” He winks.
The Cheshire grin on my face shouldn’t be as wide or goofy as it is, but I’ll be damn if Alijah’s confidence doesn’t make me giddy.
“So, tell me everything I need to know about your people. Do you have siblings, or is there only one of you?”
“My family enjoys getting together as often as everyone’s schedules allow us to be together. I love our close-knit ties, but sometimes it can be a bit much. I have a brother and a sister. I’m the oldest.”
I nod as I consider what he’s said about his family dynamics. My family is small, and we don’t have many gatherings together. It makes me wonder what it would be like to be like Alijah’s family.
“Oh. The oldest, and your mom still hasn’t adjusted to you not being in the same city with her.”
“If Ma had it her way, all of her kids would be under one roof. She loves her children and never grows tired of any of us. But the funny thing is it doesn’t feel like she’s smothering or preventing us from living our lives.”
Yeah, I definitely don’t know how that feels. Roslyn has not only been smothering but also given me lots of reasons to hit the highway like I have gasoline panties on. Hell, I haven’t even thought about going home for a visit, so we are not the same. But it’s gonna be interesting to mingle with people who genuinely enjoy being together. I wonder if I’ll feel like an interloper or if it’ll make me crave something I’ve never experienced before. Since I’ve agreed to accompany Alijah, I guess I’m about to find out.
Chapter 22
Alijah
Saturday Afternoon . . .
“Other than your mom and cousin, do you have siblings, a big family?” I ask Deshona as we head toward the freeway.
Our morning consisted of sex and cuddles and then a joint shower where another round of sex happened. It’s the best morning I’ve had in a long ass time. It also makes me want to see if it can become a part of our daily start. The cuddling is also something new for me because my ex wasn’t the type to be under me pre or post sex. Come to think about it, sex with her felt more like a robotic action than a connection between two people supposedly in love.
See, that’s probably why things turned out the way they did. No love lost.
“My family is small. I have an older brother, LeKendric. I don’t know my dad or his side, so there’s that. How many people am I about to encounter?”
The nonchalance in Deshona’s delivery carries a hint of pain and causes my eyes to momentarily leave the road.
“Why don’t you know your pops or his people?”
Deshona’s heavy and sad eyes shift to me, and my chest tightens with pain, but I have to disconnect to return my focus to the road. It takes Deshona a couple of seconds to respond as my breaths slow in anticipation of what she’s gonna say.
“Somewhere between Mom’s pregnancy and the delivery of me, she determined that my father was a no-good nigga who didn’t deserve to be in our lives. I grew up with dreams of being a daddy’s girl, or having that experience, only to deal with Mom’s negative slander of men.”
My brain spirals as her words hang in the air of the vehicle, and I shuffle through thoughts on how to reply. I can understand her desire for that type of relationship with her pops, as it’s the one my sister still thrives in.
“Hm. Have you ever told your mom how you feel about that situation? Do you even know the man’s name? You’re grown now; you can find that man and establish a relationship with him on your own.”
A dry, humorless sound, like a strangled cry rather than a laugh, pierces the air and instantly tanks my hopeful outlook.
“Mom isn’t open to having any discussions that involve that sorry sack of shit.” Deshona’s voice changes, and I instantly know that the last four words of her statement came from her mother’s mouth.
Damn, this shit is fucked up. How am I gonna handle today?
“Is this shit today gonna be too much for you? Maybe I shouldn’t have pushed you into it.”
“No. No. I’m good. I’m actually looking forward to seeing how you all are. It might give me hope for whoever I start a family with.”
“Sitting in my passenger seat while talking about a future without assigning me to it is dangerous, mama. Don’t have me running into a guardrail on your side to prove it’s me or nobody.”
