“I bet.” I joined him at the bar. My parents had made sure their house would always be a place we could gather. The finished basement was my spot. Before I’d moved out, my bedroom was down here. Ideal for the privacy I’d craved. It felt like my own apartment and had everything I needed—a kitchen, a big screen television, a sectional, a pool table, a full bathroom, and a bed.
We ate in silence for a few minutes, before Asa said, “Good to see Charlye.”
I paused, rib in midair. “Yeah.”
“You’ve been spending a lot of time over Maya’s house lately.”
Julia’s death had been hard on her entire family. On the day she passed away, Charlye had come to me. At the time, she was inconsolable, worried for her mother, and concerned about her siblings who hadn’t made it in time to say their goodbyes. I’d done the only thing I could. Be there for her, hold her, comfort her. She’d slept in my bed that night—without me.
On the day of the funeral, she’d kissed me. I’d like to believe I would’ve stopped it before we made love in Julia’s room, but I knew I would’ve been helpless to stop whatever was happening between us. I’d grown accustomed to her being near me, but realistically, she lived in another state. I’d done long distance relationships before, and I was at a point in my life where I wanted proximity with the woman I shared my life with.
We’d yet to speak about what happened in Atlanta or her mother’s house, but I was sure that conversation would happen sooner than later. I knew what I wanted.Did she? The physical attraction was there, definitely. Yet, I was well aware that she’d had a very recent breakup and lost one of the most important people in her life. All in a matter of weeks. Which gave me pause. While I was willing to throw my cards on the table after she dumped Kelvin, now I was concerned the timing wasn’t right anymore. After everything she’d been through, if she were a client, I would’ve counseledagainstthe “get over the one you were with by getting under the next one” mentality. Since I’ve always had her best interests at heart, no matter how I felt, that would include me.
“There’s a lot of history between you two,” Asa said, almost as if he’d read my mind. “A lot to consider if you decide to change the dynamics of your relationship.” He leaned back in his chair and burped. “But shit… How many times do you get to be with the woman you’ve been feeling since you were kids?”
I eyed my brother. The youngest of the group, but in some ways, the smartest. Asa had carved out his own path, bucking family tradition in every way. Like Duke, he’d done the absolute opposite of what everyone thought he’d do. Instead of going to college right out of high school, he’d taken a gap year and traveled. That year turned into three years of seeing the world, visiting places I’d never even considered. After his twenty-first birthday, he’d enrolled at University of Michigan and earned a degree in Exercise Science. He’d followed that up with a Master of Business Administration. Today, he owned and operated a boutique gym in Ann Arbor and still traveled as often as he could.
He chuckled. “If it were me, I’d risk it all just to see where it would end.” He glanced at me and shrugged. “If you even care what I think.”
Hard to believe I was staring at the same person who’d bugged the hell out of me when he was little. Asa had been a snitch, a terror who stole money from my drawer, wore my clothes when I went away to college, and told one of my girlfriends that I was getting ready to break up with her. It was true, but still… “So now that you’re pushing thirty, you think I want to hear advice from you?” I teased.
“I know a little something, big bruh.” He smirked. “A lot of tricks of the trade. I’ve seen a lot of things, met a lot of different people. Mostly I learned from y’all.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “But I’m not about to get all sappy with you. Shit, I just came down here to eat without having to protect my plate from those strange kids upstairs.”
I barked out a laugh. “Tell me about it.”
Duke entered the area. “Man, I had to fight this little girl for the last rib.” He sat next to me. “I gave her twenty dollars.”
Asa cracked up. “She’s gonna be rich one day. Watch.”
A few minutes later, Charlye came down. She smiled. “There you are.”
I swiveled in the chair. “What’s up?”
“I’m going to head back to the house. I don’t feel right leaving Mom there for too long by herself.”
“How is she?” Duke asked.
She smiled sadly. “Hanging in there.”
“Maybe I’ll come by and make her dinner.”
Charlye leaned against the breakfast bar. “Brunch would be better. She loves Belgian waffles.”
Duke smirked. “Shedoes? Or you?”
She raised her hands up. “You got me. I do.”
“I got you.” He winked.
I wanted to kick him off his chair. Clearing my throat, I said, “I’ll walk you out.”
Charlye said her goodbyes to everyone in the house and we made our way to her car. I opened the driver’s door for her, but she made no move to get in. “Actually, can we talk?”
I closed the door. “Sure. You okay?”
She nodded. “Yeah.” She pointed toward the back of the house. “It’s cold. Can we go to your mom’s she shed?”
My father had built the shed for Mom’s birthday a couple of years ago. He’d spared no expense to make it into her own private oasis on the property. Inside, there was a couch that pulled out to a bed, an armchair, a table, several bookcases, a small television, a mini fridge, and a Keurig. Outside the structure, he’d even built her a patio so she could sit outside in the summer.
