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Before I could look away, Aspen was gripping my jaw and forcing me to keep eye contact.
“I… I shouldn’t have done that in the bathroom.”
His expression softened, and he smiled. “Did you enjoy it?”
My nostrils flared and teeth gritted. “That doesn’t matter, Aspen.”
“Why you runnin’ away?” His voice was softer, quieter. For some reason, that unnerved me. My heart raced and nipples hardened as chill bumps covered my arms.
“I can’t cheat on him.”
“You keep saying that, and I’m telling you that ain’t got shit to do with me.”
Pushing his hand down, I crossed my arms over my chest. “I shouldn’t have sent you that picture. It won’t happen again. I’ll unblock your crazy ass, but we’re just friends, Aspen. Not even that. My sister is with your brother. That’s it.”
This nigga laughed as he left, though I didn’t see a thing about this that was funny. Returning to the kitchen, I ignored my sister until she hugged and kissed me into a fit of laughter. I was glad I’d come to hang with my family. Time with them was the medicine my conflicted heart needed.
4
Aspen
I didn’t plan on going to the bowling alley after the first round of the chili competition, but when Dejvi told me Malaysia would be there, I pulled up. She looked good as fuck as always. As much as I wanted to get under her skin, I didn’t. She was trying her hardest to avoid me, so for a while, I let her get away with that.
“Wassup with you and sis?” Dejvi asked, sitting next to me.
We’d taken a break in playing while the sisters ordered food. That also gave me time to check the notifications on my phone. Now that we’d hired Luna Ray as our business manager, my notifications weren’t filled with emails about business, which I was grateful for. She didn’t want to handle the day-to-day operation of our businesses, which I understood, but until she found someone I could trust with that role, she was handling it.
“She giving me a hard time because she got a nigga,” I replied, putting my phone back in my pocket.
Dejvi chuckled as he set his beer on the table. “I know that ain’t stopping you.”
“Not at all. I’m tryna be patient with her, but she got about a month to break up with him before I do it myself.”
“You can’t make that girl break up with him, little one.”
Sucking my teeth, I gave him a side-eye. “Did you forget who your little brother is?”
“All I’ma say is, be careful. I’on need you doing nothing to fuck up me and Enjell. Don’t make her hate you before she loves you. Let her end that herself.”
I didn’t agree either way, but I did nod to acknowledge I’d heard him. I hadn’t been the most patient man. Malay would be worth it, though. That I was sure of. When they were done ordering food, we returned to our game. Enjell was a decent bowler. Quite frankly, I wasn’t sure what the hell Malay was doing. Her technique was to literally drop the ball down the lane. Somehow, it was working.
“If I lose to her non-bowling ass of all people, I’ma feel some type of way,” Dejvi said after Malaysia got a strike.
We all laughed, and I understood his sentiment. When she first started, I didn’t think she’d score more than forty points. So far, she was in the lead.
“Don’t hate, Dejvi,” Malaysia said, shooting him a wink.
“I’m just trying to figure out what the hell you’re even doing, sis.”
Malay laughed as she sat next to me. “You don’t need to know all that. Just know I got a system, and it works.” She sat back and looked at me. “You’ve been quiet today.”
“You want my attention?”
The carefulness of her processing my question amused me, but I held back my smile.
“I feel like that’s a trick question.”
With a chuckle, I shook my head. “It’s not. Do you want my attention?”
