I said the name with air quotations because this little nigga had no idea that I was the real shooter. Shit, coming up, Sha’s nickname was Shootah Sha.Wewere the real deal. Sha sucked his teeth.
“When are we meeting him? I’ve been waiting for myBad Boys 2moment.”
He quickly stood from the bleachers and then mimicked Will Smith from the movie.
“Who that is at the door?”
“It’s Reggie,” I quickly jumped in.
We both laughed and then shared the same sigh at the end.
“We are getting old, nigga,” he said before taking his seat back beside me.
I took another sip from my water bottle before twisting my lips up. I didn’t want to hold my boy any longer. I just needed to play some ball to get my mind off this bullshit, and venting and hooping with my homie helped some. I knew that MJ was probably up, but this wasn’t a conversation I felt was suitable to have with my son. Although I was his dad, I knew that he would side with his sister. He was loyal like that, and honestly, I was proud of it.
“Get ya ass back home before the boss wakes up,” I said with a light stretch.
He was my dog, but we all knew that Tori ran the show. She was the total opposite of Eternity in every way. Where Eternity knew how to be soft, feminine, and dainty, Tori’s ass was ready to tie up the Timberland boots and toss some camo on. She was little ghetto, ghetto for sure. Still, I took her under my wing and treated her as a real sister many years ago when Eternity and I weren’t even seeing eye to eye. I dapped up with him and then sat back on the bench and watched him gather his stuff to leave.
“Let me know when you meet him, bro. I can clean out my trunk, and we can ride around with his ass for a bit. It’s a couple of blocks on Las Olas Boulevard that has some potholes. Have that muthafucka bouncing all around in the back like I have hydraulics on my whip.”
I tossed my head back and then let out a laugh. It felt good knowing that my homie was on the same time I was on.
As I drove across the property toward the house in a golf cart, the scent in the air hit me first. The aroma was filled with thesmell of eggs, bacon, and something sweet I couldn’t quite place. I smiled, thinking it was Eternity up to her usual magic in the kitchen. Although we had a cook on call, that woman would be the first up and in the kitchen. I rolled up the driveway and pushed open the door to the house as I was still wiping sweat from my brow with the hand towel in my hand.
“Morning,” I called out.
The scent grew stronger, and my smile faded a little. Something smelled… off. Not wrong, just… different. I sniffed hard as hell, and then I was able to place the smell. Somebody was burning some shit.
When I made it to the kitchen, I saw her. And not the one that I was expecting. Instead of my eyes landing on my wife, I was met with her twin. My baby girl, Maliah, was standing at the stove with an apron on, flipping pancakes with a grin that stretched from ear to ear. She had chubby cheeks like her mother, so even with my side view, I could tell that there was a smile plastered on her face. She spun around when she heard me and held her hands up like a little kid caught doing something she shouldn’t have.
“Good morning, Daddy!” she chirped as excitement practically vibrated off her.
I froze mid-step. I knew that grin, and my chest tightened at just the thought.She’s about to say it.On the weekends, she didn’t stroll out of her room until about noon. Shit, during the week, MJ had to be the one to wake her up for school. Her getting up early and cooking was so obviously out of the norm.
“Uh, good morning, Mali.”
I cleared my throat as I adjusted the towel over my shoulder. Suddenly, I was very aware of how much my heart was racing. I tried that deep breathing shit that I had been coaching Eternity on for years.Breathe,I thought inwardly. The shit was not working. My baby girl was about to tell me some bullshit.Maliah giggled, like she didn’t notice my panic at all, and flipped another pancake with a skill that she had to have learned from her mother or the cook.
“I made breakfast! I thought you’d like some after you, you know, was playing basketball or working out.”
This was a Saturday morning routine for me. When I drove off in that golf cart, everyone knew that I was either going to the basketball court or the gym on our estate. Friday nights were reserved for the gun range or date nights with Eternity. I laughed nervously as I walked closer, but still I kept my distance as I took a seat on one of the island’s tall barstools. My eyes locked on her face as my hands folded neatly on top of the marble countertop. Patiently, I waited for her to rip my damn heart out. It might sound dramatic, but as I keep stressing, this is my baby girl. A smile was tugging at the corners of my mouth from just watching her, but I didn’t give in. This was no smiling or laughing matter.
Her energy was contagious, and she got that shit from her mother, but deep down, I knew what was coming. She had that sparkle in her eyes. Thatin-lovesparkle that made me involuntarily screw my face up. I wondered how I didn’t notice this look of hers before.
“Mmhmm,” I said, trying to play it casual, like I hadn’t just had an internal freakout the second I saw her, “breakfast smells good, baby girl.”
She bounced a little on the balls of her feet with chipper pride.
“Thanks! I just wanted to make something special for you.”
I swallowed hard.Yeah… this is it.I could feel it in my bones. With that little smile, the way she was flipping pancakes like a little pro, and with the bounce in her step, I could tell. Maliah was about to drop the “I have a boyfriend” bomb.
I cleared my throat again, all while trying to keep my voice calm and steady.
“Aight, you’re cooking all this. You must have something to tell me,” I joked lightly, though the edge in my tone betrayed me.
I was trying to prompt her to get this shit over with. I was a straight-to-the-point kind of guy, always had been. Her grin faltered just a hair.
