“Oak?”
“Yeah, wassup.”
“Oh, h-hey. Where’s Liv?”
“She’s setting up the game right now. It’s Pop’s birthday.”
“Oh, okay. Well, I don’t wanna interrupt. Tell her to call me later, and tell Mr. Gray I said happy birthday,” she replied.
“Hold up and let me put you on speaker so he can hear you.”
I pulled the phone away from my ear and tapped the speaker phone option. “Aight, say it again.”
“Happy birthday, Mr. Gray! Y’all enjoy your Gray family game night!”
“We will!” my family replied in unison.
“Oak, hit the FaceTime button so she can see me and Mama’s matching PJs,” my annoying ass sister encouraged.
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t nobody wanna see them.”
“Speak for yourself.” Pops chimed in before playfully tapping my Mama’s ass.
Liv frowned with disgust. “Okay, gross. Quick, Oak. Call her while I delete that mental picture from my memories.”
I tapped the FaceTime button, and Lex accepted soon after. When her face popped up on the screen, I felt it again. That fuckin’ kick in my heart.What the fuck is she doing to me?
“H-hey,” she said awkwardly.
“Ain’t seen you around in a minute,” I reminded her. Her ass knew she’d been away from me too long. “You been good?”
She jerked a quick nod. “Yeah. I’m fine. You?”
“I’m straight.”
“Mm-hmm. Did your dad get everything he asked for this year?”
“I’m sure he did. Can’t say the same about me, though,” I answered truthfully.
I saw the hesitance in her eyes. I’d put her on the spot. The minute I saw her lips slowly drift apart, I slowly stepped off into the kitchen to act like I was grabbing something from the fridge and speaking up before she did.
“I got you something,” I announced as I opened the refrigerator. My voice was low, although I hadn’t been able to stop the words from spilling off my tongue completely.
Her brows rose with surprise. “What? Really?”
“Yeah.”
“What is it, and what’s the occasion?”
“Guess you gotta wait until I see you again to find out.”
She smacked her lips while trying to smother a budding smile. “Don’t tease me. I hate it when people do that, especially when you know I wanna know what it is.”
“Why would I tell you? That would spoil the surprise.”
She pouted. “Because I wanna know.”
“Then you know where to pull up to get it,” I replied.
