“You asked her father?”
Jio’s jaw flexed.
Auntie Vee’s eyes lifted towards the ceiling. “Oh Lord. You talked to them people?”
“Shit was horrible,” Jio admitted.
Kadeer removed his sunglasses. “What happened?”
Jio reached for the ring and turned it beneath the light.
“He said no.”
Kadeer didn’t mean to laugh. It came out before he could even stop it.
Jio’s eyes cut toward him.
“My bad bro.”
Auntie Vee slapped Kadeer on the back of his arm.
“I’m laughing because Charles Marcelle telling Jiorgio Gotti no might be the funniest thing I heard all year.”
Jio told Kadeer, “Chill.”
The sales associate stepped away to give them privacy. Nina was becoming a big deal so he had to be careful of what was said in public.
Jio slid the ring back onto the velvet.
“He didn’t say no forever,” Jio clarified. “He just said not right now,” he added as if that was better.
“That’s parent talk,” his auntie patted his shoulder. “At least you asked. It was the “right thing” to do.”
Kadeer folded his arms. “What you say after he said no?”
“Thank you for hearing me out,” he recalled.
Kadeer and Auntie Vee shared a look that said nothing.
Jio frowned. “What?” he asked them both.
“You said thank you?”
“Yeah nigga. What was I supposed to do, pistol whip him?”
Kadeer was acting stupid.
“To a man who told you no?”
“He’s Nina’s Pops.” The shit wasn’t rocket science. He knew when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em. They didn’t call him the poker king for nothing.
Kadeer shook his head. “Damn, you do love that girl.”
Jio looked away. He hated when people said things like that out loud, like his love for Nina was a secret that he’d been caught carrying.
Auntie’s face softened. “My baby done grew up.”
“Please don’t start.”
