dick contract
AN ASA YOUNG ORIGINAL
ASA
Spring, A Few Years Ago
What the hell is going on?
On the other side of the slightly cracked door, a spirited—as my mother would’ve said—conversation was in full swing. Raised voices, fast talking, loud laughter, and . . .
“All I’m saying is just tell me the truth, Dex? Did you cheat on me?”
Shit.
I peeked into the room. My siblings, their spouses, my nieces, my parents, my best friend Gemma . . . everyone was there. All eyes were on my poor, pregnant sister-in-law, Charlye. And her eyes were on her husband, my brother, Dex.
“Are you somebody’s daddy?” Char asked, her voice trembling with emotion.
“What the fuck you mean is he somebody’s daddy? What kind of fucked-up, bullshit-ass question is that, Char?”
Blake.
The mean one of the group. My sister had somehow mastered the art of not giving a fuck before she was eight years old and never had a problem backing it up with her fists. And she didn’t care who it was. From the sounds of it, she was on one today. Probably because her husband, Lennox, was out of town and wouldn’t be back until tonight.
“Damn, Blake. It’s not like this has anything to do with you. Why are you so angry? Dex can defend himself to his wife.”
Tristan.
The oldest and least likely to say anything. The fact that he was even engaging was still weird as fuck. Especially since he’d never been one to get involved in group discussions. He’d spent much of our childhood being an asshole. Never to me, though. He’d always made himself available to get me out of a precarious situation, but it was no secret that a few of my siblings couldn’t stand him.
“I’m not angry,” Blake grumbled. “And I’m sorry if it came out that way, Char. But the question is still legit. If Dex was living foul like that, I would’ve told you to leave his ass alone myself.”
“Maybe you should stay out of it, Baby Sis,” Tristan suggested.
The dramatic, “Ohhhhh,” my sister let out signaled it was about to get interesting. “I know you’re not telling me what to do, Fun Killer. And don’t think because you finally bought me a Bomb Pop after thirty years that I won’t cuss your ass out, too.”
Tristan chuckled. “So I can’t say anything to you?”
Wait, what?
My brother was many things, but he wasn’t a person who chuckled. If anything, he scowled—when he was happy or sad, angry or apologetic, having fun and even sleeping. I suspected his Jekyll-and-Hyde style transformation had a lot to do with Sasha, because damn . . . Three years ago, he was fighting Duke in the backyard and actively avoiding all contact with most of the family. Now, he was chuckling with Blake and mending the relationships he’d destroyed because of his anger issues.
“You can say it,” Blake said, practically singing the words, “but don’t be surprised when you catch this five-piece.”
“You’re crazy as hell for that, B.”
Duke.
The reason everyone was here and the least likely to give a fuck behind Blake. If getting into some shit was a person it would be Duke. Years ago, he’d lost everything and dipped. It was so bad that Ma would cry every time someone asked about him. For a while, I thought I’d never see him again. But when he came home, he’d slowly and methodically rebuilt his life. And tomorrow he was marrying Demi. He’d finally found his peace, and it was a beautiful thing.
“Move,” Tristan murmured.
“Come get your man,” Blake shouted, cracking up.
Sasha giggled. “Nah, sis, you got it.”
“Two things. Sit down because you look like you’re going to faint. That baby you’re carrying probably doesn’t appreciate all this noise.”
