Page 21 of Full Court Press

I smiled back. “Thank you. It’s nice to meet you, Nana.”

“Nah, we ain’t having that. She ain’t get jumped in, so she can’t call you Nana yet,” Khalil said.

Nana swatted at him. “Boy, hush.”

My left eyebrow lifted as I looked at him. “Right. Before we jump you.”

“Oh! I think I like you already.” Nana smiled, wrapping her arms around me. My body loosened as the smell of lavender wafted up my nose. She smelled like fresh flowers and Bundt cake, if that combination even made sense.

“Anyway,” Khalil dismissed. “This is my world, Kiyanne,” he said, turning her toward me so I could get a good look at her. She was literally the spitting image of him but with softer features and had to have some of her mother in her.

Just a pinch.

“Hi, Kiyanne. You’re so precious. How old is she?” I asked him.

“Three months,” he answered.

“Aww. She’s gorgeous. I’m sure she gets it from her mom, though,” I jested.

“Aren’t you quite the jokester today, when five minutes ago, you thought I was going to chop you up in my basement.”

“What? That is not true!” I exclaimed as Nana laughed.

“Hand her here, Lilo. Gone and do whatever you brought her here to do,” she said, taking Kiyanne out of his arms. “And don’t worry, baby. If there’ll be any chopping going on, it’ll be your voice. But hopefully you’ll have some decorum unlike them other Jezebels.” She winked at me as Khalil shook his head and laughed.

“You out cold for that, Nana.” She laughed and walked back toward the kitchen. “Where Ma and them go?”

“Took Kyani to the fair before they head back tomorrow!” she yelled behind her.

Khalil looked at me. “Come on. I know you’re about to ask me a thousand questions, so let’s get a snack and go to the basement.” My body tensed again as he laughed at me. “Girl, bring ya ass.” He took my hand and dragged me toward the kitchen.

For some reason, I knew this would be one visit I wouldn’t forget.

Piper was secretly funny.

Another fucking thing I didn’t need to be attracted to about her. When we walked in the kitchen, I was prepared to just grab a few bags of cheddar popcorn, some juices, and candy, but Nana insisted on making our snacks, which consisted of chips, dips, cheeses, crackers, meats, and fruits. The whole time she fixed up the charcuterie board, she and Piper cackled like old friends.

While I didn’t mind, and it actually felt good to see my nana talk to someone I wasn’t bedding, I wasn’t too sure if this was a good or bad thing.

Piper wasn’t going to be around for long, and I didn’t want my nana to get too comfortable with the idea that she would be. I already knew once Piper left, she was going to tell me how much she liked her.

I already had it in my mind to shut down whatever thought that ran through her head.

Piper was pretty as hell and had the body of a goddess now that I could see it fully, but I had a baby and a baby mama who wasn’t mentally stable. Piper was carrying something, too, that kept her guarded.

Bottom line: we could never work.

I would, however, keep her as a close friend because she was cool as hell once she let herself just be.

We ended up in my basement, a place that was only reserved for me besides my bedroom. This was where I was able to relax, vibe, and be at peace. The only reason I brought Piper down here was because I didn’t want us to be disturbed since I had my family here, and my bedroom was a hard no. I didn’t trust myself with her in the closed space, so the basement was the only other alternative.

While we both researched and wrote down key points of our Black leader, it didn’t take long for us to finally get to writing the body of our paper.

“You do realize that you tasked us with the hard part, right?” she asked me, popping a grape in her mouth.

“I do.”

“Why? You should have let Cumbrina and her sidekick take this part.”