Page 17 of A Little Kissing Between Friends

Grateful to have something to focus on other than my unruly thoughts, I turned to Poppa and frowned.

“I look hungry?”

Instead of immediately answering me, Poppa laughed and pulled me into a hug, both of her arms wrapping around my lower back as she squeezed, stealing my breath for more than one reason as she lifted me a couple of inches off of the ground. I felt and heard something crack in my back and yelped, pushing her away.

“What the hell, Poppa?! You tryna break my damn back?”

Laughing, she pulled me back toward her, looping an arm over my shoulder and dropping a kiss onto my cheek. “You can take it.”

The double entendre made me burst out laughing. I shook my head, leaving her arm in place and allowing her to lead me through her parents’ house and to the sliding door that opened out to the backyard.

“That don’t make it right, you perv.”

Chuckling, she slid the door closed behind us. “Why I gotta be a pervert just because you like it rough? Make that make sense.”

Unable to contain my grin, I shook my head again. “I’m not about to play with you today.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she muttered, “tell me anything.”

She started heading for the food table, but I made a left and walked toward the group of people line-dancing in the grass. As hungry as I was, there was no way I was going to sit down and grub without speaking first. I didn’t recognize everyone in the yard, but I still smiled and waved when I made eye contact. It wasn’t hard to spot Poppa’s father in the throng of people doing the Electric Slide. Not only because Poppa was his spitting image, but because his hulking frame towered over most everyone else. Mr. Marvin was the definition of a teddy bear, big, loving, and gentle, and Poppa took after him in many ways.

Just observing him brought a smile to my face. His shiny, uncovered, bald head glistened under the bright sun, his white teeth gleaming as he grinned. And he was clearly having a good time, his eyes on Mrs. Carissa, who had her hands on her knees as she freestyled the cha-cha part in front of him, tooting her butt in the air with her tongue between her teeth as she looked back at it.

“Okay!” I cheered, stopping on the side of their makeshift dance floor and rocking to the beat.

The song came to an end and immediately transitioned into “K-Wang.” I expected them both to jump into the steps, but they surprised me by simultaneously heading right for me. Mr. Marvin used a yellow hand towel that matched his polo to wipe his face and head while Mrs. Carissa threw her arms around me.

“Juleesa!” she exclaimed, rocking me from side to side as if it had been ages since she’d seen me. Her exuberance each and every time I saw her was one of the things I loved about her.

Mr. Marvin tossed his towel over his shoulder before bending down to hug me to his side as his wife stepped aside.

“Good to see you, baby girl. Did you eat?”

I shook my head. “Not yet. I wanted to come speak first.”

Nodding, he squeezed my shoulder and stood back. “Well, I’m glad you made it. Star Shine has been watching the door for at least an hour.”

Beside me, Poppa sucked her teeth. “Why is everybody acting like I’ve been pacing a hospital waiting room while I wait for the surgeon to come out and give me results?”

Her parents met eyes, sharing twin smirks that made Poppa roll her eyes.

“Man, whatever! Y’all not gon’ make me feel bad for waiting on my friend to eat.”

Mr. Marvin lifted his hands in surrender and ducked his head. “We wouldn’t dream of it.” Looping an around his wife’s waist, he tucked Mrs. Carissa under his arm. “I also wait on my best friend to arrive before I eat and have been doing so for thirty-five years.”

“Chill out, Daddy,” Poppa chuckled, grabbing my arm and leading me to the other side of the yard.

Laughing, I waved goodbye.

“Don’t do them like that,” I scolded teasingly. “They’re innocent.”

“Nah,” she denied. “They buggin’. One of my cousins had a baby a few weeks ago and since then, they’ve been throwing hints here and there about grandkids. This is just another level of that.”

That stopped me in my tracks. Hinting that me and Poppa should get together was one thing, but wanting us to get together and produce a baby was a flavor of déjà vu that left a sour taste in my mouth. Part of me and Samir hooking up was due to pressure from his parents to produce grandchildren before they were “too old to spoil them.” I loved my baby, but I refused to be pushed down that road again. I just wanted to have a best friend that everyone respected as my best friend, who remained my best friend without any fanfare.

Poppa had released me to walk alongside her, our arms occasionally bumping as we squeezed past people in the semi-full yard. After stopping by the table where Nana Cherry and some of her girlfriends sat fawning over Amani as he ate, we continued on. My stomach grumbled loudly, causing Poppa to stop in her tracks and swing widened eyes onto me.

“That was your belly howling like that?”