Page 31 of What I Needed

“Okay, but don’t judge me. I can’t swim.”

“No shit?”

“I never learned.”

“I guess we’ll have to fix that. Believe it or not, I didn’t play basketball until my junior year of high school. Before that, I was on the swim team.”

“Are you serious?”

“I am. You can ask my mom when you see her. The craziest part is that if my swim coach wasn’t a racist piece of shit, I probably wouldn’t have quit.”

“Damn, but I guess basketball was your destiny.”

“I guess it was.”

Erissa and Riverlynn kept me company while I prepared dinner. They chilled in the enclosed patio while I was on the grill. Erissa insisted on helping, so while Riverlynn chilled in her bouncer, she transferred the corn, baked beans, and salad from the plastic containers to glass bowls. She also made a pitcher of half lemonade and half sweet tea.

“Everything is ready,” I announced when I took the last burger off the grill.

“Why’d you make so many burgers when it’s just the two of us?”

“Leftovers, baby. You know how this goes.”

We had leftovers at least twice a week, so she knew the answer to that question before she asked.

“I guess leftover burgers would be good.”

We made our plates and poured our drinks, and as soon as we sat down, her phone rang. She looked at her phone, then looked at me before answering.

“Hey, Donovan.”

“Hey, beautiful. You busy?”

Although she didn’t have her phone on speaker this time, it was quiet enough for me to hear his side of the conversation.

“Umm, I was about to eat dinner. Can I call you back in about thirty minutes?”

“I’m about to head to my mother’s house for dinner, so I won’t be available. Are you available this weekend for me to take you out?”

“Umm, maybe Saturday or Sunday.”

“Keep Saturday night open for me. I’ll call you later this week to share the details.”

“Okay. Have a good night.”

“You too.”

She placed her phone face down on the table, and I used every ounce of restraint I had to stop myself from addressing her conversation. Erissa was single and had every right to date, but the thought of her going out with someone pissed me off.

“Did you forget my family would be here this weekend?”

“No, but what does that have to do with me?”

“They want to meet you.”

“I want to meet them, too, but I was thinking I’d stay at my place while they visited so I don’t impose on your family time.”

I frowned.