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Looking around the area that I’d once called home -and would once again be calling home for the foreseeable future- it was crazy how not that much had changed. All the houses still looked the same from when I was a child. All the yards were still neat to the point of looking artificial. Even the flowerbeds I remembered Mrs. Hawkins working on every weekend were still in great shape, that fact bringing a smile to my face even though thinking about the Hawkins family as a whole made me feel…uneasy.
Well, maybe not as a whole. But definitely one member in particular who I’d avoided like a plague since the day I left for college.
He was the one I’d once called my best friend. The one I was the most competitive with. The one I adored because we had so much in common, including an obsession with sneakers that neither of our parents approved of because of how expensive that shit could get.
He was probably my first love even though we’d never actually had any sort of romantic relationship. And now he was the one I hadn’t talked to since we were teenagers because of a decision I had to make for myself. A decision that Lance had refused to accept.
He was also the one who must’ve been visiting his parents if the Lamborghini parked in their driveway was any indication, the sight of their front door being opened making me jump into the bushes once I saw it was him who was walking out. And even though that reaction was arguably dramatic, I knew I’d done the right thing once my body started reacting to how damn good he looked.
I’d seen him on TV, and of course on his very public social media accounts over the years. But seeing his grown man bearded face that was illuminated by the porch light along with what was essentially a silhouette of his linebacker body had me feeling a way. Or maybe it was the ant hill I’d stepped in that had me feeling a way, the tiny bites on my ankle making me yelp loud enough to draw the attention of both Lance and his mother who thankfully couldn’t see me in the darkness.
That didn’t keep them from looking though, Lance feeling suspicious enough to usher his mother back inside for a moment to finish whatever conversation they were having. And then he appeared outside again,alone, being sure to check his surroundings as he made his way to his car.
It wasn’t until he disappeared into the distance that I finally breathed a sigh of relief, carefully stepping out of the bushes so that I could dust off all the ants that were having a party on my lower leg. And unfortunately,thanks to how many had shown up to the shindig, I ended up on the sidewalk for much longer than I’d intended; just long enough to have a run-in with another member of the Hawkins clan.
“Bri Bri? That you? Girl, I haven’t seen you in a calendar stack worth of Sundays!”
I peeked up to find Lance’s father who’d apparently decided that now was a good time to take out the trash, grinning nervously as I gave a little wave and responded, “Mr. Hawkins, hey. It’s umm… it’s been a minute. How are you? How’s the family?”
“Everyone’s doing good, looking good, feeling blessed,” he answered proudly before giving a nod towards the house behind me when he asked, “Finally came to visit your ol’ man, huh?”
Since there was no way in hell I was about to give him the full rundown on how I’d practically been forced to come home for who knew how long, I simply answered, “Uhh… yeah. Something like that.”
“I’m sure he’s happy to see you.”
“Yeah, only because he has someone he can ask for extra lube now,”I responded in my head, keeping those thoughts to myself when I once again answered, “Something like that.”
I could see the slight confusion on Mr. Hawkins’s face in response to that. But I suppose the late hour made him a little less interested in learning more about the situation as he casually insisted, “Well let me get back in the house before the misses gets to worrying. I’ll be sure to tell Lance you’re in town. I’m sure he’d love to see you.”
The mention of his son made me panic a bit as I quickly told him, “You...reallydon’t have to do that, Mr. Hawkins. I mean, I’m sure I’ll see him soon enough.”
Ideally, “soon enough” would be more like when I was completely back on my feet and ready to move away from home again. But considering Lance’s parents still lived right across the street, I had a feeling the odds wouldn’t be in my favor, the thought already stressing me out as Mr. Hawkins responded, “Well alright then. You take care now, ya hear?”
Nodding, I replied, “Yes, sir. I will. You too. And tell Mrs. Hawkins I said hello.”
“How about you come over for brunch in the morning and tell her yourself?” he suggested, the offer making my stomach growl as it reminisced on one of the few things I’d actually missed about home over the years.
Mrs. Hawkins’s blueberry pancakes.
No blueberry pancake,not even the ones I made with her alleged recipe, had been able to compete with a fresh stack from her kitchen. And while the thought made his invitation tempting as hell, I knew the chances of running into Lance would be exponentially higher if I accepted it, practically making it mandatory for me to answer, “I umm... still need to finish getting settled in. But I’ll definitely take a rain check.”
With a nod, Mr. Hawkins finally left his trash can on the curb so that he could head into the house while I did the same -sans trash can-, the quiet that welcomed me bringing a bit of relief until I peeled into the kitchen and was greeted by a naked ass poking out from behind the refrigerator door.
My reaction was slow because…seriously,what the fuck?But once she stood up and noticed me, hers was instant as she stupidly shut the door and screamed, “Shit, Briyana! You scared me!”
Turning around so that I wasn’t subjected to the full-frontal view of my father’s second wife, I told her, “Look. I know y’all aren’t used to having company around here. But for the sake of my senses, I’d greatly appreciate it if you two couldmaybe… get more used to it.”
Even though I refused to look at her, I could still hear the frown in her tone when she repeated, “Get more used to it? How long are you planning on being here? I mean, your father made it sound like it was gonna be more of a weekend thing.”
“Is that so?”
Before she could respond, I was already taking off towards the staircase, climbing the stairs two by two until I reached the second floor where I headed straight into my father’s bedroom and asked, “You seriously told her I was only visiting for the…ew, it smells like a strawberry sucker was jacking off with a jar of coconut oil in here.”
My assessment of the stench only made my father,who was thankfully dressed, shake his head as I covered my nose with the top of my jacket and asked, “Why did you tell your wife that I was only visiting?”
“Because you weren’t very clear about your plans, Briyana,” he responded calmly. “Care to fill me in?”
I suppose since the last two days had been so hectic, a conversation beyond “please help me” hadn’t occurred, that fact only making the whole thing even more annoying as I reminded him, “I didn’t ask for any of this, you know.”
