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“That I didn’t want to have to fight Decaurey and Tyeis. She said she was grown and could make her own decisions. I like her though. Her disability doesn’t bother me. She’s beautiful.”
I lowered my head and slowly shook it. “What are you gonna do?”
“I don’t know. I can’t have sex with her without talking to Decaurey and Tyeis about dating her. They probably think I’m too old for her.”
“Well, that and too experienced. But from what you told me, maybe not.”
“Man, listen. She said some things that made my mouth drop open that night. She caught me way off guard. She nasty, but in an innocent sort of way. It’s hard to describe.”
“I get it. Just be careful with her.”
“I will.”
I shook his hand then headed to my truck. Grabbing my phone, I called Yendi. It had been three days since I left her a message and hadn’t heard from her. This time it didn’t ring several times like before. It sent me straight to voicemail. I knew that on iPhone, it allowed you to leave a message even if you were blocked. It just didn’t notify her. I didn’t leave another message. I ended the call and accepted that it was really over.
* * *
“Happy birthday, Maui!”
“Thanks,” she said as she cut her eyes at me.
“Whoa! What did I do?”
“Ms. Odom isn’t coming to my party. She hasn’t been the same either. She’s quiet and withdrawn like she’s upset about something. She told me that she would be moving at the end of the semester. I hate that. Y’all aren’t together anymore, so it must be something that you did.”
I lowered my head as I thought about Yendi and how I had been calling her every day for the past two weeks. Today made a month since the game and since I’d last seen her at the viewing for the video that premiered yesterday. I glanced up at Maui to see the concern etched on her face. I walked away without responding to her and tried calling Yendi. She couldn’t leave. I’d never see her again.
Damn.I still didn’t feel I was one hundred percent ready, but counseling with Serita was helping tremendously. We would begin and end every session with something positive about Avery. This wasn’t about his redemption, but about my freedom from guilt, anger, and hatred. I still had a long way to go, but I couldn’t let her leave.
Her phone went straight to voicemail, and I knew I had to go to her place. There was no way I could let her leave here without knowing how much she meant to me. As I made my way to the back door, Uncle Storm asked, “Where you going?”
“See about Yendi.”
“It’s about time you stopped being a bitch ass nigga. Go get my niece. I miss her.”
I rolled my eyes and kept walking. I didn’t have time for his foolishness. Yendi was looking forward to Maui’s party. Since I broke up with her, she’d been avoiding everyone. Uncle Jasper had asked about her on several occasions, along with Jess, Nesha, and my mama. Yendi was all alone again, and I knew that was taking a toll on her. She’d said that she loved having a sense of family here with my people. I took that from her.
When I got to my truck, my phone rang. It was Nate. We’d talked earlier in the week, and he was wanting to get me out there to Dallas for his next home game. It would take me about seven minutes to get to Yendi, so I could talk to him on the way. “Hello?”
“What’s up, dude? What you up to?”
“Going try to get Yendi to talk to me.”
“You finna pop up at her place? What if she got company?”
“Then I’m gon’ tell her company that I need to talk to her. The fuck you mean?”
He chuckled. “I know that’s right. Go get your woman. Jess messaged me, apologizing and letting me know that she could no longer give me permission to be wherever she was. If I showed up, it would be on me. Also, that she had to stop talking to me for the sake of her sanity and relationship with her fiancé. So, she’s forcing me to let go.”
“I’m sorry, bruh, but that’s a good thing.”
“Yeah, I know. Holding on to her definitely isn’t healthy. I’m gon’ still check with you to see how she’s doing though. And you know I’m gon’ stalk her page until someone else catches my attention.”
He chuckled so I did too. “That I know. You gon’ get past this eventually.”
“I know. Well, I’ll let you go so you can handle your business.”
“Yeah. I’m almost there. I should be able to go to the game next weekend. I’ll let you know how many tickets I need later today or tomorrow.”
