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“Resisting love and anything that resembles it. What his dad did, did a number on him. He told me that he told you. If he told you that shit, then trust, you the one, baby girl. He keep that shit locked away and hadn’t mentioned his father to me in over ten years. Please catch up with him before we leave. He thinks you’re better off without him.”
He grabbed my hand and squeezed it as I nodded. The moment he got up, Maui sat right next to me. “Hey, Ms. Odom. What was Uncle Jasper yapping about?”
“Hey, baby. He was talking about your cousin. Who are they here to see? I didn’t know you had a boy cousin your age.”
“Uncle Marcus’s son, Ace, just started going here last year. He used to live with his mom, but when he got older, she allowed him to live with his dad. That’s her over there.”
“Oh okay. How old is he?”
“Seventeen, I think. He’s in the eleventh grade but plays like he’s in college. He’s awesome.”
“Oh. That’s great.”
“Yeah. What’s your weekend looking like?”
“Well, I was invited to the baby shower tomorrow, but I’m not sure where it is.”
“Oh! Yay! It’s on Highway 365. It’s a barndominium on the left side. You can’t miss it. 365 is the same highway this school is on. It’s 326 here, but it changes names when you go through the traffic light in Nome.”
“Oh okay. Do you know what time it starts?”
“I think three but let me text my dad. He knows everything.”
I chuckled as I watched Mayor Henderson pull his phone from his pocket. He frowned then glanced around the gym. I supposed he was looking for Maui. When his gaze made it to our vicinity, she stood and waved. He smiled at her and went back to his phone. She showed me the text message that came through.Tell Yendi I said what’s up. It’s at three.
I smiled and said, “Tell him I said hello Mayor and thank you for donating the iPhone for the prize giveaway.”
Maui slightly rolled her eyes, probably because I called him mayor but relayed the message perfectly. When he smiled, it made me smile as well. “He’s so vain,” she said as the band got cranked up.
When I averted my gaze to the football players, my eyes met Jakari’s again. I couldn’t look away. Shit, I couldn’t even breathe until he turned away. Bringing my gaze to my nails, I found it best if I focused on them than anything else. I was going to show up at the baby shower. I knew I was taking a huge risk by doing that, but I wanted Jakari to know that I wasn’t giving up on him. If he didn’t want to talk to me then I wouldn’t stay long. Just long enough to wish Nesha the best and give her the gift I still had yet to buy.
As the pep rally came to a close, I looked over where the Hendersons were in time to see Jakari leaving. I supposed he didn’t even want to take a chance coming close to me again. I stood from my seat and Maui did as well. “See you tomorrow, Ms. Odom!”
“Okay, sweetness,” I replied as she hugged me.
Once she walked away, I realized I didn’t bother to ask if she was having a girl or boy. I supposed the most gender-neutral shit I could buy were diapers. She would never have enough of those. As I made my way down the bleachers, Jasper smiled and nodded at me. I did the same and left the gym, heading to my car.
Tomorrow could be either the best decision I’d ever made or the worst. I hoped Jasper wasn’t gassing me up with helium instead of petroleum. I didn’t want to see Jakari’s bad side, but Ididwant to see him. I could only hope he wanted the same.
CHAPTER9
JAKARI
“Iwent the fuck off as soon as they walked their narrow asses through the door. Everybody evacuated, trying to get away from the cat five force winds. Remy went his ass under the damn coffee table. Aspen claimed she didn’t know. I believe her, because she wouldn’t dare leave them out to dry if she did.”
I rolled my eyes as Uncle Storm talked about how he got in the twins’ shit about their outfits. We’d just finished setting up tables for the women to decorate for Nesha and Lennox’s baby shower. If Nesha and I weren’t as close as we were, I wouldn’t have even come today. I just wanted to be alone. Seeing Yendi yesterday was hell. I felt so fucking guilty about bailing on her, but I felt like I was suffocating.
I went straight to Uncle Jasper’s house, and he insisted that I was having an anxiety attack. He helped me calm down some then gave me a blunt to finish the job. I saw him talking to Yendi at the pep rally and that was why I got the hell out of there. I couldn’t talk to her about what happened with all those people around. That woman had me tripping for real. Even with all my shit, she still wanted me.
When she bumped into me and I saw the sadness in her eyes, that shit paralyzed me. I wasn’t expecting her to even be at the pep rally. She normally left early on Fridays. I wanted to scoop her up in my arms and kiss her until all her clothes melted away. I wanted to tell her how much I felt for her, but just like my body was paralyzed, so was my tongue.
I walked out of the barn and went to the pasture next to it. Whenever I really needed to think, I would find myself on a horse or putting out hay for the animals. It was somewhat chilly outside today, and I knew the grass would be dying sooner than later. Although I worked in the office now, I wasn’t a stranger to the hard work of tending to the animals. I still did it from time to time. When I was little, I had a little pot belly pig as a pet. I loved farm animals.
By the time I got to the stable to saddle a horse, I could hear someone approaching. When I turned around and saw Uncle Jasper, I wasn’t surprised. He paid the most attention to me. Out of my uncles, he knew me the best. He said we were a lot alike. I could see that. Just from some of the stories he told me about his past before Aunt Chas came along, how he withheld his love because he hadn’t healed from his past, proved that.
“You finna ride?”
“Yeah. You gon’ join me?”
