Page 71

She kicked off her heels, setting her purse down on the kitchen counter before finally speaking.

"I’m fine."

Lies.

I stepped closer, tilting her chin up with my fingers. "Serenity."

She sighed, leaning against the counter. "It’s just… your mom’s questions got to me a little. I mean, I get it. I get why she’s skeptical. But is this how it’s gonna be? Me constantly having to prove that I’m not here for the wrong reasons?"

I shook my head. "You don’t gotta prove shit to nobody, SB. Especially not her."

She looked at me, searching my face. "What if she never likes me?"

I exhaled, sliding my arms around her waist. "Then that’s on her. ‘Cause I love you, and that’s all that matters. Not what she thinks. Not what anybody thinks. Just us."

She studied me for a moment before finally nodding. "Okay."

I kissed her forehead, holding her close.

"Ain’t no ‘okay,’ beautiful. You with me?"

She finally smiled, wrapping her arms around my neck. "Yeah, I’m with you Langston."

“On the bright side, Pops seems to really like you. I think he might have been flirting with you a little too much.”

“Stop.” She laughed shaking her head. “He’s sweet, I like him a lot too. You look like him a little bit. Might have to upgrade to the older version.”

“That old man can’t do shit wit you. After he pop that Viagra, he gives two pumps and be done.”

“Eww, Creed that’s nasty.” She laughed.

“What? I’m telling the truth. One, two, then done. If all you want is two pumps let me know.”

“Bye.” She laughed, shaking her head and walking out of the kitchen. I followed behind her, as we made our way upstairs to our bedroom.

19

SERENITY

The morning of the draft, I was sitting cross-legged on the couch, sipping on my matcha latte, while Ari paced in front of me, arms crossed, her face tight with anger. I had just told her what happened at dinner last night; how Creed’s mom had basically treated me like crap the entire time. It was the first time I got to talk to her since it happened, now that Creed, Brodie and Nas were off getting haircuts and picking up their suits for the event later.

"I swear to God, we can jump that bitch, Tootie. Just say the word."

I snorted, nearly choking on my drink. "Ari, no. We are not jumping Creed’s mama."

She huffed, flopping onto the couch beside me. "I’m just saying, she’s real bold for coming at you like that. You should’ve cussed her old ass out."

"And then what? Make Creed’s life harder than it already is?" I shook my head, tucking my legs under me. "She doesn’t like me, okay. I can’t control that. I’ll just have to deal with it."

Ari looked at me like I had lost my mind. "You’re a better person than me. Cause let that have been Brodie’s mama, I would’ve?—"

"Arielle." I cut her off, smirking. "Please."

She rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath before grabbing her phone.

I leaned back, exhaling. Lowkey?

This was something I wished I could call my mama about. Even though she hadn’t been the best to Creed, I knew she would have at least had some good advice on how to deal with his mama. At this point, they were both mean girls and it took a mean girl to know how to deal with another one.