Page 56 of Anything Goes

“Yeah, well, keep that shit to yourself. You’re my little brother and he’s my fiancé. I don’t want to think about the worse happening.”

“I may be your little brother, but I’m far from little and I have ways to handle what needs to be handled. You know that.”

“Yes, I do. But I also know that if you felt like Reggie was really a threat, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. I know you did a background check on him. I know you’ve had his ass followed. I know—”

“Wait a minute, who told you that shit?”

“Don’t worry about who told me. Just know that I know,” she said, reaching for the glass that the waitress sat in front of her. “Clearly, you didn’t find anything.”

“That doesn’t mean—”

“Look, what Reggie and I have isn’t perfect, but over time I’ve realized that I’m never going to find the perfect man. Some time ago, I made a decision. I decided that I wasn’t going to put so many rules and stipulations on the next man that came into my life.” Pausing, she lowered her gaze and let out a deep breath. “In a few months, Keyon will be off to college, which means I’ll be alone. I thought I was okay with that, but I’m not. Have you heard the saying that a piece of a man is better than no man at all?”

I jerked my head back, disturbed that I was even hearing those words come out of my sister’s mouth. This wasn’t the Tokyo that I knew. It was almost as if she’d changed overnight. But I knew that wasn’t the case. I knew that behind closed doors, Reggie had filled her head with things and all of that was weighing on her.

“Yeah, I’ve heard that shit, and I think it’s ridiculous. No woman deserves just a piece of anything…damn sure not a man. What the hell has happened, Tokyo?”

“Nothing has happened, I’m just speaking the truth. I want a man in my life. I want to be loved. I’m not asking for it to be perfect, but—”

“Are you guys ready to order?” The waitress interrupted.

“Actually—”

“Yes, we are,” Tokyo stepped in before I could finish.

She lifted her menu to cover her face, and I could tell that our conversation on the matter was officially over. The moment we placed our orders and the waitress left the table, Tokyo refused to entertain any further discussion on the matter, and I had no choice but to respect her decision.

It wasn’t something that I wanted to do. I wanted to tell her that she didn’t have to settle, and she didn’t have to fear being alone. But I got the feeling that my attempts to remind her of just how amazing she was would fall on deaf ears. So I decided to take her cue and change the subject.

“So, Coach Jeffers and I are going to take Keyon to Huey University. Did he tell you?”

“Yeah, he did. He’s pretty excited about it. I think that’s the school he’s going to choose.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah. But don’t tell him I told you that. He wants it to be a surprise.”

“Well, he can’t really keep it from me seeing as I’m his coach.”

“I told him that,” she said, laughing. “But you know how Keyon is. He thinks he can do anything.”

“Always,” I nodded in agreement.

There was a moment of silence between us and I questioned whether or not I should mention my thought about Keyon living with me. Given the back and forth that we’d just had, I didn’t really want to take things back to a bad place. But that was the whole purpose of this dinner. I couldn’t leave here without getting that off of my chest.

“So…um…I’ve been meaning to get your take on something, and before you go to the extreme, just hear me out.”

She frowned. “Extreme?” Placing one elbow on the table, she said, “What the hell are you about to say now?”

“Don’t act like that.”

“Law, just say it.”

Taking a sip from my iced tea, I wrestled with my thoughts a little bit longer.

Maybe I should wait.

But what good would that do?