Page 69 of Anything Goes

“Don’t worry about all of that. Just remember what I’m telling you.” I hit the unlock button and pull my car door open.

“Like I said before, I’ve got this. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

“Shit, that’s making me worried.”

“Wow, you have so little faith in me, Unc. Have I ever let you down?”

Eyeing him with a lifted brow, I said, “No, but there’s a first time for everything.”

“Damn, that’s cold.”

I laughed. “Nah, I’m just messing around. I believe in you. I just know how persuasive college life can be. You have to have your mind made up in the beginning. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself in some mess that you can’t get yourself out of.”

“I hear you.”

“Mmhmm.”

I pulled out my phone and sent Alauni a text to let her know that I was on my way. We hadn’t talked in a couple of days, and I was still on edge about our last conversation. Although I wasn’t happy about her decision to break things off, I understood where she was coming from. But, now, I had to figure out how to fix it.

For starters, I needed to figure out how to have a levelheaded conversation with Maxine. I needed her to see that it was time for us both to move on. But I had to do it in the best way possible. I didn’t really know what she wanted from me. We weren’t even talking to each other.

The shit was weird.

“So, Unc, I need your advice on something.”

Glancing away from the road, I said, “Okay, what’s up?”

“The prom is coming up and I was thinking about asking this girl to go with me, but I’m not really sure if I should.”

I paused for a moment, shocked to hear that Keyon was unsure about approaching a girl.

“I’m surprised to hear that. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you worried about talking to a girl.”

“Yeah, I know. But this isn’t just any girl. Like, she’sthatgirl.”

“I see,” I replied with a nod and a smile. “So, you like her?”

Realizing that he might have shown his hand too much, he tried to play down his feelings. “I mean, she’s cool or whatever.”

“Man, you can cut the smooth act. It’s obvious that you’re feeling her, so just ask her. Are you worried that she’s going to say no?”

Twiddling his thumbs, he lowered his gaze. “I don’t know. We’ve hung out a few times after practice, but I don’t think she knows that I’m feeling her like that.”

I tried not to laugh. It was crazy to see him so nervous.

“So, she’s on the track team?”

He nodded. “It’s Ashlynn.”

“Oh, okay,” I said, pleased with his choice. Ashlynn was definitely a beautiful and talented young lady. “Wait, isn’t she talking about attending Huey too?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

“That isn’t why you’re choosing to go there, is it?”

“Nah,” he quickly replied, shaking his head. “I’ve been thinking about going there for a while.”

“Mmhmm.”