Page 18

“You look pretty!” Ms. Arelene said as I walked into her house. She pulled me into a quick hug before stepping back. I handed her the bottle of wine I’d grabbed at the store on the way here. When I left practice, I had every intention of going home and grabbing a few things before returning to Aceyn’s house, but his mother called while I was on the way and invited me over for dinner. I couldn’t say no, nor did I want to. “I’m glad you could come.”

“I’m honored that you invited me,” I said as I closed the door. Ms. Arlene’s house was beautifully decorated in white, cream, and gold. Her house had an open floor plan with large bay windows that allowed natural light.

“Girl, please,” she said, waving me off. “I told Bowlin and Hood when we left Bali that I was inviting you for dinner as soon as we returned.”

“Speaking of Pop, where is he?” I looked around, trying to get a glimpse of where he could be. I knew they weren’t together, but Pop had declared on more than one occasion that he would be at her house daily.

“He went to run a few errands; he’ll be back,” she sighed, and I giggled. We walked into the kitchen, and the smell of gumbo filled the air. “He said to start eating without him.”

“I’m so glad,” I laughed. “I’ve been practicing at the arena all day and am starving.” I went to the sink and washed my hands.

“You better get your fill before my son gets here,” she laughed. “Take a seat, I got this.”

Ms. Arlene quickly fixed our plates as I watched her at the table. A small piece of me envied Aceyn for having the luxury of having a doting mother growing up. Seeing Ms. Arlene move around the kitchen easily was a sight to see.

“Say grace, and enjoy,” Ms. Arlene instructed, then set my bowl in front of me. “I know the DeCortes taught you to praise the lord.”

“Yes, ma’am, they did,” I giggled, then bowed my head to pray. I dug my spoon into the bowl with a smile when I finished. The first bite had my eyes rolling into the back of my head, and I moaned. “Oh my goodness, this is so good.”

“Thank you, baby,” she said as she sat across from me.

“You aren’t eating?” I asked, and she shook her head. “Not hungry?”

“My stomach can't take it,” she answered with a shrug. “Plus, I’m not hungry right now.” While in Bali, I noticed that she didn’t eat much, and I attributed it to the fact that we were in another country, and she wasn’t used to how they prepared food. “But don’t worry about me, enjoy your meal.”

“You sure?” I lifted my brow, and she nodded. “Because I can make you something.”

“Can you cook?” she questioned. “Because I heard you say while we were in Bali that you ordered out most of the time.”

“I order out because I’m never at home,” I answered with a laugh as I stood. “And I can do a little.”

“How have you survived this long not knowing how to cook?” she questioned.

I picked up my bowl, walked to the counter, and set it down to give Ms. Arlene my full attention. “I knew the basics until college, and then I met Mercy. Every week, she had me in the kitchen, learning to do something different, and I’m not going to lie, I hated it at first. As our friendship progressed, I realized we were learning and healing together. She had her guilt, and I had this emptiness.”

“What do you mean?”

“I didn’t grow up in the most loving home,” I answered. “Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t abusive, but as I got older, I realized that it was neglectful. When I met Mercy and her big ass family and saw how they were with each other, I realized how much love I never experienced. But, you’ve met the DeCortes, so you know how hard they love.”

“I do,” she smiled. “So they loved and accepted you when your family didn’t?”

“They have,” I said, nodding as I leaned against the counter. “They may not be blood, but they love me like they are.”

“You have a family, Legacy,” she said, shaking her head. I lifted my brow, and she laughed. “The Bowlins are your family. My son loves you so much that I bet you haven’t realized when other people don’t show up anymore.”

“I’ve noticed,” I said, laughing. “But not in a bad way. Since I’ve been with Aceyn, I’ve realized how much I’ve missed out on, but I am glad about it.” I shrugged. “If I had to experience my first with anyone, I’m glad it's him.”

“Hearing you say that means I’ve done my job as his mama in preparing him to love his wife properly,” she said, nodding. “Now, I don’t normally let another woman into my kitchen, but I’m going to trust that you will do this for me.” She moved from her seat to the one I was sitting in and gave me her full attention.

I quickly searched her cabinets and fridge to see what she had and lucked up when I found everything I needed for homemade chicken and dumplings. I pulled everything out and set it on the counter.

“What did you have planned for this chicken?” I asked as I stood with the fridge door open.

“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head. “Do what you want with it.” Ms. Arlene pushed up from the table and smiled at me. “While you’re doing that, I’m going to lie down on the couch.” She approached me, kissed my cheek, then walked out of the kitchen.

I rewashed my hands and went to work. From the kitchen, I could see Ms. Arlene asleep on the couch. Seeing her in her element and not in Bali made me pause. The conversation with Aceyn about learning to do her hair echoed through my head. He’d said she was sick when he was little, but I’d never associated it with any diseases. But now I was wondering if what she dealt with then was a lifelong illness.

I sat at the table and finished my gumbo as the chicken and dumplings cooked. The front door opened, and I watched Aceyn and his daddy enter the house. Pop went straight to checking on Ms. Arlene while Aceyn came to me.

“Hey, Point Guard,” he greeted me, then kissed my forehead. “What are you doing?”

“Finishing my food,” I answered, then returned to eating. He took my spoon from me and took a bite for himself before handing it back to me. “Good, isn’t it?”

“Shit, I knew it would be. I grew up eating it,” he answered with a nod. His attention went back to his parents, and we watched as his father picked up Ms. Arlene and took her out of the living room. “He’ll bring her back in a few.”

“Okay,” I said as I got up and took my bowl to the sink. “And to answer your question, I was waiting for the chicken and dumplings to be done.”

“Mama made that?” he asked, and I shook my head. “Pop?” I shook my head again, and he reared back. “Who made it, Point Guard?”

“Me,” I laughed, and he shook his head. “What?”

“Can you cook?” he asked, and I rolled my eyes. “I’m only asking because you never mentioned wanting to be in the kitchen.”

“Aceyn, when do I have time to be in the kitchen?” I crossed my arms and waited for him to answer my question. “I spend all day at the arena, and lately, under you.”

“Ay, I don’t hear you complaining when you're under me, though,” he teased, and I rolled my eyes. He approached me and then pulled me to him. “I’m just saying I never knew you could cook, is all.”

“Mercy taught me,” I said as I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I’m not on her level, but I can get down.”

“And you made my mama some chicken and dumplings?” he questioned, and I nodded. He kissed me, then moved us so that we were near the stove and lifted the lid on the pot of food cooking. “It looks edible.”

“Taste it.” I reached over and handed him a spoon. He hesitantly took it and dipped it into the pot. I waited patiently as he took his time touching the spoon to his tongue, but when he did, I saw that he realized it was good.

“Okay, Point Guard, you know what you are doing,” he said, nodding. “This shit good.”

“Yo mama let her in her kitchen?” Pop asked, walking into the kitchen. He pushed his son off me, hugged me quickly, and kissed my forehead. “She doesn’t let nobody in this muthafucka, just know that.”

“Yeah,” Aceyn laughed. “Her soup is good, too.”

“You made my wife soup?” he asked, and I nodded. A shy smile crept across his face before he shook his head and turned to the cabinet to grab a bowl. “Son, you might as well propose so the shit is legit and yo mama can see her walk down the aisle.”

“I already know,” Aceyn said, nodding. They were talking like I wasn’t standing here; all I could do was listen. I tried not to let my panic show, and I was glad neither was watching me. To hear Aceyn agree with his daddy about marriage when we hadn’t even admitted aloud that we were in love was crazy.

“Hood, yo woman over there panicking,” Pop laughed as he ate a spoonful of his soup and smiled. “You better catch her ass before she jets outta here.”

“Man, she ain’t running,” Aceyn laughed as he pulled me to lean against him. He put his mouth to my ear and laughed softly. “Stop trippin’, Point Guard; we're just talking for right now.”

“I’m good,” I lied, making him laugh louder.

“Yeah, alright,” he said, shaking his head. “Easy or hard way, the choice is yours.”

“Yeah, daughter, this is good; let me make Arlene a bowl and bring it to her,” he said, pushing off the island.

“I’ll do it,” I volunteered. “You eat.”

I made a plate for Ms. Arlene and then took it to her. Her room was decorated in dark grey, yellow and white. She lay in her king-sized bed, propped by pillows as she flipped through a book.

“Knock, knock,” I said, standing in her doorway. “I brought you something to eat.”

“Come on in,” she smiled. “I was just looking at this old photo album. You care to join me?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said, handing her the bowl.

“Climb in,” Ms. Arlene suggested, and immediately, I kicked off my slides and climbed into bed next to her. She handed me the album, and I opened it to the first page to see a picture of her, very pregnant and annoyed. “Bowlin worked my damn nerves so bad that day.”

“What happened?”

“He was being him,” she laughed, then ate a spoonful of soup and nodded in appreciation. “I was two days overdue, and all he wanted to do was take some damn pictures. I told him if he took another one, I was going to strangle him with the camera cord, and his big-headed ass took another one.” I turned the page to see Aceyn as a newborn. “He was such a good baby. Barely cried and was on a sleep schedule from the womb. I remember my mama telling me that if I had another one, they would be a damn demon seed.”

“Is that why you didn’t have anymore?” I asked.

“No, the Lord knew I couldn’t handle another child with everything I had going on.” She shook her head. “Don’t get me wrong, Aceyn was a damn handful, so at times, it felt like I had more than one.”

“He told me he was a little stubborn,” I laughed as I continued to look through the album.

“A little is an understatement,” she sighed. “That boy drove me and his daddy crazy. Especially when he thought he was supposed to follow in his daddy’s footsteps and run the streets. Bowlin spent plenty of nights sitting on my porch, pissed because Hood was living up to his nickname.” She patted my hand and smiled. “He was his daddy’s karma.”

“He told me that he hit a rough patch.”

“He did, but he got his shit together like I knew he would, and I’m glad I’m here to see him do it.” She took a few more bites before handing me the bowl back. “Those years were rough, but it helped shape him into the man he needed to be.”

The pictures of Aceyn as a kid transformed into Aceyn as a teen, a young adult, and finally, a grown-ass man. His parents had pictures of him from every graduation and basketball game and random photos of him from moments in his life. My favorite was a picture of him standing in the middle of a basketball court, shirtless, with a basketball in his hand. His naturally low eyes sparkled against the light, even though he mugged the camera.

“This was taken last summer,” Ms. Arlene said, tapping the picture. “He’d gone out of town for work and came back with this chip on his shoulder. I kept asking him what was wrong, and he kept saying it wasn’t anything, but I could tell it was, so I called Pyrite and Givens, and they took him to the arena to get his frustration out. He returned that night, sat in that chair in the corner, and talked to me about life. Don’t get me wrong, that’s not abnormal for Hood, but that conversation was different.”

“How so?”

“All he kept saying was ‘easy or hard way, mama; either way, it ends the same,’” she shrugged. “I don’t know what it means, but whatever it is, it’s important to him.”

“I know what it means,” I laughed, and she lifted her brow. “He said it’s my decision on how I fall in love with him. I can pick the easy or hard way, but it all ends the same way.”

“With you two in love,” she said, nodding. “Leave it to my son to give you no way out.”

“Truthfully, Ms. Arlene, I don’t want a way out,” I said, shrugging.

* * *

“Don’t start,” I said, shaking my head as Xoey smiled. I picked up my phone and left the kitchen to grab a water bottle. “I don’t care what you think; my opinion is the only one that matters.”

“Bullshit!” she protested and shook her head as she continued to unbraid her hair. “I’m telling you right now that you are going out, and that’s final.”

“I don’t want to.” I set the phone on the counter and went to the fridge. I’d spent all day at the arena, practicing and working out, and wanted to spend my night doing nothing. Xoey had other plans. “Plus, I don’t have anything to wear.”

“Have Hood buy you something,” she suggested, and I rolled my eyes. “Lord, please don’t tell me you’re one of those women who think that a man isn’t supposed to drop a bag on you.”

“No,” I laughed. “I don’t want to ask Aceyn to buy me anything.”

“And why the fuck not?” she questioned. “You’re his woman, I bet you the money in my play account that he will hand you a car without thinking twice.”

“I don’t doubt it; I just don’t want to ask him,” I said as I grabbed a bowl of fruit and closed the fridge. “He isn’t obligated to do anything.”

“Bitch, get off my phone,” she declared, then hung up.

I grabbed a fork from the drawer, leaned against the island, and started eating my fruit. My phone rang, and I swiped the screen.

“Hello?” I said in between bites of my strawberries.

“Xoey said she thinks you had a stroke,” Mercy said, laughing. “What did you do to her?”

“I said that I wasn’t going to ask Aceyn to buy me anything,” I replied, shaking my head.

“That makes sense,” Mercy said. “Switch it to Facetime.” We switched the call, and I smiled at my friend. Even though we saw each other every day at the arena for practice, it was good to see her happy and relaxed. “What are you doing?”

“Eating fruit.” I showed her the bowl. “You?”

“Nothing,” she pouted. “You want to go out? Nothing crazy, just hit the club for a little.”

I started to decline but remembered that Aceyn had taken care of my problem, and I nodded. “I do,” I answered. “I just don’t know what to wear.”

“Ask that nigga for a card!” Xoey yelled in Mercy’s background. “The fuck!”

“When did she get there?” I laughed.

“She’s been here the entire time,” Mercy answered with a smile. “That’s the longest I’ve ever known her to be that quiet, though.”

“Because I was holding a meeting in my head with all the voices that live there, and we were discussing how Legacy had us fucked up,” Xoey answered. “Her goofy ass is over there trippin’.”

The opening and closing of the front door pulled my attention from the phone to the doorway. Aceyn strolled into the kitchen with a mug on his face.

“Hey,” I greeted him. “What’s with the frown?”

“Stupid ass nigga pissed me off at the press meeting,” he answered, shaking his head. “The W does some backward ass shit because ain’t no reason for the team doctor to be at some of their meetings, but we are required to.”

“You should’ve shot his ass,” Xoey said, and I shook my head.

Aceyn stepped behind me and rubbed my back while I continued to eat. I could feel his dick start to harden, and I bit into my lip to keep from saying something crazy while my friends were on the phone.

“I know,” Aceyn replied, and I laughed. “But fuck that nigga, he ain't about to ruin the rest of my day.” Aceyn kissed the middle of my back. “What y’all talking about?”

“We are going out tonight, and your girl needs an outfit,” Xoey answered. She took Mercy's phone and stared at the screen. “You cool with that?”

Because he was standing behind me and could be seen in the camera, I watched as he nodded, dug into his pocket, and pulled out his wallet. “I have been meaning to give you this card,” he said as he handed me a black card with my name on it. I looked at the card and then back at him, confused. “Take the card, Point Guard. It’s yours.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s your nigga, and he said so!” Xoey yelled. “Bitch, if you don’t take that damn card, and I mean right the fuck now!”

“Xoey,” I sighed and shook my head. “Shut up.”

“Not until you take that damn card!” she replied. “I know your suburban ass was raised to be taken care of. I’ve seen your uppity ass mama and the house you grew up in. That lady lets your daddy drop a bag every chance she gets. Follow in her footsteps on this.”

“I hate to admit it, but I agree with Xoey plus twelve on this,” Aceyn laughed as he put the card in my pocket. “Take the card and swipe that bitch as much as you want. I don’t care.” He smacked my ass and then left the kitchen.

“Go suck his dick, friend,” Xoey whispered. “Like legit, go suck it really good, cuz he just did the most BDE shit I’ve seen in a while.”

“Xoey, please give Mercy the phone back,” I said, trying not to laugh. She sighed and then dramatically handed the phone over. “I’m going to call you back.”

“Why?” Mercy questioned with a laugh. “I know Xoey didn’t piss you off.”

“Hell no,” I answered as I put my fruit away. “I’m going to go suck that man's dick like she said; then, when I’m done, I’ll call you back so we can meet up and go shopping.”

“Go, friend!” Xoey cheered in the background. “If you get lockjaw, you ain’t gotta trip off it cuz that nigga a doctor and can fix it!”

I hung up the phone without saying anything else and searched for Aceyn. I found him in the living room, watching TV. I approached him, dropped to my knees, and unzipped his slacks. Aceyn watched me through his already low eyes. I licked my lips and slowly stroked his semi-hard dick until it was hard and strong. Without breaking eye contact, I swallowed his dick.

“Easy or hard way, Point Guard,” he grunted as I worked him over. He grabbed a handful of my hair and smiled at me. “Easy or fucking hard way.”