Page 26

CREED

T he school year was over, and me and Brodie had officially moved out of our dorm apartment. For now, we were staying at Serenity and Arielle’s place. I won’t lie, it felt good as hell to wake up next to Serenity every morning instead of being in Jersey and having to drive back and forth.

But what I wasn’t expecting was my mama and grandpa’s reaction when they stepped foot in the apartment for the first time. They along with Nasseem had come into town for draft day as it was being held at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn.

I stood in front of the elevator waiting on them to come up. I’d gotten a call from the concierge’s desk letting me know they had arrived and were being let upstairs on the private elevator.

"Boy, you out here livin’ like a damn king already," Pops said, looking around the spacious penthouse with an impressed nod.

The place was ridiculous—floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the skyline, a massive chef’s kitchen, high-end furniture that looked straight out of a magazine.

"Creed, how the hell can you afford this already?" my mama asked, her arms crossed as she looked around.

Nasseem let out a low whistle, taking it all in. "This is crazy, bro. You sure we in the right spot?"

I smirked, shaking my head. "It’s not mine. It’s Serenity’s.”

My mama’s eyebrows shot up. "Serenity’s?"

"Yeah, her and Ari’s place. They let me and Brodie crash here ‘til we figure out what’s next."

"And how exactly does a college student afford something like this?" she asked, looking skeptical. I was not about to have this conversation right now.

"She just does," I muttered not wanting to get into it. Pops shot me a knowing look, but he didn’t press. But my mama? I could tell she wasn’t done.

“And where is this, Serenity?”

“She finishing up exams.” I replied. “She’s going to meet us at the restaurant later.”

“Until then, show ya old man the city huh?” Pops smiled patting me on the back.

“Of course, Pops.” I smiled. “Let me get my stuff and we can head out.”

For dinner, we went to one of those upscale steakhouses, the type with dim lighting, white tablecloths, and menu prices so damn high they ain’t even listed.

It was Serenity’s idea and apparently her treat, something I was against but she said she wanted to especially since this weekend was about celebrating me.

The moment we stepped into the building, Serenity was standing up front waiting for us.

She looked like she fit right in, looking effortlessly elegant in a sleek black dress, her hair, straightened out from its naturally curly state and cascading over her shoulders.

As soon as she was within my grasp, I pulled her close to me, hugging her and placing a simple kiss on her lips.

“You look good baby.” I whispered in her ear and she blushed as I pulled back from our embrace.

She turned to my people smiling, I knew she was nervous; it’s all she had talked about for the past week.

The last time she had come into contact with my mama, things were a little tense but this was the first time I would be introducing her as my girlfriend.

“Ma, Pops, Nas this Serenity, Serenity this is my Pops Joseph, my mama Tasha and you know Nas already.”

“It’s good to meet you in person.” She told Nasseem. “All of you.” Serenity smiled, reaching her hand out to shake theirs.

"Nice to meet you too, baby," Pops said warmly shaking her hand. “You’re beautiful, I can see why my grandson is smitten.”

“Thank you.”

“Good to meet you in person Sis.” Nas gave her a quick hug and then we looked at my mama her eyes scanning Serenity carefully, like she was trying to figure her out in the first two minutes of knowing her.

“Nice to meet you.” She muttered blandly. I shook my head, knowing how this shit was about to go. I looked at Serenity who was still smiling, despite the tension. I squeezed her hand attempting to comfort her.

“Ms. Bradshaw, your table is ready. Right this way.” The hostess said and I was grateful for the interruption of the tense moment. We followed her to our table, close to the back, near a window.

It was quiet while we looked over the menu until;

“This stuff looks expensive Creed.” My mama remarked viewing the menu. “Really expensive.”

“This is my treat, so get whatever you want.” Serenity said and my mama glanced at her over her menu.

“How is it that a college student can afford to live in a penthouse apartment and pay these kinds of prices?”

“Ma, please.” I sighed.

“My family helps me quite a bit,” Serenity responded, picking up her glass of water and taking a sip of it.

For the rest of dinner, my mama kept her questions coming, trying to pry into Serenity’s life. "What do your parents do?"

I already knew where this was going. She was digging, looking for something to disapprove of.

“Oh, um, my dad is the CEO of my family’s company, and my mom is actually a singer and actress.”

“Really? Who is she, maybe I’ve heard of her.”

“Sienna Bradshaw, but her stage name is Sie B.”

“Sie B? That’s your mother?”

“Yeah,” Serenity said meekly, “That’s my mom.”

My mama’s face twisted up real quick. She didn’t say much after that. But I could tell she wasn’t happy. And I was satisfied knowing she couldn’t find a damn thing wrong with my girl.

When the waiter came and took our orders, I was thankful for the distraction. I thought the line of questioning was over until my mama opened her mouth and dropped the bomb.

"So, is her money why you’re with her?"

The table went dead silent. My stomach sank as my face burned with embarrassment. I turned to my mama, my jaw clenching.

"What the hell kind of question is that?"

"A reasonable one," she said, her tone sharp. "I mean, you’re living at her penthouse apartment, she’s treating you to fancy dinners. You know how that looks, right?"

Pops sighed heavily, shaking his head. "Tasha, you’ bein’ rude."

But before I could go off, Serenity cut in, cool as ever.

"It’s fine," she said, picking up her glass of water again. "I get it. People assume things when money is involved."

I hated how unbothered she was acting—because I knew she wasn’t. I could see it in the way her fingers lightly tapped the base of her glass, in the way her shoulders tensed just slightly. She was bothered as hell. But she wasn’t going to let my mama see it.

I rubbed my temples, exhaling. "Mama, I don’t need her money. I’m about to go first round in the damn draft. What the hell would I be using her for?"

"I don’t know, Creed. But women with money… they come with expectations."

"And what kind of expectations would those be?" Serenity asked, raising an eyebrow.

Oh, shit.

I turned to her, but she just took a small sip of her water, eyes locked on my mama.

Before my mama had a chance to reply, Serenity continued.

“I don’t put any expectations on Creed. Hell, nine times out of ten he doesn’t let me pay for anything. I had to talk him into letting me do this. I’m not a bad person Mrs. Langston, nor do I believe your son is using me for my money.”

That shut my mama up real quick.

My Pops chuckled, nodding in approval. "Now shut up, Tasha."

Nasseem, clearly wanting to shift the conversation, turned to Serenity and smiled.

"By the way, I never got to thank you in person for what you did for me. It means a lot," he said.

Serenity smiled warmly. "I’m just glad my dad was able to help. He actually thinks you’re a serious contender."

"Yeah?" Nas grinned. "Shit, I appreciate that. I been working my ass off."

“He told me you had a fight a few weeks back and won. Congrats on that.”

“Appreciate it.”

The rest of the dinner went by in an awkward blur. While my mama didn’t say much else for the rest of the night, her consistent eye rolls whenever Serenity spoke to Pops or Nas was getting on my nerves and I was glad when it was time to leave.

The second we walked through the door of the apartment I knew something was off. Serenity had been quiet the entire ride back, her usual confidence dimmed just slightly. The moment the elevator doors closed behind us I turned to her, frowning.

"You okay?"

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.