The day flies by again, this time I got to see Mekhi a few times in between classes although he doesn't see me I'm content. This nice March day has me feeling really good and a little more than optimistic. I check my phone and see that my mom has messaged me that she will be home late so we will have dinner at dad's restaurant downtown. I text her back and text my dad as well. I catch up with Nova and Rylie in the parking lot next to my car and fill them in on some of the details from my morning with Mekhi.
"Damn girl, you got it bad," Rylie says jokingly.
"Nah chica, you're wrong. He's the one who has it bad," Nova says and I immediately agree with her to take the heat off of me.
"Exactly, I didn't know he was going to be there," I say backing Nova.
"Yeah, but you weren't upset that he was there either," Rylie says laughing.
"You damn right! I was shocked," I say laughing with her.
"Yo, y'all wild," Nova says joining in the laughter.
"So what's going on tomorrow then," Rylie asks.
"Cuz we know you're taking your behind to that game," Nova says sitting on the hood of my car.
"I don't see how I can't go to the game at this point," I answer honestly.
"If you're not ready for all this excitement we can find him and set something else up," Rylie says reassuringly.
"Yeah mamma, I know you've seen his little fan club by now. Those girls can be too much," Nova says backing Rylie's reassurance.
"I know guys, I appreciate y'all for real. I'm not even worried about them though, honestly. I saw him surrounded by those girls this morning and the only thing I was thinking is that time we spent at the café this morning seemed like it was something more. Like I know I barely know him and I've only hung around him twice but something feels different with him," I say to them.
"Damn Lena, I think you're falling for him," Rylie says.
"Or he could be falling for her, Rye. Think about it, he took the initiative to approach her twice; Lena didn't even know who he was," Nova says to Rylie.
"Y'all both might be right, I don't know if I'm falling for him or if my body is falling for him. I want to know what's there though, I can have a little fun," I say to them sitting next to Nova on the hood of my car.
"That's true he do have that PBS Lena," Rylie says joining us on the hood of the car laughing and Nova and I join in.
"For real though y'all, I'm going to that game tomorrow. I'm just not showing up on time, I'm not one of his little fan girls and although he asked I'm showing up after half time. Are y'all still coming with me," I ask my girls.
"Of course Lena," Rylie says sincerely.
"Yes mamma, we'll be there," Nova says.
"We're still doing brunch though right," Rylie says and we all look at one another.
"Hell yeah," we all say at the same time and burst out laughing.
"I gotta have dinner with the family at dad's restaurant tonight ladies so I'm going to head home to get the twins," I say to them after we recover from our bout of laughter.
"I'll bet you do, they haven't seen you all week Lena," Rylie says.
"Yeah I know, the twins reminded me this morning. Y'all they maturing so fast it's crazy," I say to them.
"We know, they've been keeping in contact," Rylie says looking at Nova.
"Yeah mamma, they've been helping us to keep an eye on you for a little while now," Nova says putting one hand on my back looking at me.
"That's cool I guess, I did isolate myself from everyone. Thanks for doing all that y'all, especially because y'all have your own relationships to maintain," I say to them reassuringly. I'm not upset, just a little surprised that they asked the twins to help lookout for me while I was going through my dark days. It makes me love and appreciate them all so much more.
"You know the guys understand, we've been together since kindergarten. We're sisters we have to look out for each other," Rylie says putting her hand on my back as well.
"Absolutely mamma, our sister's wellbeing comes before any extracurricular activities," Nova confirms.
"Aww y'all gonna make me cry but, I can't because I'm just so happy," I say wrapping an arm around each of them. We sit like that for a few minutes just like we have countless times before.
"Alright we're going to let you go before Ma calls us," Nova says laughing.
"Yeah, go ahead and get out of here," Rylie says laughing as well.
"Alright girls, I'll text you tonight. I think we should hit the nail salon in the morning before brunch," I say standing and stretching my legs.
"Alright," they reply as they stand and walk to their own cars.
"Let me know when y'all get home," I call after them.
"Ok," Rylie yells back.
"You do the same," Nova yells after her.
I get into my car, crack the windows, and let my 90's R&B satellite radio station carry me home. This week has been amazing so far. I can't believe all that has happened in a few short days with me. I'm definitely ready for dinner now though, he was right I did want the rest of those hash browns for later and I had a wrap to go with them as well. I have barely seen my family this week since I've been hanging out with Nova and Rylie; Mom is more than okay with that though. I hope the twins are home already and Jackson has his hair fixed because I definitely don't want to be late for dinner. Growl. See even my stomach agrees with me. I pull up to the house, gather all of my things, and head inside.
"Hellloooooooo," I call out to see if the twins are home and kick my shoes off at the door."Yeah," Jackson and Journee call out in unison."Just checking to see if you guys were here," I call out to them as I head to my room and freshen up for dinner. I turn on my speaker and play music from my phone while I get ready.KnockKnock"Na-na can I come in," Journee asks."Of course," I respond leaning out of the bathroom to see who it is."So what's new with you," she asks sitting in the chair at my desk."Hmm a lot apparently. What about you," I reply smiling at her sitting cross legged in my fluffy chair."Same as usual. I did make a little progress with Derek," she says with a shy smile."Really? I'm happy for you," I say genuinely happy for my baby sister who isn't a baby any
"Lenaaaaaaa," a familiar voice calls.I turn around to see who it is and I can't believe my eyes…it's Mekhi with a group of guys. That wakes me up more than the cool evening air does."Hey," I say as we walk toward one another closing the distance. I look back at the twins and they stop and stare as well."Hey baby," he says smiling hugging me and I'm losing my mind hugging him back."Hmm," I manage to get out as I take in his scent and relax into his arms."That's twice in one day. Since I've got you here let's exchange numbers; I realized I didn't have your number after I left the café this morning," he says releasing me and pulling his phone from his pocket."See, I knew you were a stalker," I say with a half-smile exchanging phones with him."Nah, me and the guys came down here after practice. I had no idea
Me: Y'all guess what?!?!?!? Nova: WHAT? Rylie: Whatttttt???? Me: I just ran into Mekhi while leaving Dad's place downtown!!! Rylie: !!!!!!!!! Nova: For real!?!?!? Me: Yes y'all!! And the twins were with me! Rylie: Well? What happened? Nova: Yes mamma, details! Me: We hugged and exchanged numbers! Y'all he smells so good! Rylie: Oooo you got the digits! Yessss girl! Nova: Whoop, Whoop!! Have you contacted him yet? Me: Nah, I just got in 10 min ago. Rylie: Well, what are you waiting for? Nova: She said she just got in the house…. Rylie: True Me: So what do you guys want to do tomorrow besides have brunch?? Rylie: I thought you wanted to go to the basketball game?!?! Nova: Right…what ^^ said! Me: I do, but I don't want to stay for the whole game. Let's go around half time or something… Rylie: That's cool with me…maybe we can get
"Baby, open your eyes. It's beautiful here…" Beep! Beep! Beep! Today's the day! I roll over and turn off the alarm and lay for a few more moments remembering the voice of the man in my dream. I run my fingertips along my arm and feel goosebumps to go with the burning blush I feel from my dream. I get my thoughts together and finally roll out of bed and get ready for my day with the girls and Mekhi. I check the weather after brushing my teeth and washing my face and see that today is going to be another beautiful day. Since I'm getting my nails done with the girls first I put on a pair of light blue jeggings and a white tank top with a pink and white floral kimono then I finish the look with a pair of open toed sandals and pearl earrings. I go into the bathroom to brush my hair into a high sleek bun and leave a few curls loose and apply a little lip gloss as well. When I'm finished I text the girls to
When we are finished at the nail salon we sing our nail techs praises, pay our bill, and leave the salon feeling refreshed and a little more confident than when we entered. We discuss a place for brunch and decide on a place that sells chicken and waffles that's more than a few blocks away. So we get in our cars and drive the ten minutes away to the restaurant and are luckily able to find parking in the front so we don't have to do much walking. When we get inside we are greeted and seated within a few minutes. The air smells of fried chicken and sweet maple syrup and it is very intoxicating. The furniture is dark colored with light colored walls and a lot of natural lighting; it is much different from the darkness of my favorite coffee shop, but this place reflects my current mood. When the girls and I get our drinks and appetizers we loosen up and talk as the edge hunger causes eases."Are you ready to go to the game," Nova asks.&n
We park almost at the end of the parking lot so that we can be next to each other given that it's already so crowded and it'll be easier to remember where we parked. We join the small crowd of people heading to the gym and go through the process of purchasing tickets, using the bathroom, and finding our seats. We are seated next to the tunnel our players will be coming out of and I just so happen to have the end seat. I take my seat and relax into the chair and chat with the girls while we wait for the game to start. Suddenly the lights dim and the announcer begins…here comes the away team and their starting lineup. They look confident and very sure of themselves as they proceed to their bench. Then the announcer builds up excitement and with a booming voice introduces the home team and the crowd goes wild! I stand to look over the rail and watch the team jog out and see that the starting lineup is waiting to be called. He starts to call out some
The announcer announces the start of the second half as the players come pouring out of their respective tunnels. I lean over to see Mekhi once more and like a child I reach my hand down for him to smack it as he's coming out of the tunnel. He sees me reaching as he's walking out and he ever so gently squeezes my fingers and let go with a dazzling smile. I bring my hand to my face and look at my girls with what I'm sure the dumbest smile they have ever seen and I don't even care. I scream and cheer with the rest of the crowd and really settle down into the rest of the game. They came out giving it their all on both sides and now there is less than two minutes left in the game and we're up by two points. The other team's star is coming down the court hard and everyone scrambles to stop him, but it's too late he dunk's the ball hard and tie the game. The guys get the rebound and come down the court lost leisurely passing the ball around with precisio
BuzzBuzzzBuzzzzz"Hello," I answer and the girls both look at me to see who it is."Hey baby," the voice says on the other end sending my heart racing."Hey," I say smiling and blushing and the girls automatically know who is on the other end of the phone based off of my reaction."Do you have some time for me," he asks."Yeah, I'm at the mall passing the time with my girlfriends," I reply smiling."Sound like fun, do you mind if I meet you there and we can figure out what we're going to do from there," he asks with that velvet smooth voice that has all of my nerve endings standing at attention."Yes, that's fine with me," I say motioning to Nova and Rylie that Mekhi is coming to the mall."Okay baby, I'll be there in about twenty minutes. Meet me over at the food court," he says.