“Ma’am, I forgot to mention to you and your husband that the complimentary coffee and snacks are around the corner,” she said, my eyes going wide since I knew my mother had heard the whole thing.
She waited for me to at least tell the woman, “Thank you” before she dove right in, a huge grin on her face once she repeated, “You and your husband, huh?”
My voice was an octave higher than usual when I defended, “I had to tell them something! Otherwise they wouldn’t have let me go back.”
I shouldn’t have been surprised when she had a solid rebuttal, quick to list, “You could’ve been his sister, his cousin, his long-lost aunt from Timbuktu. But nooo, you wanted to play Mrs. Washington for a day. I don’t blame you, baby. Chance is quite a looker.”
Chance was more than a looker, easily hubby material in that regard. But the fact that I had tried going a route other than wifey reminded me, “Actually, that was his idea. I mean, at first. And then I just went with it.”
It sounded simple enough, but I would’ve been lying if I didn’t admit to being a little flattered by him so effortlessly proclaiming himself as my husband. Not that we were anywhere near that and not that I didn’t understand the circumstances in which it derived from.
Still, it was just… cute.
“Oh, so you do know how to get a man whipped off a little somethin’ somethin’? Proud Madre Moment,” she teased, wiping away a faux-tear that I couldn’t help but laugh at.
“Woman, you are crazy. And what’s with this tacky hat?” I asked her, finally addressing the real elephant in the room… since it was literally a stuffed elephant clearly meant for a child’s head.
She shrugged. “Bought it at the gift shop. All these crazy fans were getting on my nerves wanting to take pictures and twerk with me. I swear I’d clean the internet of that video if I could.”
The fact that she really believed the elephant hat didn’t draw just as much if not more attention was a topic for another time, the topic of her privacy enough for me to offer, “I know a few people who could help with that if you’re serious.”
She twisted her lips as if she was truly considering it. But then she pulled the hat off and replied, “On second thought, I’ll let it ride for a little while longer. My fifteen seconds will be up before I know it.”
I shook my head at her sudden change of heart, giggling just as Eric busted through the front doors of the hospital. Then he charged right on over to where my mother and I had congregated to ask, “Yo, is Auntie Ellen alright?”
“She’s fine, son. And you stink,” my mother replied, wrinkling her nose at the sweaty funk that I picked up on a few seconds later.
Yuck.
He shrugged it off as nothing, instead choosing to explain, “We were hoopin’ when Londyn called me looking for Chance.” Then he continued on to ask, “Is he straight? I know being back in this hospital can’t feel good after the way his dad went out.”
The story of Chuck’s passing felt more like an urban legend to me, so many different versions of what had happened still floating around the city to this day. And while I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get the truth, my attention was snatched from my thoughts by my mother saying, “He seemed fine. Londyn kept him calm.”
Eric’s eyes shot my way just as I was averting mine, refusing to add anything more to what my mother had shared. And thankfully I didn’t have to once Chance emerged from the back pushing Miss. Ellen in a wheelchair, getting all of our attention when he shared, “The breaks didn’t require emergency surgery, so we’ll come back in a few days for that. Otherwise, they said she’s good to go home.”
“Back to what got her like this in the first place? I think not. You can stay with me Ellen. As long as Chance forks over a little cash for groceries so you don’t eat me out of house and home the way these two boys used to do back in the day,” my mother replied with a laugh, obviously happy to see her friend in better shape while also not skipping out on an opportunity to make jokes.
Chance seemed to be in a better mood as well, pushing his mother out towards the parking lot while telling mine, “I got you, Miss. Annie. And thank you. I’ll see if we can expedite some things back at the house to get it in safer condition for after the surgery.”
“Sounds good, baby,” she told him, unlocking the door to her car before telling her friend, “Alright, El. Saddle up.”
Miss. Ellen wasn’t too thrilled about using the crutches they’d given her, relying more on Chance and Eric’s assistance to get into the car. And after getting her good and settled, Chance assured her he’d be by to check on her later before we all bid them a farewell.
That’s when things got awkward.
Staying quiet seemed like the best option, letting Chance and Eric have a moment as Eric dapped him up then pulled him into a hug while telling him, “Glad everything is good, bro.”
“Yeah, for now. Thanks for showing up.”
“It’s nothin’,” Eric replied before looking around to ask, “Where’d you park at?”
Oh shit.
Once again, I remained quiet, averting my eyes as Chance pushed out, “Uh… actually I rode with Londyn.” Oh my God, you better not… “Moms gave her my hotel info so she could come through and get me since I was knocked out, missing calls left and right. Forgot to charge my phone after last night.”
My sigh of relief was quiet yet full, Chance once again coming through with a lie worth believing. Hell, he might’ve been a little too good at lying on the spot. But, just like before, that was a topic for another time as I listened to Eric reply, “Damn. Must’ve been in somethin’ nice if you were sleeping in with a dead battery.”
I would’ve tooted my own horn if I could without outing myself. And the quick glance Chance shot my way told me he was thinking the same thing even when he told my brother, “Nahhh, I was just chillin’. Tired from working all day and rebuilding that damn house all night. I think I might call in some people and toss ‘em some bread so we can go ahead and get this shit over with.”
Eric nodded to agree. “I definitely feel you on that. But if you need any help, you know I’m there.”
“I appreciate it, E,” Chance told him, dapping him up once again which gave me a quick second to admire their little bromance.
But just as quickly, I was back on edge when Eric asked, “You need a ride back? Or is non-driving ass Londyn gonna take you?”
I rolled my eyes at his little jab since most of my bad driving habits had come from watching him over the years. But I didn’t get a chance to call him out on it, too surprised to hear Chance ask, “I mean, it’s not too out of the way for you, is it, Londyn?”
He knew exactly how far it was, had taken the route too many times to pretend otherwise. But then I remembered our audience, telling me exactly why he was playing naive while secretly encouraging me to do the same.
So I did, shrugging nonchalantly as I answered, “Sort of. But I guess I can take you.”
Apparently our little act was convincing enough since Eric let it be, taking off towards his car while we walked in the opposite direction towards mine. And things between us remained quiet even when I pulled out of the parking lot until Chance eventually broke the silence with a simple, “Thank you.”
“It’s whatever,” I replied, really keeping my eyes on the road this time.
But I wished I could’ve seen his face when he emphasized, “No, seriously. Thank you, Londyn. I… started having flashbacks to the last time I was at that hospital and… you helped me deal. So thank you.”
Since I could pretty much assume he was talking about his father which was obviously a sensitive topic, I didn’t pry, instead replying with a quiet, “You’re welcome.”
“I just can’t believe it almost happened again, man. My dad would’ve probably still been around had I shown up when I said I was. But nah, fuckin’ around, not respecting other people’s time meant I wasn’t there when he had that asthma attack. And now I almost lost my mom on the same s
hit.”
“So that’s what really happened,” I thought to myself, glad to have solved the mystery while also having mixed feelings about Chance pouring out to me. I mean, he could’ve rode home with Eric and had the same conversation. But he chose to hitch a ride with me, chose to share with me, chose to be vulnerable… with me.
Honestly, I was a little intimidated. But since I was supposed to be just going with the flow, I told him the same thing I would’ve told any of my friends in this situation. “Chance, it was an accident. And she’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”
“I know. But what if she would’ve fallen all the way through? What if Miss. Annie would’ve found her in a cold pile of herself in the basement? Hell, what if Miss. Annie hadn’t come over at all and she lost circulation when more of the floor started collapsing?” he asked, his anxiety about it all thick enough for me to feel across the car. And since I would’ve probably been on the same thing - or worse - had it been my mom, the empathy came easily.
So I did what I would’ve wanted someone to do for me, reaching over to grab his hand the same way I had done in the hospital and soothingly rubbing my thumb against the back of it as I told him, “Worrying yourself with what ifs is never going to make you feel better about it, Chance. Put that energy towards being grateful that she’s okay instead.”
He didn’t respond right away, just sat back in his seat while keeping my hand tucked in his. Then he brought my hand to his mouth, giving it a little kiss before telling me, “I needed to hear that.”
I wasn’t sure if it was the gesture or the sultry tone he had used, but the moment felt so perfectly warm and intimate that it had me questioning if I was falling a little too hard for Chance. Or maybe we were falling a little too hard for each other, our mutual decision to be okay with “liking” each other quickly morphing into something stronger; something more intense.
I did my best to shake it off, taking my hand back once I pulled up to his hotel. And I intentionally drove to the front of the building for drop-off instead of the parking garage, prompting him to ask, “You don’t want to come inside?”
Without completely giving away everything I was thinking, I answered, “No, I should probably sit this one out. Let you have a moment to collect yourself.”
While I wasn’t looking directly at him, I could see the disappointment on his face through my peripheral, tempting me to change my mind. And it almost seemed as if he was really trying to get me to stay when he said, “Londyn, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come at you like that earlier, about last night. I mean, it wasn’t your fault that Khalid showed up, and you were only reacting like a good friend should.”
Saying anything would’ve more than likely ended in me saying too much, being too open. So instead I just let him keep talking, tickled when he added, “But just know… if we were on some real relationship shit, homie would’ve had to find a ride home.”
“Sure starting to feel like some real relationship shit,” I thought to myself, telling Chance, “He knows that. We… talked about it. He actually offered to apologize to you.”
“Real recognize real. You sure know how to pick ‘em,” he replied, making me giggle in truth as he continued, “But let me get out of your way since you obviously have something to do. I guess I need to start making some calls to contractors to see how much my mom’s little project is going to cost me.”
I didn’t have anything to do, could’ve easily joined him upstairs and probably helped him with those calls. But after last night into today, I needed a break, a chance to clear my head, a chance to think all of this through before I jumped off the deep end that was steadily taunting me.
So instead of going back on my word, I teased, “Life loan fully activated.”
“Man,” he replied with a sigh. “I’ll probably have to call the job to see about extending my stay.”
“Extending your stay?” I asked, my heart pounding as I thought about what all that could mean for us.
But it was clear I had taken off a little too fast once he explained, “So I can look after my mom. At least until she’s back on her feet.”
It was silly of me to be slightly disappointed that that was his only reasoning for wanting to stick around a little longer. But I couldn’t help it, struggling to hide it when I pushed out, “Oh. Right.”
As if he could read my mind, he reached across the center console to grab me by the chin, gently turning my face towards him before he looked me directly in the eyes to say, “That means more of you and me too though. Well, if you’ll still have me.”
He formed it as an offer, but at the same time it felt like an out; an opportunity to save myself from falling completely and madly in love with someone who was still on the clock even if a few bonus weeks were being added. An opportunity to save myself from falling completely and madly in love with the person who was only supposed to be a fun little fling. An opportunity to save myself from falling completely and madly in love with my big brother’s best friend. And while I knew I was teetering on dangerous territory, the only thing that felt right to say was, “Is that really even a question?”
Chance
I was making my move.
Fuckin’ around with Londyn on what was supposed to be some casual shit was cool, but it was no longer enough for me. I wanted more, I wanted her, fully and unabashedly without the restriction of hiding what we had going on from the world. And while I wasn’t sure how she would feel about me coming on even stronger than I already had been, I wasn’t going to let that stop me from going after what I wanted the week I would’ve been set to leave town had it not been for my mother’s accident.
Honestly, it was almost as if my mother’s accident was a blessing in disguise, giving me just a little more time to really establish something solid between Londyn and I. Then again, there wasn’t exactly a blessing in how much money it was costing me to have professionals come in and work on her house now that we needed it finished in a quarter of the time. But it was a price I was willing to pay, especially if that meant having both of the women in my life happy with me.
Yeah. Londyn was that important.
Maybe I should’ve been scared by how quickly it had all happened, pumping the brakes to really evaluate what the hell I was doing and what it would mean in the long run. But it felt just as right to put the pedal to the metal and do whatever I had to do to make Londyn mine for real. So that’s what I was going to do, shooting her a text to see where she was at before making my way in the direction of her office that was more of a co-working space designed for collaboration though Londyn was the only one there.
I could see how hard she had been working in her tired eyes when she peeked up from her dual-monitor computer screen at me, giving a half-hearted grin when she said, “You never come up here so it must be important.”
“One, I didn’t know you ever wanted me to come up here since I know how you are about your space being yours. And two, it is important,” I told her, waiting for her to invite me in with a wave of her hand. Then I leaned against the edge of her desk to propose, “I want you to come somewhere with me this weekend.”
Her expression immediately turned confused. “Come somewhere with you? Like on a date?”
I nodded as I explained, “Sort of. I need to make my way back down to the city to get some more clothes and shit since I’m going to be here for a little while longer. And I was thinking you could, maybe, roll with me.”
This time she sat up a little straighter, her eyes already twinkling when she asked, “So like a road trip date?”
I couldn’t help but laugh, quick to tease, “You real hung up on this date word like we don’t kick it all the time, Londyn.”
“We kick it in very, very private places. A road trip requires public appearances. Like a date,” she insisted, the word once again making her eyes glow as if she was already excited about it.
Seeing her giddy made me feel the same, smiling when I agreed, “Aight. So a road trip date. You down o
r what? I mean, you’ll probably have to stay off Snapchat for a few days since I’m still your dirty little secret, but…”
“You’re not dirty!” she squealed with a laugh before quieting down to add, “Well… not all the time. And when you are, it’s kinda my favorite thing anyway.”
“Oh I know,” I told her with a laugh of my own, watching her roll her eyes while asking again, “ So… you staying or coming?”
Her enthusiasm suddenly fell flat, and I worried she was getting ready to change her mind when I asked, “You don’t want to come?”
She shook her head. “No, it’s not that. I just don’t know how much fun I’ll be on my period.”
“Man, you really think I give a damn about that? Hell, I’ll buy you some pads if you need me to. What size pussy you wear?” I asked teasingly, using the joke I had seen on Twitter a few days before.
Apparently Londyn had seen it too, cracking up laughing before suggesting, “I really, really need you to stay off the internet.”
While I couldn’t help but laugh again, I still grabbed her hand to let her know I was completely serious when I told her, “Nah, for real though. I just want you with me, LoLo. Wanna show you my neck of the woods and all that. It’ll be dope.”
She gnawed at her lip as if she was going back and forth about it in her head. And after making me wait way longer than necessary, she finally agreed, “I guess I’ll come if you really want me to. When are we leaving?”
“Tonight.”
“Tonight?!” she screeched, snatching her hand away as she shot up from her chair.
I wanted to laugh at her frenzy since I knew it was really nothing to freak out about. But I did my best to calm her down instead when I answered, “Yes, tonight. We’ll only really be there for a day or two, so it’s not like you have to pack a bunch of stuff. Hell, you’ll probably be in my shit half of the time anyway.”
“This is true,” she replied with a nod before peeking up to ask, “So we’re really doing this? Like… making legitimate plans to hang out with each other without sex involved?”
The Games We Play Page 15
