Page 82 of The Fake Out

Gianna responded with a sigh and a giant eye roll. Then she turned back to Mila to say her goodbyes. Once we were settled in the car, I leaned in and pressed my lips to hers. This time, the sigh that escaped her was soft, and her body sagged against me. Instantly, my own body relaxed. Just having her near me lit me up and calmed my mind. I pulled back and brushed a curl off her face.

“Did missing me make you cranky?” I teased.

“Shut up,” she huffed, though she was pliant in my arms as we left the city and headed for Jersey.

The longer we drove, the more relaxed I felt. Coming home felt like nothing else. And this time, I was bringing Gi. The second I mentioned that she was coming, my family knew there was something going on with us. So for the next two days, we didn’t have to hide. It was mind-blowing how good it felt knowing I could be affectionate out in the open.

We didn’t speak much on the forty-minute drive, but just having her resting her head on my shoulder and filling my nose with that orange blossom scent was enough.

When the Uber pulled up beside my mother’s Subaru, I helped Gi out and circled to the trunk to get our bags.

“Where are we putting our stuff?” She glanced around the parking lot.

“Mama’s car.” I pulled her two bags out and set them on the asphalt before grabbing mine.

“She leaves it unlocked?” Gi asked, her voice pitched high in disbelief.

“Don’t bother trying to tell my mother that we live in a world where people need to lock their doors. She won’t believe you.”

My mom was the reason I always looked for the positive side of things. No matter what happened in life, she always found the bright side. Every day, I worked to be like her and be that light for the people around me.

Unsurprisingly, Gi scoffed. My girl lived in a world full of locks. Oddly enough, I respected and admired the carefully crafted walls that Gi lived behind just as greatly as I did my mom’s sunny outlook.

“What?” she snapped.

I smiled. “You’re pretty.”

With a roll of her eyes, she picked up one of her bags. “Which car? Can we lock it after we put our stuff in? I’d hate for someone to take her car.”

I pointed. “We can. We just need to take the keys out.”

Her brown eyes widened and her spine snapped straight. “She left the keys in it?”

All I could do was laugh at her reaction. Grasping her hand, I pulled her in for a kiss, but we were interrupted a moment later when the Uber driver honked.

“What’s his problem?” Gianna snapped, affecting her patented glower.

The guy probably wanted to leave, but we were in his way. Regardless, nothing could wreck my mood today. I popped Mama’s trunk and put our bags in the back while Gianna got the keys out of the console in the front. Once the Subaru was locked up tight, we headed for the football field.

At the entrance, I flashed the two blue tickets, then we were engulfed in a sea of people.

“Emerson!” Tia Camilia called as we wandered, looking for my family. They’d set themselves up in the second to last row of bleachers.

With my hand on Gi’s back, I guided her up the steps, weaving through people until we reached them.

“Tia Cam, Tio Paulo, this is Gianna.” I nodded. “Gi. This is my aunt and uncle.”

My aunt wasn’t shy about her appraisal of Gianna. She looked her up and down, then looked back at me with a slight brow raise and a tip of her lips. Approval.

My uncle just smirked. Another win.

The ceremony was shorter than I thought it would be, and before I knew it, we were all back at the house.

Everyone had piled out of the car and headed inside already, leaving Gi and me to grab our stuff in peace. Thank fuck. I could use a minute alone with her.

After I pulled her in for a long, slow kiss, I slung my small duffel over my shoulder and grabbed her two bags. Then I led her up the pavers to the two-family house brimming with the comfort of home. The sensation was odd, since I’d never lived in this place, but I wouldn’t question the blessing.

“My mom lives on the bottom floor, and my aunt and uncle live on the second floor.” When I signed with the Diamond Hawks, I used the bulk of the bonus they offered as a down payment for the two-family house for Mama and her sister. A year later, when the insurance money from my dad’s accident finally came in, my mom offered to pay me back, but I refused. Instead, she used it to pay off the rest of mortgage, and in the eight and a half years since, they had turned the place into a home.

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