Page 27 of You're All I Need

I feel his eyes on me way before I meet his gaze. Awareness prickles my spine and spreads tingles up and down my arms, but I keep my eyes locked forward until we’re climbing the steps and sliding into the bleachers. I’m sitting beside Stevie, directly behind Christian, who is parked beside Caden.

“Adrienne!” Christian hollers, holding up his popcorn bag and grinning with chocolate covered lips.

“What’s up, little buddy?”

“We’re watching Joshua play ball. He’s my favoritest player, besides Ayo. He’s on the Bulls. Dad says we can go to a Bulls game when I get bigger, but Uncle Caden says I’m big now. He’s gonna takedid me. Right, Uncle Caden?”

I smile at the kindergartener before my line of sight finally shifts to the man sitting beside the boy. His blue eyes dance with mischief and perhaps a bit of naughty intent.

“That’s right, my man. Shake and bake,” he says to the boy, holding out a fist for him to tap. The moment they touch, their fists explode, making me chuckle.

“Adrienne came to keep me company,” Stevie announces, taking a bite of her popcorn. She looks back up in the stands on the second level. “Gianna is up there with a few friends.”

I rip open my bag of M&M’s and drop them into my own popcorn, gently shaking it up. “You eat chocolate in your popcorn too?” Christian asks, his eyes wide.

“Sure do. It’s the only way to eat it,” I assure him, popping a handful of the salty and sweet treat into my mouth.

“Uncle Caden says that too!” he proclaims before returning his attention to the court for tip-off.

“Joshua is the tall one who looks just like Caden,” Stevie announces quietly, pointing to the lean boy getting himself into position for a pass.

I watch, mesmerized by how easily he moves around the court, as the ball is passed to him, and he fires off his shot. The crowd cheers as the first three points go on the board. The opposing team fires a shot, but it hits the rim and bounces against the backboard. One of Joshua’s teammates is there to rebound, but doesn’t get in there the way I think he should.

“Box out!” I call as the opposing team gets the rebound and shoots a quick two pointer.

“Yeah, box out!” Christian hollers.

Stevie groans. “Really? I thought I was bringing you to gossip with me.”

Caden turns around and grins. “Atta girl.”

At the end of the first quarter, I notice everyone’s attention turns to a little old lady, as well as a man and woman, making their way to where we sit. Caden immediately jumps up and meets her at the bottom of the steps and helps her climb up to where we’re sitting. The little old lady slides in beside Christian, while the woman who resembles Caden takes the empty seat beside me. The man, a sour look on his face, ends up moving down the bleachers one row behind us.

“Hello, everyone,” the old woman says, turning to Christian. “Did you save some popcorn for me?”

He nods and holds up his bag.

“I was just kidding. You enjoy it, Christian.”

“I didn’t know you were coming, Gram,” Caden says, glancing back at the woman sitting beside me and scowling.

“Well, your sister called me and asked if I wanted to come see my great-grandson play for a bit. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.”

There’s a wave of tension in the air. It surrounds me like a dark cloud and makes me a little uncomfortable.

“Hi, I’m Scarlet,” the woman beside me introduces.

“Adrienne.”

Caden turns around. “That’s my sister, and this beautiful woman is my gram.”

I turn to the man who is sitting behind Jack, assuming he’s part of the group too.

“That’s the asshole.”

Caden’s words surprise me. They’re not quiet and hold plenty of venom. The man clearly hears him, his eyes narrowing down at Caden, who seems to give no fucks about what he said.

Scarlet sighs beside me. “That’s Warner, my husband. Or, soon to be ex-husband. He’s Joshua’s father.”

---