Page 46 of Can I?

“Well, that’s unfortunate that their behavior keeps y’all away. I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t see my grandbabies.”

She stood from her seat and went to the kitchen to start cleaning up, and Aunt Chas joined her. Bali rolled her eyes, and Noni shoulder bumped her. “I guess she got her straight, huh? I really thought I was gonna have to put my mama out of my house. I’m sorry, baby.”

“It’s okay. I know you have my back, and that makes it worth it. That was the only reason I was able to hold my tongue. I knew if she really stepped out of pocket, you would say something. Apparently, Bali could no longer hold her tongue.”

He chuckled then kissed my lips. “You don’t like salmon, do you?”

“I’m not a fan. Why?”

“Because I know what your eating looks like. You fuck shit up.”

I laughed. “Hush up, fool!” I stood from my seat and grabbed his plate. “Let me go help clean up before I give her something else to drag me about.”

He swatted my ass and winked at me. I knew what that meant, but he was gonna be disappointed. He was on restriction for a week, just like the doctor said.

CHAPTER TWENTY

FERRIS

“You know you got my boy ’bout to lose his mind, right?” I asked Noni.

I was finally able to tell them apart. It also helped that they wore their hair different today. They’d been here for a couple of days, and we were sitting here playing a game of Monopoly. I had done a game for work, and I had a couple of days until I got the next one. My mama hadn’t been back since Saturday night, and I didn’t think she would be back while they were here. Those fucking twins didn’t play.

The way she respectfully checked my mama was insane. I couldn’t help but chuckle. Had my mama gotten upset, she would have only been admitting that she was behaving that way. So she had no choice but to act clueless. However, I could tell by her mannerisms that she knew Bali was talking about her. I couldn’t be mad about it. I wanted to check her, but I was going to do it privately. It wouldn’t have been as low-key. However, had she said something totally out of pocket, I would have checked her in front of everybody.

“He needs to respect my decision. I don’t have time right now. Red is too clingy. He wants to be all up under me, andI have shit to accomplish. I’ll be damn if he gon’ have me like Karima in this bitch.”

I frowned slightly, not knowing what she meant by that. Seeing my confusion, Milana said, “Karima was the top barrel racer in the country. She moved to Nashville and was teaching girls how to ride and had gained a sponsorship as well. She was poised to win nationals, and she was about to start a rodeo team. That all came to a screeching halt when she found out she was pregnant.”

I frowned harder as Ashanni added to the story. “Rhodes was her friend from high school, and he’d always had a crush on her. They reconnected right before she moved, and he followed her there. Well, from what I heard, the nigga was dropping the condoms behind her bed after pretending to put them on. Karima was cleaning up and found ten or so unused condoms. That was how she ended up pregnant.”

My eyebrows lifted. “Damn. He trapped her. I would have never guessed that since they are still together.”

“Oh, her Henderson came out and showed the fuck out!” Bali said and laughed. “She’s the mildest and most spiritual Henderson though. She’s even milder than Maui.”

“Well, that makes sense then. I get it, Noni. Talk to him. Set boundaries. Do you even like him?”

She looked away for a moment, and I could see the sadness invade her eyes. Bali put her arm around her as everyone else looked shocked. I didn’t see them as being soft, but I didn’t know them as well. My assumption had to be correct, though, if their own cousins looked shocked.

“I like him a lot. I just need him to wait for me. He doesn’t want to. He said if someone else comes along, he’s not gonna turn her down.” She sat up and shrugged her shoulders. “Fuck him. When I finish medical school, the right nigga will find me, . . . one that can handle my aggressiveness, assertiveness,and discipline. That man will be able to expose my sensitivity and make me feel safe to do so. He needs to take lessons from Carter Legend.”

Bali blushed. “That man is the truth. He understands that I have shit to do, because he has shit to do too. He’s trying to make nationals like Milana. We aren’t a couple, couple, but we talk at least twice a week, and we spend time together when I’m in town.”

I nodded. I was gonna have to talk to Red Squared. If he cared about her that much to be fucking crashing out, then he should be able to respect her enough to chill out. It wasn’t like she said never.

“I get it, Noni. I’m sorry.”

She waved me off, and said, “You alright with me, Ferris wheel, but you owe me money since you sitting on Boardwalk, my nigga.”

I rolled my eyes and threw the money at her as they laughed. I was damn near bankrupt fooling around with them. I guess this was how the Andersons were feeling, . . . jealous as hell. The Hendersons had the fucking juice, and they weren’t sharing that shit either. Truth was, they didn’t have to if it was theirs. I hated how people made a big deal out of what rich people were doing with their money. How was I gonna get mad about somebody not giving back when it was their fucking money?

“I’m about to quit. I ain’t finna go broke tryna prove a point.”

They laughed, and Milana shook her head. “You can’t give up when it gets hard, Ferris. You have to work harder and smarter.”

I smiled at her and kissed her lips. I was enjoying my time with her. We seemed to be getting closer by the day, and I was loving every minute of that shit. She’d even sat and watched me play a game for an hour or so. She said she really wanted to see what I did and how I made money from it. I loved that about her.Whatever mattered and was important to me, was important to her.

Tomorrow, we would all be going to Liberty for her to practice. Bali was going mainly to spend time with Carter. Hopefully, Red Squared had his shit together so he could talk to Noni like he had sense.

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