Page 15 of His Strings Make Her Legs Sing
“So, you don’t want to wife her?” I asked seriously. Marco used to be a relationship type of dude. The woman that he was with for three years let him know that he was not her forever at her birthday party when he proposed. That shit destroyed him.
Everyone outside of her best friend was shocked. Her parents told her that she was stupid as fuck. Well, fast forward to a year later, she met a dude, swore he was her forever, and married him in a courthouse ceremony six months later with her best friend as the witness. Her parents were loud about their non-support of her new relationship. She had a baby within the first year of their marriage, and he divorced her before the baby was three years old. Her ex-husband was now her best friend’s forever. When she tried to run back to my boy, he told her to fuck off.
Marco drank from his beer bottle. We sat there in silence for a good minute before he answered. I knew him well enough to know that in his head he was deciding how truthful he wanted to be with me. We were each other’s vault, but it took a little more for him to let me in. “I’m not saying that’s not the goal, but I’m not saying it is. If it happens then it does, but I’m not about to push shit. If we get into something more serious, at the first sign of that uninterested shit, I’m out.”
That response wasn’t surprising because he claimed that in hindsight, there were points in his relationship with his ex where she seemed uninterested in it. She would say certain things, she started to spend more time out of their house, and she became more and more dismissive of him. He wanted the relationship so bad that he overlooked it.
“Yeah, just have fun until you both want something deeper. Take your time. I haven’t been around Wynsdae, but she seems cool.”
He gave me a grin. “Yeah, she is. I’m sure Sundae is too.” His grin turned into a full smirk. “What’s your plan for date night?”
“I’m thinking just dinner, so we can talk and get to know each other. I don’t want to assume she wants to do something that deals with music because she likes music and can sing. I figure the first date could be to learn more of her interests to better plan the second date.” I’d been thinking about what I wanted to do since she said yes.
“That’s a good plan, man. When are you going to tell her the plan? You better lock her schedule in, before her ass gets busy.” That was a good point. I pulled out my phone to text her.
Me: What’s up, love.
I smiled when I immediately saw the typing bubbles come up. I liked that shit. I was an impatient man at times.
Sundae: Hey, Citrell.
Me: I wanted to reach out to let you know that I wanted to take you out this Saturday at seven. Is that cool?”
Sundae: That’s perfect. I’ll send you my address on Saturday afternoon.
Me: Great. I can’t wait to see you. Still expect to hear from me before the date to check in, beautiful.
Sundae: lol, Ok! Maybe I’ll do the same.
Me: Yeah, you should. Have a good night, love.
Sundae: You too.
“We’re locked in,” I told Marco. I felt good. Now, all I had to do was pick a damn restaurant.
“I got a date tomorrow,” I blurted. “It’s with Sundae.”
I was at my parents’ house. We’d just had our normal Friday night family dinner. Callira was in the den watching her favorite movie so I could have this conversation outside of listening ears. My parents and I were still in the dining room. I generally didn’t tell my parents about my dating practices, but this was a little different because of who I would be dating.
My father snickered while my mother side eyed me over the brim of her coffee mug. She put her cup on the table, then crossed her arms over herself before she sat back in her seat. “How exactly did that happen?”
“Well, it’s really a small world. I actually met Sundae at Wicked Strings the night before you met her in the grocery store. Yeah . . .” I made sure I said it in a matter-of-fact tone because my parents?—
“So, you two have already had sex.” Leave it to Citro. I was about to say something, but my dad held his finger up. “Oh, I wasn’t asking you. I already know you did.”
I wasn’t going to argue with him. My mother’s nonblinking stare at me hadn’t broken. When she leaned forward on the table, I knew this was about to be one of thoseif you, I’m gonnakind of conversations. “Citrell, this is the woman that will be helping me educate your daughter. I don’t give a good got damn what your pecker does normally, but with this woman, you better tread lightly. If you fuck this opportunity up for my grandbaby because you don’t know how to handle that girl, I’m gonna beat your ass to Timbuktu.”There it goes.
“I got it, Mama. It’s not like that though. I really like her,” I confessed.
My dad tittered, then mumbled, “That thang must be good. You like her after one night.” He laughed a little louder. “Rella, sound familiar?”
“Citro! Watch your damn mouth.” My mother’s face was so tight to the point I couldn’t help my laughter.
My dad just blasted her ass. “Mama, it was like that? Let me find out.”
“You’re about to find out how it feels for your thirty-five-year-old ass to have ya mama smack you in the back of your head. Keep playing with me, Arzeniq Citrell.”Not my whole government.
I lifted my hands in surrender. I knew that she would smack the hell out of the back of my head.
