Page 38 of Loyalty, Lust, Love
“Hey, Bunny. Did you find everything you needed at the mall?”
“Yes, and a few things I didn’t need. Guess what?”
“What?”
“I have a date for prom.”
He sat up in his chair and gave her his full attention. “Who? Lynx?”
She frowned because she didn’t understand why her father would think Lynx would ask her to go to prom.
“No. Why would Lynx ask me to prom?”
Frasier shrugged his shoulders. It was cute how oblivious his daughter was to Lynx's feelings for her. “Who’s your date?”
“Rodney Jacobs.”
“Why does his name sound familiar?”
“I don’t know, maybe because he’s on the track team and got a full ride to the University of Illinois.”
“Good for him. Why did he wait so long to ask? Prom is next week.”
“He had a date until his girlfriend broke up with him a few days ago.”
“Oh, so you were his second choice.”
“Daddy,” she whined. “Why do you have to make it sound so bad? He couldn’t ask me to prom when he had a girlfriend, but he did as soon as he became available. It’s not that serious. We’re just going to prom.”
“If you say so. Weren’t you and your friends going as a group? How do they feel about you ditching them?”
“I’m not ditching them. We’re all going to the same place, Daddy.”
“All right, fine. Are you glad to be officially done with high school?”
“It’s not official until I walk across the stage, but it feels good.”
“Your mother would be so proud of you with all your academic and athletic achievements. It’s truly been an honor to be your father.”
She got up to embrace her father. “Aww, thank you, Daddy. Everything I accomplish is bittersweet without Mommy, but I’m blessed to still have you.”
“You’ve always been the blessing, Bunny. You don’t know how sane you’ve kept me when I thought I would lose my mind. Thank you for being so easy to raise. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Daddy, but you don’t have to lie. I know raising me was challenging at times, but you never made me feel like I was a burden. Thank you for doing your best to raise me.” They embraced a while longer before she returned to the couch. “This is the last summer me and my friends will be together. Do you remember when I didn’t have any friends?”
“I do, then Lynx came along, and before long, there were a few more of you. They’re good kids, and I’m glad you all found each other.”
“Me too. We gotta make the most of the summer before we’re all miles apart.”
“Hopefully, the distance will only make your friendship stronger.”
“I hope so. It took most of my childhood to find good friends. I don’t want to start over.”
“You’ll be fine. I’m sure you’ll have some great teammates on the track team. It would certainly ease my nerves if Lynx were with you. He’d help you get through everything just like he’s done since the day you two met.”
For the first time since they’d become friends in sixth grade, Lynx and Fateema would be hundreds of miles apart. She earned an academic and track scholarship to Prairie View A&MUniversity in Houston, Texas, and Lynx was headed to Howard University in Washington, DC, on an academic scholarship.
When they began completing college applications at the beginning of their senior year, they applied to many of the same schools. However, their decisions came down to the school that made the best scholarship offer. Unfortunately for them, the schools they chose were on different coasts.
