Page 5 of Where Is the Love

When he finished the prayer, I smiled at him and was about to dig into my red beans and rice when I heard, “Where his ass at?”

I rolled my eyes as Brix looked toward the kitchen. When Uncle Jasper came running through the diner with Uncle Storm right behind him, the entire area erupted in laughter. Everybody knew those fools liked to cut up. My mama and Aunt Chrissy came from the back. “So sorry, everybody, for our brothers’ childish behavior. They mean no harm. If you saw all the mayor signs all over town, that’s what this is about,” my mama said, barely able to contain her laughter.

She glanced over at me then Brix, and her eyes widened. She knew about our friendship in school, but it was something we had to keep between us, or Joseph would have put a stop to it. She made her way to our table, and Brix stood to hug her. As they got reacquainted, my phone chimed with a text. I pulled it out to see it was from Nate. Although we hadn’t gotten as physically close as we did the night before the wedding, we kept in touch and spoke to one another often.

What’s popping, superstar? I saw your shots in the Nordstrom ad. You looked good as hell, baby. I wanted to see if you think I could see you again. I have tickets for a game in Houston. My mama can’t make it, and I would love to see you there.

I smiled slightly at my phone and responded.Hey, boo. I’m chilling in Nome with my peeps. Just got here about an hour ago. I saw your game Tuesday night. You did your thing. Let me know the exact dates, and I’ll let you know. I would love to be there.

When I put my phone away, I noticed I was the center of attention. “Umm… why are y’all staring at me?”

My mama rolled her eyes. “Because you were smiling. It’s so beautiful, we all have to stop and stare.”

It was my turn to roll my eyes. “I know it’s beautiful, but thank you.”

Brix chuckled. “I was telling your mom that I was hoping that you would come see what I did with the farm sometime tomorrow, and she invited me to the family turn up this weekend.”

“Yeah, sure. We need to catch up anyway. I gotta spend tonight with my mama and daddy though.”

My mom’s face reddened, and she walked away. Whenever I called Carter daddy, it put them both in their feelings. He was my stepdad, and he only came along about six years ago, shortly before Joseph died. I bonded with him immediately, simply because he was everything my mother needed after all the abuse she suffered from Joseph. He nearly killed her at the end. That was why Uncle WJ shot his ass.

“I don’t mean to pry, but I thought I heard your dad died a few years ago,” Brix said with a slight frown on his face.

“He did. My mom remarried, and I have another brother. CJ bad as hell too.”

“Damn. That’s cool that you call him dad.”

“Yeah. He deserves the title way more than Joseph did.”

Brix cleared his throat as my phone chimed again. I could see that he was slightly uncomfortable with what I said. He knew about some of the horrible things Joseph would say and do to me. I would often go to him for comfort after school… well, when he didn’t have a girlfriend. It was like he helped me to feel loved. As friends, Brix and I loved each other. I just hated that we let the dating scene distance us from one another.

I looked down at my phone to see another text from Nate. I smiled slightly as Brix asked, “You seeing somebody? Whoever is texting you must be pretty special.”

“I’m not seeing anyone. Nate and I are friends. He’s just cool. I haven’t seen him since Nesha’s wedding, but he wants me to go to one of his games since they’ll be in Houston.”

“Oh. The basketball player?”

“Yeah. He plays for Dallas.”

He nodded, but it seemed that bothered him. He went back to eating his food, so I asked, “How long you been back in town?”

“Right after the New Year. So I was probably moving in right after you left from your last visit if you were here for Nesha’s wedding.”

“Yeah. We probably missed each other by a day or two.”

He nodded again and went back to his food. When my phone chimed again, he glanced up at me but didn’t stare like last time. This time, it was my girl Tyeis just checking on me. I responded to her, letting her know I was in the country and would call her later, then went back to my food. Brix was quiet, and I didn’t know what to say to get conversation going between us again. He obviously wasn’t as forward as he used to be. I could tell that he wanted me in ways he’d never had me, simply by the way his eyes scanned my body.

We needed to get reacquainted first though. Surely, neither of us were the same person we were at eighteen years old. That was already evident. I was more vocal than I was back then. It was like we’d switched personalities. “Brix, you good?” I asked.

He lifted his gaze to mine, and the seriousness in his eyes caused a tremble to go through my body. “I’m cool, Jess. I just have a lot of work to do, so my mind had gone there. I’m a planner and like to know what I’m gonna do before I do it.”

My lips parted as he licked his while scanning my body again. Being the person I was now, I couldn’t let him get away with that. “Brix, why do I get the feeling that those plans include me in some way?”

“Because you’re a smart woman and can read between the lines. You ain’t the same. You’re bolder, and I can tell that you done been through some shit that made you tougher. I want to pursue you, Jess, but slowly. I want you to feel me in every way, but we gon’ start with intellect. You cool with that?”

I frowned slightly then shrugged. “I guess… umm… Why are you suddenly interested?”

“Can I be honest?”