Adore You (3 page)

“So what’s the deal? You met your match? She ain’t falling for the Black Clooney charm?” Trey laughed and took a sip of his beer.

“This one is different, man. She might be…the unicorn princess.”

Trey looked over at as he struggled to keep the beer in his mouth.

“Aye man, you spit that shit out, you cleaning it up.”

“The UP, my guy? You said she’d never exist.”

The UP or unicorn princess was some shit I’d made up in undergrad when Trey and I roomed together. He kept a running commentary going on all of the baddies I brought through our room and how one day one of ‘em was gonna bring me to my knees. I told him she’d have to be a damn unicorn princess because no way in hell a woman was going to make me fall. We laughed hard over that and references to the UP had been plentiful throughout the rest of our friendship. A time or two I got caught up in the sweetness of a woman, but none of them were ever worthy of the UP title. So Trey knew I was serious.

“Bee’s the UP.”

“Does she know she’s the UP?”

“Trey, she doesn’t even know the UP origin story.”

“
She doesn’t even know the origin story
face ass. Nigga, that ain’t what I asked. Have you
shown
her she’s the UP?”

“She ain’t giving me much of a chance. Hell I can barely pin her down to keep whatever we have going on now holding on.”

“You gotta woo the shit outta her. None of that corny shit either. Because from what I remember Little Bee wasn’t with the shits.”

“She still ain’t, bruh,” I said, feeling my face break open into a grin, unprovoked.

Trey just looked at me in amazement. “Nigga, are you grinning? She got you wide open like that?”

“Aye, you remember the shit I gave you when you first came home talkin’ nonstop about Demi after meeting the girl for just fifteen minutes? If you knew what I was thinking right now, you’d be getting me back, tenfold. But fuck the woo.”

“Fuck the woo?”

“Yeah, man. Bee
ain’t with the shits
as you so eloquently stated, so I got to craft a whole new way to come at her. All my regular tricks are dead in the water.”

“So what are you gonna do?”

“Man, I haven’t got the slightest clue. But I do have the ear of her best friend, so I gotta use that shit to my advantage.”

“So what’s ET got to say about this?”

“Not a damn thing because he doesn’t know. In fact, you’re the only one besides Cadence that knows.”

“Wait. She’s the UP and you’re keeping shit on the hush? What part of the game is this?”

“Ain’t my doing. She’s freaking out about the family knowing, so I’m abiding by her wishes…for now. I’m just about sick of this shit though.”

“So what you gonna do about it besides whine about it to me?”

“Ain’t nobody whining, fool. Going to have to force her hand eventually. I know one thing for sure, we’re too old to be sneaking around hoping our mamas don’t find out we’re dating.”

“So you
are
thinking about settling down.”

“I’m mean I’m not tryna run to the altar or nothin’, but…”

I picked up my beer and took a long sip while staring at the TV. The game was boring as hell since we were losing, but there was nothing else to say. I had to think long and hard about what I had to do to make Devorah realize that this was something worth exploring. Hell, we both were too damn old to be playing games. And I know, both of our mothers would be thrilled to see us finally in real relationships. Since Everett, Bee had dated casually, but no one had been able to lock her down long term. Most of the dudes she brought around to gatherings were cornballs who were not deserving of even being in her presence, honestly. The last clown that she brought around showed up to a barbecue in a damn tweed blazer with the patches on the elbows. Everett and I clowned the hell out of her about dude. Even Cade joined in. He didn’t even make it from the Memorial Day barbecue to the 4
th
of July. I knew, thanks to Cadence, that she felt like none of the dudes she dealt with in the past had some shit she called The Zing…whatever that was.

Trey left shortly after the game ended when Demi called. From the sounds of the yelling I heard, that brother was definitely in for a long, rough night. I think I heard her crying too, which meant Demi had been drinking. Tough as nails eighty percent of the time, but when she had a little too much to drink, she became an emotional mess. My boy needed to man up and give the woman what she wanted, honestly. And I needed to figure out what my woman needed and give it to her.

“Uncle Elllllllll!” I heard my niece screeching my name before I saw her mane of curly red hair and arms flailing about.

My car wouldn’t start this morning, so I had been running bit late for the recital thanks to Uber. I ended up not being able to find a seat near the rest of the family once I arrived, however. Luckily, I arrived just in time to see Sophie’s solo. I never would have heard the last of it from her if I had missed it. I wouldn’t even have been able to fake it because somehow my seven year old niece had eagle eyed vision and made sure she accounted for every family member’s whereabouts as she crossed the stage prancing, twirling and dancing. I’ll never forget the time she called out Everett for yawning during one of her earliest performances. I walked over to join Soph and the rest of the family as they fawned over her. As I made my way through the group greeting everyone with hugs, daps, and kisses, I noticed one very important face missing.

“I asked you a question, Uncle El?” Sophie said, impatiently with a hand on her hip.

“I’m sorry Sweetpea, what’d you say?”

“Did you like it? I worked really hard and mommy and me practiced every day. And Mrs. Hampton? She said my part was real important because all of the rest of the girls had to follow me and even though I messed up a little bit everybody still followed though. So what did you think?”

I reached down, gathering Sophia in my arms to give her a kiss on the forehead. “It was great, Sweetpea. You danced to my favorite song and everything.”

“Your favorite song is ‘Who Run the World’, Uncle El? You’re so strange.”

“You’ve got that right, baby girl. He sure is strange,” a slightly throaty voice replied to Sophie’s observation.

“Auntie Beeeebeeeee!” Sophie scrambled out of my arms and rushed over to Devorah.

“Beanie!” Devorah squealed in a voice that rivaled Sophie’s.

I’d bet that it hadn’t been more than a few days since they’ve seen each other, but from their reactions you’d think it had been weeks. Hell you also woulda thought Bee was the one related by blood by the way Soph quickly deserted me for her. As they embraced and began their little secret handshake I took the time to shamelessly ogle Devorah. She’d let her hair revert back to its natural state and it was pulled up into a curly puff on the top of her head. With a face free from makeup and a ponytail, she looked much younger than her thirty-one years.  Seeing the easy way she and Soph interacted made me visualize her interacting with our daughter. Bee had always been nurturing with what seemed like never ending patience, even when we were kids; so I knew that would no doubt translate into her being a great mother.

“Hello? Earth to Ellis? Do you read me?” Everett said, waving his hands in front of my face.

I was so caught up in my fantasy that I’d missed everyone hustling out of the building so we could go to Easy Like Sundae Morning for Sophie’s requisite post
-
recital ice cream.

“Hey, man, can I roll with y’all to Easy Sundae?” I asked Everett as we exited the recital hall. “The whip is acting up, so I had to Uber it over here this morning.”

“We full, bro. Mama, Pops, and the in
-
laws carpooled with us.”

“Ah shit. Aight, tell Soph I’ll come by later and take her for a special treat,” I said, pulling out my phone to request an Uber home.

“Aye, Devorah,” Everett called out, “You coming to Easy Like Sundae Morning?”

“Heck yeah. In fact, Beanie is riding with me.”

“You got room for one more? Ellis’ car is outta commission and he needs a lift.”

Devorah briefly hesitated before answering. “Sure.”

I flashed a brief grin before walking in her direction.

“Well, well, well, we seem to keep finding ourselves thrown together don’t we, Little Bee?”

“Soooooooo…?” Cadence looked at me expectantly.

I remained stone
-
faced, features locked into a grimace.

“You can’t not talk to me forever, Bee, so cut the shit. You agreed to this brunch date so you can’t be that upset.”

“I agreed to come because this is my favorite restaurant and you’re paying. But fuck you. You’re still not off the hook.”

Cadence called yesterday and asked me to meet her at Cluck for brunch. She knew I was powerless to resist the combo of two of my favorite things, fried chicken and bottomless mimosas, so I was at her mercy. I didn’t, however, have to make nice. I was still pissed at her for dropping the dime to Ellis about where I was at during my staycation. She was supposed to be on my side, dammit! Instead she gavehim the cheat codes
.
It had been a few weeks since Ellis popped up at the hotel thanks to Cadence tipping him off.  Prior to that I hadn’t seen him in eight days. I’d been prepared to see him at SophieBean’s recital and pretend like whatever we had been doing for the past six months had finally come to an end. Then Cadence just had to open her big mouth and somehow I ended up with my ankles near my ears by the night’s end. Then he pulled that broken car shit at the recital and we ended up spending
that
night together as well. A slight shudder traveled through my body as I remembered that night Cadence sent him to me.

Something felt different about the way Ellis touched me. Each graze of his hand on my skin felt like he was trying to tell me something. Our normal frenetic sex was lazy and languid, peppered with long kisses and sweet caresses. I’d chalked it up to our slightly inebriated state, but for him to then double down and drop the bomb that he wasn’t sleeping with anyone else in the sober light of day? That shit just left me in a whole whirl of confusion. I mean I was ecstatic that my chance of catching an STD was lessened, but I didn’t know what to make of these quasi-monogamous relationship traits Ellis was displaying.

“Is that any way to talk to the mother of your future goddaughter slash babyniece?”

“You don’t even know you’re having a girl.”

“Oh, I know all right. Call it a mother’s intuition. I feel it in my shundo, just like I feel you and Ellis should cut the bullshit and get together for real.”

“So be sure to let Geoff know he’s getting a junior because your mother’s intuition is broken. Irreparable, even…”

“Actually, it isn’t Ellis that needs to cut the bull. He made his intentions clear. So, what’s the holdup, Bee?”

“Made his intentions clear to whom exactly?”

“You, heffa! Let’s not play this game,” Cadence said, while reaching for the bottle to refill her water glass.

I opened my mouth to respond, but I honestly didn’t know what to say. I could lie and say I didn’t know his intentions, but I knew. This man who I’d longed for over half of my adult life was sitting here gift wrapped for me, but I couldn’t seem to rip that paper to shreds. I was perfectly fine with things being the way that they initially started, the occasional booty call to sate a need. But somewhere along the line, those “WYD?” calls and texts turned into “just wanted to hear your voice” and “I miss you” and unscheduled drop by visits.

But this was Ellis. The man who I’d witnessed take two women on a date on the same night, at the same restaurant. The man who said he’d never settle down and get married. The man who was known on our college campus as BC…Black Clooney for the sheer number of women to whom he gave the “you can’t lock this down” speech. No matter what it seemed like he was showing me, history always reminded me that he wasn’t mine for the taking. He’d get bored eventually and my heart would be broken. So I played it cool.

“Well?” Cadence prompted.

“I…it just can’t be Ellis.”

“Why not? Give me three
good
reasons why it can’t be?”

“Who’s the judge of the level of good?”

“Stop trying to derail Devorah Nicole and answer the question. I know he’s got The Zing.”

The Zing was a term Cade and I came up with to describe that intense chemical spark that happens between two people who are destined to spend the rest of their lives together. It was a silly high school creation that I’d spent most of my adult life chasing. I dated man after man, hoping that one of them would possess The Zing. There had been plenty men with whom I had off the charts sexual energy, but beyond the bedroom were a bore. Or men, who challenged me intellectually, but were a snoozefest in bed. In these few months of screwing, Ellis had not only shown me The Zing, but he’d made me rethink a lot of my long held philosophies about life, careers, and dating, honestly. But I couldn’t completely go there with him.

“Biiiiiiiitch, he’s got the zing, zap and zow!” I sighed.

“So again I ask you…what the prollem is?”

“The problem is
Ellis
.”

“Who you’ve lusted after ever since you learned the proper definition of the word. Still waiting on three good reasons.”

“Fine. Three good reasons—one, he’s never been serious about anyone in his entire life. I’m tired of playing the dating game and tryna put marriage on my menu. I can’t go all in only to find out he’s been using me as a plaything. Two—I’ve fucked his brother. Three—if whatever we’re doing implodes, it could possibly destroy our mothers’ friendship.”

Rolling her eyes, Cadence held up three fingers and replied, “Debunking in reverse order. If you and Everett breaking up didn’t mess up Auntie Im and Auntie Randi’s relationship, nothing else would. You didn’t fuck Everett. Y’all tried; he barely put the tip in before y'all gave up. Unless you're a dirty liar who has kept the secret of who really took her virginity from her bestie since the womb. Also…you said Everett didn’t have The Zing, so that attempt at sex doesn’t count…”

“That’s not how body counts work, sis,” I interrupted.

“Don’t interrupt your elder when she’s speaking.”

“Cade, you’re a day older.”

“And a day wiser, ho. Don’t you forget it. And
finally
, you know what Ellis’ intentions toward you are. I can tell you this ain’t no fly by night shit for him. And you know that. Which is why your ass is running scared,” Cadence said, picking up her glass, taking a long sip of water while she stared at me pointedly.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Devorah Nicole, dumb doesn’t look good on you, sis.”

“I hate when you do this though. You obviously know something I don’t.”

Because she wasn’t romantically interested in either of the Taylor brothers, Cadence had always had a different bond with both of them than I did. She and Ellis were especially close and if I’m being honest the shit drove me insane.  Prior to dating, Everett had been one of my best friends. That changed slightly after he and Cass got together. It was a natural progression and we were still fairly close now, but Ellis and I had never really connected on more than a superficial level. Until now.

“What I know is you’re being foolish and need to stop playing.”

I toyed with the strawberry garnishing the rim of my mimosa as I contemplated Cadence’s words.

“So you’re saying I should go all in?”

“I’m saying at the very least you need to have an adult conversation and figure out what the hell y’all are doing. Because the both of you are getting on my damn nerves pumping me for information about the other.”

“He asked you about me? What you tell him?”

Cadence shot me a look that, were I not immune after years of enduring her lethal side eye, would have wounded me. She was saved from responding as the waiter came back with our entrees. We ate in silence for a few moments until I felt Cadence’s eyes on me.

“What?”

“If…if you’re doing this? You got to go all in, Bee. Lean into it.”

“You might wanna tell your boy that because he’s the one with less to risk here.”

“I think you’re equally at risk?”

“Shiiiit, I beg to differ. I don’t have a trail of broken hearted suitors up and down the eastern seaboard.”

“Nope, just a handful of exes who magically found their soul mates after you stopped keeping them hostage.”

“Keeping them hos—whose side are you on here?”

“The side of truth,” Cadence said, lifting her glass of water to sip once more, “You should try it once. Maybe it will set you free.”

“I can’t stand your ass.”

“You lie. But I love you, too.”

I nervously shifted from side to side while waiting for Ellis to open the door. I was following Cadence’s stupid advice and leaning into it. After we left brunch, I got a four wing platter wrapped to go and stopped by the liquor store to grab a six-pack of Abita Golden Ale. I didn’t know what I was doing, but it felt right. I just knew that I wanted to see Ellis so I made my way to his house. Seeing as how I was still standing on the stoop however, I wondered if he’d wanted to see me.

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

“This is different,” Ellis said with a small smirk on his face.

“Are you…busy?” I asked, nervously biting my lip, hoping he’d say no.

He leaned across the doorframe and shook his head.

“Are you going to invite me in?”

“Depends. Is that Cluck for me?” he said with a hint of humor in his voice.

Oh he wasn’t going to make this easy. I guess with the way I had been brushing him off he was well within his rights. So, I’d play the game.

“Yep, a 4 wing platter with macaroni and greens. Extra jalapeno on the side. And Abita Golden Ale.”

“Who are you and what have you done with Bee?”

“Let me in and maybe you’ll find out,” I giggled.

“No seriously, who are you?” he asked, moving aside and ushering me in. He grabbed the Cluck bag and headed immediately to the kitchen. “And it’s still hot?”