Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 115833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
And I’ll always care, Davina. I’m not just saying that. Don’t know what it is about you but something keeps nagging me to hit you up and make sure you’re good. If it’s alright with you I’d like to check in every once in a while to make sure of it. That cool?
I smiled, and this time I didn’t hide it or fight it.
That’s cool, I replied.
TWENTY-TWO
DEKE
Though I loved the designer clothes, the shoes, and my Ferrari parked in the private garage connected to my condo, when it came to seeing family, I liked to keep it low key.
So what did I do? Rented a Mazda from one of the airport’s rental car services so I could pick my nephew up from camp without making a scene.
Camille had called as soon as I touched down in Florida. She was stressing about being late to pick up Eli and how her fiancé would be running late too.
“Sis, I got you,” I said, marching through one of the terminals. I noticed a man looking at me as if he was familiar with me, but I pulled my eyes away and kept walking. I was glad I wore a hat. “I’ll pick Eli up. Just send me the address for his camp.”
“Deke, thank you,” she said with so much relief she may as well have melted. “I’ll call the camp and let them know you’ll be picking him up.”
Before I knew it, I was driving with my seven-year-old nephew in the passenger seat, with J. Cole rapping and both of us bobbing our heads to the beat of the songs.
“Uncle Deke! Watch this!” Eli started doing some crazy dance little kids do, shaking his arms and kicking his legs as he rocked to the beat. I snorted a laugh as I pressed a hand to his chest.
“All right, all right, big dog. Slow down. I see you.”
Eli grinned from ear to ear as he peered through the windshield. “Are we gonna play basketball today?”
“I don’t see why not. You been practicing?”
“Duh! I’m just like you! I make it splash in the net!”
“Oh, word?” This kid was a trip. I loved him to death, though. “We’ll see about that when we get to your house. But before we get there, let’s get some italian ice. You still like the red kind?”
“No, I like the blue one now. The red one always messes up my shirts.”
“That’s ’cause you’re a messy kid, my dude. Your mom told me you didn’t clean your room last week, said she stepped barefoot on a LEGO. You know how much that hurts, right?”
“Yeah, I know,” he returned with a hint of sorrow. “But she asked me to do it when I was in the middle of building the biggest LEGO tower ever, Uncle Deke!” He was upbeat again. “I still have it up, if you wanna see it!”
“Oh, I definitely wanna see that!”
I loved kids, man. They were the realest people on earth and not tainted by any of the world’s bullshit. At least Eli wasn’t . . . yet.
I’m convinced growing up is a curse. All the emotions hit you harder and the innocence fades when you get a dose of the real world. This earth is supposed to be our playground, and yet every day feels like walking through a war zone.
After we grabbed some italian ice, we headed to Camille’s crib. She had a simple one-story home with three bedrooms and a theater room we loved making use of during my longer visits.
I wouldn’t be able to stay long this time around. My training with Ken Massey was coming up, and I needed to be prepared. Ken was one of the toughest trainers around, but he yielded impressive results. My main goal was to get better at the game, not worse, so hiring him was a necessity.
I waited at the hood of the car for Eli before heading to the front door of his house. He had a fresh blue stain from the italian ice on his gray shirt, and I huffed a laugh.
When I gave the doorbell a ring, it only took a few seconds for Jack, Camille’s fiancé, to answer the door. Jack, an extremely extroverted man with warm beige skin, a big gap-toothed smile, short auburn hair, and shirts tucked into whatever pants he was wearing, would soon be my brother-in-law.
The last man Camille was married to—Elias’s father—was a piece of shit, and the complete opposite of Jack, literally down to the skin tone. Her ex talked too much, tried too hard, and wanted everyone to like him, even though he was a narcissistic asshole.
But Jack was a good dude, and he treated my sister well. And to be honest, Jack was only ever himself, and I could appreciate that . . . even if he was a little too handsy and always in someone’s face.