Ready for Love.🧡
Summer
8Ball was packed tonight. We almost missed the chance to get our usual table when we arrived. Everyone was on a high after Ray’s. Taj and Ryder performed a song they wrote together, and I found myself humming the melody hours later. I’d been stealing glances from across the table all night.
Shiloh bumped my shoulder before leaning closer to me. “What’s going on with you two?” Her eyes did a glance toward Ryder, who was now talking to Khalil.
“Let’s play Pac Man,” I said as I hopped down from the barstool. She hooked her arm around mine as we walked over to the old arcade game. “I like Ryder.”
I bit my lip as I moved the joystick.
“Don’t sound so sad about it,” Shiloh mumbled.
“I’m not in a place for anything close to a relationship.” I continued to move the joystick angrily, and I thought about the current state of my life.
“I understand that, but I think he could help you get through this tough time. You’re coming up on a year since your dad passed.”
She rubbed my back affectionately, causing my eyes to fill with tears. I’d been deliberate in not thinking about the anniversary of my dad’s passing. It couldn’t have happened at a worse time. Our favorite holiday was July fourth. We loved to go to the park and watch the fireworks show and eat popsicles. It was one of my most cherished memories with him. Last year, I was too busy with arranging his funeral to even think about the fourth. Now, it was all I could think about.
Distracted by Shiloh’s statement, I got trapped by those damn ghosts and lost my final life. She handed me two more quarters and watched as I started a new game. Thankfully, she switched the subject to her and Marquis. She told me about their plans to visit his family for the fourth.
“His dad is really family-oriented, something I never really had,” she said and sighed. “So is his sister. She calls me twice a week, just to check-in. I only met her two months ago.”
“Is that a bad thing?” I asked, my eyes squinting as I maneuvered around this difficult board.
“Not at all!” she leaned closer to me. “I love it. I want me and Marq to last. My track record isn’t the best. And sometimes I feel like he’s too good to be true.”
I shot her a glare. “Don’t think like that. You definitely deserve a guy like Marq. You deserve the happiness you're experiencing right now. We all have pasts we aren’t proud of, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t worthy of a better future.”
“Check you out!” she teased. A sharp inhale from her made me tear my gaze away from the game. “Ryder is coming over.”
After looking his way, a slow exhale slipped from my lips. Even his walk was sexy. It was slow and casual, like he had all the time in the world to reach his destination.
“Hey, Ry,” she chirped as he neared us.
“‘Sup, Shi. What y’all over here doing?”
I drew my bottom lip between my teeth and concentrated on the game. My heart was now beating violently against my chest, as I felt him over my shoulder.
“Nothing. Watching Sunny play this game and catching up.”
He hummed. “You ducking me in a pool game, huh?”
“No,” I mumbled.
I’m ducking you.
He laughed and leaned against the Pac Man machine. Those tantalizing eyes narrowed as he smiled down at me. My eyes fell on his full lips. I looked away just as quickly.
“‘Sup with you?” he asked me. I felt Shiloh slowly moving away from me. It confirmed my suspicions when she said she would see what Marquis was up to, leaving me alone with Ryder.
“Nothing.”
“I feel like I haven’t talked to you in a minute.”
My gaze locked with his. “I gave you that nice cut you got, remember?”
He eyed me for a minute before licking his lips. I hated how much I enjoyed watching him do something so simple.
“How’d you like the song?” he asked.
“The song?”
“Yeah, the one Taj and I performed tonight? I meant to ask you earlier, but…” He shrugged.
I lost again, and I was all out of quarters, so I gave him my undivided attention. I looked into his dreamy, brandy colored eyes, and smiled.
“Loved it. Adding Marq’s ad-libs at the end had all the women going wild tonight. Did you co-write the lyrics?” He nodded. “You and Taj are hella talented. All of you guys are.” I pointed my head toward our table. “The crew should start a band.”
He scoffed and shook his head. “Nah, it’s our release. I think if we started a band, it would take the fun out of it. Before moving here, I hadn’t touched a piano in years.”
“Why?” I asked out of curiosity.
“Life didn’t allow me to have hobbies.”
“But now it does,” I gathered.
“It does.”
We stared at each other for a beat before I nervously patted my jeans for quarters. His gawp became too much to handle, and I needed a distraction. He caught on to my need to start another game, so he searched his pockets for loose change. After inputting a dollar worth of quarters, we began a game of Galaga.
“You like arcade games, I see.”
“I do.” My tongue pressed against the corner of my mouth as I moved the joystick and rapidly tapped the ammo button.
“You have a brother or cousin who put you on?”
“No, my dad,” I croaked out.
Shit.
Tears filled my eyes again as memories of us playing the Atari filled my mental. I hadn’t realized a sneaky tear fell until Ryder grabbed my hand, making me stop playing.
“Hey,” his baritone was tender, soothing even. “I’m sorry if I said something to trigger you.”
Quickly, I wiped the tear away and blew out a breath.
This was embarrassing as hell.
“I’m fine,” I rushed out. “I… think I should leave.”
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8TH.
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