Nick wasn’t as talented a player as his dad had been. He was adequate at best. But he took Albert’s advice and watched Demetrius’s hands closely. Just when Demetrius moved to dribble past him, Nick stole the ball and rushed down the driveway, scoring a layup.
Antoine and Jamil whooped. “You know what,” Antoine said, giving Nick a high five, “you ain’t that bad.”
It was a small thing, barely a compliment. But Nick was happy to have Antoine’s approval and to feel a sense of acceptance among Lily’s cousins. They’d welcomed him right away and being around them was a new experience for Nick. He didn’t have cousins of his own or aunts and uncles or any living grandparents, at least not on his dad’s side. His dad was an only child and his mom had been raised in the foster care system.
“That’s okay. You got lucky with that one,” Larry said, waving them off. Nick learned quickly that Larry, a middle school teacher who also coached basketball, was a big trash-talker. “That’s, what, your first point of the game? Congratulations! How good for you.”
“Just shut up and check the ball,” Antoine said.
“Hey!” a woman’s voice called. They all whipped around to find Lily at the front door, wearing a big black robe to conceal her outfit. Her curls were loose, framing her face like a cloud. Nick stilled, staring. This was the second time he’d seen her hair out and free like that. The last time had been at Marcus’s birthday party. She always looked beautiful, but right now she looked both beautiful and relaxed. He felt the corners of his lips quirk into a smile at the sight of her. She stared back at Nick, and he didn’t miss the way her gaze trailed over his bare chest. The heat in her eyes was unmistakable. Nick swallowed thickly. His pulse sped up and he silently thanked his past self who made a commitment to going to the gym because otherwise Lily would have caught him out here with a bird chest.
“You just gonna stand there or are you gonna say something?” Antoine asked.
Nick blinked, remembering that they weren’t alone.
“The, uh, fashion show is going to start soon,” Lily said quickly, looking away from Nick. “Can you go to the backyard?”
Lily’s cousins groaned but agreed to do as she asked. She and Nick locked eyes one last time before she stepped back inside and closed the door. He grabbed his shirt and quickly began refastening his buttons, intent on following Lily to . . . do what? What did he plan to do once he found her? He had no idea, and it probably wouldn’t be best to seek her out after the way she’d looked at him like he was a water fountain she’d stumbled across in the Sahara. He should take his ass to the backyard and sit down like she’d asked them to. But he still felt wrapped up in her gaze, and his desire to be closer to her beat out his more rational thoughts.
He jogged in the direction of the front door but was derailed when Jamil clapped him on the shoulder and steered him to join the rest of the group as they walked toward the backyard.
“So, what’s good with you and my little cousin?” Jamil asked. He was a molecular biology PhD candidate at Princeton and was actually the same age as Lily, not older.
“We’re cool,” Nick said evenly.
“And you’re not her man?”
Nick shook his head and used the hem of his shirt to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
“Do you wish you were?” Lamont asked, coming up on Nick’s other side.
Yes, in a perfect world. Nick cleared his throat, stealing himself for their interrogation, which he should have known would happen eventually. “No, it’s not like that with us.”
“Uh-huh.” Jamil grinned. “You know you can tell us if she friend-zoned you. This is a safe space.”
“She did that with all of our friends growing up,” Larry added, behind them.
“Really?” Nick twisted around to look at Larry. Lily had told him she’d spent more time pining after boys than actually talking to them. Could it be that she was oblivious to how people felt about her?
“Most definitely,” Lamont said.
The chairs and tables in the backyard had been split in half to create an aisle down the middle. Lily’s uncles and some of the younger kids occupied the tables in the front. Antoine went to sit with his very pregnant wife, who must not have wanted to participate in the fashion show. Nick sat down at a table near the back with the rest of Lily’s cousins.
“I’m not gonna lie, though,” Lamont continued, “Lily and her sisters are intimidating as hell. Iris always wants to be right, and nine times out of ten, she is. Violet doesn’t give anyone the time of day, and if she does, she’ll soon realize she could be doing a million other things better than chilling with you. And Lily is the sweetest for sure, but she’s got high standards. Iris and Violet are always introducing her to these rich, fancy dudes and she never gives them play. You’re the first dude she’s brought home.”