A Wednesday without Mekhi is a boring one indeed. Following his advice I stick with someone throughout the day and run into no real trouble without him being here. Fortunate for Tori because I am more than prepared to hand her the ass whooping that I promised I would.
'Oh well, Mekhi won't have a mess to come back to or try to rectify. Is it normal for me to miss him this much this early in our relationship? I don't care who wrote the rules anyway? I'll do what I want.' I think to myself as I sit in the café for a quick study session before the game.
"Lena what's on your mind," Susu asks bringing me back.
"She's missing Mekhi," Rylie says with a smirk.
"Come on, y'all gonna mess with me every day," I ask them shaking my head.
"We're just teasing you know we've never seen you behave like this," Rylie says.
"Yeah, I think I'm in love but I'm scared it's too early to tell…well admit," I say honestly to my friends.
"What is there to think about? You know how you feel there's no set time that says when you're allowed to fall in love with someone," Nova says.
"Exactly, just go with the flow. I'm sure his feelings aren't that much different from yours, in fact he may have loved you first," Rylie says backing Nova.
"You're right, I guess I just feel cautious and a little foolish after all it didn't happen this fast the last time around," I say mentioning my last relationship.
"Well if you think about it, he had to pursue you. He wasn't even your type, he had to grow on you. You complained about him until you stopped. That was a love that was worked hard for, this time you're hardly working at all and yet you're falling," Rylie says matter of factly.
"Wow, that was good," Nova says.
"It was, I didn't know you were a love guru," Susu says surprised.
"I mean we've all been through the motions of falling in and out love right," she says.
"Yeah, you are right. After a while I wasn't angry at the love lost between that idiot and I, I was more upset with the time and effort that I felt as though I wasted investing my energies into him. That betrayal did hurt, but that time is something I will never get back," I say.
"Well think of it as a lesson learned. That means that you will appreciate this new love a little bit more knowing what it feels like to be hurt and betrayed," Susu says adding her wisdom to the conversation.
"Wow!! You girls are really on a roll tonight with all this wisdom," I say looking at them.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah…now get ready to get out of here so you can watch your man's game on TV," Nova says.
"Alright," I say and with that we all pack up and go our separate ways.
When I get in my car I send Mekhi a good luck text and start my car to head home. On the way I think about everything the girls said and realize that they're probably right. If I stop overthinking everything and just go with the flow it will all work itself out. Love is love and I can't stop it even if I wanted to because my feelings for him just continue to grow. I knew in the beginning that my feelings for him were different and stronger than any I've had before. I've accepted everything else I might as well embrace this as well.
Pulling into the drive way, I take a few moments to calm my nerves and gather my thoughts before entering the house. Feeling relaxed enough, I gather my things and get out of the car and go in to the house. Inside the aroma of Buffalo wings engulfs me and I'm drawn to the kitchen after removing my shoes.
"Wow that smells amazing," I say entering the kitchen.
"Thank you, I just picked them up from the wing place. Your mother is actually craving these wings
and she can take the smell. I've got a few other flavors for you guys," Dad says arranging wings and sauce on a plate that I assume is for my mother.
"Oh, that's cool. How far along is she by the way? I forgot to ask her yesterday," I ask.
"Oh, she's nine weeks along…she did tell you about having another set of twins right," Dad says.
"Yeah, she did. It has to be a little tough on her. I don't really remember her pregnancy with the twins but I remember her having the twins early," I say to him placing my bag in a chair.
"She did go into labor with the twins early, this time we'll schedule a cesarean since this pregnancy is high risk and it's another set of twins on top of that. We want to be as safe and careful as we possibly can be," Dad says.
"That's good. I'm going to put my things away, I'll be back down for wings and to watch the game," I say to my Dad.
"Alright, don't take too long," he says.
"Yes, Daddy," I say and with that I grab my bag and head up to my room.
When I get to my room I place my bag on the chair at my desk and my phone on the charger. I change out of my clothes and pull on an old t shirt and yoga pants. I begin looking around my room wondering what things would I take and leave when I move out. Eventually this room may belong to one of the babies. Maybe I could help Mom with the nursery for the babies to help take some of the stress off of her. With that I grab my phone and begin to search nursery ideas until I realize that it's almost game time. Not wanting to miss a minute of the game, I rush down the stairs to the kitchen, throw some wings and sauce on a plate, grab a bottle of water, and take my seat in the entertainment room.
"Cutting it close there Na Na," Dad says.
"I know, I was doing some research and lost track of time," I say.
"What were you researching," Mom asks.
"Umm, baby nursery ideas," I say to her.
"Oh, you don't have to do that. You have to worry about decorating your place when you move in," she says with a grateful smile.
"Yes, I do. I want to help take some of the stress off of you so let me do this for you," I say to her.
"Alright, if you insist," Mom says giving in.
"Thanks Mom, you won't regret it," I say with a smile and settle into my chair with my plate of wings.
Right on time, the game is getting ready to start. The commentators introduce our team first, then the away team. The national anthem is sung, then the tip off begins. Out the gate the game is fast paced and fierce in play. The high level of play that's going on in the game is impossible to keep up the entire game. With that level of play the score changes constantly and tempers rise quickly. I watch as Mekhi plays mediator and lose his temper. When half time rolls around the score is tied and the guys are practically dragging themselves off the court.
"What do you think about that first half," Dad asks.
"It was intense," I say.
"Yeah, they were playing at a higher level than they normally do," Jackson adds.
"Yeah, the second half will be interesting because those guys looked beat walking off the court," Dad says.
"They did, so if they win this game then the one is the championship," I ask.
"Yes, they would get a longer break between now and the next game if they win today. The championship will be held next Saturday," Dad says.
"I wonder if we'll get to go to that game," Jackson says.
"I don't know…possibly," I answer him.
"Well let's not put the cart before the horse and get through this game first before we talk about tickets for the next game," Dad says.
"You're right," I say and stand to take my dishes to the kitchen and pop a bag of popcorn to snack on for the second half of the game.
Truthfully, I'm so nervous for Mekhi…I can hardly watch the game. I take my time washing the dishes in the sink as the popcorn is popping and put the left over chicken away. By the time I return to my seat to watch the rest of the game the third quarter is well under way. The battle is still fierce and I watch my capable man play with everything that he's got.
At the end of the third quarter we're trailing behind by three points and we're trying our hardest to catch up going into fourth. Defense is getting even tighter and we're being forced to take shots that isn't there. We finally cut the lead down to one with a layup from our big man. With the time winding down the one point difference remains no matter how many times we score because the other team responds with a bucket of their own. With seconds left in the game and us being one point down, I close my eyes and wish for the best.
"YES," Dad yells out and I open my eyes to see a replay of Parker sinking a three point shot that just
looked impossible.
"We won," I yell with him surprised and happy.
"Whooooop Whooop!!! We won," Jackson yells and the three of us are doing happy dances while Mom and Journee watches from the comfort of their seats.
"That was too intense," I say as the game goes to commercial break.
"Indeed, congratulate Mekhi for me. It's time for your mother and me to go to bed," Dad says.
"Sure Dad," I say.
I stay and watch the guys' after game interview and am so happy for them. I can't wait for Mekhi to call so I can yell and celebrate with him as well. When the interviews are over and I've seen my handsome man on the screen, the twins and I head to our rooms to get ready for bed. Filled with excitement I prepare myself for my shower routine so that I can be up and available when Mekhi calls. After brushing my teeth, I carefully wrap my hair and cover it with both a silk scarf and shower cap then get undressed and shower. While I shower I think of things I could do to surprise Kai on his big win today, I'm sure there be another, even bigger party on campus, but maybe I could do something else. He did give me a key to his dorm, all I have to do is figure out what I should do there. I wash up as I concoct a plan to surprise him. When I'm done in the shower, I wash and moisturize my face then moisturize my skin and find a nightgown to put on.
With nothing else to do, I fill my journal with today's events then turn off my speaker and turn the TV on for something to distract me. Finding an old cartoon to watch I lay back against the pillows in my bed and surprisingly doze off until I feel something hot buzzing against my skin.