“Thrift stores are gold mines,” Violet answered. To Lily, she said, “Don’t worry. I’ll dress you in something sexy.”
Lily very nearly rolled her eyes and walked out of the room, but she saw the gleeful look on Calla’s face as she admired the pink top. It was true that Lily didn’t want to do the fashion show because she’d rather not embarrass herself in front of Nick. But Violet was right. It was tradition. And a good friend should love you even at your tackiest. Lily hoped that she and Nick were on their way to becoming good friends.
“Fine,” she said, relenting.
Violet and Iris cheered, and Calla joined in just because. Soon, their mom and aunts and other younger cousins joined them to get dressed in Violet’s chosen pieces.
Lily hoped Nick was faring well with Antoine.
12
Nick and Lily’s cousins were on their third game of three-on-three in the driveway. Nick was paired with Antoine and his younger brother, Jamil. They were playing against Lily’s twin cousins, Larry and Lamont, and their nineteen-year-old nephew, Demetrius.
Nick hadn’t seen Lily in over an hour. Or her sisters. Or her mom. Or any of her aunts, for that matter. They’d disappeared from the yard. He mentioned this aloud and Antoine told him that they were getting ready for the fashion show. Nick remembered Violet’s heavy suitcase, and of course he thought about the picture Lily had emailed him last year of Calla’s small foot in a high-heeled shoe. He wondered what Lily would wear. Since they’d parted ways earlier this afternoon, he’d thought of her constantly. Did she think he’d made a good impression with her sisters and parents? Was she happy that she’d brought him along today? It wasn’t his place to care about those things, but he did.
The truth was that he shouldn’t be at her parents’ barbecue in the first place. He was supposed to be helping Lily fall in love with someone else because she deserved to love and be loved by a good person, a better person. Not someone like him. But she’d invited him to come with her, and his longing to spend an entire day with her had outweighed his logic.
“Ayo, block him, Nick!” Antoine called out, as Larry shot a three-pointer right over Nick’s head.
“Shit, sorry,” Nick responded, smiling sheepishly. He was guilty, lost in thoughts about Lily.
He refocused his attention on the game. They’d already lost to the twins and Demetrius twice. But who could blame them? Larry and Lamont were both six four, and Demetrius played on his college basketball team. Nick was shirtless and sweating. He’d removed his button-up because it was one of his few nice shirts and he refused to get it dirty. The afternoons he spent with Henry in their building’s gym were the only reason he was able to keep up with Lily’s cousins.
Demetrius dribbled the ball and Nick guarded him, watching closely as Demetrius passed the ball from hand to hand. Never take your eyes off the ball. Albert’s voice popped into Nick’s head, unwarranted. Albert was the one who’d taught Nick how to play. Basketball was one of the few things Albert loved other than money. Sometimes when Albert was around, and in a good mood, he’d pull Nick away from his books and drag him to the park. There on the basketball court, Albert showed Nick the basics. He taught him tricks. He dribbled circles around Nick and looped the ball under his thigh as he jumped and dunked. In those moments, Nick thought his dad was a superstar. And he wondered what might have happened to his dad if he hadn’t landed wrongly on his ankle during a playoff game his senior year of high school. The injury had caused him to lose his scholarship to Duke, and he’d found himself stuck in Warren. Basketball had been Albert’s first get-rich scheme. Injury or no, he’d never lost sight of that goal, to the detriment of himself and everyone around him.
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.