"It's you, Lexi. I'm in love with you."

Her face softened. She finally looked at me, probably wanted to see if I was being honest or not. People's eyes didn't lie and she looked right into mine. "Well...you know what? Whatever you feel for me will pass. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go."

She turned to walk away but I grabbed her hand. It wasn't surprising when she didn't pull it away. She still cared for me, I knew it. But her pride wouldn't let her give in. I held on to her hand as she faced the opposite direction and avoided eye contact.

"You know you still care for me," I whispered. I was close enough to her that I was sure she felt my breath on her neck. I wanted to plant kisses all up and down her spine. She didn't deny or agree with my comment. "Give me a chance to make this up to you. I can be faithful, Lexi. I can be a stand-up guy. Yes, I do have a baby on the way. And I plan on being a great father to my daughter. But don't judge me based on that. Give me a chance."

Little by little she softened. Her heart was melting for me, I just knew it. I decided not to press the issue any more. I had made my point and the ball was in her court. She was a ball player, so she knew that when the ball was in your court you didn't sleep on it-you take it and run with it. You slam-dunk it if you can.

"You think about it, Lexi. I'm not a bad dude and you know it. I just made some mistakes. I really hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I can't apologize for having a baby on the way, but I apologize for not telling you the truth. I was wrong. But if you search your heart, you know deep down inside of there that you love me, that I'm the guy for you. That I did it because I didn't want to lose you. I've never felt this way about a girl before and I probably never will." I slowly released her hand, her fingertips lingered against mine. "I don't wanna pressure you, but you know where to find me if you change your mind."

I walked away. Didn't look back. I wanted to leave Lexi with some things to think about. I had said all that I could say, and even if she didn't take me back, I had attempted to make things right. And for that, I felt good.

I stepped into the empty gymnasium, dribbled the basketball in between my legs and then tossed it into the hoop. It went in with a swooshing sound. I grabbed it, bounced it around and tossed it into the hoop again. I did this until I got bored and then took a seat on the bleachers. With my elbows on my knees and my face buried in the palms of my hands, I sat there for a moment. Wondered how my life had gotten so messed up.

I stood and headed for the door. In order to let off some aggression, I pushed the door open as hard as I could and sent Lexi on a one-way trip to the floor holding her nose. She was on her way into the gym before I gave her a concussion.

"Baby, I'm sorry!" I kneeled next to her and grabbed her head into my hands. "What were you doing on the other side of the door?"

"Coming in there to see you," she mumbled.

"Are you okay?"

"You killed my nose, man. Why'd you push the door so hard?"

"I was letting off some steam because my girl won't talk to me."

"She was on her way into the gym to talk to you until you assaulted her with the door." She gave me a half smile and held onto her nose.

I grabbed her in my arms, carried her inside the gym and over to the bleachers and laid her on the bottom step. I pulled my T-shirt over my head, gathered it into a ball and placed it underneath Lexi's head.

"I'm glad you were looking for me," I whispered.

"I figured it was time to stop being so stubborn. Plus I missed you."

"Do you forgive me?"

"Yes. But I'm not playing with you, Vance. There will be no more secrets between us. You have to tell me what's going on. Even if you think it will hurt my feelings."

"Okay."

"And there will be no other girls, but me. No Shays, no Tamekas. Just Lexi Bishop."

"That's cool. I don't want nobody but you."

"Well, if you ever decide that you do...want somebody else, then all you have to do is tell me. Okay?"

"Okay, I promise," I told her.

I was just happy that we were having a conversation. It had been three days since she last spoke to me and it had been torture. But her voice was like music to my ears as she caught me up on everything that had taken place in her life over the past few days. She told me how she felt when she saw Tameka walk into the restaurant and waddle over to our table. We laughed about the looks on her parents' faces when they first laid eyes on Tameka, although it wasn't funny at the time. I told her that I wanted to crawl under the table and never surface again. I was glad that we were able to laugh about uncomfortable things like that.

After Lexi's nose felt a little better, she sat up. I brushed her hair from her face and then looked inside her nostrils. I wasn't quite sure what I was looking for, I just wanted to make sure she wasn't bleeding or anything. I kissed her lips while she grabbed my face in her hands. I knew at that moment that we might just be okay.

thirty.

Tameka I took the front passenger's seat on the way back to Atlanta as Sean maneuvered the SUV down I-20 headed east. We talked about everything under the sun as I tried to block thoughts of Vance from even entering my head. The beginning of the weekend had been an absolute nightmare as I busted up Vance's little dinner party with his girlfriend and her parents. And on top of all of it, he had the nerve to break up with me. It stung. I instantly felt like I was all alone in this world and pregnant. The last part of my weekend wasn't bad as I strolled through the mall with my girls and Sean, went to a frat party on Saturday night and even checked out a movie on Sunday.

Sean had stayed up until almost four o'clock in the morning listening to me spill my guts all over the place. We sat outside in Calvin's father's SUV listening to music and talking; that is, until both our eyes started to flutter and we decided that we needed to call it a night. Sean was sweet. He didn't even complain when I started to repeat myself through the night. He didn't roll his eyes up into his head when I cried-four times. He didn't even mind when I called Vance's voice mail at two-thirty and told him what a sorry loser he was, and a deadbeat dad. I used choice words that I knew I shouldn't have but I needed to get some things off my chest.

Sean just simply shook his head and asked, "You feel better?"

"A little," I'd told him, and then went on to the next phase of my emotional roller coaster.

Once we reached the Atlanta metro area, Sean stopped for one last fill-up. Everyone who had fallen asleep was now awake and groggy from the drive. As Sean drove slowly down Tymia's street, Mommy's car was the first one that I noticed. It was parked in the driveway behind Indigo's father's truck. Jade's mom's car was parked in front of the house. My heart started beating uncontrollably and I couldn't help but wonder what awaited us inside that house. Sean pulled up behind Jade's mom's car and we all just looked at each other.

"Oh my God, I will be on punishment for the rest of the summer!" Indigo exclaimed.

"You?" Jade was all bug-eyed as if she'd seen a ghost. "I don't even want to go in there."

"Tameka, do you think Aunt Mel will tell my parents about this?" Alyssa asked. "This could completely ruin my summer."

"I doubt if she'll tell," I told her, but she didn't seem convinced.

"I talked to my mama the other day and she didn't seem like she knew anything," Tymia said.

"Whew, I'm glad my mom's not here." Asia smiled.

"Don't get too happy," I told her. "Ain't that your mama on the front porch?"

She took a closer look at the woman in a yellow sundress standing on the porch yapping with someone on her cell phone.

"Ooh, that is her!" Asia said. "How did she get over here? Oh, there's her car." It was hidden on the other side of Indigo's dad's truck.

"Well, we might as well get on out...get this over with," I said and then opened the passenger's door.

"Tameka, wait!" Indi said. "I just need to breathe for a second."

"Shouldn't we like...come up with a story?" Jade asked.

"What story? They obviously know that we weren't at Tymia's house for the weekend. And they know that we weren't at any of the other houses. What is there to come up with besides the truth?" I asked.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Indi stuffed two pieces of gum into her mouth back-to-back.

"Give me one of those," Asia said. "Might soften the blow."

"Gum is gonna soften the blow?" I laughed. "Come on y'all, let's go."

"You're just so eager to go because you know that Mel is cool and you probably won't get any more than a scolding," Jade snapped. "But me...my mama don't play. Now my daddy's a pushover, but Mommy...she's a little crazy. She might actually swing on me."

"Well, nothing's gonna change if we sit here," I said.

"Okay, let's do this." Indigo exhaled and then opened her door.

She was the first to hop out. Sean and Calvin followed and opened the back hatch so that we could grab our bags. They handed over our loot but weren't trying to stick around for any length of time. Before stepping back into the car, Sean gave me a strong hug.

"Call me later if you're not on punishment," he said.

"Whatever." I laughed. "I can't remember the last time I was on punishment."

"Speak for yourself." Indigo threw the strap of her bag over her shoulder and headed for the house.

"I am speaking for myself," I said. "Sean, I will definitely call you later."

"Cool," he said before hopping into the car; he and Calvin pulled off in a hurry.

The six of us slowly made our way up Tymia's driveway. Asia's mother finished her call and then shut her phone.

"Asia Marie Jones, may I ask where the heck you've been for the weekend?" she asked.

"Huh?" Asia asked, dumbfounded.

"Don't *huh' me," Miss Jones said.

"I would like to know the same thing!" Jade's mom, Barbara Morgan, stepped out onto the porch. "You already know that you're in trouble, right?"

"Told y'all she was crazy," Jade mumbled softly. "Yes, ma'am," she yelled to her mother.

We all made our way into the house, where Indigo's parents sat on the couch with cold glasses of lemonade in their hands. Mommy sat at the dining room table with Tymia's mother, flipping through a magazine, and Jade's father paced the floor.

Mommy looked up from her magazine and said, "Tameka, I can't even believe you would pull something like this. You're in no position to be on the road somewhere anyway."

"Where did y'all go?" Carolyn Summer asked. "Y'all had us worried sick!"

"We went to...um...we went to Grambling, Louisiana." I swallowed. Hard.

"Grambling, Louisiana?" Jade's father, Ernest Morgan, asked. "What in the world is in Grambling, Louisiana?"

All five pairs of eyes landed on me, as if it was all my idea that we trampled down to the little country town and they didn't have a say in the matter.

"Um...my friend Sean is thinking of going to college down there and so we went down there to check things out...look around." I don't know what made me glance over at Mommy. I waited for her to bust me out, to say, "Everybody's knows your little nappy-headed boyfriend Vance goes to school down there! You think you're slick, but you're not." But she didn't say any of that. She just gave me a look that said, "I'll deal with you when I get home...but right now, you're on your own. Let me see you weasel your way out of this one."

"I hope you're not considering going to Grambling, Indi," Carolyn Summer said. "You're going to Spelman. We've already talked about this. You can forget about going to school in that little country town."

"I second that," Barbara Morgan said. "Jade and Indigo have been planning to go to Spelman since they were in the seventh grade!"

Asia's mom gathered her purse onto her shoulder. "Come on here, Asia, we need to go. I've got errands to run and I need to have a word with you. Rita, thank you so much for dinner. It was wonderful."

"Yes, it was, and it was so good to spend some time with you. We have to make sure we keep the lines of communication open for these kids who think they slick. I guess they forgot that we used to be teenagers, too." Aunt Carolyn stood. "Come on, Harold, let's go."

Mr. Summer took his glass and Aunt Carolyn's to the kitchen. My mother didn't make a move. She just watched me from the dining room table. And even after Rita had said her goodbyes to all the parents and ushered everyone out the door, Mommy was still sitting there. Alyssa and I took a seat side by side on the sofa.

Tymia threw her bag over her shoulder. "I'll holler at y'all later," she whispered. "I'm avoiding the line of fire."

"All right, text me later, after you get your whipping." I smiled.

"Whatever," she said before disappearing up a flight of stairs.

Alyssa and I sat there for what seemed like forever before I finally interrupted my mother's and Ms. Rita's conversation. "Mommy, can we go now?" I asked, treading waters carefully.

"As soon as I'm done talking to Rita," she said. "Why don't you and Alyssa go on outside and put your stuff in the car. Here are the keys."

The two of us stood and I grabbed the keys from Mommy. Alyssa and I stepped out into the Atlanta heat, our bags in tow. I hit the power locks and we threw our bags into the trunk, sat in the car and waited for Mommy.

"I don't really know what's up," I told Alyssa as I changed the radio station from V-103 to 107.9. I started the car and turned on the air-conditioning. "They all over here having dinner together, when just a few days ago they barely even knew Tymia's mama."

"Well, they know her now," Alyssa said. "I saw my life flash before my eyes. If Aunt Mel tells my parents about this weekend, they'll probably cut my summer vacation short and send for me to come home. Not to mention, I'll be on punishment until school starts."

"Mommy's acting a little strange but I don't think she's going to sail you down the river."

Finally the front door opened and she appeared on the porch, still running her mouth with Ms. Rita. They said their goodbyes, even gave each other a hug, and then Mommy approached the car. She hopped into the driver's seat and slowly backed out of the driveway.

"So, Tameka Brown, how did you enjoy your weekend?" she asked, looking all cute in her brown top and matching lip color.

"What color is that lipstick, Chintz or Paramount?" I asked, trying to avoid the subject like the plague.

"Let's stick to one subject at a time, young lady. I'm disappointed in you, Tameka. I thought you were so much more responsible than what you displayed this weekend. What were you thinking, going out of town for the weekend and not telling me?"

"At the time it seemed like a pretty good idea. I'm sorry, Mommy."

"I don't give you any hassles about stuff, Tameka. I'm a pretty lenient mom, aren't I?"

"You are, and I wanted to tell you. I can't tell you how many times I wanted to call you...and say..."

"But you didn't. That's what's killing me. What if something happened to you or the baby? Then what, Tameka?"

I was silent. She was right.

"When Sean asked us if we wanted to go, I guess we just got caught up in the moment," I finally said.

"And because you all figured that since none of us really knew Rita, you could get away with telling us that you were spending the weekend over here," she said. "But your little plan backfired, didn't it? We all know Rita very well now. And all you girls did was bring us closer together, and from now on it'll be harder for you to get one over on any of us. Believe that."