When my sisters are done gaggling over one another like a bunch of hyenas, I nudge my way in front of my baby sis. I cup her cheek and swipe away a tear with my thumb. “You happy?” I ask, needing to see her eyes when she responds.
Her chocolatey gaze lifts to mine. “This is what I always wanted. A family. My own family.” Her voice conveys nothing but awe.
“And you’re getting it. So, I’ll ask again. You happy, sunshine?”
“More than I ever thought possible,” she whispers back, and I lean my forehead against hers.
“Proud of you. Going after what you want. Finding a good man in Lo. Making a home. And now you’re building a family.” I lay my hand over her stomach. “My baby sister is having a baby. Blessed. We are so blessed.”
She nods against me and wraps her arms around my neck, and I hold her close.
“Can’t wait to spoil him or her rotten.”
Dawn laughs into my neck. “And I’ll let you.”
Yeah, she will.
Lorenzo taps my shoulder. “Can I have my wife back, bro?”
I flinch off his hand. “Back off. Getting some love. Get your own.”
“She is my own; you back off,” he jokes in return.
Pulling away, I smile as Lorenzo pulls my baby sister into his arms. Can’t blame the man for loving my sister. She’s the best, and now they’re growing their family.
“You good?” Lorenzo leans into Dawn’s face, capturing all of her attention. That’s how it’s always been with them since day one.
That’s the kind of love I want. The kind where everyone in the room disappears when my woman is near.
“The best. I love you,” she tells my brother-in-law.
He says it back and kisses her. The entire room breaks out cheers.
“We’ve got a baby on the way!” Ma announces proudly. “Go get the old vine reserve, Sal. We’re celebrating tonight!”
I gulp my wine and take stock of my family. I was not kidding before. Blessed is what I am. Got a great set of parents, though nosey and intrusive. My five sisters are all happy and healthy. I’ve got my boxing gym and Lotus House. The only thing I don’t have is a woman to share it with.
A heaviness breaches my chest. Regardless of what my ma thinks, I have kept my eye out for a good, honest woman to share my life with. Dated plenty of them. There’s just always been something missing. Either I’ve got too much going with work and the yoga studio to keep them happy, or they want more than I’m willing to give. And forget about the ones who want a man with money.
The Bay Area is chock full of trophy wives. Bitches up on their high horses who think as long as a man has a large bankroll, he’s marriage material. I need a woman who doesn’t care how much money I bring in. Which isn’t much right now. The gym is only in its first few years, and I bought it off the last owner who let it get run down, so the equipment is not new. I just started getting a regular membership growing, which is why I work regularly at Lotus House. The only reason I can live in the pricey area is because of the apartment on top of the gym. The place came with it. Pretty much the only real thing of monetary value I own is the gym and my 1969 Chevy Camaro Z28 302 in stunning Daytona yellow with black racing stripes. I love that car almost as much as I love my dick. And that’s saying something.
Outside of working my ass off and that car, I don’t have much to offer a woman. However, I’m building up the membership, getting regular fighters in for the league, including my Lotus House buddies, pro baller Trent Fox and his trainer Clayton Hart, as well as my buddy Dash Alexander and my old colleague Atlas Powers. Over the past few years, I’ve become pretty tight with the crew and have kept an eye on their women, whom I respect and care for like my very own sisters. Though, lately I’ve been hanging back now that all of them are paired up. No one likes to be odd man out or a fifth wheel. Still, I need to get back out there and play the field a little. I haven’t seen any action with the ladies in a long while, although that’s not for lack of interest.
Hell, every day it seems like I’ve got a new clinger in one of my yoga classes. The women come out in droves, but I don’t tend to dip my stick where I eat. Meaning no Bettys from the studio. Then again, there haven’t been any worth breaking that rule for. I come across beautiful women every day in my classes, but I’ve never felt that spark, that sizzle that makes me look twice at someone.
My pops always said I’d know it when it happens. When he met my mother back in high school, he was playing football, and she was a cheerleader for the opposing team. He said it was like he’d been hit upside the head by a linebacker the second his eyes landed on Josephine Ricci. After the game, he hunted her down and asked her out every day until she said yes. According to him, a woman may not know it’s right, but it’s up to us men to show them the errors of their ways.
I want that. I want to look into a woman’s eyes and see my future, though at twenty-nine years old, I am starting to lose hope.
Chapter Three
The fifth of the seven chakras is all about willpower, making good choices, and the right to speak
