Chapter 12: Bonding


    I love going on public outings with my family mainly because since there are so many people with


    different personalities, they’ll sh and something is bound to happen that’ll make usugh until we


    cry. I’m especially excited this time because we’ll get to show our two new siblings our dynamic and


    wee them into it.


    I was dressed in a cute outfit consisting of regr jeans, chunky sneakers, and a in ck


    sweatshirt. This time, we decided to go to a small-ish skating rink that we often go to. Our dad’s friends


    with the owner so we go there at least four times a year to bond and enjoy ourselves.


    I pulled up to the skating rink, super excited to finally get on the ice since I had to miss on thest


    family trip here due to work. I greeted everyone who had already arrived before Dad told me that we


    were waiting for Lin, David, and Charlotte. I ended up goofing around with Diamond and Daniel until


    they finally arrived,te as hell, might I add.


    “And y’all are alwaysining about me beingte?” I sarcastically told Lin, snorted when she gave


    me a look that tranted to “I’m going to kill you.”


    “Shut up! You didn’t have to pick up two other people, so suck a-”


    “Aye, aye, aye! Let’s just go inside,” Mom said, cutting her off. I stifled a giggle and stuck my tongue out


    just to antagonize her Lin more. Pat, the owner of the ice skating rink, sported a huge smile, shing


    his almost perfect teeth at us when we walked into the lobby.


    “Hey, how y’all doing?” he asked, grinning. “I was thinking it was ‘bout time for the Chantele family to


    drop by!”


    “What’s up, Pat,” my dad greeted, nodding his head towards the man. We all greeted Pat with hugs


    and kisses on the cheek, answering his questions about our health and asking him the same questions


    back. His eyes eventually fell upon Diamond and Daniel, the twins who were trying to hide behind


    Momma’s purse. Somehow, his smile grew bigger.


    “And what do we have here?” he asked with a smile.


    Mom answered after it became evident that the twins were too shy to answer. “This is Diamond and


    Daniel, the new additions to our family! They’re twins.” She smiled brightly, looking at the two with


    pride. The twins waved after a little bit of prompting and I giggled since that’s how I acted when Mom


    first started introducing me to family friends.


    “Well, ain’t that lovely!” He squatted down to speak with the two face-to-face and asked if they wanted


    lollipops while we got our skates. He also helped them put their skates on before weing us into the


    rink that painted half of my childhood memories. Then, he went to greet other customers.


    As soon as we stepped into the main area with the rink, the disco light shined across my eyes. The rink


    was kind of old fashioned and yed a lot of 80’s and 90’s music, which I actually enjoy. The lights


    were pretty much all the way dimmed and the only light that really shone through was the disco light


    memories of learning to skate here with my family flooded into my head. I became a bit emotional but


    didn’t shed a single tear since I wanted to have fun today, not cry.


    I was the first to be ready to skate so I quickly entered the rink and skated to the middle of it. I decided


    to show off a bit since there weren’t many people on the ice yet. Starting off slow, I vibed with the


    music, getting a feel for the beats before I began doing a full on choreography. I was so into the


    dancing that I didn’t notice Donny, Leo, and Grace sneak up from behind me. All three of them


    screamed next to my ears and I fell t on my ass mid-spin.


    They all burst outughing, same with everyone who attempted to stifle theirughter. Even Momma


    was giggling. And, honestly, if it weren’t for the twins giggling and smiling, I would’ve smacked them


    dead in the face since my ass hurt so much.


    “I see y’all like ying games.” I red at the three.


    “Sorry, sis. We’re just messing with you,” Leo said as he helped me get back up on my feet.


    I innocently smiled. “It’s okay. I just know I’m going to beat you in this race though,” Iughed out,


    smacking his head. He rubbed his head with a re.


    “Oh, yeah? How much you wanna bet?” he asked cockily.


    “I’m betting 30 for Aisha!” Grace called out.


    “50 for Leo,” Donny said.


    “If I win,” I began, “I get to set you up on a date. And if I lose, you get to choose whatever punishment


    you want. How does that sound?”


    “Aww, sis, you don’t wanna know what I have nned for you. Let’s do this!”


    Leo and I positioned ourselves on the ice, preparing tounch off and race.


    “Ready?” Grace asked.


    “Yeah!” we yelled back.


    “You have to go to the very end of the rink and back! Don’t disappoint me, Aisha!” Grace called out.


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    “I won’t!”


    “Get her ass, Leo!” Donny called out to Leo, causing me tough.


    “Go!”


    I bolted forward, starting off a bit slower than Leo. The only reason I even wanted to race was because


    I knew Leo didn’t have the technique I did. His technique was to just go forward as quickly as possible.


    I pistoned forward and zoomed past him, making it the other end of the rink in no time. Then I quickly


    began making my way back, zooming past him once again. Just to piss him off even more, I yelled,


    “Maybe you’ll win next time!”


    My family’s cheering and hooting was silenced by a round ofughter. Even Daniel had a grin on his


    face, hands pping as he cheered for me, which was good since he was usually pretty shy and


    withdrawn.


    I soon passed the finish line and Leo passed after me as well. Right when I opened my mouth to brag


    about winning, he snapped.


    “Shut your face! Just because you won, doesn’t mean anything.”


    “Oh-ho, but it does!” I grinned. “Did you forget about the deal, darling? I get to set you up on a date!”


    “Oh, no. Absolutely not. I was just joking when I said that. Mom! She’s tryna ruin my life!”


    Our mom smiled. “A deal’s a deal, sweetie. You’re going to have to deal with it on your own.”


    We ended up also teaching the twins how to skate since they didn’t know. Diamond was a social


    butterfly whereas Daniel was always glued to Mom’s side, Dad’s side, or my side. Honestly, I’m really


    happy he took a liking to me because it’s obvious he always keeps to himself. I even ended up taking


    us to the ending machine to get drinks when we were both tired, and he told me about his love for art.


    Needless to say, the night ended on a fabulous note and I headed home with a huge smile on my face.


    I parked my car and got out of it before I noticed the guy from earlier, Keanu…I think, also getting out of


    his car. His attention was on his phone and he was frowning a bit.


    “Hey, Keanu!” I greeted loudly so he would hear me. I felt like it would be rude of me to not greet him.


    He looked up from his phone, the frown on his face disappearing when he saw it was I who called his


    name. “Hey, Aisha! It’s nice seeing you.


    “The same goes to you. You alright, though? You don’t look so good.”


    “Oh, I’m fine. Just remembered that I don’t have any more essential oils and I need them to fall asleep,


    usually. All the shops that have them are closed right now so I’m annoyed,” he exined, rubbing his


    face with his hands. Clearly the guy was stressed out.


    “Uh, I’m actually super into aroma therapy so I have, like, a huge collection of oils. I can let you borrow


    a few if you’d like?” I suggested.


    His face broke out in a grin and he began thanking me profusely as I led him up to my apartment. I


    began regretting letting the man into my ce since that was just weird. Nevertheless, I had him sit in


    the kitchen while I went to my bathroom to pull out my big box of essential oils. I brought the box to the


    kitchen and opened it up, oblivious to his shocked stare at the over 30 bottles.


    “When you said you had a huge collection, you weren’t kidding,” he said, still staring ck-jawed. I


    all great choices for stress relief and rxation.


    “Good choices! I have like three of each so you don’t need to return those.”


    “Thank you so much! You really know your stuff, though. You even had ng ng oil in there,” he


    eximed, holding his three bottles of oils.


    “Obviously! Anyway, you look hungry. I have leftover food, so do you want to stay and eat?” I asked.


    He cocked a brow up. “Well, someone seems interested.” I blushed. I wasn’t interested in him though. I


    was just being polite.


    “Keep thinking that, buddy. I’m currently talking to someone else,” I replied, looking into his eyes. His


    eyes were really gorgeous. Why are eyes my weaknesses? I swear everytime I look into Eli’s eyes, my


    legs just want to buckle.


    “Hey, you never know,” he chuckled out, raising his hands in surrender. Iughed along with him before


    going to heat up the food.


    “We’re gonna have potato sd with rice and steak. I know it might sound like a weirdbo, but let


    me tell you, it tastes amazing. I cooked it.


    “I’ll have to be the judge of that,” he joked with a grin. We had a few small conversations as the food


    was getting ready. Once it was finished, I put food in the bowls and set them up on the table counter.


    “Try it,” I said when handing him a spoon of the food. He took a minute but eventually, and hesitantly,


    took a bite out of it. His whole face changed into a more pleasant face.


    “You like it, huh? I told you it was going to taste amazing!”


    “It tastes great,” he says after swallowing the food that was in his mouth, “but I’ve had better.” The


    audacity of this man.


    Somehow, though, I ended upughing with him. “I’m sure you have, Keanu.”


    For the rest of the evening, we talked andughed. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t nice conversing with


    him. We got to know more about each other, about each other’s families, hobbies, sports - anything,


    really.


    The fact that he wasn’t a big person on family kind of sucked, but I understood his reasoning for that.


    His family members weren’t there for him, but they still love him. His parents had money, but he still


    chose to live in this apartment even though he’s loaded. He also didn’t speak about his siblings,


    although he did mention having two. Each time I tried to urge him to speak about them more, he


    seemed hurt, so I stopped.


    “Thank you for inviting me for dinner. It was really nice, but I have to get going now. And than you for


    the essential oils!”


    “No problem. Hope you have a good night, Keanu,” I replied.


    He stared at me for a while before he simply nodded and left my apartment.


    I made a new friend. It was something new, and I liked it.