Kimani had been a blind spot, Ben thought to himself.
“I’m not interested in getting back together with Eumie,” he tried to assure May.
“That’s what you say now.”
He gave her a chiding look, as if she were a petulant child unhappy with being told she had to do her homework before turning on the television. “She knows what I expect and don’t expect. She’s a grown woman. If she wants to risk getting hurt—”
“Wait, does that mean you’re open to sleeping with her again?”
If May wasn’t his sister and hadn’t covered for him all those years when he’d snuck back into the house late after a night hanging with gang members, he would be tempted to take a paddle to her backside.
“She’s coming with me to California, so—”
“What?! Why would you invite her to go with you, and when did you decide you’re going back to California?”
“Our younger sister’s homecoming is in a week. No one in our family is planning on visiting her except me.”
During his four years at Howard, May and Uncle Gordon had been the only family members who had come to visit him. Ben had spent all the holidays with Uncle Gordon in California. Ben’s father had not been pleased with his decision to turn down Oxford or an Ivy League school in favor of Howard.
“That doesn’t explain why Eumie has to go.”
“She’s related to Aunt Alice,” Ben said, referring to Uncle Gordon’s wife, “and hasn’t seen her in years.”
“Related? She’s something like a second cousin twice removed from Aunt Alice’s cousin.”
“Leave it, May. Like I said, I can handle myself.”
May was quiet. Unlike their older sister, May knew when not to push things further with Ben. She would go boldly right up the edge of his patience, but she never crossed the line. She did, however, have the last salvo this time.
“So if Eumie is visiting Aunt Alice, that means you’ll be in the San Francisco area,” she said. “That’s why you’re brining Eumie.”
Done with talking, he had closed his eyes, but he decided to humor her one last time. “What do you mean by that?”
“It’s not like you can’t get pussy wherever or whenever you want. So why Eumie? All I can think is that, somehow, she’s a better safeguard for you when it comes to her.”
Ben didn’t say anything. He hadn’t invited Eumie for that reason—at least not consciously.
May settled back into her chair. “Maybe I’ll tag along, too. It might be fun to see what Eumie thinks of your San Francisco fucktoy.”
Chapter Seven
After spending two days at UCLA with his youngest sister, Ben flew to San Francisco. Eumie behaved herself for the most part, even agreeing to watch a basketball practice. She spent most of the time on her mobile, but he appreciated that she didn’t complain about boredom or ask to leave early. Her only comment about basketball was that it was too bad the players didn’t get to have cute outfits like golfers did. Golf was the one sport Eumie was open to playing on occasion.
He had originally planned to be more involved in the Oakland waterfront property his family was developing, but after the article spotlighting his relationship to Uncle Gordon, he decided to take a lower profile. Nevertheless, he checked on the managers leading the project and agreed to a meeting with the San Francisco District Attorney’s office.
In the Hall of Justice, he bumped into Claire, the barely legal blond whom Jake had acquired through the Scarlet Auction. She looked well and still sported the diamond and emerald ring she had worn her last day at Jake’s cabin.
“Oh, hi,” she greeted with a perky smile. “How’ve you been? Jake thought you and Jason had returned to China for good.”
“Jason’s in Singapore at the moment,” Ben said.
Far away from Jake’s influence, he added silently. After how things had ended at the cabin, his cousin had agreed to drop his friendship with Jake.
“You see a lot of Jake?” Ben asked.
“Yeah, we’re, like, dating.”
“Does the district attorney know that?”