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"CAN YOU PASS THE ROLLS?" Sharife's twin, Omar, said from where he was sitting to the left of him at the long teakwood dinner table, the lines in the wood a testament to how many family dinners had occurred. Wordlessly, Sharife passed the cloth-lined basket of warm dinner rolls before continuing to shovel gravy-smothered mashed potatoes into his mouth.
"Slow down," His mother, Kindall, laughed, "It's not going anywhere."
Sharife gulped down the last bite of food before washing it down with a gulp of water, "My bad. Today's practice was ass and we had to stay an extra two hours."
"Good," His father, Omar Sr, chimed in from the head of the table, "Y'all need it if you're going to make it to state. Keep eating."
Sharife passed his father an appreciative look before moving to the salad portion on his plate and muttering, "Don't need to tell me twice."
Te'a shook her head with a laugh, "Pig." At the comment, Sharife drove the point of his elbow under her ribs, and Te'a dropped her fork, "Ow! Hell is wrong with you, Rife?"
Omar made an oink noise and both Te'a and Mia, their other sister, burst into giggles causing Sharife to roll his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, yeah."
Before Te'a could shoot back a response, the doorbell rang sharply, cutting through the conversation. Omar Sr. raised an eyebrow at his children, "Y'all expecting someone?"
"Mhmm," Sharife hummed as he stood, "I'll get it."
"Yeah, you do that, Wilbur," Mia snickered.
Sharife rolled his eyes again as he placed his silver fork on the dark wooden table, "Get some new material, losers."
When Sharife pulled the front door open, Kylah was standing on the doorstep, dressed in a denim miniskirt and an olive green cropped sweater that showed a sliver of her gymnastics-toned abdomen, and a nervous expression on her face.
Sharife glanced over his shoulder to ensure that none of his family had followed him into the entryway before leaning against the doorframe, an amused smile on his face, "Hi."
"Hi," Kylah's voice was pitched slightly higher than usual, "I got your flowers, and I... I didn't wanna thank you over the phone so I came here but... I-I should go. I didn't call or anything beforehand either. I-I should go," Kylah whirled on her heels and Sharife's hand shot out to lightly grasp her hand, "No, don't go. I did the same to you, remember?"
