The summer always brought two certain things for the Morrison family. Their annual "Family Reunion," and UNGODLY heat. This summer was no exception. Thaelor found herself at only her second reunion. The first was the summer after her mother dropped her off on this side of the family. It was awkward as hell, and just as annoying. Everyone wanted to see the "little indiscretion" that found itself into Senator Robert Morrison's life. Everyone picked at her, prodded her, and looked at her like she was some kind of God awful science experiment that had gone horribly wrong. She hated coming to these things. It was chock full of fakes, phonies, bourgeois men who only wanted to talk about their money and position, and the even more bourgeois women who wanted to show off their new babies or their monied beau. A "Family Reunion "wasn't even close to what it was in reality. There was no one really from her Dad's family. Just a bunch of politicians and hangers on that schmoosed him for money and favors. The other side was all Sharmel's kin. Drug dealers and low lives all looking to make further connects. Money, gossip, and alcohol flowed as easily as water at these things. Parasites the lot of them. It was an environment she really DIDN'T want to be at. But she wanted to spend as much time with Ryan as she could, and her father finally DEMANDED she show up. It was the heated argument that had occurred last night that occupied her mind as she sat under the shade of a tree while sitting in a bench at the country club that started her whole journey.
"You ARE going and that's final!" Screamed Senator Morrison as he sat behind his desk.
"But Dad...I HATE these get togethers! No one really talks to me! Everyone hates my guts and I'm not too sure I like THEM EITHER! You've gotten along just fine the past few years without my presence, and you made that VERY CLEAR whenever they came up! Always talking about "how I make you look bad, or how you would SO rather do things differently!"
The Senator ignored that last dig with a wave of indifference. "Whatever...your ABSENSE has created an issue for me. Senator Karl's son has asked about you, along with a slew of other important people that will be there. You have become very important to my image and my PR team thinks it would help me with my re-election chances if they could get a few pictures of us hanging out and having fun together. Besides, I AM your FATHER, you live under MY ROOF and off of MY DIME! If I demand that you scoop out the Pacific Ocean with a kid's Sand Bucket, I EXPECT you to DAMN WELL start SHOVELING!!!!"
"Do you even HEAR yourself?! Senator Karl's son had been arrested 10 times for domestic violence. The last girl walks with a cane and has 13 pins in her leg! But YOU sound like you're totally ASHAMED of me or something! That I'm some kind of property that you wheel out whenever you need a "boost" to your reputation! If you didn't want me, maybe you should've kept your dick to yourself!!!!"
The Senator's gaze grew cold, his voice dropped to that barely above a whisper. "You forget yourself little girl. More importantly, you forget who the fuck I AM! YOU are MY daughter, whether I like it or not. So as of this very moment, you have a choice to make. You can either go to this reunion and put on the nicest, fakest smile, preen, dance, and jump through every hoop I tell you to. Or you can get your high yellow ass over here and service this DICK you speak of so casually: again...or you can join your oh so "precious" MOTHER if that pleases you so much. Make your choice...cause in the end, I really don't GIVE a fuck!"
Thaelor backed out of the room, slowly. Making certain to never let her gaze move from her father. She would go to the reunion regardless of her feelings. Because if there was one thing she was DEAD certain of; her father NEVER made idol threats he was not willing to go through with.
"Is there any special dress code I have to adhere to?" She asked on her final step through his door.
The Senator returned his eyes to the papers on his desk, "Anything nice and white. I'm not a damn woman that cares about fashion. Just make sure your ass is there; and the rest of you too."
A tiny voice from behind her broke her trance. Looking over her shoulder, Thaelor said, "What did you say?"
"I asked if I could sit here and watch the game?"
"Sure...free country."
Thaelor half turned and her jaw almost hit the ground. Standing just behind her was perhaps the most beautiful woman she had ever seen in her life. Short, toned legs covered by a pair of chic cut-off denim shorts, a flat stomach that was shone off with a low cut, "Domma Karreen" T-shirt. Her ebony face showcased by a slick, "Page Boy" haircut. In her hands, are two tall. frosty glasses with a red liquid inside that is slowly becoming wet with condensation. But, somehow, she knew she's seen here somewhere before. She just couldn't place her.
"Thanks, I wanted a good spot to watch the upcoming football game. I brought this for you by the way. You looked kind of hot over here."
Thaelor took the glass and thanked her new company.
"Thanks. I was getting kind of thirsty." Taking a sip, Thaelor was pleasantly surprised by the fruity, yet slightly strong taste of alcohol that slid down her throat. "This is good, what is it?" Thaelor asked.
"My uncle calls it a "Tropical Tornado," I just call it good as fuck. It's the perfect drink to get a good buzz going on." She said.
"Who is your uncle?" Thaelor asked "I've met most of the people here and I've never seen you before."
"Oh...my uncle is Senator Morrison. My name's Brittney; Brittney Walters" She replied holding out her hand.
Thaelor spit the drink out of her mouth. "Who?! Are you serious?! How is Senator Morrison your uncle?"
Brittney withdrew her hand, a look of puzzlement on her face. "By marriage. His wife is my mother's sister. Are you ok?"
Wiping her chin and making sure she didn't get anything on her outfit, Thaelor said. "Sorry...but Senator Morrison is my dad. I'm Thaelor Morrison." Holding her hand back out, the women shook, finally solidifying their official greeting. "I just never knew Sharmel had a sister."
"Oh, well...it's not something they talk about a lot. Apparently, my Mom met uncle Robert first, but Aunt Sharmel gave it up quicker." Brittney shook her head. "It's amazing what some women do for the D. But my mom made out all right. She got a sure-fire NBA Hall of Famer as a consolation prize. Oh, the boys are getting ready to start."
Across the field, the men from the party were choosing teams and getting ready to play. Unremarkably, the teams were split between "shirts and skins." Travis chose the ball first, so his team had to take off their shirts. Ryan was among his teammates.
"MMM! DAMN! Look at all that FYNE beefcake!!" Brittney said. "If it weren't so hot out here already, I might have HOT FLASHES!"
Thaelor chuckled. There were indeed a lot of really good-looking men out there on the field, and because Travis played in the NAFL, it was part of his JOB to stay in shape. But as muscular and good looking as he was, she only had eyes for Ryan.
"You know, I've seen De'matre and Kyle with their shirts off before. I even got that Pro Ball issue with Travis in it. When I told my girlfriends that he was my cousin, they kept stealing my damn magazines! I had to buy the damn thing 8 times! But De'matre and his friends are all in the "game." I had a couple boyfriends in that stuff already. It's not nearly as fun as it seems, and besides, they got too many hood rats around them. No thanks. I like my life as drama free as possible. I get enough of that from work."
"Oh really?" asked Thaelor, her eyebrow raising slightly. "What do you do?"
"Oh, I'm a model and do music videos."
That's when it hit Thaelor where she had seen this woman before. Brittney used to be one of the hottest video vixens in the industry. She had been connected to at least 8 former top selling rappers in the game. Every video she was in used to play after 11:00 on TBN (The Black Network), on their "After Dark Video Show."
