me & tomfoolery

Cold as Ice pt. 8 | Shilo Sanders Short Story

Cold as ice was the Colorado air as Shilo drove down the interstate from Boulder to Denver. Shedeur and Shelomi in the backseat while Tennessee sat shotgun. It was almost unbelievable the turn of events that transpired the last few months.

"You good?" Shilo asked glancing over. Nessee's head leaning against the window, her hair in a scarf and bonnet to protect from the harsh air that would deflate her curls in no time. "Just tired." She yawned. They were only on the road for fifteen minutes but they soon hit traffic.

As usual thirty minutes were now up to forty five as everyone seemed to have the same idea of driving this time of day.

"When we get to the hotel, you'll have time to sleep. Me and Shedeur gotta go meet with pops."

"Yeah, you'll be stuck with me." Shelomi interjected. "I could never be stuck with you, I actually like you." Nessee laughed.

She took a liking to the youngest Sanders. A likable kid and definitely just like her goofy older brother, Shilo.

"Y'all think Deiondra gonna like her?"

"Damn Mi, you act like she not right here." Shedeur snickered.
"She was gonna hear it one way or another!"

"Should I be worried or something?" Tennessee genuinely wanted to know if the eldest of the clan would be a problem.

Shilo wasn't sure how his older sister would respond to him bringing someone around. They were hardly dating but it was important for him to take the next step and asking her to join him to this event.

"Nah, you should be fine." The other siblings in the car knew better and laughed to themselves in the back. Deiondra ran more than a few away in the past. He held her hand to give a reassuring squeeze.

Tennessee couldn't focus on that right now, what Bria said to her still rattled her brain and she wondered why on earth would this happen right before this trip. She wanted to have a positive attitude going into meeting his family as his date and not think about petty drama, but she couldn't.

She wondered how Bria came to the conclusion, why was it serious enough to approach her and what did that mean for the impending future? They were still dealing with the aftermath of the bar brawl, Shilo constantly in interviews and the Buffs taking yet another loss. Of course Tennessee hadn't shared with Shilo what happened, she didn't want to seem like a raging lunatic the way she had thoughts surrounding the interaction. Her reaction could run him off.

••••

"Now I know you're probably not gonna stay in here and that's okay."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nessee sat on the end of her bed across from Shelomi. "That you came here with my brother and I'm sure sometime during this weekend, you guys would be staying together."

Tennessee immediately shook her head. One thing she wasn't going to do was set herself up for heartbreak. Still getting to know him, she wasn't sure if he chased multiple girls around for fun or kept everyone who approached him on retainer.

"No Mi, I will not be sleeping with your brother. I'll be in here with you."

Shelomi tilted her head side to side before making a face, "You really aren't?"

"Hell no, he could still be a killer, don't know him like that to be honest. And he's not going to kill me in front of his sister!"

The younger girl laughed before opening her suitcase. Tennessee opened hers as well to make adjustments to what was going in the closet. There were a host of events she would be attending but she emphasized wanting to be in the background.