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“Hey, Bells. Precious is at day care, right?”
“She is.”
“I’m picking her up early.”
“Callum, don’t you go giving her a bunch of sweets. I don’t need her jumping off the walls when she gets home.”
I rolled my eyes. “I won’t... at least I won’t overdo it.”
“Callum!”
I laughed at her dramatics. “I hear you, Bella.”
“You better. Have fun. I love you.”
“I love you too.” We disconnected the call, and I undressed for my shower.
Forty-five minutes later, I was pulling up at Charming Oaks Day Care and Learning Center. Since I had my niece often, I kept a booster seat handy. Precious wasn’t expecting me, so I knew her little smile would put a smile on my face. Walking inside, I headed to the receptionist area. I was on her approved list of people who could check her out, so they knew my face.
The first person to greet me was Charlotte Gaines, the overly perky receptionist with a bad case of jungle fever. Anytime I came in here, this woman shamelessly flirted with me. She’d even tried to slip me her number, which I promptly put in the trash when she wasn’t looking. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but today might be the day.
“Hey, handsome,” she said, leaning across the desk, pushing her cleavage forward in the process.
I gave her a blank expression. “Hey, Ms. Gaines.”
“I’ve told you, call me Charlotte.”
“I’d rather call you Ms. Gaines.”
“Speaking of calling... I haven’t heard from you. I know I gave you my number.”
“I must have misplaced it. Anyway, I’m here to pick up Precious.”
“Well, she’s back there. You’re free to go.”
I started to walk off, but she gently grabbed my arm. Stepping too close into my personal space, she looked up at me. Her hand moved from my arm to my chest.
“Mr. Ellis... How long are you going to play hard to get? I’m a beautiful, single woman. You’re a handsome, single man. I don’t see why we can’t enjoy each other’s company.”
I looked down at her hand and removed it like it was something disgusting.
“Ms. Gaines... Would you like me to be honest with you?”
“Yes. Is it because I’m white?”
“It’s because you’re thirsty, and you make it a habit of pointing out how much you love Black men. You won’t fetishize me. I’m not the man you can take home to your parents or show off like a trophy. Simply put, I’m not for you. It has nothing to do with your lack of melanin but everything to do with your agenda. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get my niece. Good day.”
I left her standing there with her mouth open. As I made my way down the hall to Precious’s classroom, I could hear laughter, screaming, and crying coming from various other rooms. One of these days, my home would be filled with all of those. While I wasn’t old, I was at the age where I was thinking about marriage and children. My four-bedroom home was too big for just me. I wanted someone to share it and make memories with.
I’ve been single for a minute now. The only women I entertained were the ones I had a mutual understanding with that it was just sex between us. Even with those parameters, I hadn’t had sex in at least three months, and, ironically, I was okay with that. I was, however, beginning to get lonely. Maybe that’s what Ms. Gaines saw in me. I chuckled at the thought of her sniffing me out like a dog in heat.
Walking up to the half door that led to Precious’s classroom, I leaned over the bottom half. My niece was in her own little world, playing with the toy grocery store items. She would be a terrible businesswoman. Anytime I played with her, she overcharged me and provided horrible customer service.
“Psst!” I said in her direction.
She looked around and squealed when her eyes landed on me.
“Uncle Cay!”
