Teonny shushed her. “Ma, it’s not that big of a deal.”
“Not a big deal? My baby been dating a fine ass man for three years and didn’t tell me? Is that where you disappear to every day?”
Teonny had never told her mom about the gun range. She hated lying to her mom, but Tameka was a worrier. If she had known Teonny spent all her time at the gun range, she would have insisted it was a bad coping mechanism. There was no way she would allow anyone to take away the power she felt when shooting a gun, so she lied.
Instead of lying some more right now, she responded to a different part of what her mom said. “Ma, I never said we been dating for three years. I’ve just known him for three years. This dating thing is . . . new. Really new.”
The thought of dating Prosper actually excited her now.
The thought of losing him made her heart ache.
To love someone meant she could lose them. That was her biggest hang up when it came to getting close to Prosper, but she felt like talking to him might ease her negative thoughts. Whenthey had another moment alone, they would definitely have a conversation about her feelings and what exactly it was that they were doing.
“I can’t believe my baby has a man. You know I been praying for this?” Tameka squealed in delight as she kicked her feet.
Teonny rolled her eyes. “I guess.”
“Why you sound so down about it? Hell, you know Jerome was the best thing that ever happened to me?—”
“It’s not that I’m down.” Teonny had to interrupt. To get Tameka started on her weird ass love for Jerome was to sit in silence for a solid hour, unable to get a word in. “I’m just afraid, you know?”
The least she could do was talk to her mom about her feelings since she was lying to her about everything else, it felt like.
“Afraid of what? Losing them? Teo, I told you that you can’t use Angel and Kevin as an anchor holding you back from happiness. They would both want you to be happy.”
“Angel would, at least,” Teonny mumbled. She was sure if Kevin were alive, he would still be making her life a living hell.
“Kevin would too. Don’t downplay my son-in-law like that.”
Her words were another reminder of something she kept from her mother. Tameka looked at Kevin like a saint because he used to take care of her, and his money still took care of her, even in death.
“Right.”
“I’m glad you’re finally moving on. And who knows? Maybe I’ll get another grandbaby out of you?” Tameka rubbed Teonny’s stomach gently. “You and Prosper would make such cute babies.”
Teonny laughed uncomfortably. More kids were definitely out of the question. She might be open to love again, but having another baby would never be in her future. That wasn’t anargument she wanted to have with her mom right now, though, so she was glad when she felt Prosper enter the kitchen.
Yeah, shefelthim. She didn’t smell his cologne, hear him, or lay eyes on him. It was like her body just knew he was suddenly in her space. With a smile, she turned to peer at him.
“Good morning.” She greeted him with a grin.
“Morning, beautiful.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Morning, Tameka.”
She had insisted he call her by her first name the night before. Teonny giggled because she could tell it made him uncomfortable to not address her properly, but that was Tameka. She never wanted to be called ma’am, Ms. Austin, or anything that might make her sound old.
“How did you sleep?” Teonny asked as she got up from her spot and walked toward the refrigerator.
“Honestly? Better than I have in years,” he admitted.
She blushed. “Same. I was going to make some breakfast.”
“I might need to take a raincheck on breakfast, beautiful. I, uh . . .” He glanced at Tameka. “I got some information on Ghost. I need to chop it up wit’ my right hand to see what the next move will be.” Teonny’s heart rate picked up. Information on the man who was after Prosper was a good thing, but it made her nervous. She knew once Prosper got his hands on Ghost, it would be ugly. Worry filled her heart, and she realized dating a man like him would come with a lot of anxiety. She wondered if it was worth it . . . Her mind trailed off, but Prosper’s hand on her waist brought her back. He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Don’t get lost inside ya head. You handle breakfast. I’ll handle everything else.”
He kissed her forehead and left the kitchen.
“I’ll save you a plate,” she called out after him. She watched him until he disappeared before her eyes landed back on Tameka, who stared at her. “What?”
“Don’t what me. What was that all about? You talkin’ ’bout Ghost from Ellway?”
