As if on cue, Tameka’s voice cut through their moment.
“Y’all in here gettin’ freaky while I’m in crisis mode.” Tameka plopped dramatically onto the couch next to Prosper and Teonny’s feet.
With a sigh, Prosper sat up, which made Teonny do the same. She tried to pull away from him, but he trapped her in his arms and kissed her temple.
“Mommy, what’s the problem?” Teonny asked.
Tameka had been moping around the house for the past week, and Teonny worried that she was close to leaving. There had been no news on Ghost, at least not that Prosper shared with her, and Teonny’s anxiety grew each day, even though she loved this little bubble of peace she found herself in.
“I think Jerome is mad at me. I been on this . . .vacationfor a month now, and I ain’t been able to see my man. Now he ain’t even answering his phone.” She looked around the living room. “This place is starting to feel more like a prison than anything.”
Teonny glanced nervously at Prosper, whose jaw clenched and unclenched. “Baby . . .”
It was a slight argument they’d been having for the past couple of weeks. Teonny wanted to tell her mother what happened, but Prosper wasn’t for it.
He ran a hand down his face and sighed. “Look, Tameka, we here because I’m tryna keep y’all safe, aight? You gotta stay put while I figure some things out.”
Teonny’s eyes widened. She hadn’t expected him to say that, but it was clear that even he could sense Tameka’s antsy anxiety.
Tameka’s eyes turned to slits. “What you mean keep us safe? I thought we was on vacation.”
Teonny moved to grab Tameka’s hand. “Mommy, I might have lied about this being a vacation, but it was for our own good.”
“Our own good?” Tameka stood up. “Teo, what the hell is going on?”
Teonny glanced at Prosper, who slightly shook his head. She blew out a breath and focused back on her mom. “I can’t tell you. Can you please just hang tight for a little longer?”
“Ain’t this some mothafuckin’ shit. If I lose my man over this bullshit, I’m on y’all asses.” She glared at the couple. “I need some money so I can go to the grocery store.”
“I’ll take y’all to the store in a bit. In and out, though, aight?” Prosper said.
“Yeah, yeah,” Tameka said before stomping out of the room.
Teonny shook her head. Her mom never acted her age, and she was used to her temper tantrums. She turned in Prosper’s arms and hugged his neck. “I’m sorry, baby. Thank you for telling her.”
“I ain’t really have a choice, did I?”
Teonny pulled back so she could look at him. “I’m sorry.”
He sighed. “Don’t be, Peanut. I ain’t gon’ lie though. I don’t really like how ya moms handles you.”
Teonny’s brows pulled in, and she pulled all the way back and leaned up against the back of the couch. “What you mean?”
He shrugged as he draped a long arm over the side of the couch. “She acts like your sister.”
“She had me young,” Teonny said defensively.
“She always has her hand out for money.”
“She doesn’t work. I take care of her. Kevin did before he died, and I continued after.”
“And she’s always around. Feel like I can’t fuck on you like I want.” He grinned as he grabbed her hand and pulled her back into him.
She giggled. “She’s just bored, baby. Can you blame her? Maybe if we had let Jerome come too?—”
“Nah. I ain’t lettin’ no nigga stay wit’ me that I don’t know, and I definitely ain’t lettin’ no other nigga get pussy in my house.”
“I thought this wasn’t your main house,” she argued.
