CHAPTER 10
SOMEBODY ELSE
Chase
So, if you don’t like flowers, what do people buy you to celebrate? Grass?
Me
Chase, WHY are you texting me? Please respect my work life balance! Text one of your friends!
I triedmy best to contain my smile, but his goofy ass had been texting me silly shit since I had been home and it was getting harder to resist. A man who was genuinely funny could laugh me right out my panties, and the way he would say the most off the wall shit while being dead ass serious had these chonies hanging on by a thread.
Chase
Oh, so I’m only good enough to be your homie when I’m beating up leprechauns for you? Next time I’ma leave you with Mr. Unluck of the Irish!
Me
How long does it take you to type an exclamation mark onyour flip phone?
Chase
About as long as you are tall without the heels on… so short as fuck, Morgan Freeman.
That made me laugh so damn loud that I garnered a few stares.
Dammit.
The metaphorical panties were off, and the next time I ended up alone with that man, I couldn’t guarantee that he would go unfucked.
“Auntie, are you even listening to me?” Kadence asked as she looked at me in offense. Because how dare I pay attention to anyone but her for the five seconds in the day when she was off her phone?
“Sorry, Lil’ Bit. What is it?” I asked, slipping my phone into my pocket. I had been on her head all day, so I guess I had to lead by example. Chase could wait.
“I said, can I have purple wallpaper?” she asked with big eyes. I didn’t know why she was turning on the charm for me. She knew I was giving her whatever she asked for anyways.
“Girl, get it, but only for one wall” I fussed making her brown face light up in joy. I wasn’t exactly sure when my baby stopped being a baby, but I needed it to stop. The last time I was in town, I had to take her bra shopping, and a bitch almost cried in the car… Well, a bitch did cry in the car. It seemed like only yesterday when she came home from the hospital, and now she was telling me about crushes on boys.
“Thank youuu!” she said with a huge smile.
“Whatever,” I replied, teasing her head full of black and purple box braids. She loved purple just like her auntie. “Just remember that the next time I’m out of town and ask you to water my plants. Last time you killed my damn fig!”
“No ma’am! I didexactlywhat you told me to do in the text! I even used exactly six ice cubes just like you said. It’s not my fault that plant wanted to die,” she argued, giving me a fake stank eye.She was right, the plant was on its way to glory when I gave her that assignment, but it was much easier to blame the twelve-year-old than my thirty something year old self.
My friend, June, just shook her headful of curls as she looked on and laughed at us. The three of us were having a girl’s day out. Kadence wanted to revamp her room to express more of her preteen style, and I recruited June to help since she was the professional. This girl had grabbed everything from a mini fridge to a new vanity, and I wasn’t even mad. She was my true broke best friend, and I loved spoiling her, so it was never a problem.
“So what do you plan to do for the summer?” June asked Kadence as they looked over her inspiration pictures in her phone.
“I’m not sure. I want to join this summer AAU team, but my dad says I may need to take a break. Then my mom invited me to come to Korea to visit them,” she said, making my head snap in her direction as I did my best to school my expression.
Her mom, Kari, got a job opportunity in Korea, and she wanted to take her with her, but AJ wasn’t having it. After a lengthy court battle, he gained full custody and was able to keep her home with us, but when Kari didn’t get her way, she took that out on her daughter, completely ignoring her existence outside of birthdays and holidays. The bitch even went as far as to get remarried and have more kids, then start posting shit on social media about how she had never known real love until she met her husband and had the new babies as if my niece didn’t exist. She didn’t know it, but she had an ass whoopin’ waiting on her the moment she touched down in the states. She already knew how I was coming behind Kadence, and she’s lucky she never saw the posts, or I would be on a flight to deliver said ass whoopin’ on same day delivery.
“Do youwantto go?” I asked, knowing I would have to rearrange my schedule because there wasnoway I would let her go alone.
“I don’t know. It would be nice to see my mom and meet the babies, but they’re weird auntie.”
“Very weird,” I answered.
