Page 75 of Senior

“Stop it now,” I said, waving her off.

“I’m serious! That bald head is glistening more than usual.”

She tried to rub my head, but her short ass couldn’t reach it.

“You funny, lil bit,” I said, playfully patting the top of her head.

“You look really happy.”

I looked down at Steph and kissed her temple. “I am happy, baby girl.”

“Good. No matter what anybody says. You deserve that. Even better that you found it with Mama Steph. Lord knows you were patient this time around.”

“Well, well, well!” Renay said, waltzing over to us. “So, this is why you had my husband shining this bald ass head. You sneaky devil. I know you better had done your big one for that date.”

She looked at Steph for confirmation.

She smiled. “He did a beautiful job.”

Renay slapped my arm. “Okay, Big Stanley! If you’re gonna start a ruckus, it better be worth it. Although, I do think you might have taken it too far. Deuce had the group chat on fire. You should have seen me and Kobi trying to compare notes.”

“I’m gonna need all of y’all to get outta my business,” I said, pulling Steph away from the group beginning to form around us.

I lead her over to a quiet back corner and copped a seat before pulling her onto my lap. My arms slid around her waist, and I placed soft kisses against her shoulder blade.

“How are you feeling, my love?”

“I’m okay, Senior. I just… I wish our son could have been this accepting. That’s my baby. I don’t like being at odds with him.”

“I know. He and I are gonna have a conversation when they get back.”

“I need to be there to keep you two from fighting.”

“Nah, we need to speak alone. Not just father to son, but man to man. He said something that ain’t sitting right in my spirit and I want to address it.”

“What’s that?”

“We’ll talk about it when he and I speak. “

She raised her hands in mock surrender. “Okay.”

I maneuvered her so that she was cradled in my arms, my favorite way to hold her. She giggled softly as I peppered her face with kisses.

“You’re being super affectionate right now, Senior.”

“I’ve waited a lifetime to have you like this again. You’re gonna let me love you and not complain. This is where you were supposed to be all along, but you left my ass.”

“And did.” She looked up and cupped my chin. “Maybe we were right for each other at the wrong time. Now, I’m not sure if the stars were already aligned for you to have five other kids or if you were just out here with a friendly dick. You fall in love quick as hell, Senior.”

I chuckled. “The love was real, though. Before your son was old enough to be a cock blocker, your ass was out here breaking hearts, too. You know how many blocks I wanted to knock off because they knew what your insides felt like?”

She mushed my head as she sat up. “First of all, I wasn’t opening my legs to even a portion of those men. I was very selective with who got to taste me. You don’t see me with multiple kids, sir.”

It was my turn to raise my hands in surrender. “I’ll let you have that. I was irresponsible with my private parts, but I took care of all my responsibilities. It didn’t matter that I was in a relationship with their mothers when these kids were conceived. I shouldn’t have made any woman a mother that I wasn’t prepared to make a wife.

“That’s why y’all could get whatever out of me to this day. There could have been drama and chaos, but for a long time, you, Tavia, and Allison held this family together. Maddie held it down with Mia for fifteen years without me. Regardless of what anybody has to say, I will always love and respect y’all for keeping, caring, and nurturing my kids. I’ve done a lot of wrong, but they are the one thing I’ve always gotten right.”

Steph cupped my face, gently stroking my cheeks with the pads of her thumbs.