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Mom’s red velvet cake is watching me.
I’m sitting on the wooden stool with my elbows resting on the marble countertop, eyeing the cake as if it were my nemesis. The nerves crippled my appetite earlier on. That, and the smell of sweaty men and corndogs was the least bit appealing.
The soft white icing looks mouth-watering, teasing me with its sugary existence. Mom has this secret to making the best icing I’ve ever tasted. Sure, I’m biased because the woman can do anything. Yet there’s not one person I have come across who has ever said no to tasting her red velvet cake.
“Just eat the damn cake,” Alexa chastises while braiding her hair away from her face.
She’s wearing denim cut-off shorts and platform white sneakers. The gray t-shirt she wears is a relaxed fit, with the hem length covering the frayed shorts. If Dad sees this, he’ll have a coronary. Ava used to push the limits with her short attire, but Mom always got to her first before Dad ever saw her.
“I shouldn’t,” I answer with a head shake. “The last thing I need is a sugar high after all the excitement from today.”
Alexa rolls her eyes at me. “Why do you have to overanalyze everything?”
“I’m not overanalyzing,” I argue back, biting my lip as I try to resist reaching out to it. “It’s been a big day, and my adrenaline is finally evening out. The last thing I need is to be filled with sugar, to which there will be zero chance of sleeping tonight.”
“Didn’t you say you were going to some party with Cruz?”
“Yes, but we know he’ll find some girl to hook up with, which is great because I can sneak out early,” I tell her with ease. “Besides, I’m watching this documentary on Wall Street which is so fascinating.”
Alexa busies herself on her phone. “Uh-huh. Okay, Dad.”
The moment the words escape Alexa’s mouth, Dad strolls into the kitchen talking on the phone. Judging by the serious expression on his face, I’m assuming it’s a business call until he softly mentions Mom’s name followed by a sigh.
“I have to go,” he says, eyeing us. “I have two daughters about to go head to head over the last piece of your cake.”
I shake my head to whisper, “Not me.”
“I’ll see you soon, love you too.” Dad hangs up the call and tucks the phone into the pocket of his pants. “Now, you do know it’s quite a large slice which we can slice into three equal parts so all of us can taste your mother’s sweet perfection.”
Alexa snorts as my lips press flat to stop myself from laughing. If Ava were here, she’d vocalize just how gross that sounded. God, I miss her sometimes.
A wide grin appears on his face as he rubs his chin. He’s usually freshly shaven, but today he has a slight stubble. Just like always, he’s dressed in a tailored suit. As much as it pains me to say it, Dad is a very handsome man. Yet much like my sisters, we avoid how his ‘looks’ have gained him a fanbase of women. It’s disturbing to see such vulgar posts attached to shirtless pics of Dad when he was younger.
“Okay…” he begins, then stalls, “… that didn’t come out as intended.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I respond innocently.
Alexa simply shakes her head, suppressing her laughter.
Dad lets out a heavy sigh. “Ava Edwards has truly left her mark in this household.”
“Ava Edwards-Carter,” I correct him. “Your little troublemaker is all grown up now though you wouldn’t think so if you read our group chats.”
His brows raise at the mention of Ava’s behavior. Then, he laughs softly. “So, about this cake?”
I pull a knife out of the drawer to slice the cake into three pieces just like he suggested. Alexa retrieves three spoons for us to use. When the cake is divided evenly, we all dig our spoons in and take our first bite. We eat in silence, each one of us quietly praising Mom for her efforts once again.
“Mom outdid herself,” I say with a mouthful.
Alexa nods in agreement. “We say this every time.”
“But this time, I mean it. And stupid me was trying to resist.”
As we devour the cake rather quickly, Dad makes himself a coffee since it’s late afternoon. He’s an early riser just like Mom. They both wake up at the crack of dawn to start their workday.
I take up his offer for one, too, since I woke up early as well and today was chaotic with the game.
Dad slides the mug over as we sit at the counter together.
