Page 22 of When I Thug You Like That

“To ourselves,” he replied lowly, his attention dropping to the floor.

“Can you look at me for a second so that I know you have your listening ears on?”

He lifted his head and focused on me.

“Thank you. That’s not cool kid behavior you just showed. So, we gotta fix that, right?”

He nodded.

“Okay, go head.”

Turning back to his mother, he apologized then stood at her side. She mouthed thank you, and I nodded.

“Again, I apologize for being late.”

“You’re good, Ms. Kelly,” I assured her. “You called ahead of time and let us know, so there won’t be a late fee assessed. Get home and get you some rest, girl.”

“Oh, thank God.” She let out a sigh of relief. “I can’t take another bill. I’m gonna work on my time, I promise. I really hate being that parent.”

Something about the way she said it made me pause to address her statement.

“You’re not that parent. You’re a parent who got stuck at work. Things happen, Ms. Kelly. You communicated, Tristan was in good hands, all is well.”

She gave me a tired smile.

“Thank you.”

“No problem.”

“Come on, Mommy,” an impatient Tristan started up again, hooking his arm in hers.

I flashed him a look, and he smiled.

“I’m being cool,” he said.

I chuckled. “Keep it that way please. I’ll see you Monday. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Ms. Jai.”

His mother waved, and I followed them outside, pulling the door shut behind me. I punched my code into the keypad again, waited for the armed signal that confirmed the building was locked, and headed to my car. By the time I slid into the driver’s seat, it was 6:57. I needed a bubble bath and a glass of wine like I needed air to breathe.

I was less than ten minutes from home and halfway into the bridge of Tamar Braxton’s All The Way Home when my music cut out and a call from Taina came up on the screen. Pressing the phone button on my steering wheel, I answered.

“Hey, best friend.”

“Hey, boo. You left the school yet?”

“Yep. I’m ten minutes from the house. I can’t wait to get inside and snatch this bra off.”

I was top-heavy. That was cool and all until I had to actually put on a bra to secure the titties. The one thing I hated about my wardrobe was every bra I owned. The girls had enough definition to them to sit up on their own, so as far as I was concerned, the confines of a bra were strictly for security.

“Oh, okay.”

“Why? You okay? You need me to come over?”

It was just like me to jump to try and solve a problem before I even knew one existed.

Taina giggled. “Everything’s fine, friend. I have a kid-free night and wanted to get out for a couple hours.”