“You’re still working on what’s important to you,” Samiah said. “That was always the goal.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!”
Taylor and Samiah both startled at London’s exclamation.
“What’s wrong?”
“Do you have to go to the hospital?”
London shook her head. “No. It’s the manager of the banquet hall we booked for my upcoming class reunion. Every other week there’s some kind of issue.” She let out a frustrated sigh. “I told the committee not to go with this guy. He was an asshole from the first time I contacted him.”
“I would ask how reunion planning is going, but I guess I already have my answer,” Samiah said.
“I’m honestly ready to run away from everything,” London said. “Between the hospital buyout, this class reunion, and my mother’s new boyfriend—yes, you heard correctly. My sixty-year-old mother gets more dick than I do—I’m just . . . I’m done.”
“You know what you need?” Samiah said. “You need sex.”
“Do you expect a prize, Captain Obvious? Of course I need sex. That’s no big secret.”
“No, I mean you need sexnow.”
“She’s right,” Taylor said. “It does the body good.”
“Stop bragging,” London shot back.
“Here’s what you do,” Samiah said as she tossed her knitting needles on the coffee table. “Find the sexiest man at that hospital and have a one-night stand.”
“You don’t even need to go through all the drama of a date,” Taylor said. “Just tell him you want to bone and do it.”
London gave them both the stink eye, but then she said, “I can’t have random sex with someone I see every day. If I’m going to have a one-and-done, it has to be with someone I won’t see again.”
“But it can’t be a complete stranger because that shit just isn’t safe,” Samiah said. “Someone reliable has to vet him before you hook up with him.”
“Agreed,” London said. She looked over at Taylor. “Your boy toy have a football player friend with a granny porn fetish?”
Taylor and Samiah burst out laughing.
“I don’t know and I am not asking,” Taylor said.
“Whatever,” London groused. “I doubt even a one-night stand with a young, hot football player will help at this point.” She lifted the yarn and crochet hook. “But all is not lost, ladies. I think I’ve found myself a new hobby. Well, an old hobby turned new.”
She reached over and grabbed her wineglass. Raising it to them, she said, “I’m calling tonight a success.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
The growing sense of apprehension in Taylor’s stomach on the flight from Texas to North Carolina intensified as the plane’s wheels touched down on the tarmac. She had to remind herself that she loved her family and they loved her. Their judgmental comments were a result of that love for her.
Why are you making excuses for them?
The truth was that she had never fit in with her family.
She already regretted bringing Jamar with her. Would her brother denigrate her in front of him? Would her mother regale him with embarrassing stories from Taylor’s teen years?
She squeezed her eyes shut. This was a disaster in the making. She felt it in her bones.
Just get through the weekend.
The flight captain’s voice came over the loudspeaker, letting the passengers know that it would be a few more minutes before they could pull into their gate. Taylor released a deep sigh. She could use a few more minutes before facing the inevitable.
