“Tell Mama I’m taking good care of our baby!” Shad hollered out a second after I connected the call.
“Who the hell is that?” she questioned. “That was a male voice I heard, Holidaee. You told me that you were at a friend’s house. Safe!”
“Mom…I am twenty-six years old,” I had to remind her. “And I am safe.”
The line grew quiet, and then I heard a sigh.
“Are you sure he’s not standing right there with a gun pointed at your head, making you say that Holidaee. If he is, blurt out my favorite color.”
I wanted to shout out green just to rile her up, but Mama might not can handle a joke like that. Iknewshe wouldn’t.
“Mama…” I giggled. “I’m okay. I promise.”
“Holidaee…Don’t get pregnant.”
I covered my mouth in shock.
“Mama…I’m not even having sex with him,” I whispered. “I’m just here for shelter. That’s it, that’s all. I sleep on the couch. He sleeps in his bed.”
“What type of man doesn’t give his bed up?” she squawked.
“He did offer. I declined,” I laughed. “You don’t sleep in everybody’s bed.”
“I raised a smart girl.”
“You did, mama.”
“Well…” she started.
“Well, what?” I asked, wondering what was about to come out of my mama’s mouth.
“How does he look?” she whispered.
I covered my mouth to muffle my giggles. “Really, mama?”
“Yes,” she hissed. “Is he handsome? Ugly?”
I darted my eyes over my shoulder to make sure Shad couldn’t hear me, then said, “He’s definitely not ugly. Far from ugly. Handsome.”Thuggish ruggish bone,I wanted to add, but mama would flip out.
“Lord, don’t come back pregnant, Holidaee, for real. I know it may be hard to resist his charm, but please. I’m not ready to be a grandma.”
“And I’m not ready to be anybody’s mama. I promise I will not leave his house pregnant, Mama. I said I wasn’t fuc- messing with him anyway,” I assured her.
“Aye! You ready to strip for daddy?” Shad yelled out, which prompted me to end the call. Mama was on the verge of screeching something out when I hung up.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I groaned out. “My mama heard you, Shad. Now she probably thinks I’m being a damn freak over here.”
He chuckled, sauntering past me. I stood in place, in disbelief that he could be that damn childish while I was on the phone. I took off in the same direction and stopped when I was about to enter his bedroom. Loud peeing had me pausing, spinning on my heels, and heading back to the front.
Moments later, Shad emerged holding a box of Uno cards in his hand.
“Leeeeet’s get naaaaaked,” he sang out.
I snorted and reared my head back. “You may be better at 2K, but Uno…Nigga, that’s right up my alley. We need to put on the same amount of clothes, too, Shad. No cheating. I’ma go put on the clothes I came over here in.”
I took off down the hall with him telling me that I was cheating. He was full of shit, but I was about to have fun with his ass. Shad was getting ass naked. I mean, dick swinging. I was gon embarrass his ass in the worst way.
Both my socks were off. Both of Shad’s socks were gone, along with his sweats. He had the nerve to have ball shorts under them and tried to call me a cheater? Tuh.
