He stood up, walked over to his mother, leaned down, and hugged her. It had been on her mind heavy for the past two days to reach out to Tech. Fear of rejection kept her from doing so. She hated if she made him feel like he wasn’t good enough for her. Also, she was embarrassed from the drama with Cedric.Had it been his baby mamas causing hell, she would have run in the opposite direction.
Creed left the room and before she could decide what to do, her phone buzzed. Seeing Tech’s name on the screen was like a sign from God. Blossom didn’t hesitate to answer.
“Hey.” Her tone was soft and inviting. She could only assume if he was reaching out to her that he came in peace. He didn’t seem like the kind of man that nagged or picked arguments anyway.
“If you don’t want me to call you, I’ll stop. I just have something that I want to show you. If you decline, there are no hard feelings.” Tech wasn’t used to having to explain his life choices to women. Even when he was dealing drugs, there weren’t many women that denied him because of it. But after paying his debt to society, he wasn’t sure how he was still being punished for it by ‘his own kind.’
“You don’t have to stop calling me, and whatever it is, I’d love to see it. When were you thinking?”
“Now, if you’re not busy.”
“I’m not and okay.”
“Bet.”
The call ended and seconds later, an address came through. After looking it up in her navigation system, she saw that the address was a residential one, but it wasn’t the condos where he lived. He’d bought a house, maybe? Maybe she was foolish, but she trusted him. Maybe she didn’t need approval from her kids to live her life but having it made her feel good about liking a man, instead of constantly worrying that she was making a huge mistake by giving him a chance.
After changing into a simple pair of jeans, a fitted tea, long leopard print cardigan, and sneakers, she was out the door. Blossom had moved so fast she forgot to spray on perfume, but it was fine because she kept a travel size bottle in her purse. Shesquirted a few pumps in the car and entered the destination into the GPS.
“Hmmm.” The address was only five minutes from her.
Blossom felt she was entirely too old to be experiencing butterflies, but she was. Knowing that she was minutes away from the man who had been plaguing her thoughts had her anxious and excited at the same time. Even if they didn’t grow into anything serious or deep, that dick was a guilty pleasure she wanted in her life for sure. As long as it didn’t come with STDs and lies, she would enjoy it until she couldn’t anymore.
When she was instructed to turn into a subdivision, her brow hiked. Blossom played in the WNBA, so she was used to extravagant houses. Tech did have sons that were athletes, so the neighborhood didn’t raise red flags, and she had to acknowledge that the homes were absolutely gorgeous. The house she was going to was nestled deep in the large neighborhood and when she arrived, she saw Tech’s car, a Challenger, and a Range Rover parked in the driveway. Blossom pulled in behind Tech’s car before flipping the visor down to check her face.
When she was satisfied with her reflection, Blossom emerged from the car. Before she could push the door closed, the garage door lifted. Tech and young man, who had to be his son because he looked just like him, walked out. Blossom’s stomach did a somersault as she took in the casually dressed man. The grey sweatpants he donned made her thighs clench. The white tee he wore clung to his muscular frame, and he had a fresh haircut. Tech’s beard glistened in the sun, and Blossom wanted to take him down right then, but she kept it cool.
“Hi.” She smiled at him and his son.
“What up?” Tech gave her a one-armed hug. “This is my son, Mario. Mario, this is Ms. Rivers. She coaches for The Diamond Cove Majors.” When his son looked at him with raised brows, Blossom and Tech both chuckled. “It’s a WNBA team, Son.”
“That’s dope. Hi.” He smiled, making Blossom return the gesture.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
“Same. I’m about to go in the house for a minute. I’m telling my mama you out here being fast.” As soon as Tech glowered, Mario looked at Blossom, laughing. “I swear I’m joking. I’m joking. My parents don’t have anything going on. In fact, my mom hates my dad.”
“Fuck yo’ mama,” Tech grumbled while Blossom simpered.
As Mario ambled away, Tech shook his head. “I regret not being out to beat his ass more. I won’t keep you long. Just wanted to show you something.”
Tech turned and when he advanced toward the garage, she followed. As they got closer, it dawned on her what Tech wanted to show her. Blossom had been so focused on his fine ass walking out of the garage that she missed the large-ass food truck that was parked in the spacious garage. Blossom’s jaw slacked while studying the vehicle that looked to be very new.
“You got it? Oh my God. This is so nice.”
“I didn’t get it.” Tech shook his head. “I held it for as long as I could but when Mario told his brothers we were out looking at trucks, Nasir made it his business to go buy me one. I wanted to do it myself, but it’s right here right now. That’s just money sitting. So, I’m going to get her running and pay him back.”
Blossom’s smile radiated as he talked. “You have some amazing sons. Congratulations. I know you’re going to do well. I will support you for sure. I’ll make sure my girls do, too.”
“I appreciate that.”
Words faltered, and the pair stared at one another. Blossom knew why the moment got awkward, so she chose to be the one to break the silence. “I’m sorry about how that conversation went the other day. The words you spoke told me you understood, but something tells me you still felt some kind ofway, and I apologize for that. My sons were supposed to find out about us when I was ready and not because of their meddling father. Or maybe they wouldn’t have found out at all. It just didn’t go the way I wanted it to go.”
Never breaking eye contact, Tech moved closer to her until he was in her personal space. Not even the day’s heat had stripped away the masculine scent of his cologne. The man smelled amazing and looked even better. Having him standing that close to her made Blossom’s nipples harden against the fabric of her bra.
“You don’t like me anymore?” His voice came out in a rumble that made goosebumps prickle her arms despite the fact that it was warm outside.
“I never said that.” Blossom smirked and angled her head to the left. “Mr. Say Less before I was even done talking good.”
