He took off his seat belt, then hopped out. I sat in place, trying not to squirm in my seat, but I couldn’t help it. Were they going to judge me and think I was dumb for allowing him back in after he broke my heart? I was a grown woman, but I did care about my parents’ opinions of me. They were proud of me and let me know frequently. Was that going to change?
I was so lost in my thoughts, I didn’t realize Port had gotten Precious out, along with her bag, and opened my door for me. He held out a hand to help me get out of his large truck. I felt like a midget hopping in there, even with the step stool. He kept my hand in his as we walked to the door. It calmed my racing heart until he rang the doorbell.
It came flying open a second later, and my mom stood there excitedly. “My little baby, come here,” she cooed while holding her hands out for Precious until she realized Perfect was holding her. She paused her happy dance and focused on us holding hands. “Um, hello,” she said politely. “I didn’t notice you standing there.”
He chuckled. “I understand. Sweet Pea has that effect on people,” he said in awe. He released my hand and held his out toward her. “I’m Perfect, her father, and El’s man.”
I choked on the spit in my mouth because that was not a part of the script. Things were going well with us coparenting Precious, but we hadn’t really discussed what was next for us. I liked the attention being on our daughter, so I didn’t push for Perfect to establish anything, but clearly, he didn’t establish anything, because he was having his own delusions about what we were.
“Perfect . . .” I dragged his name with a frown. “What are you doing?”
“Introducing myself to your mom, El. What it sound like?”
Her eyes bounced between us as a smug smile appeared on her face. “So, you’re the other person I have to thank for my favorite person in the world?”
I scoffed. “Wow, Mom. Way to hurt my feelings.”
She giggled and waved me off. “Oh, Daughter, please. You know how I feel about my girl. This my best friend.” She bent over and tickled Precious, making her giggle. We all wore matching smiles until I heard my father’s voice in the background.
“Is that Rocky?” he asked, but before she could answer, he was standing behind her. “Perfect, is that you?”
Perfect straightened his posture. Something about it kind of made me swoon and admire his towering frame. “Yes, sir, it is. I wanted you to know that I was back, and you don’t have anything to worry about.”
My father grunted as my mom took Precious from Perfect’s arms and went into the house. My dad smiled when he looked at me. “Hi, my beautiful daughter. Are you well?”
I nodded. “Hey, Daddy. Yes, I am.” We hugged quickly.
He nodded, allowing his eyes to float back over to Port. Port turned to me and said, “Go wait in the truck. I need a minute alone with your father.”
I wanted to put up a fuss, mainly because I wanted to be nosy and know what was being said, but I knew some things could only be discussed amongst men. Backing away, I headed to the truck and hopped in. The second my ass hit the seat, a FaceTime call from Armani came through.
“Bitch, where is you at? I’m ready to turn up!” she screamed drunkenly.
I laughed with a shake of my head. “Calm down, ho. We’re dropping Precious off with my parents, then we’re on the way.”
She hummed. “Okay, good, ’cause I’m ready to meet this mysterious baby daddy of yours. Hm, we gon’ see just how perfect he is. Don’t think I’m going to be nice to him either.”
I laughed. “He’s good people, Mani. You can be nice to him.”
She eyed me like she didn’t trust my judgment. “You sure? ’Cause I remember how devastated you were when he left you high and pregnant!”
I sighed as my eyes floated to the porch where my father and Perfect were in a deep conversation. “I know, but he had his reasons. Could he have gone about it in a better way? Absolutely, but I’ve forgiven him, which means you can’t give him a hard time tonight.”
She sucked her teeth. “We gon’ see how it goes. I’m not making you any promises though.”
“That’s fair.” I beamed until I saw Perfect coming back to the truck. “Oh, here he comes. We’re on the way, boo.”
“Yesss. Finally! Ain’t no fucking party without my bestie. Get here.”
She ended the call just as he climbed in and settled into the driver’s seat. I studied him as if it would tell me what he discussed with my dad, but he looked the same way he did when we got out—calm, cool, and collected, maybe even more so now.
“We’re good?”
He nodded. “Always.” He winked, then peeled away from the curb with a roaring engine.
Platinum was packed wall-to-wall tonight. The crowd surged and pulsed to the beat of the song playing while Port held my hand and led me through the crowd. It wasn’t hard to spot Armani standing on top of the couch, bouncing her ass, without a care in the world. I smiled because I could tell she was already on her level. Tonight was going to be one for the books.
“Happy birthday, bestie!” I screamed when I made it over to her.
