“This is too cute,” Kyiris said.
We looked over at Aura to hear his Valentine’s Day proposal.
“Will you be something to a nigga that you already know you are?” Aura asked Danae, who scowled at him.
“No,” she responded and went to walk away, but she didn’t get far once he pulled her back.
“I’m just playing, baby. Will you be my forever Valentine? You got me straight trippin’, boo.”
We all laughed, and Danae couldn’t help but to join in, giving him a yes before wrapping her arms around his neck to kiss him.
“I tired, Daddy,” EJ said.
I thought about using him as my excuse to leave. I mean, technically, Enzo was my ride home anyway.
“I hate to do you like this, but I’m taking my woman home wit’ me,” Enzo announced, and I was happy that I didn’t have to be the bearer of bad news.
“I’ma let you have it this time,” Amil said, walking over to kiss my cheek then EJ’s. “Thank you for coming, boo. I enjoyed your company. I’ll grab your coat.”
“Thank you for having me.”
I gathered my stuff, waved by to Danae and the rest of the ladies, then left with my Valentines, with an S, because if EJ was around, I made sure he was included.
EJ was knockedout in his car seat before we got on the highway. I glanced back at him, smiling at the way his head hung to the side slightly.
“He must’ve played hard today.”
“He did a little bit of everything. My mom took him to the movies earlier, then he ran around her house. When I pickedhim up and took him home, he ran amuck there after I fed him. I think he burnt out now.”
“Oh, most definitely.”
Enzo reached over and squeezed my thigh. “You fuckin’ that red up.”
“Thank you, baby. I had a really good time tonight. Amil did her thing.”
“Yeah. When I walked inside and saw the sign, I knew she wasn’t fucking around.”
“You mean when y’all crashed the party?”
“For good reason.” He winked.
The Never Have I Ever game came to mind out of nowhere. I thought about that killer question and decided to ask him about it. Before I could, my phone rang. The ringtone for Kash Dolls’Baby Boyplayed, and I knew it was KJ calling.
“Hey. Everything okay?” I answered.
“Yeah. Dad wanted me to call you on three way. Dad, you there?”
I instantly caught an attitude. Kaleb had been trying to call me the last couple days, and I had been purposely ignoring him because I didn’t like the way our last conversation ended. It was a privilege to speak to me, especially when we had a teenage son who he could call whenever he wanted to. The fact that he was trying to use KJ to force me to talk to him was not cool. Plus, this wasn’t a good time. I was riding with my man, and I didn’t want him to see me all worked up behind Kaleb. Still, to show KJ that I could be an adult, I held the line.
“Yeah, I’m here.”Kaleb’s voice came through.“Wassup, Thyri?”
“Hey,”I replied dryly.
“I ain’t calling on no bullshit. I just wanted to apologize for how I reacted last time. You know, hanging up on you and shit.”
“Oookay,”I said, looking over at Enzo, whose eyes remained on the road, giving me as much privacy as he could, considering we were in close proximity.
“I spoke to KJ, and he says the dude you’re seeing is cool and that he gave his blessing, so it’s only right that I give mine too.”
