“I’m not his girlfriend,” Skye blurted.
“Mmhmm.” My aunt gave her a playful grin as she pulled off her apron and placed it on the back of the living room couch.
“I’m not. Ocean, tell her?—”
“So, auntie, are they back here?” I asked, purposely cutting Skye off and walking ahead of her to one of the bedrooms in the back.
She sighed. “Really, Ocean? You’re going to play this game today?”
“I sure am. That’s what you get for accusing me of some shit that I told you wasn’t happening.”
“Yeah, well, like your aunt said, you have so many hoes that I had every right to think she might be one of them.”
“That’s not what she said.” I laughed.
“Close enough,” my aunt chimed in, walking past us and opening the bedroom door. “They’re in here.”
As soon as we entered the room, Skye’s eyes melted. “Oh my God, are those puppies?”
“Yep. Bullmastiffs.”
“Oh, wow, they’re gorgeous,” I said, watching one trip over its own paws while another gnawed on its sibling’s ear.
“Thanks. I’ve got two more left for sale if you want one.”
Skye shook her head. “Oh, no. I can’t take care of a pet. I’m hardly ever home. Well, I am these days because I’m taking a break from dancing, but?—”
“Why? Is it because of all that nonsense with Mecca?”
“Auntie!” I scolded.
She pressed her hand against her mouth. “Oh, shoot, I wasn’t supposed to say that, huh?”
Skye looked at me. “You told her?”
“No, he didn’t. It was all over the internet. My FDL alerts stay on.”
“Yeah, about that,” I stepped in, “maybe you should pull back from the blogs for a while.”
“I think not.” She turned back to Skye. “Look, I’m sorry about what that man put you through. But something tells me my nephew is going to do you right. Granted, he has some real hoe-ish tendencies, but so did his uncle. It wasn’t until I came into his life that he realized that nothing out there was better than me.” She held up her hand. “Which is why he put a ring on it.”
“Oh wow,” Skye giggled. “We’re really getting ahead of ourselves. Ocean and I aren’t even dating. We’re just friends.”
“Mmhmm.”
My aunt turned back toward the puppies, and Skye poked me in the arm. “Would you tell her we’re not together, please.”
“Aunt Myra, we’re not together. We’re just friends.”
“Yeah, okay.”
“I’m serious, auntie. She’s somebody I’m real cool with.”
“Boy, hush. I’ve known you all your life, and I ain’t never seen you walking around holding hands with any woman. Oh, and let’s not forget to mention, you brought her here to prove that I wasn’t one of your little hoes.”
“Auntie, please refrain from saying hoes.”
“Boy, whatever.” She waved me off. “I can say whatever I want. Anyway, like I was saying, you’ve never tried to prove anything to anybody. So, if she’s here in my face, it’s definitely more to it. Now, which one of these puppies are you getting?”
