He winks at me. It sends a shiver up my spine. I swear that man has a spell over my body. With just a wink, a touch, a smile, he can have my body hot and ready for him in an instant. I don’t think I’ve felt this desired since I was in high school and Andrew and I would make out for hours before we started having sex.
Mitch makes me feel like a teenager again. As if he can’t keep his hands off me. If I walk into a room, he’s ready for me. If I brush up against him, he groans with need. He does not know what that does to my ego. To be wanted like that is such a big turn-on.
“Dang, that cake is beautiful.”
I turn at the sound of Pam’s voice. She walks in with a large gift bag in her hands. Behind her are Destiny, Kyra, Ari, and Meagan.
“Ladies, what are you doing here?”
Although they all knew about this party, and they were all invited, I didn’t expect them to come. I figured Meagan would show up because the twins would want to come and play. But Pam and Destiny didn’t have kids.
Pam waves me off. “Of course we were coming. You know we’re going to support our nephew.”
“Exactly,” Destiny says as she hugs me.
“Well, I’m not going to lie,” Meagan says, placing her gifts down on the table. “I came for the free babysitting.”
“Meagan?” Kyra scolds playfully, handing me Ari.
I laugh as I kiss Ari’s chubby cheek.
Meagan shrugs. “Y'all know the twins are nonstop. And thankfully, their big cousin AJ has no problem running them until they're tired.” She chuckles. “As soon as he saw the boys, he came and took them from me. He and Malik took them over to the kids' area.”
Pam takes Ari from my arms and gives her one of the juices I have in the cooler. I rake my hand through my hair.
“You know, anytime you need a break from the twins, you can drop them off with me. Besides, maybe it will help my relationship with AJ.”
I pull one of the folding chairs back from the table and take a seat.
“Is he still being a moody teenager?” Destiny asks, taking the seat beside me.
“Yes,” I let out a deep breath. “It’s nothing as bad as the vaping and the beer, but it seems like everything I say to him lately gets under his skin. If I tell him to pick up his shoes, he grumbles, ‘I was gonna.’ If I ask if he wants spaghetti for dinner, he groans, ‘I guess’. It’s like he isn’t doing anything horrible, but he seems so negative lately.”
“Have you tried talking to him?” Pam wipes Ari’s mouth with a napkin before giving her the juice back.
I roll my eyes. “I’d have better luck plucking the stars out of the sky.”
She grimaces. I understand that AJ is older now, and he’s going through hormonal changes, but I swear this behavior is sorandom. I’m used to the side-eyes and the sighs. That’s typical teenage behavior, but this new attitude is hard to navigate.
“Didn’t you say he and Mitch are close?” Kyra asks.
“Yeah, they are. When we were going through the divorce, he and Mitch would often hang out and talk.”
“Maybe you can have Mitch talk to him,” Kyra tosses her long, straight hair over her shoulder. “I only say that because AJ has always been such a sweet, level-headed kid. His mood change is so sudden, it could mean something is bothering him.”
It’s not like I hadn’t thought of that. I figured if I gave him time and let him know I was open to talk, he would eventually come to me with the issue. But what if he can’t? Hell, what if I’m the issue?
“You’re right. I’ll talk to Mitchell about it.”
The girls and I talked for a few minutes before my mom and dad walked in with arms full of gift bags.
“Look at my girls,” Mom shouts.
“Hey, ladies,” my dad says in greeting.
“Hi, Mr. Alexander,” all the ladies sing together.
My dad comes over and places a kiss on my head.
