I droppedmy mama off with her sis-in-law, Delia, so they could spend Valentine’s Day together. She kept begging to get out the house, and I needed some time away from her, so it worked out for both of us. I was on my way back to the crib when Baby crossed my mind. I knew I was crossing a line, but that didn’t stop me from driving to the address on her file sheet. I realized this could’ve been a blank trip, that she may not even be there, but it was a chance I was willing to take to lay my eyes on her again.
Lauren been blowing my phone up nonstop since this morning. Since she sent me that bootleg sex tape and I called her, I ain’t hear much from her until today.
Watching her open the door in some little ass cotton shorts and a tank top, made the thirty-minute drive over here worth it. Her hair was different too, and it caught me off guard. Fuck, she was beautiful.
“What are you doing here, Love?”
A nigga ain’t sure, to be honest. The need to see her led me here.
Suddenly, I feel like a hypocritical ass nigga. When Lauren showed up unannounced, I thought she lost her goddamn mind,but here I am doing the same thing to Baby. The realization stopped me in my tracks.
I rubbed the back of my neck. “I came to check on you.”
She bounced from one foot to the other.
“Oh. I’m fine.” She used her thumb to point behind her towards the couch, which I got a clear view of from the door, “I was about to watch a movie.”
I nodded absently. Just seeing her like this had me lost for words.
“It is a normal thing to visit your parolees on Valentine’s Day?” she questioned, cocking her head to the side teasingly.
“Absolutely. Gotta make sure nothing weird happening here.” I made it a point to look behind her inside the house. “You know, this time of year is different. People start doing something strange for a piece of change.”
She snapped her mouth closed to keep from laughing.
“Oh really?” Her eyebrow raised. I nodded my head, staring at her mouth. Her teeth so damn pretty. It was always one of the things I liked most about her. “Well, you’ve got nothing to worry about with me. I’m just gonna sit around and eat ice cream.”
I should have taken that as my cue to leave, but my feet didn’t move. I wanted to test the waters.
I glanced over her shoulder again, running my hand through my beard. “You sure you ain’t got company coming over?”
“Nope, it’s just me.” She made the ‘p’pop with emphasis. Both of us stood there not really knowing what the hell to say to the other. This was a bad idea, but that didn’t stop me from saying it.
“If you really alone, come out with me.” She seemed surprised by my offer, and I thought she was finna turn me down, so I added, “As parolee and parole officer. I can get to know you, and it’ll make my job easier to do.”
We both knew that was bullshit.
I already stepped outside of what I vowed not to do with anyone I’m handling, but I can’t take it back now. It’s up to her to put a stop to it, but I'm praying she won’t. One of us gotta have some sense today, and clearly, we see it’s not me.
A nigga doesn’t get butterflies or nothing like that, but if I did, I’d say they are fluttering hard as hell in my stomach at the thought of taking her out. I’m waiting for her to turn me down, to tell me to get the fuck off her porch.
Instead, she whispered, “Uh- okay. Let me get dressed. Come in.”
She moved to the side so I could walk in front of her. Giving me a shy smile, she closed the door behind me and told me to wait here.
I looked around the living room with interest, tryna find out all I could about her. From the file, I knew she stayed here with her auntie and her sister. But I didn’t find a lot of evidence of that. Only a baby picture of Baby with another girl and an old lady.
Both of them had pink dresses on, but Baby clearly ain’t wanna take this damn picture. I chuckled, feeling her come up beside me to see what I’m looking at.
“That’s me, my sister, Leah, and auntie Misha. We went to the zoo one year, and it was hot. I had just dropped my ice cream cone before taking this,” she explained, her voice etched with sadness. I had a feeling she was reliving that day.
But the only thing I could think about was how good she smelled.
I don’t know if she even realized how close she’s standing. We seem to have that in common, gravitating towards each other without knowing it. She must’ve felt my gaze on her when she faced me.
If I moved an inch, I’ll be close enough to kiss her. I was about to say fuck that damn job and do just that when she cleared her throat and took a step back. “I’m gonna go change.”
She sped walked out of the room like she couldn’t get away from a nigga fast enough. I didn’t blame her at all. We were really close to doing something stupid.
