Page 59 of A Little Naughty

Can’t—Pinky has a birthday party at lunch for one of her classmates. What am I missing?

I open a separate text and reply to her only.

Shit! Raif Jones got Koala Kups for the boys and Nikki. Does Pinky want one?

I add the emoji of the monkey with his hands over his eyes. How could I forget the pink tornado?

My sister’s reply floods me with relief.

Cass

NO! I don’t need that nonsense sweeping the kindergarten class. Speaking of, Monay did a FAB job yesterday! All want to know when Miss Dolly and her pink puppy are coming back.

She includes a photo of my former roommate in full Dolly attire, massive blonde updo with a flower behind her ear, purple-rhinestone bell-bottomed pantsuit, and pink Angie Dickinson peeking out of her bag. I reply with one word…

LOVE!

My phone buzzes with a reply from the group chat.

Piper

Just us or everyone?

I tap out a reply,

Def the boys, and whoever else is around.

Britt

We’ll be there! Noon?

I reply with a thumbs-up emoji then check the clock. It’s already eleven! Throwing back the covers, I hustle into the kitchen, where Nikki is sitting at the table coloring on her phone with her finger.

“Sorry I slept in… I guess I was more tired than I realized.”

I guess having sex all night will do that to a person. A grin curls my lips as I switch on the coffee maker and drop a pod in the slot. When it’s ready, I hit the brew button and walk over to where she’s drawing the pink starfish guy fromSpongeBob.

“What’s his name again?”

“Patrick,” she answers without looking up. “You fell asleep on the couch last night.”

“I was pretty busy when you were with Monay.” I take my coffee and sit beside her at the table. “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

She puts the phone down and looks up at me. When I took her for slushies yesterday, she told me the new girl Annabelle made fun of her accent. She called her Ninny instead of Nikki and she even whispered something about her clothes being from Walmart.

I told Nikki she must shop at Walmart if she knows the clothes they carry there. It only helped a little. Then Raif showed up like a hero on a chrome-metal horse bearing Koala Kups.

I can’t wait to give them to her and the boys at lunch, but now that I’ve slept on it, I think it’s time to discuss my plan and see what she thinks.

“You said your mom left you with Bill. Do you remember if she said anything about guardianship, or did she ever use that word?”

Nikki’s brow furrows, and she shakes her head. “She just said she’d be back, not to worry.”

“Do you remember if Bill made her sign something?”

Again, she shakes her head, and I guess she didn’t have to be in the room for it to happen.

Chewing my lip, I sit straighter. “I was thinking… To keep you with me and away from him… How would you feel if I talked to a judge about adopting you?”

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