Page 7 of Exposed

“Auntie Sonya don’t play. Either you’re on life support or heading to the ER, otherwise you better be at her dinner table when she requests you.” Elias laughed, and I nodded, knowing he was right. Growing up, she was the drill sergeant and made sure we had food on the table and clothes on our backs. I loved my mother, giving her anything she wanted. But the woman could be overbearing at times, probably why my dad gave in 99% of the time to avoid pissing her off. She had a habit of ignoring him, and the moment that happened, my dad would be pissed because he hated being ignored. That was something we had in common and I tried my best not to let it get to me.

“What time is dinner at?” I inquired.

“In an hour. I have to go get the kids from the center and pick up Joyce,” Desmond answered, looking at his watch.

“Cool, let’s finish this round really quickly and then leave,” I said.

* * *

Taking out the trash at my parents’ house as my mother argued about me being late to dinner was not how I wanted to spend my evening. Devan was setting the table with my niece, Joi, as my two nephews, Chris and JD, played the PS4 game that I bought them a few months back. They had rooms here at my parents’ house, as well as at my place when they spent the night—all the exact same things to keep the fighting down. I remembered Desmond and I fighting when we were little over Pac-Man games and his bike. We’ve come full circle, and looking into their eyes, I felt proud of how they were growing up.

“Dominic, are you listening to me?” Sonya asked, wiping her hands on the dish towel. She made her famous pot roast, green beans, salad, turnips, and red velvet cake.

“Of course, I’m listening, beautiful,” I responded, kissing her on the forehead.

“Boy, I’m not one of your little playthings, you can’t smile at me and expect I’ll fall in line. I’m your mother, I know when you’re lying to get me off your back,” she chastised.

I chuckled, wrapping my arm around her shoulder, kissing her cheek.

“I see the reason why dinner isn’t ready yet. You’re up here talking to this knucklehead,” my dad commented. Drake Combs, my father, was taller than my brother and me. At six-five, he was a big man that commanded the room when he walked inside. Everyone could tell you a story about Drake ‘Smooth’ Combs. He received that nickname when he was in the Army because he was smooth with disarming the enemy. You’d never see it coming. He just had a steady personality that made you want to confess your problems so he could solve them for you.

“Old man, your woman won’t leave me alone,” I fussed, winking at her to play along.

“Old Man! Boy, I’ll show you old. I can take you right now. School you on a few things,” he joked, pretending to fight box. My mother waved him off and pushed me away.

“Drake, go sit down somewhere, dinner is coming out. I swear all you think about is food,” Sonya fussed. He laughed and reached out to wrap her in his arms, he squeezed her closer, nuzzling his face in her neck and she giggled.

“Please, let’s not do this in front of your son. You two are too old for that mess,” I argued, turning to walk out of the kitchen.

“How does he think he got in this world?” I heard behind my back.

The rest of the evening we laughed, the kids played games, and we caught up with everyone’s day. I ended up sleeping at my parents’ house that night rather than driving home late.

Chapter Five

Lauren

One week later, Novah and I were having breakfast in our new condo that I found. She came down earlier than expected and surprised me, so she helped me to pack up and get things moved in, and I felt better now than living out of a suitcase every day. The place wasn’t too far from Raven Cosmetics and the hot spots of Virginia. Basically, I had the benefits of both worlds.

“So tell me about this bodyguard again.”

“Not much to say. He’s officially to start with me today, I guess. In the last few days, he had someone else with me whenever I needed to go shopping at the mall or something. I prefer Emmanuel, his partner. He’s less intense than Dominic,” I said, soaking a piece of the biscuit in the syrup. Having a best friend that loved to cook was another reason I’m glad she decided to move. I can cook simple things like eggs, bacon, and hamburgers. The cooking habits skipped over me and went to my brother. KJ loves to cook, and I’m trying to convince him to go to culinary school.

“Is he cute, at least?” Novah asked.

“I mean, he’s okay looking,” I muttered, lying through my teeth, remembering his large broad shoulders in the suit he wore in the office yesterday. It made me think about what was underneath. He looked like he worked out religiously.

“You said that really low, which tells me he must be hot as fuck, and you’re pissed that you like him. Am I right?”

“I don’t like him. He has no elevator etiquette.”

“So?”

“So. That tells me everything I need to know about him, shit he’s probably selfish in other ways that I will never know about.” I gulped the orange juice.

“That happened almost a month ago, and you’re still holding grudges. Lauren, get over yourself.”

“Bitch!” I threw my napkin at her.

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