“Daddy who’s this?” He frowned, pointing at the screen.
“Saniya. Remember when I told you my friend put the patches and your name on the jacket for you.”
“Yes, sir. She did it?”
“Yeah and since you wanted to tell her thank you, I called so you could talk to her.”
His face split into a partially toothless grin. “Thank you for making my motorcycle jacket. You spelled my name right.”
I sputtered a laugh then placed my fingers over my mouth to get my smile under control. “You’re very welcome and I had some insider information with your name. Your dad helped out to make sure I spelled it right. Do you like it?”
“Yes, ma’am. I like it. I got this too.”
He walked out of view. A few seconds later I was trying to make out the image of something blocking the camera until Grand pulled Raiden closer to his chest so the helmet he was holding wasn’t obscuring their view.
“You have a helmet too? That’s pretty cool.”
“My daddy got it for me. I like motorcycles.”
“Me too but I’ve never been on one.”
His face scrunched. “Why not?”
“I’m kinda scared. They’re fast.”
He smiled widely. “I’m not scared.”
“You’re not?”
He shook his head, exposing another peek at that toothless grin that was so fucking adorable. “I’m not scared. My daddy canget you a bike like mine. I ride a lot. That’s why I’m not scared. He taught me how to ride my bike so I can ride a motorcycle too.”
“Hmm, that might work. Maybe if you ask him, he’ll teach me.”
“Daddy, can you teach your friend how to ride so she won’t be scared to ride a motorcycle?”
“Saniya, you want me to teach you how to ride?”
The way his voice lowered and the look in his eyes let me know he wasn’t talking about teaching me to ride a damn bike. My mouth dropped open but I quickly recovered. “Yes, I would love for you to teach me how to ride.”
“I got you.” The deep vibration of his tone had me rolling my eyes then he addressed his son. “Raidy, go get a few more rounds in. It’s almost time for you to head inside.”
“Okay…” he sang and disappeared but a few seconds later I heard his voice. “Daddy, what’s her name?”
“Saniya.”
The phone jerked down and his toothless grin was on the screen. “Bye, Saniya.”
“Bye, Raiden.”
His image was replaced by the older version of him. “Oh God, how do you tell him no? No wonder why he hustles you. The kid is adorable.”
Grand laughed. “I don’t, which is a huge fucking problem.”
I laughed. “I can see that being an issue.”
“You have plans later?”
“My sister will be here for a little while but after that no. Why? You plan on starting my riding lessons today.”