Page 4 of Ms. V's Hot Girl Summer

“Don’t listen to them. I think it’s nice that you want to go and explore the town and learn more about its history. I’ve always been fascinated with Ofele and its story. How our Black people there kept it a secret from the white Floridians who were displacing any major Black towns back in the Reconstruction era. And they kept their beaches? Impressive.”

“Yeah…yeah remember Maria? Yeah, she told me about the town. She loved the history behind it too…” Which explained why she found refuge there. I debated saying something to them about how important this trip had become to me. The last fun before law school. The potential of meeting my child.

But the debate was a wasted effort when I already knew the decision. Opening up to these children cosplaying as adults wouldn’t be any type of solution. I was a man who looked for results and didn’t dwell on anything but facts.

Having an extra perspective on my impending meeting with my daughter would be ideal, and Grace would probably be a great sounding board, but it would also bring judgment and outside thoughts I wasn’t ready to deal with. Parenthood was the scariest thing on my horizon, but I could handle it. I had plenty experience with parenting people.

“Oh, boring! Fuck that! I’m going to whine and wuk somebody’s daughter. Dats it.” Franco interrupted my thoughts. Desmond dabbed him up, and they both started making noises to get the attention of the other table with the ladies.

For a second, I really thought I’d be able to talk to them and tell them all my worries, but that’s not the time we were on. That’s not the timetheywere on. Not even Grace, honestly. She was busy videocalling her girl and planning her next move.

Yeah…better I kept that shit to myself. Better to enjoy the trip and have the best time ever. A stolen moment where I get to be my age for only a few days.

That’s all I needed. Nothing more.

THREE

Trinidad

My last call with my client took everything out of me. The company had hired me to plan their incentive trip to Mexico, and what started with a million-dollar budget for three hundred top sellers had become a $500K trip for five hundred top sellers. If I’d known they’d slash the budget, I wouldn’t have taken the contract. At this point in my life, multitasking was my middle, last, and married name, but there was no need to be on the struggle bus while doing it.

Frustrated, I left my living room and working area and went to my bedroom. My hormones were my other enemy today. Since I woke up, I could not for the life of me calm my horniness down. I’d done two rounds with my rose, and still, I could go all day.

My phone calendar reminded me it was ovulation week.

Great.

The moment I hit thirty, I thought something was wrong. I still remember feeling slightly feral in the libido department. But I was not ready for what happened at thirty-five. Honestly, I now understood castration belts more than ever.

Not even getting it on the regular with Milton helped. His libido didn’t always match mine, and he joked around that I needed a young guy to date on the days I wasn’t with him. I never laughed at those jokes because I wasn’t trying to date him casually, and I didn’t want to encourage those thoughts. And two, there was this young guy in my life right now that made my hormones react even more unhinged than usual. Probably why I was about to change my underwear for the third time in a day.

Because I was going to see Orlando Wiggins.

In need of distraction, I called Miranda, my voice of…reason.

“Miranda, I’m dying. Girl, I need a medicine that lowers this shit because why am I always in heat now?”

“Well, good afternoon to you too, darlin’. School was lovely today. Only two of my kids cheated on their math test, so I’m gonna take that as a win. Also, I have no tutoring this afternoon, so I’m already leaving this place.”

“Oh damn, I was gonna ask if you could drop off the after their mentor session twins. They are about to be home ’cause you know them and food…but after that they were gonna go to the school’s basketball court to meet with…him. I was hoping you were finishing tutoring around the same time they were done.”

“You can’t even say that man’s name.”

“He’s not a man, he is a boy.”

“Beg to differ, but listen, I have no time for the back and forth; I have a date tonight, so it sucks to be you and your hormones.”

“I truly can’t stand you, girl.”

“You a whole lie.” Miranda laughed as I heard her jingling keys. “Were you really not gonna pick up the twins? This is the highlight of your week, girl. If you don’t go, what material will you use for your shower sessions next week?”

“I should have never told you that. And that is not what I fantasize about, okay? I think of my man only.”

“Girl…that man is your man and every other women’s man. You need an upgrade.”

Not wanting to argue with Miranda, I changed the subject, and by the time the twins walked into the apartment, my belly hurt from so much laughing.

“Ma, what’s so funny?” Brian asked, walking straight to the kitchen and opening my pot of rice.

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