Page 31 of Until the Ink Dries

I jogged upstairs and grabbed everything before hearing the tail end of my mom’s and Jordan’s conversation.

“You make sure you come back here without Ben, Understood?” she asked.

I didn’t bother to ask, as I leaned down to place a kiss on her cheek. Then took Charlie’s hand into mine.

“Yes, ma’am. Let’s get going, little hustler,” Jordan said.

I knew he was talking about my baby, but clearly, she didn’t give a damn. She skipped the entire way to the car. Tonight was going to be the reset we needed.

EARLIER

“Who was that young man that dropped you off?” my father asked as soon as he walked into the house behind me.

“A man dropped you off?” my mother asked, coming out of the kitchen.

I turned around and looked at my father in disbelief. “Daddy, you are so messy. Why would you ask that out loud?”

He laughed. “I mean, you didn’t come home last night so we assumed you stayed with Shirah. Now I know different.”

“Who was it?” my mother asked, sitting on the couch with what I knew was her morning tea.

I sighed. “Benjamin Davis. He’s just a friend. We went to school together. He was at the reunion. After Shirah practically ditched me for his best friend, we went to get something to eat. Since it was still early, we went back to his place, watched a couple movies, and talked until we fell asleep.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes, Ma. That’s it, that’s all.”

“I just want you to be careful, baby. This thing with you and Ellis is still fresh.”

“I know, Mama. I came here to clear my head about Ellis and my situation, and I’m doing that. Again, Benny is an old friend… sort of. There’s nothing going on there. We literally just hung out and fell asleep on the couch.”

She raised her hands in mock surrender. “Okay. Well, is he nice? Does he live in town, or did he come in for the reunion?”

“He’s… nice enough. And yes, he lives here. He owns theOff the Walltattoo shop.”

“Oh!” she exclaimed, smiling. “You know I was thinking about getting a tattoo. Is he good?”

My eyes narrowed. “Mama, what do you know about a tattoo?”

My father scoffed. “We aren’t that old, Willow. We can keep up with the times.”

I laughed. “If you say so. But yes, he’s amazing. I might book a session before I leave. Anyway, I really want to shower and get out of these clothes. I’ll talk to y’all later.”

I gave both of them a hug and a kiss before disappearing upstairs to my room. Immediately, I began stripping out of my clothes and headed for the shower. While it warmed up, I wrapped my silk press and secured my shower cap before washing my face. Just as I picked up my phone to put on some music, a FaceTime call came through from Shirah.

“Oh, don’t call me now, ho. You ditched me for Jordan last night, so we have beef.”

She laughed loudly as she fell back into her sheet. The smile on her face paired with this radiant glow said she was freshly fucked.

“Don’t do me like that, Willow. I told you I miss hunching on that man.”

I rolled my eyes. “So, you did sleep with him?”

She smirked. “We didn’t do much sleeping, baby. Whew, chile! It brought back memories. Anyway, where did you dip off to?”

“Oh… I uh. I left with Benjamin.”

She shot up in bed, clutching the sheets around her breasts. “You left with Benny? And did what? Friend, did you fuck him?”

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