Page 30 of Sugar Baby
Sugar sighed, and I had to hold my laugh back from how easily irritated she could get. We had that in common. Sometimes, it felt like she was the feminine version of me. “Are you going to make this difficult?”
“Make what difficult?”
“Cassius.”
“Sugar Baby.”
“Ugh.”
She hung up, and I couldn’t help but laugh as I got in the car.Once I had it turned on and pulled out of my garage, I called her back.
“Yes?” she answered after three rings.
“You hang up on me again and I’ma assume you want me to pull up.”
“Wait. Why do you sound like that?”
“I don’t know. It’s either my allergies or I’m getting a cold.”
“Oh no. Do you have some medicine?”
“I’ma go to my mama house and get some a lil later. For now, I’m finna get some tea from Starbucks.”
“Well that’s fine, but unless you’re coughing, that’s not going to really do anything. What other symptoms do you have other than what sounds like a stuffed and runny nose?”
“That’s it. I feel tired and like shit, but I’m not coughing and sneezing.”
“Hmm . . . might just be your allergies. I know a way to find out. Send me your address.”
“You finally gon’ come to a nigga house?”
She giggled. “Yes, if you’ll let me.”
“Of course, Suge.”
“Hey, um . . . I’m sorry. I should have tried to remain calm enough to figure out what was going on instead of jumping to conclusions. You know I’m protective of my cousin, but that was no excuse for me to put my hands on you.”
“It’s cool. I know how you come behind him. Let that be the last time you put your hands on me though. I’ll never put my hands on you because I know the damage I will do, so I need the same from you.”
“I can do that. And thank you for looking out for him.He told me about you offering to pay for him to go to college. Thank you, Cassius.”
“It’s all love.”
She chuckled. “Stop downplaying how great that is. How great and generous you are.” I didn’t know what to say to that, so I just remained silent. “I guess just text me your address and let me know when you get home since you’re about to do the weirdo silent treatment thing to keep me from thanking you too much.”
I laughed because that was absolutely true. “I will, Suge. You might as well pack a bag, ’cause I ain’t letting you go when you get to my home.”
I don’t knowwhat I was expecting to happen when Sugar came over, but her taking care of me certainly wasn’t it. She made me fresh squeezed orange juice and hooked some kind of air filter up that was supposed to purify the air. Even though I told her I hated lying around while the sun was up, she made me get back in bed to see if that would stop my nose up.
It wasn’t until we both were in my bed that my mind felt clear enough to go through the last few days. I remembered stopping by a lemonade stand yesterday. It was outside and the grass had been freshly cut, which was probably why I didn’t pay much attention to the pollen. But now that I’d remembered that, I knew it was my allergies. Sugar ordered me some allergy pills and made me take them as soon as they were delivered. I ended up falling right asleep, and when I woke up, I felt like myself.
After peeing, taking a quick shower, and washing my face and brushing my teeth, I found her moving around mykitchen like she belonged there. She hummed a tune under her breath that I was unfamiliar with as she chopped greens. At the sound of my feet shuffling into the kitchen, she looked up with a smile. No lie—the sight of her smile and the sun shining through the windows gave her a glow that made me want to see it every day for the rest of my life.
“Hey, sleepy head. How you feeling?”
“Good thanks to you.”
“Good. I love your condo. And the fact that you have beach views in your kitchen, living room, and bedroom,” her head shook in awe as she turned and looked out of the window, “you’re so lucky.”
