Page 72 of Girl, We Go Together
I smiled before biting my bottom lip.
“Let me call Zynea first. She’s supposed to be home today, so maybe she can keep Oriana for a few hours.”
With all the traveling that Zynea was doing, I just caught her between flights, mostly. Lucky for me, she was coming back right when I needed her.
“I’ll take that as a…” he turned his head to the side and then smiled at me, which made me smile, “yes, then?” he said in a questioning tone.
“Yes,” I giggled out.
He looked like a happy boy when I gave him my final answer.
“Okay, bet. I’m gonna head to the barber shop, home, and then I’ll be back here to scoop you up.” He looked at his Apple Watch. “Is nine fine?”
I looked into the kitchen to glance at the time on my microwave. I remembered Zy telling me that she was supposed to land at six, and it was already one.
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
“Cool.”
He walked over and gave me a light hug before kissing me on the forehead. That small gesture sent a chill down my spine that wrapped around and went straight to my pussy. It had been a minute since I’d had some tender, loving care, and honestly, the next time I took that step, I wanted to take my time with it. Oriana started to fuss a bit on his way out, so once he was out the door, I put her down in her playpen and pulled out my phone.
“Girl, I need a favor,” I said when Zy picked up on the second ring.
“Anything. What’s up?”
I filled her in quickly. While I went through all the clothes I had just unpacked, I had to tell her everything. I quickly shared about the carpet, the flowers, the Target trip, the movie, and the date that was scheduled for tonight. Zynea let out a squeal loud enough for the whole block to hear.
“Not you out here living again! Okay, Caylaaa! Yes! I’ll watch Ori. Go get cute! I’ll come straight to your house from the airport.”
I laughed, feeling a warmth spread through me.
“You sure? It’s just for a few hours.”
“Positive. Go pick out something sexy but not too revealing. You wanna make him nervous a bit, not have him nut in his pants once he sees you.”
We both laughed, and I hung up feeling lighter than I had in months. I was so thankful for Doc McStuffins because it had Oriana sitting in one spot long enough for me to get myself together. Hours later, I was in the middle of curling my hair when my phone started buzzing again. It was Zynea.
“Hey, you here?” I said, still looking in the mirror.
Her voice came through, sounding frustrated. “Girl, no. I’m stuck at the airport. My flight home got delayed another three hours. They're talking about weather issues in Atlanta.”
I paused while staring at my reflection.
“So, you can’t make it?”
“I’m so sorry, Cay. I know you were excited.”
My shoulders slumped. I looked over at Oriana, asleep on the couch with her thumb halfway in her mouth. I didn’t want to leave her with just anybody, and I knew Kassidy had been looking forward to tonight.
“It’s fine,” I said softly. “I’ll just call Kass and reschedule.”
“I’m sooo sorry, girl.”
I didn’t want Zy to feel bad. This kind of shit came with being a single mother. This is what I signed up for. After telling her I loved her and that I would call her back, I called Kassidy immediately after hanging up with her. When he picked up, his voice had that same warm tone that tugged at the corners of my mouth.
“Hey, beautiful. You ready?”
I sighed. “That’s what I called about. Zynea’s flight got delayed, so she can’t watch Ori. I’m gonna have to take a rain check.”
