Page 20 of All This Love
“It’s only going to get better,” I replied with conviction.
“I hear you. I’m going to take it one day at a time. I also think that on that day, I’ll just go to work late. I’ll let her go to daycare late, and me and her can go eat breakfast. By the time I take her to daycare all the fathers will have left. That’s really the only thing I know to do.”
“You’re a great mother. I know your daughter is going to appreciate you when she’s old enough to understand all that you do for her.”
“I hope so.”
“I know so.”
Tatum smiled and finished off her drink. “Thank you for lunch. If you keep feeding me, I’m going to gain a few pounds.”
“I haven’t done anything yet. When you really let me back in, daddy gon’ be feeding you almost every day.”
Tatum smiled bashfully. “There goes that cockiness again.”
“I’m not really cocky. I just think you like me a little bit. Or maybe it’s wishful thinking.”
“I might like you just a teeny bit, but you still have to put in some work.”
“Of course, I do. Let me take you shopping this weekend. You can grab some stuff for Lil’ Mama too.”
Her brows hiked. “Oh, um, Onyx, you don’t hav−“
“I know I don’thaveto do anything. I want to. You had a run with a lame nigga. Now, let a real one treat you how you’re supposed to be treated. You and Lil’ Mama are a package deal.” She parted her lips and before she could get the words out, I interrupted her. “Yes. Here I go with that cocky shit again.”
Tatum giggled. “If you insist. A person never has to beg me to spend their money. I just want you to know that money and dates isn’t what I meant by putting in work.”
“I know. I have to prove that I’m worthy of your time. That you can trust me, and I’m not out here on dumb shit. It’s not my plan to hurt you or deceive you. The dates and the money are just an added bonus.”
“Gotcha,” Tatum smiled as the server brough the check over.
“You want kids?” she asked as I held the door open for her to walk through.
“Yeah. One day. I’d like two or three.”
She nodded, and I licked my lips as I eyed her behind.
“You trying to give me one?”
That got a laugh out of her. “In the words of Nicki Minaj, I’m not pushing out a baby until I get a rock. Been there, done that, and I’m not big on the idea of being a baby mama for the second time.”
“That’s fair.”
Tatum was on her lunch break, so we drove separate cars. I walked her to her car and opened the door for her. I hadn’t touched her since she somewhat forgave me, but I couldn’t help myself. As she eased by me, I gently grabbed her wrist to stop her. I placed a soft, sensual kiss on the corner of her mouth.
“Call me when you get off.” I bit back a smile as she trembled. I was wearing her down.
“Who said you could kiss me?” She tried to speak in a normal sass filled tone, but I could tell I had her rattled.
“My bad. I couldn’t help myself.”
Tatum got inside the car, and I closed the door. I wasn’t going to stop trying until I had her ass.
The next day, my teeth were gritted as I attempted to unscrew the oil cap on a customer’s car. Some goofy that had been working for my father for two months didn’t know how to smoke weed and do his job. I never said anything when he came to work high because, shit, I went to work high. But I could function while under the influence. He obviously couldn’t. He had overtightened the cap and stripped the threads of the customer’s oil pan. She was pissed and so was I. Cleaning up other people’s messes was the part of running things that I didn’t care for.
I had to deal with an irate customer on top of fixing the problem for free. My pops was on the premises, but he was letting me handle everything, so I could get a feel for running things when he wasn’t there. Trying to flex my power and walking around with my chest out wasn’t my thing. As long as I wasn’t disrespected and niggas were doing their jobs, I didn’t trip if I saw somebody texting, or if they came back from lunch two minutes late. But for the mess that June had made. Oh, he was gon’ hear my muhfuckin’ mouth. One more screw up like that, and he was going to be out of a job.
It took me almost an hour to fix what he’d messed up. I went looking for June. When I found him, he was doing a wheel alignment. “Yo, next time you do an oil change, don’t put the cap back on too tight. I just spent an hour fixing something you messed up about three weeks ago. And don’t say it wasn’t you because your name was on the service invoice.”
