“Oooohhh, Mexico! We got to hit up the mall before you go, girl,” I told her, and she smiled.

“Yes. Twink, I’m going to go out there and let my hair down. My man told me he wants me prancing around our villa in little to nothing, and I’m going to do just that. God, I love him,” she said.

I groaned as she gushed over my cousin. It was all fun and games because when it came down to it, I knew that they really did complete each other.

“Why every time you go to the club, you got to have on little to nothing? You don’t have a bigger or a looser dress?” My hating ass son came into my bedroom, accompanied by his father, and asked.

They were getting ready to leave, so Lil Bill could stay with his father for the weekend, and I was about to go clubbing with Roheem. My son had his book bag on his back because he knew that he still needed to do his homework at his father’s, no matter how much fun he would have over there.

I turned around and looked at Lil Bill, who actually had the nerve to be standing there with a pissed off expression on his handsome face. He was dressed down in a pair of Puma BMW joggers with a wife-beater, and some slides were on his feet. His dreads were in fishtail braids that I had styled for him a couple days ago. I looked past my son and over at his dad, who had his head down and was so busy looking at his phone and texting away that he didn’t even see me looking at him. I knew he was coming from work because Billion now wore a uniform when he was out doing his flipping houses business, so he wore a black collared shirt with his company name on it and black jeans, with black Jordan’s on his feet. I couldn’t believe that my baby daddy was doing something besides hustling, but this look looked good on him too. If anything, it made him look a little better.

“What’s wrong with my dress? I look good, son,” I said while admiring myself in the mirror.

My dress was black and sequined. I’d gotten it from this boutique in Miami, known as Shane Justin. My closet was filled with a lot of items from Shane Justin because I liked the way his clothes fit my curvy body. I’d been doing so good on my diet and only cheating myself a few times. This dress was hugging me, and from how small my w

aist was, I could see that the sit-ups and hard work I was putting in the gym, mixed with my no-carb diet, had been paying off. My hips spread in the dress, and I could feel my ass from behind me, so I knew that my shit had to have been standing out in it.

I’d gone to the salon this morning after dropping my son off at school, so my short cut was good and fresh. I knew how to apply my own make-up, so as I stood in the mirror, admiring myself, you would have thought I just left from having a professional MUA beat my face. I smelled good after rubbing my entire body with shea butter coconut oil, and I’d already doused the Chanel No. 5 perfume on all my hot spots.

Tonight called for a celebration. I’d just launched my new line of styling hair foam, edge control, hair scarfs, and even my wax sticks. Every single item sold out this morning in less than thirty minutes, so tonight, Roheem and I were going out to celebrate. We’d reserved a section, and I planned to be standing up on the couch in my section tonight, drinking Henny straight. I deserved to celebrate my victory because I knew how hard I worked for it.

“It’s too short, that’s what’s wrong,” he said, taking a seat at the foot of my bed and looking up at me through the mirror that I was still admiring myself in.

I’d be glad when they left because I swear my son was his father all over again when he and I were in a relationship. I got why Lil Bill did it, though, because he’d been with me on numerous occasions, and he’d seen when the niggas would try to talk to me or say something inappropriate. Lil Bill had told me several times how much he hated when they did it. I could have just waited until he left to get ready, but it was already after 8:00 P.M., and I was supposed to be at Raheem’s by 8:15 if we wanted to be to the club by 9:00. I was getting up there in age, so I couldn’t get to the club at midnight anymore because, by 12:01, I would be yawning and fiending for my damn bed.

“What are you guys doing this weekend? Anything fun planned?” I asked Billion as I ignored the angry glare that my son, aka, my security guard was giving me from the bed.

I couldn’t wait until I found a man and took him seriously enough to have another baby. This time around, I wanted a daughter. I knew a daughter would appreciate the outfit I was wearing right now.

“The kids told me that they wanted to go to the slime museum, so I’ll take them there tomorrow,” Billion told me as he finished what he was doing on his phone and put it in his front pocket.

I looked over at him and smirked. There was something that I wanted to ask him, but I was hesitant. It was obvious that I would just have to ask because it wasn’t like the nigga would jump right out and tell me. I swear, his ass could be so fuckin’ secretive. I didn’t know if he was withholding this piece of information from me because he thought it would hurt my feelings, but honestly, I was cool.

When I had initially discovered that he had moved on and was basically head over heels in love with another woman, I’ll admit that the shit broke my heart into pieces, especially because I had always held onto hope that we would get together again one day. I had to examine the situation, put my feelings on the back burner, and just acknowledge that this was the best space that I’d ever seen this man in.

He was a stand-up father like never before. I really did see the mature side of him more these days, and as much as I didn’t want to admit it, I knew that a lot of these changes had to do with his newfound happiness. Word around town is that my baby daddy was engaged, and he had a baby on the way.

“So, you not going to tell me your big news? I already know,” I said with my arms folded as I looked up at him.

He blushed when I asked that question, showing off his dimples. Many people didn’t even know that Billion had dimples because his ass was always walking around looking like somebody had pissed in his damn cereal. Although he didn’t answer, I knew the news that I found out was true.

“Seriously, though, Billion, I’m happy for you. If anybody deserves to be happy, it’s you. You’re an amazing father, an extremely hard worker, and I know that you’re a good man. You’re lucky, and she’s lucky. Now, do I get my invite to the wedding is the question?” I asked.

“I appreciate that, especially for it to come from you. Your invite will be pending until further notice,” he said, making me laugh.

Billion stayed in the room for another five minutes or so, and then he and my son left for the night. Not even two minutes after they left, Roheem was texting my phone, sending me message after message, inquiring on my whereabouts because I was late. It took me another ten minutes to get out the door. I couldn’t wait to sip on some good liquor tonight as I rapped along with the City Girls as if I was the third member of the group. That’s just how much fun I planned to have tonight.

10:51 P.M.

“Real ass bitch give a fuck about a nigga… ayyyyy!” I screamed, rapping along to the City Girls as they talked their shit over the loudspeakers.

We hadn’t even been inside the club for a good twenty minutes, and a bitch was already turned the fuck up. When I got to Roheem’s apartment to pick him up, we did a little bit of pre-game drinking over there, so I had been feeling myself since I walked through the doors. We were kicking it at Studio 183 lounge tonight, and there were so many damn people in there. Roheem was standing right next to me in our little section, and he was rapping along with the song too.

In the middle of my turn up, I felt someone’s eyes on me from across the room. I looked over, and it was Chris. Y’all remember Chris, right? He used to be my son’s barber before Billion came back home and switched shit around. Plus, he and I used to mess around a while ago. We couldn’t work out like I said because a part of me didn’t want to give that nigga my all since I was holding onto hope of being a family with Billion when he brought his ass home.

I had to be the biggest fool to let a nigga like Chris slip through the cracks because he was such a good ass man. Paid ass nigga, running his own businesses, he ain’t have no kids, the nigga was fine as fuck, fly as fuck, and he knew how to take care of a woman and spoil the fuck out of her. To add to all that, he was good with my son, and my son actually loved Chris.

At the time, I just felt like it wasn’t right for me to string the nigga along, so we eventually went our separate ways. He would still cut my son’s hair, but half the time, I would just sit in the car and wait for Lil Bill to get done because it was just so weird to not even speak to a nigga whose dick and face I used to ride for the fuck of it. Although Billion and Chris were two different people when it came to personalities, I promise you they reminded me so much of each other, and I think that’s what drew me into him in the beginning. He was a rude ass nigga, and his mouth had no filter.