Page 29 of Cougar

“Thank you. And you know I’m teasing you. You don’t need to divulge what your kinks are. I’m not yucking your yum. I’m sorry if I upset you. I’ve been in my head since this morning, and this was a laugh that I really needed.”

I sip my water as I watch the concern on both of their faces. Ashlynn lets me know that it’s okay before looking at Bri.

“This bitch has a big mouth and takes things out of context. But, it’s whatever. Anyways, what happened today? Are you okay? Is the baby okay?” Her playful tone is gone, and she reaches for my hand. I give her a squeeze and a small smile. Right as I’m about to tell her what happened, the front door opens.

“Who’s in my house?” El shouts out.

“We’re in the kitchen,” Bri shouts back. When I first heard El yell it, I was immediately concerned she thought someone had broken in. Turns out, it was her way of doing roll call and finding where everyone is.

El walks into the kitchen with a few grocery bags. Bri asks her if she needs help, but El tells her to keep her butt in her seat. “This was all I got. I’m in the mood to bake, but I didn’t have any flour, or sugar, or eggs, or anything I needed to bake,” she smiles, and we all chuckle.

I fucking love these women.

El gets everything out, and if I had to guess by what’s now on the counter, chocolate chip cookies are in our future.

“Well, the butter isn’t soft enough yet,” she blows out a raspberry, making her bangs fly.

“If you microwave a cup of water to boiling, all you have to do is empty it and then flip the cup over the butter. It’ll be as if it’s been sitting out all day in no time.” I tell her.

El turns her attention to me, “Thanks, I honestly forgot that trick. I’m usually so pre—what’s wrong?”

I pause, unsure of why she would change subjects so instantly. She motions her head enough to get me to direct my attention to my hand. Ashlynn is still holding onto me, trying to comfort me.

These women, I swear.

“Oh. Today I went to the coffee shop, and this woman sat down next to me.”

“Did she call you fat? Who was it? Who am I fighting?” Ashlynn immediately asks. I smile and shake my head. I notice El has joined the party at the table, so I wait until she’s sat down before I continue.

“I wish she called me fat; that would have been easier to deal with. No. She told me I shouldn’t be putting coffee into my body because it’s bad for the baby. Giving me a whole bunch of attitude about it.”

Bri scoffs, “So rude.”

“Still not the worst part.” All of their eyes widen, and I continue. “She told me that my child would be better off in the care of more experienced adults. She then proceeded to call me a liar and claim that this family is full of deceit and I’m exposing my child to it already. She said, ‘You are setting your child up to be ostracized.’ When I started getting snarky, she called me by my first and last name, like she knew me. She also knew the baby is a boy.”

“What the fuck?” Ashlynn asks, fuming, “Who is this bitch?”

I don’t answer yet. I shake my head and continue. “Then a cop, Mallard, walks in. She calls him over, and he offers me his hand to shake. When I didn’t shake it because I refused to touch someone affiliated with her, she told me that my parents didn’t teach me anything. That I should know to respect men in authoritative positions. But it’s not allowed because of my affiliates.”

All of them start shouting and asking questions, trying to figure out who this woman is.

“What kind of person walks up to someone they don’t know and acts like that?” Bri asks.

“People with no fucking souls. Seriously babe, who was it?” Ashlynn chimes in.

“I honestly had no idea until John showed up.”

“How did Cougar know you were in trouble? Were you able to text him?” El asks.

Shaking my head, I fill them in on how some man named Whitley saw me. “If he knows who I am, why didn’t he get involved?”

Elvira takes a sip of her drink, and when she puts it back down, she smiles. “Whitley is Knuckles’ boyfriend. None of us have met him yet.”

“Why not?”

“They keep their lives separate. It’s what works for them,” she shrugs. “One day, I’ll get to meet the man that swept Knuckles off his feet. Now. Back to the matter at hand. You said Mallard was there. Tell me, this bitch of a woman. Was she blonde?”

“Yeah. When John got there, he called her—”

---