DON’T HOLD BACK #2
Eazy set the bags down, and her mother stepped up to sift through everything to make sure she wasn’t missing a thing from the list she texted her.
“How are things going with the Wakefields?” Kissa queried.
“They’re going.” Lotus shrugged, and Eazy sensed the shift in her tone as her eyes wandered to the ground.
“Well, what’s wrong with you? Why you walking around all rigid?” Kissa queried.
“I’m not… rigid,” she denied, throwing her shoulders back and standing tall.
The conversation was irritating.
“Do you question Jewel like this? He lives with you. I don’t.”
“You see how she talks to me?” Kissa teased, glancing at Eazy as he sat back down to finish his food.
“Because I’m twenty-seven years old, and you still treat me like I’m seventeen,” Lotus snapped.
“You sure are defensive.” Kissa turned up her nose and looked her up and down.
“Because, knowing your husband, he’s sitting somewhere, ready to give me the third degree too. I had a long night, and I just want to go home, curl up on my couch, and take a much-needed nap. I promised my nieces we would hang out, though, and I won’t hear the end of it if I don’t show up.”
“You still bringing them back to your place for a sleepover?”
“Yes. I got all our snacks and even got stuff to give them facials and manicures,” Lotus described.
“They do love their auntie time,” Kissa gushed.
“Is that my Lolo?” Taci shuffled into the kitchen, her smile radiating the room.
“Hey, Ms. Taci.” Lotus’s entire voice softened when she laid eyes on the old woman. Eazy half smiled, watching his grandma perk up and give her a warm embrace. “How are you feeling today?”
“Oh, you know, five by five, baby. Now, when are you coming back over to play cards?”
“Ms. Taci, you are a shark.” Lotus tittered. “I can’t afford to play cards with you.”
“Did you meet our grandson?” Taci nodded to Eazy.
Finishing his food, Eazy’s eyes met Lotus’s when they swung in his direction.
“I did. I was telling Ma I need to go, though. I’m meeting Daddy and spending the rest of the weekend with Cyn and Clover.”
“You should all come over for dinner tomorrow afternoon. I told Kissa since Ezekiel is here, I want a big old Sunday dinner,” Taci offered.
Nervousness fleeted through Lotus when she and Eazy locked eyes once again. Standing with his empty bowl in hand, he walked it over to the sink and washed it out.
“I gotta work the rest of the weekend. I’ll be late tomorrow.” He washed his bowl off and set it in the dishrack. “Thanks for breakfast, though. Shit was smacking.”
“You can at least spend an hour with us, Ezekiel. You just got home,” his grandmother complained.
She knew he didn’t want to disappoint her. If there was a soft spot in his body, it was reserved for Taci Campbell. Lotus witnessed his dark eyes gloss over for the old woman.
“I’ll see what I can do.” He stepped closer.
The tantalizing aroma of his cologne invading her nostrils sharpened all her senses. Being this close to him again only reminded her of all the pleasure he’d provided her for hours. He leaned in to kiss Taci’s cheek and offered a sexy smile to Lotus.
“Well, where are you going now?”
“I’m going to see Bull before I head to work.”
“Tell him I said hello, and he better come see me soon, too,” Taci warned.
“Nice meeting you, Kissa.” Eazy snatched his keys off the hook beside the door. “Yo, shorty, you think you can let me out?”
“Yeah. Ma, I’ll call you later.” She went to kiss and hug her mother before stepping toward Eazy.
He held the door open for her like a gentleman, and she marched ahead of him to her car without another word.
She wasn’t sure what else to even say. Lotus was the type to believe a motherfucker on the initial greeting as to who they were.
Second chances usually only gave a person another opportunity to fuck you over.
“What about me? You gon’ call me later too?” Eazy questioned, a teasing smile creeping over his thick lips when he tugged his car door open.
Lotus’s slanted eyes surveyed him looking good before rolling them in annoyance.
“It sounds like you’re a busy man. Besides, I can’t have my mama in my business, so it’s best if we just chop it up to a one-night stand and keep it moving. Have a good day.” She hopped into her car, leaving him tight but unbothered on the outside.
Usually, he was the one being evasive and brushing motherfuckers off.
Lotus wasn’t throwing herself at him or begging him to blow her back out again.
She was acting like him. It wasn’t his style to sweat a woman over no pussy, though.
He could get that without opening his mouth.
So, he watched her start her car and back out of the driveway before peeling down the block.
When he got in his car, he settled in his seat.
He’d rolled a fat blunt earlier when he got out the shower, so he could have his wake and bake after breakfast. Sparking the tip of his cigar, he started his engine, revved it twice, and glanced over his shoulder to reverse onto the street.
Chxrry22 blared through her Air Pods, and Toni twirled, swayed, bent over, and moved her hips and ass to the beat.
It was almost 10:00 a.m., and she was getting her workout in before starting her day.
Normally, she would be up at the crack of dawn, tending to her family, but they decided to sleep in.
So she started her day thinking of herself.
In the tight apricot colored backless body suit from Bombshell Sportswear, sweat glistened off her silky skin.
Mirrors surrounded her in the home gym she’d created for herself.
After two kids, her body had gone through some changes.
She couldn’t be mad at the extra in her ass and breasts since she’d always been so petite.
However, she was determined to keep her stomach in check.
She didn’t mind the stretch marks because she didn’t have many to begin with. In her eyes, they told a story.
Getting in shape was a work in progress.
She was proud of herself after giving birth to Breeze, only to find out she was pregnant with Bijou when he was only nine months old.
Needless to say, it slowed her bounce back down.
She was pumping breast milk for two kids, and although they were both healthier for it, she could admit that she’d neglected herself.
Now, she was focused on her own health, and she didn’t think she looked half bad.
With her wavy brown hair pinned up in a messy bun, she took a few deep breaths to cool down with one last glance at herself in the mirror.
“Go, Mommy!” Jou Jou cheered from her daddy’s arms where they hovered in the doorway.
Bull zoned out watching the way she moved.
It was sensual and sexy. Toni was typically reserved.
She had her goofy moments, laughing and playing with the kids.
Watching her in mommy mode was one of the things that comforted him.
She did a good job of keeping herself poised around him outside of that.
This was her safe space, and obviously she was feeling herself, swaying and twerking effortlessly.
He didn’t mean to fuck up her zone, but she hadn’t heard him beating on the door.
Bijou didn’t play about her mama, so she was determined to get her attention.
“How long you been standing there?” Toni asked, grabbing a white towel off the ballet bar in front of the mirror.
“I dance too!” Jou Jou clapped her hands and wiggled in her daddy’s arms.
“Long enough. Don’t stop for us.” Bull’s hungry eyes raked over her, half a smile dancing across his lips.
Toni’s chest heaved while she caught her breath. Jou Jou went to dance in the mirror once Bull lowered her from his arms.
“I was just coming up to get them dressed.” Giving him a side eye, she tossed the towel over her shoulder and rested her hands on her hips. “I thought we could take them to the aquarium today. Breeze keeps asking to go.”
Suddenly, she was insecure in front of her own husband.
Her relationship with Bull turned into something she didn’t think either of them planned for or expected.
When it came to their kids, they shared the same sentiment on their upbringing.
Somehow, amid their marriage of convenience, they found some kind of normalcy that neither of them ever had.
Sometimes she lay in bed, wondering how they got here.
Taking in the ring on her finger at least once a day, she questioned if she made the right decision.
All it took was one look into Breeze and Bijou’s happy little faces, and she pushed those thoughts out.
“Breeze is finishing breakfast,” he told her.
“You going somewhere?” she pried, noticing that Bull was also dressed in gray slacks and a white Tom Ford button up shirt.
“I need to take care of a few things at the office. I’m meeting Chai over there,” he confirmed.
Just the mention of her stepsister, and Toni’s eyes shifted to the back of her head, annoyed.
It took every ounce of composure she had to keep herself together when he brought up her name.
Jealousy coursed through her, but she would never let on to Bull.
It was bad enough she found herself in weakened moments with him from time to time.
Fragmented memories of them together over the years had her convinced something real existed between them.
Like a light switch, Bull could flick that shit off and on, though, confusing the shit out of her.
“Don’t let me hold you up. Come on, Jou Jou. Let’s go have breakfast.” She called for her daughter over her shoulder.