Brielle snorted. “Then what are you doing here?”
“I wouldn’t blame you but I’d be crushed,” said Damon. “I can change.”
“I didn’t want you to be anybody but yourself,” said Brielle. “I just needed you to talk to me and tell me what was going on and not leave me hanging.”
“That’s why I want to start over,” said Damon. “Like it didn’t happen. Like we’ll pretend that Sasha and Ricky never existed.”
“Here we go. How you gonna do that?” asked Brielle, biting her lip, trying not to smile. For a deep thinker, Damon came up with some of the dumbest ideas. Brielle fisted her hands on her slim hips.
Damon met her eyes and squared his shoulders.
“Well, then, like it did happen, but I grew up and stopped acting like a punk about my part in it,” said Damon, relieved by her smile. “I’ll change and do better, I promise.”
“About time,” said Brielle. “Even though I don’t believe it.”
“So, will you?”
“What?”
“Let me back in?”
“I guess you won’t know until you try,” said Brielle.
Damon sagged with relief and reached out to tug on her braid. Brielle did not flinch away from him. He didn’t touch any other part of her, just caressed the braid for a long moment.
“You’re not a punk,” said Brielle, feeling weak and easy.
“I missed you,” he said. “Like I missed fresh air. I haven’t been able to breathe properly for months.”
Brielle felt herself melting and then she stiffened her spine.
“I’m still not having sex with you,” she said.
“That’s kind of a relief at the moment,” he said. “I’m a little messed up behind my last experience.” He looked away and then took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The tightness in his chest eased even more. They both stood stock still, waiting; a long awkward pause.
He stuck out his right hand.
“Hello,” he said, lips quirked in a half smile. “My name is Damon Hamilton. I’ve been watching you for a while and I’d like to know if you would go out and have a milkshake with me? We could get a burger, too, but I’m allergic to shellfish.”
“I heard you got into Howard University,” said Brielle. Damon nodded.
“I’m leaving for pre-college summer session next week,” said Damon. “I’ve already ordered my books and everything. I can’t wait to get started.”
“Congratulations!” said Brielle sincerely. “That is so awesome.”
“I’m gonna call you every night, okay?”
“You’re going to meet some college babe and forget all about me,” scoffed Brielle.
“I will never forget you,” said Damon.
“Let’s just go get a burger,” said Brielle. “And let the future take care of itself.”
If you liked Daddy’s Baby, pick up
Catfish by Nina Foxx
www.BrownGirlsBooks.com
Turn the page for a Sneak Peek…
One
Dana
My father was not slick. I tried not to twist my mouth as I listened to him attempting to convince me that what he talking about was a good thing. We have a pretty good relationship since he and my mother got divorced, but sometimes he was just transparent as hell.
“Dana, you’re gonna love this new church.” He looked at me all starry-eyed and he talked in that voice he used on me when he wanted something. He looked and sounded the same way my boy crazy best friend, Damika did every time she met a new hottie.
I groaned. “Church?” Since when had he found religion? Our time together was limited and we didn’t usually spend it in church. I wasn’t sure he’d even been inside one since before my mother divorced him, and even then, he’d only gone kicking and screaming.
He wanted me to say something. So, I did.
“And what’s your new girlfriend’s name?”
My dad’s mouth dropped open. That probably wasn’t what he was looking for. I might have been sixteen, but I wasn’t born yesterday. The only reason my father would be talking about new churches and religion was behind a woman. I shook my head. He was going to have to text me from hell.
I couldn’t blame him, really. My father was a hot commodity. He’s a single, good-looking black man with a good heart. He owned his own home and paid his child support like clockwork. Plus, he had it going on - for an older man. Even though he had a teenaged daughter, he was still attractive and dressed well. He might not be all swole with underwear model abs, but he was a catch. Back in the day, he was really into fitness and now that he was old, it paid off. He didn’t have a potbelly like other people’s fathers, so I was used to women chasing him. They’d done that before, even when he was married, and it had only gotten worse since.
A lot of kids get messed up when their parent’s spilt up, but me, I was okay with it. It was a relief actually, because when they were together, they’d fought all the time. My mother said they loved hard and they fought hard, too. The problem was, I remember the fighting more than anything. If there was love, I never saw it. A few times I’d have to keep myself from throwing up when I heard the noises in their bedroom, but even I knew that sex and love wasn't the same thing. Toward the end they would yell and scream way into the early hours of the morning.
“It’s okay. I’ll go if you need me to.” It almost hurt me to say that. I really didn’t feel like going to church, especially one all the way in Brooklyn, but it was easy to see how my words had made him happy. Unlike my mom, he was easy to please. His shoulders relaxed and the nervous look on his face
