Chapter 21: No Awkwardness, No Bullshit

I stared at the cell phone beside me in the bed, we were staring each other down for the better part of an hour now. I was back in my own room, the door that joined mine with Stone's was closed but not locked. I wanted to call Roman, I wanted to tell him about me and Stone but what Stone had said about him being paid to guard my pussy for Braxton weighed heavily on my mind. I hated arguing with Roman, but if what Stone had said was true then...well, I don't know what then.

In the end I picked up the cell phone and dialed Roman's number, "Hey hun," He picked up after the first ring as if he was waiting on my call. "I didn't hear from you so I assume things went well."

"Roman, how much did Braxton pay you?"

"What?"

"How much did Braxton pay you to guard my virginity for him."

There was a long silence, then I could hear him shifting and then a breath being released. "Look that was before I knew you..."

"Was it Roman? Because you nearly shitted that night with Flow. You know, I'm wondering if maybe Dom knew and you just didn't want her to tell me, maybe that's why she was forcing all those men on me."

"Brooklyn..."

"It's just amazing what you get to know when you piss off somebody's right hand man. Stone told me everything. I trusted you Roman, God! I love you like a brother and you were using me as your meal ticket! Well you can just forget about your little arrangement, there's nothing to guard anymore." The tears that I had held on to earlier came spilling down my cheeks. I always thought my first heartbreak would come from some guy that I had been dating and had fallen in love with. 

I ended the call and cried into my pillow.

*****

I hardly slept that night and in addition to the headache that had kept me awake all night,  my crutch was sore. I wanted to take a warm bath and lay down the rest of the day but we had a flight to catch at two o'clock. 

"Are you okay?'

I had the cover over my head so I had no idea how long he was hovering in the doorway. I sat up and pulled the blanket off. "No."

"Did I hurt you?"

I rolled my eyes and climbed off of bed, "Yeah, I could have gone without knowing about the little arrangement Roman and Braxton had."

I grabbed some clothes out of my bag and brushed past him on my way to the bathroom. I ran a bath full of hot water and locked the door behind me. I didn't want to be bothered, I didn't want to talk about anything that had happened yesterday, but he did apparently. 

"Shit." I cussed at the ruined panty shield. Normal little girls had a mother or a cool aunt that they could call and ask how long they're supposed to bleed, I couldn't, my mother already thought I was a whore. I sank into the warm water, again I was tempted to call London, but she was still a child, what advice could she give me?

"I'm sorry, I was just angry."

"I know, you were trying to hurt me." I stepped into the tub, this was a VIP room, if the maids bullshitted in any other room, they would take their time and polish a suite. I sighed with relief and sank down to my neck in the water. 

"I'm sorry."

"Were you just trying to piss Braxton off when you...when we..."

"No, God no!"

Uh huh. I had hickies everywhere! How was I going to explain those when I got home? I was practically sharing a room with Stone and they already thought he wanted the kitty. Roman had been blowing my phone up all morning, I eventually turned it off. Daddy was supposed to call me before I left but I wasn't in a talking mood.

Stone started to say something when the doorbell rang, "Your parents are here."

They're not my parents, they're my father and his wife, I thought. But I was desperate, I needed a woman to talk to. I was sore and bleeding and confused and my best friend had broken my heart, I needed to talk to someone. For now Cassandra was somebody I didn't give much of a damn about if she liked me or not, I was still unsure about her. My father would probably freak the fuck out if I told him and he was a man, his experience would be a lot different, but I was sure I could convince his wife to leave our conversation in the bathroom.

"Go keep Daddy's company and send Cassandra in." I ordered Stone, when I heard him walk away I tiptoed over to the door and unlocked it, then I made my way back to the tub and sank so that everything up to my chin was submerged. 

"Are you okay?"

I looked down at my body that was contorted by the water. "I had sex last night." I blurted out.

"Oh." She looked at me as if trying to figure out why I was telling her this. "Oh!" Her penciled eyebrows nearly flew off her face.

I couldn't look at her, I kept my eyes trained on the clear, steaming water. "I'm still bleeding and a bit sore." My words came out like, istillbubbleenabibsore. 

"That's normal. A warm soak should still work and the bleeding will stop in a day or two." I still couldn't look at her. "Brooklyn, you're a grown woman, as long as it was consensual you don't have to worry. It was consensual wasn't it."

I finally looked up at her puckered rat face, "Yeah, it's just..." I shrugged, I wasn't even sure what I was trying to say.

"And for the record, it may hurt the second and third time you have sex too."

I shifted in the water, this conversation was so awkward. "I don't intend to ever do that again."

Cassandra laughed, "Oh, you're saying that now."

"Cassandra, can you not tell my dad about this?"

"I won't." She smiled warmly at me and I returned it.

"You will stay in touch when you go back to New York right? The kids adore you. I'll keep you away from Junior though, the last thing I need is for you to create a mini monster."  We laughed, Junior was a terror, that was for sure. 

Cassandra left the bathroom and locked the door behind her. I soaked a while longer before I got out of the tub and pulled on a white singlet and a pair of jersey shorts. "I thought you didn't wanna come hug your old man." Daddy smiled and opened his arms to me, I skipped into his embrace. 

"I'm proud of you." He murmured into my ear and I smiled. 

"Where are the girls and Junior?"

"It's Sunday, they're at Sunday school."

"I'll visit again soon." I hugged Cassandra again and walked her and Daddy to the door.  When I closed the door and turned around Stone was staring at me. "What?"

"We have to talk about yesterday?"

"Why?"

"Because you are used to running away from your problems, every time you have an issue you look for somebody else to fix it or you ignore it in hopes that it will go away. Life doesn't work like that."

"What is there to talk about? We had sex, I'm not the kind of girl to get emotionally attached to a man because he told me I'm pretty. I thought you knew that."

"I didn't tell you you were pretty, I had sex with you, your first time."

"Do you want a cookie?"

"Brooklyn I uh..." His voice trailed off, I gave him a hard look, Storm was never one to be short on words. "Why do you sell yourself short? You're a beautiful woman."

I folded my arms, I was still having a hard time accepting compliments, I wasn't used to getting them, I was used to men always drooling at the girl standing beside me. "Okay."

"There was just something about you, I don't know what it was but I wanted to get to know you the moment I saw you in Braxton's office, and the more I got to know you the more fascinating you became. You're different from all of the women I met and..."

"Stone, I just broke up with Flow, I'm not about to get into another relationship. Think about how that'll look man."

"I understand, nothing has to change since I was practically dating you anyway."

I folded my arms, he had a point, I had lunch with him nearly every day. We always met Braxton's associates together and we hung out on the weekends a couple of times. Stone was different from Flow in the way that Flow had money but he didn't have class or time, and Stone owned that classy swag and had too much time on his hands if you asked me. I had to admit the fascination was mutual.

I released a heavy breath, "Fine."

"No awkwardness."

I smiled, "No awkwardness, no bullshit." I turned to head back to my bedroom but I could feel him staring at me again, "What?"

"No awkwardness, no bullshit? You were the star of my wet dreams for months, this was a business trip. After a situation a couple of years ago, I stopped having sex on my business trips so I don't carry condoms on my business trips," I froze, "Taught myself discipline. You caught me off guard last night..."

I held up my hand. Nobody was completely oblivious to sex, even little kids giggle at the mere mention of 'doing it', there was sex ed in schools and biology. "It's cool, I am too close to my period to get knocked up, but we do have to be more careful." I grinned, "If you stop being such a dick to me I may consider birth control." I didn't want to fuck with shots and pills that would screw up my hormones then  stop me from getting pregnant when I wanted to. 

"Do we have a deal Ms. James?"

"We do Mr. Stone." He offered me a hand to shake, I laughed and went to my bedroom, I could catch up on a couple hours of sleep before it was time to get ready for the airport and I could eat when I got home.

Chapter 20: Pleasure & Pain

Dear Ladies in the Coffeehouse, those of you who voted in the anonymous poll, this is where you find out what you voted for.

 *runs for cover*. #Stoners

_______________________________________

"That had to be the single most disgusting thing I've ever experienced." I grumbled and stretched my leg out as far as it could go.

"That is your job, you've been doing this long enough to expect these things." Stone said with an attitude.

"I just watched a woman plow herself with a fake penis that is as big as my arm!"

"Again, a job requirement."

I sucked my teeth and a tense silence fell between us and lasted until we got back in the room. "What is your problem?" I snapped at Stone.

"What is yours? Do you know how many people would kill to have your job? Clearly you are not committed, you missed an important meeting, you made us late for our presentation and instead of telling Braxton that you needed to help me set up you went strolling."

"Braxton is my boss."

"And I'm your supervisor."

"You were supposed to do the presentation."

He yanked his vest and shirt off and tossed them on the coffee table. "Then what would there be for your ass to do?"

"Don't talk to me like that." I shouted at him.

Stone stalked across the room toward me, I backed up against the door. "This is my own fault, you are far too comfortable with me, I should have treated you like everyone else but you were so..."

"So what?" I rested one hand on the knob and fisted the other one.

"So weak and helpless! Everyone said it, everyone was waiting for you to fail and the only reason you're still here is because Braxton wants your pussy." My mouth opened and closed, how do you reply to something like that? "That's right, when you left his office he told me to take care of you, to protect his investment. Ask Roman how much he got paid to keep JQ and Flow off of you."

"Shut up!" I shouted and brought my fist up, it collided with his face, he immediately grabbed both of my wrists and forced me up against the door. He was panting lightly, I was breathing heavily, hot tears burned the back of my eyes, but he was too close, his breath tickling my neck, his blue eyes blazed, his lips were inches from mine.

"And what do you want?" I breathed.

He hesitated and then pushed his lips up against mine, kissing me greedily, kissing me like he'd been lost in the desert for an eternity and my lips were his oasis. I returned his fire, biting his lips when he bit mine, pulling  his tongue like I owned it. He dropped his lips to my neck, my arms wrapped around his shoulders, his hands grabbed my ass and pulled me to him so I could feel the bulge in his pants pushing up against me, it excited me. His desire became my own, I wanted him as badly as he wanted me.

Stone hoisted me up, my legs wrapped around his waist, our lips connected again, I moaned, his lips tasted like heaven, I wanted to just die and stay there. We stumbled around the room clumsily, neither of us wanting to break the kiss, I kept my legs wrapped around his waist when we collapsed onto the couch and then his hands were all over me, touching me, rubbing me, feeling me.

He trailed kisses from my lips to my neck, over my chest, the top of my dress came down and his lips were on my breasts, my nipples, left one, right one, both, lick, suck, lick, his tongue made them harden and I moaned my pleasure. Stone yanked the dress past my waist and then completely off, then he was kissing me lower and lower, lingering just below my bellybutton. My body got so hot I thought I would ignite.

And then he went ever lower and sensations like I'd never experienced before raced through my body. I didn't fight him, instead I flung my legs as far apart as they would go, wanting him to explore that which made me a woman.

"Oh my God!" I squealed and swam backward on the couch, he grabbed my ass and held me in place while he devoured that pussy!

"Oh shit!" I breathed in another breath and shuddered, my back arched thrusting my hips harder against his mouth and he sucked and I shrieked.

"You like that?" He asked in a husky voice.

"Uh huh." I panted.

He made his way back up the length of my body until is lips found mine again, it was my turn to be greedy, to be thirsty. His hand slid back down to my hot spot and I jerked when he slipped his finger inside me, he massaged me, I struggled while he kissed me.

"Damn, you're so wet."

I figured I must have been speaking in tongues when I replied because that sure as hell wasn't English. He popped in another finger and I stiffened, this was not very comfortable, even a bit painful if I moved.

"Just relax." He coached me, I grunted.

Stone worked his fingers until they moved freely and I trembled when he pulled them out. I realized then he was naked, I was naked, when had I lost my panties? Where had his clothes gone? He kissed me sweetly, softly, relaxing me. I felt his hardness at my opening and took a deep breath, readying myself. Stone entered me slowly, as gently as he could, my jaw clenched, my eyes closed tight, a sorry attempt to fight off the pain. He grunted when I dug my manicured nails into his back and neck.

"You have to relax Brooklyn."

"Lemme stick my fist up your ass and see how relaxed you are!" I shouted back at him.

He covered my mouth with his, kissing me to keep me quiet, he moved deeper and I squired and shrieked, why did women do this shit? I never liked pain, my mother always told me not to have children and if anything was worse than this, well, she could forget about grandkids.

The line between pleasure and pain blurred when my walls stretched and I welcomed his thrusts. Stone started grunting and huffing like an angry bull, I watched him, fascinated by the faces he pulled, fascinated by the reddening of his olive face. I was still not enjoying this shit, I could see my claw marks on his shoulders, they were red and puckered, no wonder he had pinned my hands up behind my head. I was fascinated by how his manhood felt inside me, I could feel him swell before his release, before he collapsed on top of me panting like he'd ran a marathon, and then I could feel him shrinking.

I'm not sure how long his sweaty body was on top of mine, how long he laid there panting, his hot breath on my neck. The ugly faces he'd made, the animal-like noises that came from the usually regal man. There was nothing sexy about sex, we were both sweaty and red in the face, our ruffled hair sticking to our foreheads, it was painful and I never wanted to do it again. I would never look at Stone the same way either. How did people do this and then go out in public and act like nothing had happened?

I groaned and covered my eyes with my hand, I'd just fucked my supervisor!

Chapter 19: Braxton's Event

I dug to the bottom of the bag for the skirt suit I'd packed for tonight's occasion and I cussed the girls every way I knew how. I had no idea when they could have gotten into the my luggage and swapped the suit for the skimpy, skin tight black Dior dress and one of the highest pairs of pumps that I owned, but they did and I didn't pack a spare so I had no choice but to put on the dress and the diamond accessories. I did a black smokey eye look and pulled my hair into an over-the-shoulder ponytail, dabbed on some red lipstick and stepped out of my room. Stone was already in the living room dressed in a black dress shirt, white vest and tie, black pants and white shoes. I narrowed my eyes at him when I caught him checking me out in the dress, sometimes Stone could be such a boy.

"Ready?"

"Obviously." I snapped at his sarcasm, he was in a pissy mood because I'd spent all day by the pool and managed to make us late. It was bad enough I hadn't shown up for the meeting with Braxton last night, there was no way we could get to the hotel in time.

"The car has been downstairs for a while, did you forget we have to set up for our presentation?"

"Relax Stone."

He opened the door and waved me out before shutting it behind us. He hovered behind me, making sure I didn't get distracted, I'd forgotten my cellphone but I was not about to go back for it. Stone rushed me out of the elevator once it reached the ground floor, outside and into the waiting car. He slid into the seat beside me and told the driver to go as fast as he could.

I thought traffic could get bad in New York, it was just after seven in L.A. and the roadways were packed tight, I looked out of the window when Stone turned to look at me.

"I hope you're happy now."

"Sorry." I grumbled.

When we arrived at the private ballroom, Braxton's guests were already arriving and he was not pleased with our tardiness. "Stone is always on time so I'll assume you were the problem." Braxton told me.

"I fell asleep at the pool." I didn't, I was enjoying just spending a day lounging around and I didn't want it to end so I dragged it out to the last possible second.

"You do look nice." He offered me his arm and led me to each of the L.A. executives. They were all women and just as brutal as my friends had said. They demanded to know why I wasn't at the meeting, a couple said that because I was at the NYC office and thought the rules in L.A. didn't apply to me, one even accused me of thinking that I was better than everyone.

"Harsh." I mumbled when Braxton handed me over to Stone who had already gotten our lube/massage gel display already set up.

"Since you did everything else Stone, I think it's only fair that Ms. James handles the actual presentation."

Huh?

"I think that is a good idea." Stone grinned and walked away to greet a man from the L.A. office.

As the guest started to pile into the room, I started to get very uncomfortable. For one, I had still not gotten over my fear of being in a crowded room and secondly the 'entertainment' began. There were sets all over the ball room; bedrooms, living rooms, kitchens, and in these sets were naked people ready for action. The most ironic thing about the whole set up I think, was the three dozen or so tables around the room with about five seats each and a sample basket in the center. I found myself seated at a table with Stone and three other women, one curtly said that I was Stone's date, I laughed and corrected her and she called me a bitch. I must have turned ten shades of red when Stone laughed, I was embarrassed and angry and if I wasn't such a softie I would have slapped that hefier into next week.

Braxton acted as the master of ceremony thanking everyone for being there and giving special welcomes to his distinguished guests. One by one he called up people from what is now officially the Marketing & Promotions department to speak about upcoming events and products. When he called me I nearly melted out of my seat, a not so gentle nudge from Stone sent me scurrying on stage. I squinted through the bright lights that were pointed at me. I would not only be presenting Desire, I would be talking about upcoming events as well.

"Uh...goodnight." My voice echoed around the room and I cleared my throat. The last thing I wanted to do was flop in front of the L.A. office bitches. "Since Mr. Braxton already established protocol I'm going to just get right to the heart of the matter. Kandy Shoppe N.Y.C. would like to present Desire, our latest product for pleasure. It is not only a massage gel, it is a lubricant as well because you never know where a massage will lead." I winked for effect and there were a couple of chuckles from the audience. I grabbed the navy blue bottle from the podium. "The ingredients are all natural, for example, this one uses eucalyptus oil for a cooling sensation. There shouldn't be any excuses when it's time to indulge in your desires."

There were a couple other products that the NYC office worked on, the most bizarre was a glow in the dark dildo that I refused to touch, the thing was massive! Twelve inches and an impossible diameter equipped with veins, it was disgusting!  There was also a pair of balls that were supposed to be used to tighten vaginal walls, they weren't used but come on, just the thought of where those things went turned me off! And the meeting of the pervs would not be complete without the vacuum. When it was time to speak about the events which included a toy party I wanted to be gone, if either of my parents were in the room right now...Lord have mercy!

When my presentation was done I slumped back in my seat proud that I didn't collapse on stage. One of the women at my table pulled the dildo out of the goody basket and poked me in the face with it, Stone pulled it away from her and one of his icy looks kept her from harassing me the rest of the night.

After the final presentation Braxton encouraged the guests to walk around and check out the products. There was no way to avoid a live porno, I pitied the tiny woman who was sprawled on a red couch ramming herself with my office's newest dildo. The worst part was I couldn't leave, I had to mingle with Braxton's guests and hover around our displays to explain the products to the guests.

A tall slim woman with long black hair and the most beautiful mocha skin I'd ever seen stood staring at the vacuum set. "Does it have adapters?"

"Yes." My stomach churned, I don't think I would ever get used to this side of my job.

"Can it work in reverse?" I looked at the woman in disbelief, what the fuck did she need it to work in reverse for? What did she intend to blow up her pussy?

"Yes." I said slowly. She handed me one of the anonymous pre-order cards. It contained a delivery address but no name and shipping would be paid by Braxton's company under another name, there was no need for the delivery man to know what was in the box or who he was delivering it to. I handed her a slip of paper, she would pay before she left and it would be as if she never even attended this event.

It was midnight when Braxton's event came to a close, Stone and I got in our car and the argument started almost immediately.

Chapter 18: Daddy and Them

"You seem nervous." Stone said, he was sitting in front of the television eating the complimentary lunch the hotel had provided on check-in. There was one thing I learnt about Stone, he ate a lot, he never said no to a meal no matter who offered it to him, if I ever wanted to kill Stone I could just feed him poisoned spaghetti.

"Of course I am, I haven't seen my father in years and now I'm going to spend the afternoon with him and his new family."

"Can you stop pacing please."

"No, I can't." My cell phone rang and I nearly jumped out of my clothes, Stone chuckled as he flipped through the channels. "Hello?"

"Hey baby, I'm downstairs."

"Okay, I'm gonna be down in a second." I ended the call and gave Stone a sour look. He didn't come from a broken home, I met his parents once and they were still very much in love. They had no problem showing affection...in a crowded restaurant...with their son's underling sitting at the table right across from them. The Sansones were an interesting pair, I have no idea how two bubbly people conceived a stick in the mud like Stone. Donatello Sansone aka Don Stone came from the average Sicilian family, there were the two loving, very Catholic parents, the two older brothers and the three younger sisters. They were the family I wish I belonged to. Stone's parents told him constantly that they disapproved of his work, how unholy it was for a man to have such easy access to women who were naked and willing, but they supported him, he could be hustling on the streets, trying to sell dope and stay one step ahead of the law and the big cartels. 

"Are you going downstairs or are you going to stand there staring at me?"

I folded my arms and intensified my gaze, he gave me a once sided smirk and stuffed what was left of a sandwich in his mouth. I shook my head at him, grabbed my purse and headed downstairs. 

I was shocked at my father's appearance, not because he was hideous but because Henry James looked exactly as he did the last time I saw him and that was at least ten years ago. He was wearing his silky black hair long again, it cascaded around his face and neck, his beard was neatly shaped, there were a couple of crow's feet at the corners of his eyes and a few stray white hairs but my daddy still looked like he was thirty. Ma looked all of her forty-eight years and then some, she stressed herself out about everything.

"Wow, look at you! How are you? Haley said you and your boyfriend broke up."

I smiled and stepped into his embrace. "I'm fine Daddy, I ended things because we're both busy people right now, but Fabian and I are still friends."

"Come on, the family is in the car and the girls are so excited to meet you, they're huge fans."

"I have fans?"

"You're practically a celebrity." Daddy led me outside to where he was parked, his wife and their four children were standing around the car. "Everyone, this is my baby girl Brooklyn." I looked at his wife, she was rather plain, a dry curly weave, ebony black skin and black eyes. She wasn't as pretty as my mother and looked twice as old, but her eyes lit up at my approach and I had to admit she had a beautiful smile.

Cassandra Whitley had practically stolen my father away from me, when he left, she was pregnant with their second child. My mother was devastated, I had no idea how I would react when I finally met this woman but I realized I didn't care. She wasn't giving me an attitude and she still made my father happy so I was cool. "Wow, you sho' do look Henry." She hugged me.

"These are the girls, Haley is fourteen, Layna is twelve, Cherish is ten and over there is Junior, he's six and wants to go to Disneyland."

My father's children were all darker than me, but the resemblance was uncanny. They had the same high cheek bones, almond eyes and pouty lips that I had, the girls had the same curly hair and there was Junior who looked like a dark-skinned clone of Daddy.

"Oh my God!" Haley squealed and clapped her hands. "I can't believe Daddy wasn't lying. Where's Flow? Are we going to meet him even though y'all aren't together? You're so pretty!"

Layna was shouting at me too. "You're prettier in real life! Are you really my sister? Why haven't I met you before? Are you gonna visit us all the time now?"

I smiled at their enthusiasm, they were all so cute. I climbed in to the backseat with the children while my father and his wife got into the front seats. "How's your mother?" Daddy asked me, and I wondered if Cassandra felt as uncomfortable as I did about his question.

"She's...Ma." I shrugged. "I don't talk to her much, she never has anything good to say to me so...I don't need that negativity."

"What's it like working for..." Cassandra turned around and mouthed Kandy Shoppe to me.

I grinned, "It's not what you would expect. It's a bit more exciting than the average marketing job though."

We went to a little mom and pop place, "You're probably used to better but this is our favorite restaurant. We usually eat here on Sundays." Cassandra said, I didn't catch the name of the restaurant but it was quaint and cute.

"Actually, it's the five star places that throw me. I don't eat at the five star joints often, only when I have a business meeting."

We sat at the family's table, the waitresses greeted the Jameses by name and at one point I heard them whispering about how much I looked like Flow's girlfriend, Haley looked at me and giggled, she'd heard them too.

I chatted with the siblings I'd only heard about. Haley was an aspiring journalist and I promised her I would get her an interview with Flow for her school's paper. She took a camera everywhere with her and had the most beautiful pictures of beaches, sunsets, her family, even a traffic shot that looked very artistic. She had just started high school and unlike me she wasn't socially awkward, she was rather popular. When her mother excused herself to the restroom and Daddy went outside to scold Junior, Haley confessed that her boyfriend was the captain of the school's basketball team, a senior. "I dated a celebrity and I'm still a virgin, no need to rush into anything and if he can't wait for you then he's not good for you." My sisterly advice shocked me, what if I'd given London this kind of advice?

Layna boasted that she was the captain of her soccer team, she preferred the L.A. Clippers to the L.A. Lakers and she spoke about Kobe like a Heat fan would. She wasn't in to boys yet and told me that Haley always said she was weird because of it, she reached over and pinched her sister. "Don't be mean to Lay-Lay at least you don't have to worry about her tryna take your man." I chuckled.

Cherish was in to music, she played the keyboard and toyed around with the guitar from time to time. She and her friends had started a band, the older girls laughed that Cherish and her friends sang about soda pops and unicorns. "My friend JQ plays all kinds of instruments, hopefully you'll get to meet him."

"I would love to meet him!" Haley gushed and showed me a picture of JQ that she had on her phone and I nearly choked on my water. He was sprawled in a couch butt-ass naked except for the copy of Kandy Kane Magazine that hid his dick. "He is soooo cute!"

"Yeah, I'm deleting this." I tapped her phone a couple of times but it refused to work for me.

"I can always go on Google and get another one."

"What do you have of Roman?"

My sister winked just as Daddy and Junior came back, their mother had already left the bathroom but she was at the back of the room talking with another woman.

Junior pouted, "I wanna go to Disneyland."

"We should go to Disneyland after lunch." I said and gave Daddy an innocent smile. "It'll be on me."

"No, we're treating you today.'

"Come on Daddy, that way I can hang out with y'all for a little bit longer."

Junior gave Daddy his best puppy-dog face and after lunch we piled back in to the Honda Odyssey and headed to the theme park. After a long day of sun and fun with the family I was exhausted when I got back to the hotel. Stone arrived back the same time I did, he picked up the slack at the meeting we were both supposed to attend and he was not happy but he didn't go off on me...yet.