Page 17

CLAUDIA

B ack To You by Fridayy was playing throughout my condo as I groomed one of my clients, a shih tzu. She was white with black spots and her owner wanted her paws and ears lime green. I had two other dogs to do once I finished with this one.

“Girl, show me that it's mine, put my name on it. If it ain't love, then tell me why I always come back to you,” I sang along to the song as I reminisced about Ermias. “I'm coming back to you! I'm always back to you!” I sang louder, causing the shih tzu named Lizzy I was working on to turn her head sideways.

She was looking at me like I was crazy, and I couldn’t help but to bust out laughing. Right after the song finished Kimmie called. I answered hand free, excited to talk to her because I had lot to catch her up on.

“Yo ears must be burning cause I was sho finna come see you once I finished working.”

“My bad sis, I saw you called me, but I had a bad case of the asses. Me and Jaysun are done for good now. Bitch I’m back outside.”

“Oh Lord, what happened?” I asked, shaking my head.

I had only met Jaysun twice in person. I really didn’t care for him because he had a sneaky look to him but that was just my opinion. One thing about me and Kimmie, we didn’t have the same taste in guys. Kimmie really didn’t go into too much detail ever about them because according to her, they weren’t in a relationship, but yet he was the only person that she was fucking. I really think she got that weird shit from how my mom and Karl get down.

“Now that you back outside, you should come to this party with me on Friday. That way you can meet my new beau.”

“Lawd thank God ‘cause you was about to crash out soon.” Kimmie chuckled.

“Whatever!” I laughed with her. “I told you I was gon’ find my soulmate, and I really feel like I did.”

I caught Kimmie up with all the details about Ermias and how he was the owner of The West Park and how we spent the night together.

“I’m not even mad at that,” Kimmie said.

Lizzy started barking because she didn’t like getting wet and I had to wash all the dye off of her.

“Hold up, sis, this lil puppy pissed with me. It’s okay, Lizzy, I’m almost done, mama.”

“You and them dogs,” Kimmie responded.

“You should get you one.”

“You don’t even have a dog.” Kimmie laughed.

“All my clients are plenty.”

In addition to grooming the dogs, I offered boarding for a select few clients.

“But yeah, back to Friday. My boo is throwing a party for his homeboy that just got engaged. All of his friends gon’ be there and I really don’t want to go by myself. You never know, you might catch you one.”

“Sounds like perfect timing. I’ma drive though cause if you decide to stay longer than I want to chill with yo boo, I don’t want to feel stuck.”

“That’s coo. Oh wait, sis, let me call you right back. Mr. Ermias is on my other line.”

Before Kimmie could say anything else I hung up.

“Hey, you.”

“What you on, baby doll?” Ermias smoothly said, causing me to blush.

“Working, what about you?”

“At the lounge thinking ‘bout yo fine ass and good pussy.”

“Is that so. So, what you sayin’? You miss me?”

Ermias started chuckling as I smiled wider than the Kool-Aid man.

“Yeah, somethin’ like that. Can you get away?”

“I can later.”

“Bet. I just sent you the passcode to get inside my condo. When you done, meet me there.”

While I continued working so that I could get done, all I could do was smile. Tonight was about to be another sex-filled night, and I couldn’t wait to get blessed with some superb dick.

A Few Days Later…

Friday was finally here, and I couldn’t wait to see Ermias again. We linked up the other night, but we haven’t been able to link up since. Between his work schedule and mine, I had been crazy busy. I really was digging how things were going with Ermias, I legit had struck gold. My mom always told me to never let the right hand know what the left is doing and to accept people for who and what they are otherwise leave them be . She wasn’t a gold digger in a ghetto way but long as a man fucked her good, kept her pockets filled, and catered to her when she needed attention, she was good and Karl provided that for her with ease while being able to maintain his best life.

I loved how they loved each other, I just wanted a little more than she did. It took for my mom to explain to me that financially it wouldn’t make sense for her and Karl to combine their assets and get married. He was financially secure and so was she, which made for a great foundation yet her fear of losing all she had due to a relationship frightened her and I could totally understand that.

My dad was my mom’s first love, and I was the only child that he had and because of that, he pretty much left my mom his entire estate, which was split sixty-forty with me making me financially secure as well.

At the same time, the money wasn’t just placed into my bank account. In order for me to have access to the money, I had to be doing something productive and income generating. If I chose to not go to college that was fine, but I still needed to have a way to generate an income. When I went to school to learn how to groom dogs, I also took a course for grooming artists and fell in love, and my mom was in full support of my decision.

My dad was Cuban-American, his mom who I never met because she passed away before I was born was from Cuba. He used to tell me how hard it was for him growing up having a mom whose first language was Spanish. Through all the adversity my dad went through he became a very well-respected multi-millionaire who was an IT genius.

After my dad died, my mom sold the house I grew up in and we moved to the city in a condo that is not too far from here and that’s where she still lives. I had yet to tell my mom about Ermias, but it was something that I was strongly thinking about. I just wanted to feel him out first. I didn’t want to come on too strong and run him away, but now with me about to meet all of his friends, it was something that was heavy on my mind.

Since Kimmie insisted on driving, once I finished getting dressed, I went to her place so that we could have a couple of drinks before we left for the party.

“Wait, you not taking the Alfa?” I asked, as Kimmie and I walked through the parking garage to her Gensis. “Did you give it back to Jaysun or sum?” I looked around ‘cause normally, the Alfa was parked right next to her other car.

After releasing a large sigh, Kimmie started chuckling and shaking her head. “It’s a long story but in a nutshell, the other day I came down to run to Trader Joes and the Alfa was being towed. The tow truck driver said some shit about a voluntary repo or sum.”

“Ouuu not a voluntary repo! On who credit, yours or his?”

“It’ll have to be his ‘cause he gifted me the car. When he gave it to me, he said it was paid for, and everything was in his name. I hadn’t even switched the paperwork yet.”

“Damn Indian-giving ass! What a lame cause how they come repo a car that is paid in full!” I huffed.

“Exactly! But fuck Jaysun and fuck that Alfa Romero. I didn’t like it as much as my car anyway.”

Kimmie put the address for The West Park through On Star and we coasted down Lake Shore Drive listening to R&B and enjoying the view. The whole time all I could think about was anticipating seeing Ermias.