Saving Her: BWWM Interracial Romance (6 page)

“Okay, interesting. How about you?” He pointed to Gloria, a blonde bimbo with half a brain.

“I hope you call it the hard body method.” She smiled as the class erupted in laughter and jeers.

I watched Mike closely, and he actually blushed a little bit which brought a smile to my face. He had seemed so cocky at first, but he was obviously out of his element with a class of twenty-something women with too much time and money on their hands. I decided to come to his rescue as he stood speechless in front of the class.

“Naw,” I called out, getting the attention of the entire class. “He probably call it the bored wives method cause people like your mama need to get their eye candy cause they're nothing but trophy wives.”

A wave of laughter made its way around the room again. I didn't condone verbal battles during class most of the time, but I felt like giving Gloria a taste of what she thought she wanted, a stereotypical black woman that didn't know how to speak. The truth was that I was smarter than her and most of the rest of the class, but I didn't like to flaunt it. My grades were all that mattered to me, that I graduated with honors and got a good job as an RN.

“Okay, class, settle down,” Mrs. Jenkins, my least favorite teacher, said as she walked to the front of the class and waved her hands. “I'll see you after class, Kimberly.” She pointed directly at me.

I sighed as I decided putting Gloria in her place wasn't a good idea. A lesson was learned, but I would pay for it. Mike continued his lecture on his life as a personal trainer without further incident. He was actually pretty interesting once I started listening to him. A lot of what he talked about was familiar to me working with people as a CNA.

After class was over, I stayed at my desk as all the others filed out of the room. When they were all gone, I gathered my books, put them in my backpack then headed to Mrs. Jenkins' desk. Mike was talking to her as I walked up. They both turned to look at me with totally different expressions. Teacher was mad as hell, but Mike had another look on his face. I couldn't really put my finger on it.

“I don't want another outburst like that this semester. You understand? Your grades are in my hand.”

“Yes, ma'am,” I said with my head down. “I'm just stressed out with everything.”

“I'm sure you're fine,” Mrs. Jenkins said.

I started to walk away when Mike spoke up. “Exercise can help remove stress.”

“I know,” I said as I turned back toward him. “I get a lot of exercise riding my bike.”

“Yeah, but you need to switch up your workout some. Tell you what, stop by my gym sometime.”

He handed me a business card, which I accepted. The place was in the neighborhood apparently, but I'd never noticed it before.

“Thanks. I don't have a lot of time, but maybe I'll stop by.”

“Make some time and I'll make it worth your while.” My eyebrow raised. Was he flirting with me in front of Mrs. Jenkins. “When it comes to getting you in shape and more energy.”

“Uh huh,” I said then turned and left.

I had a big old smile on my face, but I didn't want either of them to see it. When I got on my bike and headed toward my apartment, I was still smiling. Life felt like it was about to get better. By the time I got home, I'd talked myself down. I didn't have time for a man in my life, even if it was just as a personal trainer. I convinced myself that he'd been calling me fat and out of shape and that I didn't need him in my life.

Raquel was once again on her phone when I walked in. I set my backpack on the couch next to her then started a pot of coffee. She got up and came into the kitchen, her phone still in both of her hands in front of her. I shook my head as she slowly shuffled her feet and tried not to bump into anything as she made her way toward me.

“You better watch where you're going,” I said. “You want your money, right?”

“I do. I'm getting a new jacket.”

“I'd be saving that money if I was you.”

She rolled her eyes at me as I passed her and went back into the living room to retrieve my purse. As soon as I handed her the money a moment later, she started to leave.

“Make sure you're here at noon tomorrow, okay? I have two patients.”

I didn't like working the weekends, but I needed as much money as I could get my hands on. Edward would understand when he got older. I hoped he would. After studying for two hours, I crashed on the couch to try to get some sleep before little man got up in a few hours.

Three

Edward woke me up by turning on the television. I looked down and saw him camped out in front of the couch staring wide eyed at the screen a few feet away.

“You gonna make me breakfast, little man?” I asked.

“That your job, mommy,” he shot back.

I smiled as I threw back my blanket and sat up. “Whatcha watching?”

“Big cats.”

When I looked over at the screen, he was right. I saw the nature channel logo on the corner of the screen as some lions lazed on the Savannah.

“Maybe you can learn something before you go to school next year.”

He didn't shoot down the idea of school again, which was good. I headed into the kitchen and got out the waffle iron. I had to spend a lot of time away from Edward on Saturdays, so I liked to make him an extra special breakfast. As I stirred the batter while the machine heated up, I sighed. My life was one big routine. Then I remembered Mike and the fact he'd given me his card.

I was sure he had been flirting with me. For some reason, white guys had always been attracted to me. Jealous friends growing up had told me that it was because I looked more white than black, but after slapping one girl, the others learned not to make fun of me because I was light skinned. Whatever it was that attracted guys to me, I didn't have time. My bitchy attitude and ice cold eyes scared most of them away.

After I had three waffles made, I called for Edward. “Come in here and get you some waffles.”

As he waddled into the kitchen in his overnight diaper, I fixed him a plate with cherry pie filling and whipped cream on top of the waffles. I knew it wasn't healthy, but we only had it a few times a month. He tore into small bite sized pieces as I made a plate for myself. Just as I was about to sit down, I heard someone banging on my door, which was odd.

I set my fork down and made my way to the door. Then I heard his voice. Fuck, I thought as I tried to decide what to do. If I ignored him, he might go away. Another option was to just call the police, but I didn't want my neighbors talking anymore than they already did. I was the only single mother in the complex apparently.

“Open up,” he yelled.

“Who's that, mommy?” Edward asked.

“Stay there and eat your waffles up,” I said then opened the door and slipped out into the hallway. “What are you doing here?”

“Hey to you too, baby.”

“Cut the shit, Ron. I told you not to come around here.”

“I need some money. You owe me that for staying away?”

“Excuse me? I owe you money because you ran out on us after you got me pregnant?”

He nodded. I shook my head from side to side. “No. Christmas and Edward's birthday are coming up soon and everything I have is going to him.”

“Come on Kim. Why you gotta be such a bitch?”

“Oh no you didn't.” My blood started pumping as I took a deep breath and tried to relax.

“Even if you got like ten dollars that would help me out.”

“I'm not paying for your drugs. How did you even find us?”

“I been asking around.”

I wanted to know which of our friends had given him the information, but I knew he wouldn't tell me. And I didn't want him to think he had anything on me. He was good at leverage and manipulation.

“Look. This is how it's going down. You're going to leave. Right now. If not, I'm calling the cops. You're still on parole, right?”

“Damn, bitch, settle down.”

“When I come back you better be gone.”

I slipped back into the apartment and locked the door.

“Who that, mommy?” Edward asked from the kitchen.

“No one, baby. How are your waffles?”

“They good.”

“Good.”

Another thirty seconds passed before I looked through the peephole. Ron wasn't visible. I got my cell phone then opened the apartment door. As I peered down the hall both ways, I couldn't believe I'd actually gotten him to leave. I figured the police must have been looking for him. Back in the apartment, I took another deep breath and walked back to the table with a smile on my face.

“You didn't take my waffles, did you?” I tilted my head and shook my finger at Edward.

He burst into laughter. “No, mommy. You silly head.”

I sat down next to him and speared a piece of waffle with my fork. The cherries had cooled and some of the whipped cream had broken down, but the first taste was heaven. As I enjoyed the comfort food, I thought about Mike and him telling me I needed to lose weight. I'd been mad at him at first, but he was right. If I wanted to be around for Edward as he grew up, I needed to be fit.

As I finished my waffles, I stared across the kitchen at Mike's business card pinned to the refrigerator door with a magnet in the shape of a mushroom. Edward finished before me and headed to his bedroom to play with his blocks. I wondered sometimes if he was going to grow up to be an architect or something. I wanted the best for him, which meant him being happy.

By the time I'd cleaned up the dishes from breakfast and gotten ready for work, Raquel showed up. Her knock on the door startled me at first because I thought Ron had come back. I was doubly glad to see her standing outside in the hallway. She had on a pair of sunglasses, which was very odd and out of character for her.

“Why you wearing those things?” I asked as she walked in.

“Nothing. You late for work?”

“No, I'm not. Something happen to you?”

“Look, I don't wanna talk about it, okay? You not my moms.”

“I know I'm not, but I care.”

I closed the door, locked it, then headed into the living room. Raquel was seated on the couch. Her usual smile was missing.

“Take the glasses off,” I said as I sat down next to her.

She fidgeted for a moment or two, but she obeyed. My eyes widened as I saw her bruised eye.

“What the hell happened to you, girl? And don't go telling me you ran into a door or some shit.”

All of a sudden she burst into tears. She turned and hugged me as she sobbed. I rubbed her back with my hand as she cried.

“It's okay,” I said in a soothing voice.

Edward came running out of his bedroom. “What wrong?”

“Go play with your toys, little man.” I waved him away. Luckily, he listened for once.

Raquel pulled back and sniffled as she tried to wipe away the tears. “I'm sorry, Kim.”

“It's okay. What happened?”

“It's T-Crib. I told him no and he hit me.”

“Did he do anything else to you?”

“No, I ran away. But all the girls are gonna make fun of me at school on Monday. I just know it.”

“Forget those bitches,” I said then put my hand on her chin so she would look me in my eyes. “And stop messing around with those gangsta-wanna-be thugs. You don't want to end up with your own bundle of joy, do you?”

As if on cue, something crashed to the floor in the next room and Edward cried out. I jumped up and ran out of the room while holding a finger up to let Raquel know I would be back in a minute. As usual, everything was hitting at once in my life. Luckily, with all my experience dealing with multiple situations at one time, I was going to make a damn good nurse.

Edward was okay, but he had begun using other things in his room to construct one of his buildings. Half of his possessions were strewn about the floor. I could only imagine what he had been constructing.

“You okay, little man?”

“Yeah, mommy.” He stood up and rushed over to hug me.

I picked him up and squeezed him tight. He was still in my arms when I walked back into the living room to deal with Raquel.

“Seriously. No more with those guys, Raquel. You're a smart girl.”

“I know.”

I could tell she wasn't in the mood for a lecture, so I shut my mouth, but in the back of my mind I made a mental note to bring the issue up to her again and try to watch out for her more. Raquel was growing up without a stable father figure in her house, and I knew that was hard to do.

“Okay. I may be a little late after work, but that means more money for you.”

“What you doing?” Raquel asked.

“Oh, just going to meet a personal trainer at a gym.”

“Is he cute?”

“He owns a gym and he's a nice guy.”

“But is he cute?”

I laughed. “Damn, girl. Yeah, he's cute.”

She smiled, which made me happy. “Well, take your time. You work a lot.”

“Well, I can't be out all night because I can't pay you that much money.”

“I'll cut you a break sometime maybe. I like you.”