Page 9 of XOXO, Valentina

“I don’t hook up on Wednesdays.”

Lacey burst into laughter. “Plus, she’s wearing her mom panties.”

Mia leveled me with her prosecutor’s stare. “Do you really have a schedule for sex?”

“No. But Wednesdays are out. Shane is at basketball practice,” I said. “I barely have time for a run and takeout.”

“Shane isn’t a baby,” Lacey said. “He can stay home alone for a little while.”

“I know, but I don’t have a lot of time left with him.” Sadness filled me at the thought of Shane’s imminent departure. “I won’t waste it on a Wednesday night hook up with a random man.”

I got home before Shane and set the table for dinner. A few minutes later, he blew into the house like a six-foot-tall hurricane, scarfed down his food, and shoved back from the table.

“You forgot to chew,” I said as he rinsed his plate and loaded it into the dishwasher.

He grabbed a chocolate muffin I’d swiped from the teacher’s lounge and headed down the hall. “I told Jaden and Kendall I’d be online at seven forty-five.”

“Wait a second,” I said. “What about homework?”

He groaned. “I did it already.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m sure.”

“How’s your grade in Spanish?” I put down my fork and rose from the table. “You can’t be on the team if you don’t make good grades.”

“I know, Mom. I’m working on it, I promise.” He checked his phone, and his thumbs flew against the screen in the fastest text this side of the Mississippi. “By the way, Coach Marshall is making me try out for track,” he said.

“Track sounds great,” I said. “You know, I was the fastest miler—”

“I know. You were the fastest miler in the state of North Carolina in, like, 1942.” He grinned and shoved the muffin into his mouth.

I cocked an eyebrow at him. “Respect your mother.”

He hurried down the hall, narrowly missing his head on the low-hanging light fixture. Had he grown in the last week?Probably. I added raising the light fixture to my ever-growing list of household maintenance items.

“I don’t want to run track,” he said around the mouthful of muffin. “I hate running. It’s so boring.”

I followed him down the hall. “Are you even my child?”

“Nope.” He pulled his door open. “You’re way too short to be my mom.”

“Don’t forget to brush your teeth,” I said as he settled in front of his video game and pulled his headset on over his headful of springy curls. “And you need a haircut.”

He gave me a thumbs-up sign and reached for his controller.

“You have until eight thirty,” I said. “Then get to bed.”

“Okay,” he said. “No, I wasn’t talking to you. It’s my mom.” He shifted his headset. “Jaden says hi.”

“Hi, Jaden.” I resisted the urge to wipe muffin crumbs from Shane’s cheek and stepped into the hall. “Don’t stay up too late. It’s a school night.”

Shane didn’t hear the last bit of advice. He was already lost in the world of ultimate fighting or whatever game he was playing with his best friends. I knew I would have to go back to his room at eight thirty to make sure he was following the rules. It was the part of my job as a single mom I hated the most. I always had to be the bad guy. If his dad were around, I would get some relief. Montel had been in the military. He would have been a stern father with lots of rules and regulations.

Maybe Montel wouldn’t have even let Shane play video games online with his friends. Maybe he would have insisted they were too violent or risky for predators. But it was some of the only time Shane had to spend with his friends. His life was busy with sports and school and his multitude of cousins, who always seemed to be having an event to attend. I didn’t have the heart to tell Shane he couldn’t have a little downtime with his video game and his buddies.

Deep down, I knew I was probably too soft on Shane, and I struggled to find balance. If Montel were here…

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