Page 32 of Dr. Bell

“Tell me more about Tilda,” she requested as she started eating.

Tearing my eyes away from the way she slid the fork into her mouth to remove the shrimp from it, I cleared the clog from my throat. Every fucking thing she did turned me on, and it was just crazy as hell. I was on her tough as shit. What was scarier is that I was cool with it.

“I met Tilda my freshman year of college. She was mean as hell and used to tease me because she said I would never smile.”

“I can see that,” she mumbled and held back a grin.

“You’ve met my pops. Does he seem like the smiling type?”

We both laughed as she emphatically shook her head.

“Your dad looks like he can fight really good.”

I threw my head back and laughed.

“The fact that y’all are practically twins is scary,” she added. “He stopped aging after thirty.”

“Ooh, don’t let him hear you say that. That nigga’s head is big enough.”

She cackled, and the sound was mesmerizing to say the least.

“Anyway, after that first year of dealing with Tilda, I would just randomly visit her classroom.”

“Can you recall what drew you to her?”

I loved how Pretty was so invested in knowing about someone I cared for dearly. As I ate and thought about Tilda, I couldn’t help but smile.

“Tilda was an older woman who bragged about her kid all the time. She kept a picture of Humble on her desk and talked about him often. I could tell some days were harder than others for her, but she just always seemed so fuckin’ happy. She had the type of joy that anyone would be envious of. I was drawn to that.”

“She sounds like she was amazing.”

“She was. Even in her seventies, she didn’t take any shit off anyone. There were a couple of times I had to check a nigga ‘bout her.”

Pretty smacked her teeth, then laughed. “Figures.”

“Mane, what you talkin’ ‘bout. I had muhfuckas terrified to ask her questions during class.”

The arch of Pretty’s neck as she laughed stirred the pit of my stomach.

“You’re a menace,” she said.

“She loved me,” I countered.

“I’m sure she did.”

“Let’s fall in love, Pretty.”

Stunned, she glanced at me under her long lashes, and everything seemed to move around her as she froze. Her hairflowed in the wind, the seagulls sang in the distance, and the waves pounded the shore. All the while, she was stuck staring at me.

“I’m serious as fuck. Let’s do it. Over and over, every single day. I want you to look at me and saydamn, that fine muhfucka belongs to me.”

She giggled hard.

“This is a lifetime for us. Let’s do this shit big, baby.”

Her face relaxed with a tender smile. “What did you say to cause this to come to what it is now?”

I inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly, and replied, “I recognized favor the moment I laid eyes on you, Pretty. Shit hit me so hard, I knew settling for anything less than you being my woman wasn’t the play.”

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