Page 5 of An Uphill Battle

After dropping his little wisdom-bomb, Simon picks back up his pace, leaving me to ponder on just how I should step up my game. Azalea isn’t exactly your typicalgirl.

Flowers? Hell no. She’d probably throw them in my face. In her opinion, flowers are a “just because” sort of thing, not an actualgift.

Dinner and a movie? We’ve done that countless times as friends, so that’s a no-go. It doesn’t say different. It doesn’t sayrelationship.

No, I gotta think big. Bigger than big. And maybe even bigger thanthat.

* * *

By the timeI catch back up to Simon, he’s grinning like he’s got a secret. My guard instantly goesup.

“Took ya long enough, D.” I shoot him a look that screamsshut up. So, naturally, he keeps talking. “Cash called while I was waitin’ on your slow ass. Asked if I could watch B-Man tomorrow night. Seemed sorta desperate. Told him I was a no-go.”

“You got a point here, orwhat?”

“Point is, I told him youwould.”

“Of course you did,” I spit at him, trying to sound mad. It’s impossible though. Cash and I have been friends since we were barely teenagers, both living in Arkansas at the time. It’s kind of fucking crazy how we both ended up back in Dogwood—me at sixteen, when my mom decided to take an overseas job, and him this past year after things went way, way south with his ex. And even if Cash wasn’t one of my closest friends, his son, Brody, is the best baby in the history of babies, and I’m always down to chill with that littledude.

“C’mon, let’s grab a bite to eat. Cash said he’d text you thedetails.”

3

Azalea

“Knock, knock,”I call out as I step through the already-open front door at the Carsonhousehold.

“Hey, Az! I’m so-so-so glad you’re here early,” Myla says as she rushes past me with Brody bundled in her arms. “Help me getready?”

“That’s what I’m here for, sister-girl. Now, gimme that baby,” I tell her, making grabbing hands atBrody.

She passes him to me and gestures for me to follow her. Once we make it to the master bedroom, I gently lower us into the glider she has in the corner. “So, what all do you have left to do to get ready for your big night,Mama?”

“Uh. Everything!” Myla Rose throws herself back onto her bed, landing with one arm thrown across hereyes.

“Okay, drama queen, be real for aminute.”

Rolling to her side, she tells me, “No, really. Look at me!” So, I do, and on closer inspection, she’s got spit-up in her hair, dark circles under her eyes, and she’s dressed in one of Cash’s shirts with mismatched socks. Holding back my laughter, I nod for her to continue. “I need to pack, get everything set up for you and B-Man, I need to do my hair, my face, and get dressed.” The pitch of her voice rises with each item on her to-do list, and I can’t help butlaugh.

“Myles, chill. It’s only four. Y’all aren’t leaving until six. I’ve got Brody. Go shower. And as for setting out stuff for me, I’ve got this. I know your house like the back of my hand, and Brody is the sweetest little man on the planet. We gotthis!”

Myla Rose cuts her eyes at me, as if she’s unsure whether to believe me, so naturally, I ignore her and direct my words to the sweet little boy who’s happily snoozing against my chest. “Your mama thinks we don’t got this, but we do, don’t we, sugars? We got this on lock, and Mama just needs to worry about herself and Daddy, yes herdo.”

“Oh, Lord have mercy, I got it. I’m gonna go wash this rat’s nest on myhead.”

“Be sure to shave!” I call afterher.

Thirty minutes later, I hear Myla’s hair dryer click on, and that’s my cue. Carefully, I stand from the glider, making sure to keep Little Man’s head supported. After depositing him into his crib, I switch on his white noise machine and make my way back toMyla.

I step into her room just as she steps out of the bathroom. “Want me to curl your hair and do yourmakeup?”

“Yes, please, and thankyou.”

I set to work curling her tresses, wrapping each section of hair around the barrel of the iron and then securing the curls with duckbill clips to set. While it’s cooling, I apply her makeup, keeping it light and dewy. Myla Rose is the very definition of natural beauty, with her freckle-dotted ivory skin, big brown eyes, and long fieryhair.

“Do you trust me to pick out youroutfit?”

“Well...yeah...”

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