Page 17 of Crossing the Lines for Love

“I can’t do that. We agreed that she’d contact me if she wanted to see him or know how he was doing.”

“That’s—”

“Kolette, let it go, baby. Niko is a damn good father, and that’s all that matters.”

“That’s all that mattered when my grandson wasn’t asking about his mother. It’s different now.”

I sighed. It had been a while since my mother had mentioned Chanice. For the first year that I was home, she didn’t mention her at all, and I thought she understood the agreement I’d made with Deuce’s mother.

“I can’t make her be a part of his life. I’m holding up my end of the bargain by not reaching out to her, not sending pictures or videos, or pressuring her to be present in his life. That’s all I can do, Ma.”

She sighed and shook her head with disappointment all over her face. I hated that she felt the way she did, but there was nothing I could do about it.

Thankfully, my father changed the subject, and we enjoyed the rest of pizza night. I stayed for a few hours after we finished eating to play with Deuce. He could hardly keep his eyes open by the time I’d bathed him and read him a bedtime story.

“All right, parentals. I’ll be over before noon to pick him up. Thanks for watching him.”

“You know it’s never a problem,” my mother said.

“Unless we have plans. I keep telling you to find a backup sitter,” my father added.

He loved Niko being around as much, if not more than my mother, but he never missed an opportunity to remind me not to take them for granted. I never had, and I never would.

“You don’t knowhow much I needed a night out. This week has been hell,” I announced.

Amari and Devin, two of our coworkers, invited Montrell, a few other teachers around our age, and me out. Most times, I declined, but today, they could barely get the question out before I agreed.

“We haven’t talked all week because you’ve been going to bed before the sun sets,” Montrell said.

“Because I’ve been tired as hell. I almost reneged tonight, but I need a few strong drinks and some dancing to loud music.”

Lovers and Friends was a restaurant until ten p.m., when it converted into a club. We arrived at about 8:30 to have dinner before we danced the night away.

“I forgot you started that new coaching job. How’s it going?” Amari, one of my coworkers, asked.

“It’s not too much different than coaching high school boys. I’m amazed at how little men mature between the ages of fourteen and twenty-two.”

“That’s crazy, and it has to be annoying, too, because you expect them to act their age,” she said.

“Exactly, but I realized that wouldn’t be the case halfway through the first day of practice.”

We laughed as the server approached to take our drink and appetizer orders.

“Hopefully, it’ll get better as the season progresses. How do they feel about having a woman as their coach?” Devin asked.

I rolled my eyes before responding. “There was a little hiccup with the team captain before we started practice, but he apologized and has been cool ever since. The other players haven’t saidanything, but I can tell they’re tempted. I’m prepared for it to take a few weeks for them to be confident I know what I’m doing, so it’s cool.”

Our drinks arrived, followed by our appetizers a few minutes later. I tried not to be greedy, but I was starving, which was apparent to everyone.

“Damn, Randi. Did you skip lunch?” Montrell asked.

I nodded. “I got caught up watching film from last year and the time got away from me.”

“Greedy ass.”

We shared another laugh as I showed no shame stuffing my face. Our meal soon arrived, and we continued to converse while enjoying our food. The restaurant stopped taking reservations to begin preparing for the club hours.

By the time we finished eating, the DJ had arrived, and the staff was almost done shifting furniture. I was ready for more drinks and to shake my ass on the dance floor.

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