Page 63 of Senior

“Stanley! Come on. I’m trying to study.” I pushed him away, but he came right back.

“I’m trying to study too, love. I’m trying to see what happens when we add me and you minus these clothes.”

I rolled my eyes. “A baby. You want that?”

“With you, hell yeah. About three or four of them lil’ fuckers.”

“That’s a negative. I got one in me and that’s it.”

He laughed. “You don’t wanna be my ol’ lady and give me a shit load of babies?”

“Not while every girl in our class is trying to be the chosen one.”

He kissed his teeth. “Why are you worried about other girls when all I’m focused on it’s you?”

He cupped my chin and forced my eyes to his. “I’m trying to give you to world and you wanna play with me. You’re gonna be my wife one day, Stephanie.”

I rolled my eyes. “Sure I am.”

“Nah, I mean that. You’re gonna have a big ass house with servants and shit. The flyest whips. Designer clothes, shoes, and bags. I’ma make sure you can stunt on these same hoes. I don’t care how long it takes, me and you are end game.”

He cupped my face and kissed me softly. My young hormones couldn’t stop themselves from raging. One moment we were studying, the next he was on top of me with his hand under my shirt playing with my nipple. I was so busy being fast that I didn’t even hear my mama walk in until she was yanking Stanley off of me.

“Ma!” I protested, scrambling to my feet. “We were just kissing.”

“And if I‘d been five minutes later, you would have just been fucking.” She shoved Stanley toward the door. “Didn’t I tell you to stay away from my daughter, little boy?”

“I can’t do that, Ms. Larkins. I love her.”

My mother scoffed. “That’s not enough. You’re trouble. Your whole damn family is trouble, and I don’t want my daughter caught up in that. Stephanie’s future doesn’t involve the likes of you.”

“No disrespect, Ms. Larkins, but you don’t know me, and you don’t have the final say on that. Steph is safe with me because of who I am. I’d never let any harm come to her. I love her, and even if you don’t like it, you’re gonna have to get used to it because I’m never leaving her alone.”

My mother frowned. “Get your shit and get out of my house, little boy. Don’t let me catch you back over here.”

Stanley nodded and did as she stated. Before he left my room, he came over and kissed my lips.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Once he was gone, my mama laid into my ass. Again, she forbade me from seeing Stanley outside of school settings. She even threatened to shoot him if he came back in her house without permission. That caused a whole screaming match between us because whose man were you gonna shoot?

Not mine.

My refusal to follow her rules about him had me kicked out of the house at seventeen. She allowed met to leave with whatever I bought with my own money and that was it. The first person I called was Stanley, and he came to get me and took me back to the compound. Ms. Rebecca cursed us both out when we told her what happened, but she allowed me to stay and threatened to beat our asses if we found our way in each other’s rooms in the middle of the night.

“Baby?”

I blinked rapidly as I came out of my thoughts.

“Hmm?”

“You good? I’ve been calling your name.”

“I’m fine. Just went somewhere in my head. I thought about that time my mama put me out over you.”

He chuckled. “Woman never liked me. Even on her deathbed, she had to let me know I ruined you.”