Page 58 of Alonzo

“Vann, let’s go. Belinda can stay here if she wants, but I’m certainly not.”

I look at Vann. He looks at Rosalie—or Belinda—then back at Tara. “I think we should wait it out and see if—”

“Oh, fuck this!” Tara says.

I look back at my mother and point to preempt her language admonishment. “Zip it, Mom. I’m fucking serious right now.”

Tara has turned away and is now walking down the middle of the street like she’s going home and doesn’t live two thousand miles away.

I catch up with her. Get in front of her. Put a hand up to stop her. “Will you just wait!”

“No. I’m out.”

“You’re not out. You came here. Two thousand miles. To see me! You’re not just going to walk away!”

“I didn’t come to see you. I came to scream at you! For lying!”

Jesse is waving his hands in the air trying to get my attention. I squint my eyes at him as he mouths the words, Be the boss.

Right.

“Tara.” I say this sternly. “Stop being a child and just come into my house and talk with me.”

“Child? Fuck you, Lonnie! Alonzo. Lons. Oh, my God. Now I know why you were so weird when I called you Lons. You thought I figured out your real name! You are such a piece of work, you know that?”

“Lonnie,” my mother says, suddenly behind Tara. “I really like that name.”

And… that’s it. I’ve had enough. I need to talk to my girl and I need to do that in private. And if she’s not going to come willingly, then I’m going to make her.

I reach down, grab her by the waist, hurl her over my shoulder, and start walking towards my front porch.

“Fuck, yeah, Lonz!” Jesse says, pumping a fist in the air.

“Language, Jesse!”

Tara is screaming, “Put me down, you fucking caveman!” She bangs her little fists on my back and kicks her feet.

I slap her ass and hiss, “Stop it! Right now!” as I carry her up the porch steps and inside my house.

The last thing I hear before slamming the front door closed behind us is Jesse yelling, “Be the boss!”

“Put me down!” Tara is still kicking and punching.

I walk over to the couch and throw her down into the cushions. “There! You’re down. And you’re going to stay down until you calm your shit and listen to me.”

“Is that so?”

“Yup. You heard him. I’m the boss.”

She scrambles. I reach for her just as she’s about to slip past me, grab her by the pant leg, and she falls to the floor, kicking at me to try to get free.

I flip her over, climb on top of her, lean down into her face and stare straight into her eyes. “Tara Tanner. Stop it right now.”

“Or what?”

“Or…”

I kiss her. I kiss her right on the mouth. She struggles underneath me. Which only makes this whole scene that much hotter in my opinion. She grabs my hair, refusing to kiss me back. And I’m just about to give up and let her—say fuck it to this entire shit show of a situation—when her lips soften against mine.