by Jade Royal
Master J: No mini golf?
Me: No. I think we’re both tired anyway.
Master J: Just let me know if you need me.
Me: No pun intended, right?
Master J: You’re being a dirty girl.
Me: Sorry, Sir.
Master J: Why? I like it.
I saw the tow truck driver pull in, and I got out of the car and waved him over. I sent a quick text to Master J letting him know. The tow man tried to jump the car, but the battery wouldn’t hold a charge.
“I think that you need a new battery.”
“Everything is under warranty, so can you just tow it to the dealership?”
“Sure.”
I gave him the address and I woke Angelica. We took out the things that we needed, and I went back inside the deli. I tried Mama a few more times and sighed. My phone beeped, and I read the text message from Master J.
Master J: Did he fix it?
Me: No... he towed it because it was unresponsive.
Master J: Your mother?
I sighed. I’d really hoped that he wouldn’t message me until I’d gotten a hold of her.
Me: Is still not answering her phone.
Master J: Where are you?
Me: The deli
Master J: Where? I’m coming to get you.
I sighed, not liking these options. I didn’t want to introduce him to Angelica prematurely. I didn’t know where this was going to go, and I didn’t want her to get her hopes up about anything. She lived in a little fantasy world sometimes, and I didn’t want her to get any bright ideas.
Me: I’m not sure that’s a good idea.
Master J: Something I need to know?
Me: No.
Master J: Then...?
Me: Angelica.
Master J: I’m not afraid of children, Nessa.
I tried my mother again and when she didn’t answer, my hand was forced.
Me: The movie theater off I-275.
Master J: I’ll see you soon.
Angelica sat still, watching me. I put my phone down and prepared myself for her questions. There was no time better than the present to get this over with. I took a deep breath and put on my big girl pants.
“Angelica, Nessa G’s friend is going to come and get us since Nana isn’t answering her phone right now.”
“What’s her name?”
“It’s a man, not a woman.”
Angelica smiled. “Oh! What’s his name?”
“His name is Jamar.” I could see the little fantasy building in her head already.
“Jamar. Can he be my friend, too?”
“Who wouldn’t want to be friends with a princess?”
“Nobody. He is coming with us to mini golf?”
“’Is he coming with us to play mini golf?’ That’s up to him. Since you’re tired, I think that we should just head home to nap.”
“I’m not tired. And you promised!”
I sighed. “Okay. We can go, but only if HE wants to.”
My phone beeped, and I checked the message.
Master J: Here.
Me: We’ll be right out.
“Ready, kiddo?”
“Yup!” She jumped down out of her chair and we walked out hand in hand. As we did, Master J was walking toward us from his car. He waved to us, and I waited for him to cross to the sidewalk from the parking lot as cars passed.
“Is that him?” Angelica looked up to me to ask.
“Yes, that’s Mr. Jamar.”
“He’s pretty.”
I giggled. “Men don’t like to be called pretty.”
“What do I call them?”
“Handsome.”
“Mr. Jamar is handsome, Nessa G, and tall!”
I smiled as he approached us, finally.
“Well, hello. You must be Angelica.”
“I am. You must be Mr. Jamar.”
“I am.” He squatted down and took her hand, shaking it lightly. “Nice to meet you.”
“Are you taking us to mini golf?” Angelica said.
“Angelica! I said it was his decision.” I scowled.
“I was just asking.” She mumbled her words and nervously fidgeted.
“I would love to take you girls to play mini golf.”
“Jamar,” He looked at me and raised his eyebrow. “You don’t have to go with us. You can just drop us off if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind. I think it’ll be fun.” He took Angelica’s other hand and we walked to his car. He drove a huge suburban. What did he need with all that space?
“Trying to compensate for something?” I smiled mischievously.
“You tell me.” I blushed and shook my head. “That’s what I thought. I always have to carry around equipment and supplies for my freelance projects. Plus, not only am I a photographer, I also build BDSM equipment, and that needs a lot of space.”
He lifted Angelica into the backseat and put her seatbelt on. “All nice and safe.”
“Thank you!”
“You’re welcome, doll.”
“Nessa G calls me princess.”
“Is that what you want me to call you, too?”
“No. I like doll.”
Master J and I laughed. Where do kids find this stuff?! Apparently, he had a way with all girls, not just the adult ones. Charmer.
Master J popped her nose with his finger playfully and she laughed as he closed the door. Off we went to play mini golf. Master J paid for everything even though he was our guest. When I interjected, I was scolded with just his eyes. He told Angelica that the man should always pay unless it was a gift for him. She nodded in understanding as if he had given her wisdom on the ways of the world. When we were playing the last hole, Angelica jumped up and down while pointing at the pizzeria that was in sight.
“Nessa G, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease can we go? Pizza is my favorite.”
“We can’t just walk by your favorite food without stopping to get some, now can we?” Master J responded.
“Yay!” She hugged his leg and then came over to hug me, too.
I shot daggers his way, but he laughed them off.
“You’re totally spoiling her!” I folded my arms in protest.
“Maybe, but I’m not ready to let you out of my sight yet. And appeasing her means that I get just what I want.”
How in the hell was I supposed to argue with that?
We ordered an extra-large, extra-cheese pizza because it was Angelica’s favorite. When we got it, I was in shock at the size of it. I just knew that we were going to be eating pizza for a week after this. But while I barely got two slices and salad down, Angelica ate two, and Jamar ate almost three. I don’t know where either of them put the food that they’d just consumed. The slices were big and hearty. The last two pieces went in a small box for Angelica to take home. I stood and looked at Angelica.
“Want to head to the bathroom with me?”
“I already went.”
“Are you sure?” I needed to go to the bathroom and call Mom for the ride home. I didn’t want to leave her out here with Jamar to cause problems.
“It’s okay. I’ll look after her.” Jamar barely looked at me as he continued playing tic tac toe with Angelica.
Once out of sight, I called Mom. After the third try, she answered hurriedly.
“Vanessa, are you okay?”
I relayed the events of the day to her and how we were at dinner with Jamar after playing mini-golf. “I need you to come and get us before he offers to drive us home.”
“I will be finishing up in about ten minutes and then I can come and get you.”
“Do you remember how to use the GPS?”
“I used it to get here to the conference.”
“I’ll text you the address for you to plug in.”
“Everything alright? You seem to be trying to run from something. Has he done something?”
I paused, thinking about her question. Maybe I was running from Master J. Today had been perfect, an
d I just kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. It was so much easier to leave while things were still good than to end on a sour note. I sighed, not liking how much I was growing attached to him. There had to be a flaw, I just hadn’t found it yet.
“Can we talk about it tonight?”
“Of course. I love you.”
“I love you more, Mamá. See you soon.”
My hair had become a mess while playing golf earlier, so I took extra time to put my hair up into a clip to tame it. I did plan to steal a kiss from him at some point, and I’d like to be presentable when it happened.
Chapter 17: Jamar
I looked over at the very beautiful Angelica and thought about what it would be like to have a child of my own. It wasn’t the first time that it had crossed my mind, but her presence today made my daddy instincts go into overdrive. I wasn’t thinking about the age-play that I enjoyed. It was the youngling that made me ache for children to call my own. She looked at me as if I could take on the world for her, and I would. She was too cute not to.
Angelica brought back the warmth that I’d felt the day that I received the call telling me that I was going to be a father. Chances were slim now since I didn’t even have a permanent woman in my life to share the blessing.
“Angelica, what grade are you in?” I put my ‘x’ down in a box waiting for her to figure out my strategy.
“Second grade.”
“Wow, aren’t you a smart girl.” She blocked my attempt successfully. This girl was on it.
“I’m really excited about our play that’s coming up.”
“What is it about?”
“Growing up and being a big kid.”
“That sounds fun. What’s your part?”
“I get to sing and dance. We get to give our mothers roses...” Angelica paused. I didn’t know what she knew about her existence, so I waited her out. “I’ll just give mine to Nana.”
“Why won’t you give it to Vanessa?”
“Nessa G doesn’t like for me to call her ‘Mommy’. My friend Brian’s mom doesn’t like it either. She told us that she’s not old. Maybe that’s why Nessa G doesn’t like it.”
“How do you know that she doesn’t like it?” I felt like I was prying, but Vanessa was always so tight-lipped about things. She may not even be privy to the information.
“Last night, when I called her ‘Mommy’ by accident it made her angry. She said that her bad dreams made her cry, but I think it was me.”
I agreed with the kid a bit. I think that the slip up probably stirred some feelings making her cry. I’m not sure why it would be such a powerful trigger. She had raised Angelica, and by law she was her guardian. The mother/daughter bond that Angelica had to Vanessa’s best friend was probably severed many years ago. Vanessa had been her constant mother figure, and it made sense that she would gravitate to the endearment.
“I think that you are too precious to cause anybody to cry. Her bad dream must have been hurtful. Do you ever have bad dreams?”
“Yes, I watched a scary movie when I wasn’t supposed to, and I had bad dreams all night. I was crying, and Nessa G let me sleep with her. I’ll never do that again!”
I laughed. “See. Bad dreams feel that bad for grownups, too.”
Angelica nodded. “I apologized already, and I jumped in her bed to sleep with her to make the bad man go away.”
“Bad man?”
“Yup! She told Nana she was tired of him ruinin’ her life.”
“Ruining”
“Ru... ruining.”
“Good girl.”
Angelica smiled. “My mouth doesn’t like that word.”
“It’s a tough one. Keep practicing and you’ll get it perfect.”
“I will!” I smiled at Angelica’s eagerness.
I looked up and saw Vanessa heading towards us. and I leaned down so that only Angelica could hear me. “Vanessa needs to feel special just like you. I think you should give her the rose to let her know just how much you love her. It would mean a lot to her. It’s a big girl’s job to make their parents feel good.”
Angelica sat up straighter and smiled big. “Good plan!” She nodded her head once, showing that she was indeed a big girl that was ready to take on the responsibility of putting a smile on her mother’s face.
“What’s a good plan?” Vanessa said as she sat beside us.
“That I’m a big girl, duh.”
Vanessa shook her head. You could see her cringe when Angelica said ‘duh’. “Well, big girl, Nana should be here any moment to retrieve us. Did you tell Mr. Jamar thank you for spoiling us today?”
“Thank you, Mr. Jamar.”
“You’re very welcome, doll.”
Angelica blushed, and it was the cutest thing. Well, second cutest if you counted Vanessa’s blush.
Vanessa’s phone rang, and she answered it. “We’ll be right out.”
I waved over the server who brought our bill. I paid him in cash with a generous tip since Angelica had taken up a bunch of his time by telling him about how it was important to color in the lines. He was great with her and didn’t look bothered by her talkativeness. When Vanessa got off the phone, I spoke.
“You know that I would have given you guys a ride home. I wouldn’t have minded.”
“I know, but Mamá wasn’t far. I appreciate it, though.”
I stood and walked my charges outside. I saw her mother sitting in the car, and I knew it was her instantly. She looked as if she could have been Vanessa’s sister not her mother. There was a striking resemblance that clearly told me what she would look like in twenty years.
“Are you okay with meeting my mother? I know it’s a bit soon, but she really wants to meet you.”
“Does that mean that you speak highly of me?” I wagged my eyebrows at her.
Vanessa giggled. “It means that she knows that you are the one that stole my innocence.”
“Stole is such a harsh word when you damn near gift-wrapped it for me.”
Vanessa turned and slapped my arm. “I did not!”
“Your version. My version involves you begging me to take you with desperation.” I jumped away as she tried to swat at me.
“Not funny!”
We both laughed. “I’d be glad to meet the woman who birthed all that is you.”
Vanessa blushed. “Don’t try to sweet talk me now. It won’t get you anywhere.”
“Really? Should we try out my theory?”
Vanessa shook her head no and shook her finger at me as we walked across the driving space in front of the building where her mother waited. Angelica jumped in the car and hugged her Nana tightly.
“Nana, this is our friend, Mr. Jamar.”
Vanessa laughed. “Our friend?”
“Yes, we’re friends, too, right Mr. Jamar?”
“We sure are.”
“You are spoiling her, Sir.” I heard the tone in Vanessa’s voice and it brought forth my Daddy-Dom side. I put my hand on her back just above her ass and rubbed lazy circles there. I lowered my voice for Vanessa’s ears only.
“I can spoil my girls just as much as I’d like. Unappreciative brats get punished for not saying thank you.”
I saw the blush spread over her, and I can guess just where it settled. “Mamá, this is Jamar, Jamar this is Ms. Rodriguez, my mother.”
I leaned down inside the window and shook her hand. “It’s nice to meet the beautiful woman of the family. I see where Vanessa gets her beauty.”
Ms. Rodriguez smiled. “Flattery gets you everywhere.”
“See?! Why can’t you be more like your mother?” I said and kissed her nose.
“Then date my mother.”
I leaned down again and asked. “What nights are you free, Ms. Rodriguez?” I winked and put my finger to my lip to let her know that I was joking.
Vanessa smacked my arm again. “Don’t you dare.”
Ms. Rodriguez and I laughed while Vanessa threw a silent fit. “Can I have a hug before you leave
me, doll?”
Angelica rushed out the car where I squatted, and she hugged me tightly. “Thank you for today, Mr. Jamar.”
“No, thank you for inviting me to the party.”
“Can we have another party sometime?”
“Of course! I’ll get with Nessa G, and maybe Nana will come, too.”
“Yay!” Angelica hugged me again and got in the back seat. I leaned in and made sure that her seat belt was on and secure. I closed her door and looked at Vanessa.
“Can I get a hug from you, too?”
Vanessa nodded. “I’d like that.”
I pulled her close and hugged her tight. I kissed her cheek and started to pull away, but she held on tight as she leaned upwards and kissed me on the lips. She pulled away a bit and whispered.
“Thank you for everything you did today. I hope I didn’t take up too much of your time.”
“You can have more if you’d like.” I kissed her quickly and let her go.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Call me when you get home to let me know you’re safe.”
“Yes, Sir.”
I opened her door and waited for her to get safely inside before I closed the door. “Very nice to meet you, Ms. Rodriguez.”
“You, too, Jamar. Thanks for taking care of my girls. Next time, don’t keep my daughter out late enough to worry me.”
I nodded. “I’ll make sure she’s home early next time, or we’ll plan ahead for any sleepovers so that you know.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.” Ms. Rodriguez genuinely looked pleased with my answer. Winning her over would take honesty, and it was everything that I stood for. She was a good woman, and I was happy that she was around Vanessa to keep her sweet.
“Yes, ma’am.”
I winked at Vanessa, stood, and patted the hood of the car for them to take off. As I walked to my car, I was on cloud nine. My first meeting with her daughter and mother went just fine. I also loved spending time with Vanessa today. Now I just had to get her to open up to me about her past.
Chapter 18: Vanessa
When we got home, I was feeling anxious. Despite the fact I had just spent time with Jamar, I missed him. But I didn’t like missing him as much as I did. It created a new level of dependency that I wasn’t ready for. Unfortunately, I wasn’t comfortable talking to my mother about these things. It felt odd to have these types of conversations with her. I got Angelica settled into a bath in my bathroom so that I could hear her. She had a bad habit of falling asleep in the bathtub when she was tired. I sat on my bed facing the door and dialed my new friend’s number. Just as she answered, I heard Angelica yawn.