“Boyfriend,” Alauni quickly interrupted.
I was just going to say that I was a friend, but I was happy to hear Alauni's words instead.
Layne looked up at Alauni. “So, this is the man you were telling me about?”
“Yes, baby. This is the nice man that loves Mommy.”
Giving me a suspicious glare, Layne circled around me slowly, her hands folded behind her back. “Are you really nice to my Mommy?”
“Always.”
“Do you say sweet things and give her candy?”
“Yes.”
“Do you rub her feet? Because her feet always hurt from walking and standing most days.”
Laughing, I said, “I haven’t yet, but I definitely plan to.”
Her face lit up and she turned back to Alauni. “He reallyisnice to you, Mommy. I think I like him.”
“I think I do too, baby.”
Before I could say anything, Denver entered the backyard, and Layne darted back towards the fence to greet him.
“Wow, that was a pleasant surprise,” I said, pulling Alauni into my arms. “I didn’t know that you were bringing Layne.”
“Yeah, I hope I didn’t weird you out or anything. She’d just been asking me a lot of questions about why I was so happy lately, and I had to tell her the truth.”
“Does that mean that your happiness has something to do with me?”
She smiled. “It has a lot to do with you.”
Lowering my lips to her ear, I whispered, “Do you want to show me how much?”
“Cut it out. I’m not showing you anything at your nephew’s graduation party. I know we do crazy shit anywhere, but I do have some kind of standards.”
“I’m just teasing,” I said, giving her ass a little squeeze. “I’m really glad you came though, and I’m even happier that you introduced me to Layne.”
“I’m glad I did too. She was actually excited to meet you.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I was a little shocked by her excitement. Especially since I know how much she loves her father.”
“Of course, she does. Speaking of which, bringing her here isn’t going to cause a problem between the two of you, is it?”
“No, I talked to him about it first. He’s okay with it.”
Nodding, I said, “Cool.”
“I’ll be back. I’m going to go talk to Keyon.”
“I’ll go with you.”
As soon as we made it over, Keyon eyed me suspiciously. “What did you tell my mom?”
“Huh?”
