Chapter Three

Kylee was in the living room bumping DJ Khaled’s “Take it to the Head” while working out in front of the TV when her cell phone began to ring. She grabbed the towel off the arm of the chair, and wiped her face before grabbing the remote and turning the music down. Kylee walked over to the end table to retrieve her ringing phone. She looked at the caller ID and rolled her eyes before picking the phone up from the charging dock.

“Hello,” she answered, out of breath.

“What are you doing?” her father asked skeptically.

“Workin’ out, Dad,” Kylee answered, slightly annoyed because of her father’s insinuation.

“Oh, well how come I haven’t seen my only child’s face in almost a week?” her father started in. “I told your mother it wasn’t a good idea for us to get you your own place because we would never see you.”

“I’ve been busy, Dad,” Kylee said, stretching the truth.

“Busy doing what? Too busy to come over and to see your parents? Remember you only have one mother and one father. Once we’re gone, you don’t get another pair,” her father said.

Kylee rolled her eyes into the top of her head. If she had a dollar for each time her father said those words to her, there would be no need to sleep with men for money.

“I’ve been busy lookin’ for a summer job so I can help pay for some of the things I’ll need for college this fall,” Kylee lied again. Truth be told, she was busy juggling her time between men.

The thought of his only child going to college put a smile on her father’s face, but at the same time having her way across the country had him feeling some kind of way. “Now you know your mother and I are only making you work to teach you some kind of responsibility,” her father explained. “You’ve had a free ride your entire life and now that you’re grown, we don’t want you to think you can get everything handed to you without you having to work for it, you understand?”

“Yes, Daddy, I understand,” Kylee answered, just to appease her father, knowing she’d always gotten and still could get anything she wanted from him and any other man she dealt with, with little to no work at all.

“Good.”

“Well, Daddy, I need to finish workin’ out. I need to stay in the habit in order to avoid the freshman fifteen,” Kylee said, rushing her father off the phone before he steered their conversation to why she felt the need to go way to California just to go to college when they have hundreds of colleges in and around Ohio.

“Okay. Oh, before I forget, your godfather is having a cookout this weekend and your mother and I would like for you to join us.”

Kylee was not in the mood to be around Tony unless she was getting paid to be. And she really wasn’t in the mood to be in the midst of all his perverted old friends. They always made her feel uncomfortable by staring at her like she was a piece of meat. Plus, 2 Chainz was supposed to be performing at Skate-A-Mania later the same night.

“Daddy, I really don’t feel like bein’ bothered with Uncle Tony and all his friends. So I think I’ll pass,” Kylee said.

“What’s wrong with Tony’s friends? They’re genuine, down-to-earth, well-rounded men,” her father stated.

“They’re well-rounded all right.” Kylee laughed, referring to the majority of his friends’ shapes.

“Kylee, you ain’t right,” her father reprimanded her.

“I’m jus’ sayin’.” She chuckled.

“Anyways, we want you to be there.”

“Who all gon’ be there?” Kylee huffed, not really wanting to go. She knew in a couple of months she would be off to college, so spending a little quality time with her parents and their weird friends wouldn’t be all that bad—she hoped.

“Just a few friends of Tony’s and mines from the office, Sylvia and a couple of her friends, I’m assuming,” her father said, before mentioning a few other who were planning on attending.

“Sylvia comin’ huh?” Kylee asked, before twisting up her face.

“Why wouldn’t she? It is her house too,” Kylee’s father stated.

“I know, Daddy, I was just askin’,” Kylee said, trying to disguise the hatred she held for Tony’s fake-ass wife, Sylvia.

“Oh, and I’reon gon’ be there too,” her father added.

“Oh wow, I haven’t seen her in forever. Is she still goin’ to that all-girls boarding school in Spain?” Kylee asked.

“She actually graduated about two weeks ago, so she’s coming home Friday for good,” her father said.

“That’s what’s up!” Kylee said, smiling, quickly reminiscing about all the mischief she, Ja’Nay, and I’reon used to get into.

“I never understood why Tony and Sylvia sent that girl away to Spain just to go to school,” her father rambled. “I understand she was getting way out of hand, but there are plenty of boarding schools here in the United States they could have sent her to.” Kylee’s father shook his head in disgust.

Kylee knew exactly where this conversation was heading. She was tired of justifying the reason behind her wanting to go way across the country just to go to college. “Okay, Dad, I gotta go. I’ll see you and Mom Saturday. I love you,” she said before quickly hanging up. Kylee smiled and shook her head before continuing her workout.