Afterglow ❃ l.m.j

• chapter forty two •

After New Years Eve, Normani and I were taking a bit of space from each other. Our texts were far and few aside from a 'Happy New Years' and the occasional 'How are you?'

I'm not gonna lie, I missed having her around. And the constant push and pull of being around each other for days then not at all was beginning to fuck with my head. I needed someone to talk to and I knew my mom would be too abrasive about it. So I dialed up my dad who was taken aback, but still just as eager to talk.

"What's going on?" He began. I could see him now, sitting in his favorite chair, twisting his watch around his wrist. My dad had very little quirks and an obsession with time was one of them.

"I think I like someone."

He paused. When he finally answered back, he seemed confused. "Alright...? Is it a boy or a girl? What's the person like?"

"She's a woman." I sighed, leaning my face on my hand. "Her name is Normani, and I don't know what to do."

"Uh," my dad fumbled. "Are you sure this isn't a better conversation to have with your mother? I don't know if I can help you with this."

I smiled. "No, dad, I want to talk to you. You know how mom is, she's just gonna talk my ear off. I want someone to be straightforward with me."

He sighed. "Alright. What's wrong with this girl, why are you worried?"

I held the phone to my ears. "I like her. I think I like her a lot. But I think my job makes her nervous to be with me because..." I fought for a lie. "I work a lot. You know, with other women."

My mom was the only one who knew that I worked as a stripper, much less at Heaven's Door. Which I knew in theory made her more equipped to handle this conversation. But I also knew that she didn't agree with me dancing, and she tended to handle things more callously. My dad, on the other hand, was more tender.

"Well, maybe you just gotta show her you only want her. You know, if you do only want her. If you like more than just one woman, I'd suggest keeping it private. You wouldn't want an issue."

A chuckle fell from my lips. "Dad!"

"I'm just saying, you know, I know you kids are more open these days. There may be one person, there may not. When I first met your mother, she wasn't the only one."

"What? What do you mean she wasn't the only one, she always says you were the only one for her."

He stuttered. "Well, yes, but I was romancing another woman when I met her. Of course once I got to know your mother, I only had eyes for her but... Uh, Lauren, there's plenty of fish in the sea."

My face was surely full of amusement. "So you were talking to two women? What was that like?"

"Oh, exhilarating." His voice broke down to a whisper. "I can't talk too loud, your mother's in the next room. But it was great having two different women on my arm. Your mother was my daytime and the other woman, my nighttime."

I gasped. "Oh my god, wait, what happened to the other woman?"

Gossiping with my dad was always fun. He was a sharp shooter and honest. And he wasn't afraid to tell me all the details my mother typically hid from me.