Sugar [18+]

Chapter 18

Preparing for Oakley's birthday party turned out to be a little more hectic than I expected it to be. My ribs hurt a lot worse now, than they did a few hours ago, making it a lot harder for me to clean and set up. Every breathe I take, is like being stabbed repeatedly in my ribs. James really did a number on me this time.

" Do you need any help mom?" Grayson asks as he approaches me.

Smiling, I reply, " No baby, I'm fine," And pull him in for a hug. "Thanks for asking." I kiss him on his head.

He returns the hug, causing me to hiss in pain. Grayson pulls his head back and looks at me with concern. "Are you okay?" He releases his hold on me.

I take in a few slow deep breaths, pushing the pain back before I could answer. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just a little 'beat' from class earlier today."

My children are the only other people, I have told about my self-defense class. At first they were skeptical and didn't think I would make it through the first day. I proved them wrong.

" You know mom, I really didn't think you would last as long as you did. I'm really proud of you," he tells me grinning from ear to ear.

That is the sweetest thing he has ever said to me. Unable to speak, I pull him back in for another hug. He chuckles, wrapping his arms around my waist gently.

"Thank you, buddy. You have no idea how much that means to me," I whisper into his hair.

After a few short seconds, he breaks the hug, and leans back on the counter. Licking his lips, he watches me pour the chocolate cake batter into the baking pan and place it in the oven. I know exactly what he is thinking.

"Gray, don't you even think about touching that cake when it's done-," I scold him, knowing my son well enough to know he is plotting to eat the cake before anyone else.
His eyes widen in surprise. He throws his hands up in surrender, pushing himself away from the counter.

"I wasn't-," I put my hand up cutting him off before he could finish his sentence, "Nice try," I tell him, pointing to the table.

He smiles knowingly and takes a seat at the table. Every year he sneaks into the kitchen and eats half of Oakley's cake, ruining her birthday. Not this year! Little does he know, I have a plan.

"Here!" I grab a few bags of chips from the cupboard and place them on the table, next to four plastic bowls, in front of Grayson. "Put all these in the bowls for me. He groans, but does what he was told.

I walk to the fridge and pull out the ground beef, cream cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, lettuce, salsa and mayonnaise, and place them on the counter.

A few days ago Oakley approached me and requested that I make her, her favorite dinner as a snack for the party. So...I went online to search for the perfect taco recipe and came across, Taco Pinwheels. I'm not going to lie, they look amazing and I can't wait to try them myself.