Getting Schooled (The Wright Brothers Book 1) (4 page)

“Oh! Yeah!”

I quickly got myself out of the car, taking a deep breath as I hit the button on my key fob to lock the doors. “So… how did you reply to his message?”

“Who?”

“
Jason
.”

“Oh!” My mother grinned as she pulled her phone from her purse, and then hit a few buttons before she began to read. “
Mr. Wright, I am deeply regretful that you had that experience. I’ll be speaking with Reese about it, and will make sure that you receive an apology from her for her actions
—”

“Say what now?”

“Uh huh. Now hush, and let me finish.
I’m surprised that Ms. Alston would act in such a manner, especially when she was an advocate for your paper to receive a higher grade. Unfortunately, I do not agree with her assessment. Simply work harder, Mr. Wright. The potential is there. If you have further questions or concerns, I’ll be available after class tomorrow. Have a good weekend.
”

I shook my head. “I tried to tell him that.”

“I know. He said that your words were
something like,
“
Ain’t no grade change, bih!”,
whatever the heck that means.”

My eyes damn near bugged out of their sockets, and I stopped in my tracks as we headed for the front door. “He actually wrote that?!”

“Yes. And judging by your reaction, I’m starting to think he wrote the email knowing you would see it,” she said, eyebrow raised.

I squared my shoulders and shook my head, trying not to smile. I would bet money that Jason Wright knew exactly what he was doing, and it was working, because my little twisted crush wasn’t dying down.

I finally looked my mother in the eyes as we walked through the door of J&P Auto Sales, ignoring their amused light. “Maybe so, mama. Maybe so.”

- & -

“Do you even know that man’s last name mama?” I teased, grinning at my mother’s obvious excitement as she relaxed into the passenger seat of my car.

“I’m sure I’ll find out when he calls,” she quipped back, and laughed.

“Alright then. I guess you’ve still got it.”

We’d just stepped out of J&P Auto Sales, and from the beginning, she’d been a goner – for the purchase of a car, and for the dealership’s silver fox owner.

The moment we stepped through the door and he spotted her, I’d watched his eyes light up as he damn near sprinted to get to her first, before the other salesmen. He was a nice looking guy, and exactly my mother’s type. Tall, smooth dark skin, and well groomed facial hair. The salt and pepper look was gravy.

“How are you ladies doing today?” he asked, in a deep voice with a little hint of rasp, and I could swear my mother shivered. He’d addressed us both, but was looking only at her as he extended his hand. “I’m the
J
in J&P Auto, Joseph senior.”

“Hello Joseph.” She’d regained her composure, and straightened her shoulders, putting on a look best described as sensually aloof. She ran a free hand through her short-cropped curls – Joseph was still holding the other one – and pinned him with those big brown eyes. “What does the
P
stand for?”

Joseph’s face dropped a little bit, in a hint of sincere sadness. “Priscilla. My late wife.”

I’m pretty sure the word
“wife”
registered in my mother’s brain first, because for about half of a second, her face was pulled into a scowl. Then the rest of the words hit, and her expression softened into sympathy.

Sensual sympathy, if that was a thing.

She stepped a little closer to him, covering their –
still
– clasped hands with her other one. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up a sensitive topic.”

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all.” The smile came back to his face, warmer than ever. “She lived a wonderful, full life. Was a partner in this business, gave me three sons, thirty-six years of marriage. The last four years have been hard, but she’s in a better place than here now, having a grand old time. Looking down on us, expecting us to do the same.”

Wait… was that a hint that…?

“And what was your name?” He asked, smoothly flitting to the next thing.

“Imara Bryant.”

“
Beautiful
name. Very fitting.”

Oh my God. If her skin was lighter, she’d be friggin’ beet red.

“What can I do for you today,
Imara
?”

My mother’s name rolled off his tongue like he was making love to it, and my eyes went wide
. Like, right here in the dealership, bruh?
I thought, but knew ten times better than to say out loud. Besides, my mother was eating it up, and I had to admit that Mr. Chocolate was smooth. She had a big grin stuck on her face, and it took me a moment to realize she hadn’t answered. I shook my head.

“A car,” I said, speaking up for the first time, and mama
and
black George Clooney looked at me like they’d forgotten I was there. “She’s here for a car. Remember, mama?”

“Ah.” She gave Joseph a sweet –
sensual
sweet – smile. “Yes. I need to buy a car.”

So she bought a car.

And she
actually
got a good deal, according to my frantic blue-book valuing from my cell phone while Joseph sweet-talked her into a sleek black luxury vehicle(which she already wanted before we came to the dealership), and out of her phone number. The car stayed at the dealership to get some adjustments to the trim package, so I was driving her back home, and teasing her the whole way.

Even though it was a happy moment, I shuddered thinking about the reason she needed the new car in the first place. A few weeks ago, she’d been heading to go pick up her best girlfriend for a spa weekend. Some idiot got impatient and ran a red light as she was making a turn, and ended up t-boning her, on the passenger side.

Luckily, she’d walked away from the accident, with nothing more than a few bumps and bruises. But a car accident had taken my father seven years ago, and I couldn’t help thinking about what might have happened if the car had been going faster, or hit or on the driver’s side, or…

I blinked back tears.

That
hadn’t
happened.

I’d lost my father, but my mother was still here, and I cherished the hell out of that. She could be tough on me sometimes, but she was also my biggest supporter – evidenced by the position I had as her grad assistant anyway. She swore she’d chosen me based on merit, and had welcomed the challenge of getting me approved by the department. It wasn’t that I thought I’d gotten some benefit by being her daughter, it was the exact opposite.

With the type of shit she knew about me, I would have expected her to gleefully choose someone else. But she didn’t hold it against me. She chose me despite my history, because I was well-qualified. Or maybe because despite my history, I’d gotten qualified.

All of which could have easily not mattered if my little “conversation” with Jason Wright had gone anywhere beyond an email to the professor.

Yeah, it had been exciting to spar with him, but my mother was right – I
worked
at the college. That was no place for me to make business matters personal, or pick at him for my own entertainment. So, from now on, any interactions that related at to my work as a grad assistant,
especially
on campus, would be strictly professional.

Even with “J. Wright.”

Starting with that stupid ass apology.

four.

“Mr. Wright, may I have a moment of your time?”

Here we go
…

I stopped in my tracks, turning to face the woman I now knew to be Reese. She had those big brown eyes of hers pulled wide, in an innocent expression that caught me off guard. I’d honestly been shocked last night when Professor Bryant emailed me back. Even
more
surprised to find out that: she was making Reese apologize, and that the princess had wanted to give me a higher score on the paper. That last little tidbit made me think that my strategy of emailing the professor hadn’t been the right approach.

Or maybe it had, because I was about ninety percent sure we were about to go at it again. There was no way she was taking this “apology” shit lying down.

She tipped her head, urging me to quiet corner of the lecture hall as most of the students began to file out. I followed her, curious about what was happening next, and because, well… ass. Plenty of it, clad in jeans that fit her like a second skin. When she turned to face me, I followed the tiny straps of her shirt down to where her neckline dipped in the middle, showing just a hint of what had to be, wrapped in luscious skin like hers, beautiful breasts. They hadn’t looked
this
good in that tee shirt yesterday.

“Hey…,” she said, and I brought my eyes up to her face. “About yesterday, in Professor Bryant’s office? Uh… she talked to me, about the email you sent. I know I can be a little abrasive sometimes, and some people are just much more sensitive to that than others. So, I shouldn’t be speaking that way to anyone, not while I’m in official capacity here. I was completely out of line, and I want to apologize for hurting your feelings like that.”

I tipped my head to the side. “Wait, hurting my feelings?”

“And I’m sorry,” she continued, like I hadn’t said anything, with the same placid expression on her face. “For any damage I may have done to your self-esteem. Students of
all
levels of intellect and ability are welcome here at BSU, and we can certainly make any accommodations your therapist or physicians may feel like you need. I’m sorry I gave you the impression otherwise.”

“Wait,
what
? Let’s back up. You didn’t
hurt my feelings
, first of all.”

Our little exchange in the office hadn’t been serious enough for me to try to get her in trouble
or
for my damned feelings to be hurt about it. What
had
happened was a realization that to her, we were playing a game, starting from when we bumped into each other. Her next move was the flexing she’d done in Professor Bryant’s office. Mine was emailing the professor.

In my mind, the professor would look at it, tell Reese to stop being an asshole, and then the next move would be on her. I’d thought about it long and hard, and it was, to me, the obvious path. I wasn’t about to purposely bump into her again, and there was honestly nothing to insult. Our only connection was this classroom, and I was trying to see what the princess was made of.

“Oh, Mr. Wright,” she sighed, with a sympathetic tilt of her head. “It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I was
so mean
to you, and that’s not okay. I’m ashamed of myself for bullying you like that.”

After those words dropped from her lips, her mouth spread into another syrupy smile, and I knew right then exactly what was happening. “I just want you to know,” she continued, in the same sweet voice, “That I will never,
ever
engage you in that way on this campus again.” She pushed a handful of her braids over her shoulder, then put her hand lightly on my bare arm. “You have a great weekend, Mr. Wright.”

The classroom was empty now, and Reese didn’t even look back as she grabbed her bag from her desk and sashayed out.
Have a great weekend
was what actually came out of her mouth, but the words may as well have been:
Your move, motherfucker.

As far as I was concerned?

Game on.

- & -

Kicking it with my brothers and father wasn’t exactly my idea of an exciting Friday night. But, with most of the people I considered friends either still in the military or scattered in other parts of the country, and no girlfriend, it wasn’t like I just had a list of other things to do popping off.

So, it was just us guys.

The dealership was closed for the night, Joseph Jr. had the night off from the hospital, and even Mr. Bestseller, aka my middle brother, Justin had made time from writing to come and kick it. We were spread around the living room, with a coffee table full of pizza and wings, and preseason NFL football on my father’s big flat screen, in the house we’d grown up in.

“Man, I hope Jordan Johnson keeps up this type of energy all season,” Justin said around a full mouth, catching an olive from his pizza slice before it could hit the floor. “Connecticut loves getting their wide receivers from BSU, huh?”

Both brothers looked at me, but I shrugged. “Man, I guess. What do I look like, the BSU expert or something?”

“Well Blakewood
is
going to be your alma mater isn’t it, college boy?” Joseph mushed the side of my head as he passed me heading into the kitchen, and I couldn’t help it – I smiled. I may have complained about it being a “boring” Friday night, but I mean… these were my brothers.

I sat through a few more minutes of playful ribbing before I acknowledged that BSU
did
consistently put out some of the best wide receivers in the league. Jordan Johnson, Tariq Evans, and there was a kid whose name I couldn’t remember getting ready to win a Heisman – also a product of Blakewood State University. A couple of moments after that, my father came jogging down the stairs, and I let out a low whistle.

“Daaamn. What’s the occasion Pops?” I asked, putting a bottle of beer to my lips.

“Yeah,” Justin added. “I thought we were watching a football game, not posing for GQ.”

Joseph Sr. had come downstairs in dark slacks, dress shoes, and a deep blue, form-fitting tee shirt that showed off his successful avoidance of a beer belly. He had a blazer in his hands, and shook his head as he started to put it on.

“The occasion,” he said, adjusting his lapels, and tugging his sleeves down, “Is that your old man has a date.”

For about five seconds, a thick silence filled the room. I looked back and forth between my brothers, and they looked exactly like I felt – stunned.

My mother’s death had hurt all of us, deeply, but nobody felt it like my father did. “Cilla”, as he called her, was the love of his life, and for the first year after she passed, he was a complete wreck. I took the longest amount of leave I could to come home, and together, my brothers and I had taken care of him, because he wouldn’t do it for himself. The business, his health, nothing. We’d had to step in to basically keep him alive.

The second year was a little better. He was functioning, but it was obvious he missed her. The third year brought a major improvement, and this year, he actually seemed to be coming alive again. But this was the first we’d heard of a
date.

All three of us hopped up, and all started talking at once.

“Who is she?”

“When did this happen?”

“Are you sure you’re ready?”

“Where are you going?”

“When are you coming home?”

“I thought you were kicking it with us tonight?”

My father shook his head, grabbing his keys from the hanger beside the door as he smiled. “Y’all grown asses don’t need a chaperone to watch TV, I’m coming home when I get ready to come home, and I met her at the dealership yesterday. I’m taking her to the little jazz spot downtown, and… no, I’m not sure I’m ready. But only one way to find out.”

We were silent for another few moments as we absorbed the answers to his questions, and then I nodded. “Aiight. I think I like it. It’s time you got back out there.”

“Agreed,” Joseph said. “What’s her name? Did you look her up?”

Dad scowled. “
Look her up
? I’m old school, son. We didn’t need any TweetBook, and Facegram, and Insta-google, and all that crap. You see a pretty girl, you ask her out, you show her a good time. Call her on the phone. Woo her. That’s all. What am I looking her up for?”

“Uh, to find out about her?” Justin’s expression was confused as he eyed my dad, and my dad’s expression was confused as he eyed Justin.

“Or,” he said, “I could – and this is just the crazy notion of an old man – talk to her. Ask questions. Get to know the woman in her own words.”

Joseph scoffed. “People lie all the time. What if this woman is a gold-digger or something?”

“That would be great. I need somebody to help me dig, maybe we’ll find some.”

I chuckled at Joseph and Justin’s baffled expressions, then turned to my father, clapping him on the shoulder. “Hey… is she fine?”

His eyes lit up, and a goofy sort of grin spread across his lips. “Oh yes. Fine as bumblebee fuzz. Fine as a well-aged Bordeaux.” He glanced down at his wrist. “And I do
not
want to keep a woman like that waiting, so… I’ll see you boys later.”

“Wait a minute,” Joseph said, holding up a hand. “You haven’t told us her name.”

“Because it’s not your business.” Joseph Sr. smiled, and then gave us a little salute. “Don’t wait up.”

My brothers kinda stood there for a few seconds after the door closed behind him, both looking shell-shocked. I just shook my head, making my way back into the living room, grabbing a fresh beer, and piling my plate with wings before they got too cold.

Justin and Joseph joined me a moments later, still looking dazed.

“Y’all chill,” I said, chuckling as I turned my attention back to the game. “I’m sure she’d just some sweet church lady that came by for a car. He’s growner than all of us. He’ll be fine.”

Justin let out a heavy sigh, then sat back. “So y’all don’t think it’s kind of… fast?” He was the one who’d asked my dad if he was really ready to be out there again like that.

Joseph saved me the trouble of answering. “It’s been four years. Nah, I don’t think it’s fast. He’s probably lonely.”

“I don’t mean fast like
that
,” Justin scoffed. “I’m saying… just last year he couldn’t even talk about her without tearing up, and now he’s all excited about going on a date?”

I shrugged. “That’s probably why. I mean, we all know he loved the hell out of mama, but there’s always a point where you have to kinda let go of the past. Figure out how to live with what you’ve got now. I mean, come on…
I
know that shit better than anybody. Let Pops live. We all remember what it was like when he wasn’t trying to, right?”

That question was met with somber nods from Joseph and Justin, and they exchanged a glance with each other before they looked back to me.

“Aiight
baby
brother,” Joseph grinned. “I guess you might have something rolling around in that big ass head after all.”

And just like that, we were off my dad’s business, and back on each other. Our attention drifted back to the game as the night wore on, and
my
attention wandered as the Connecticut Kings pulled off another win. A sports reported stopped Jordan Johnson to talk, and she asked what he thought about BSU’s prospects for the college season. I only vaguely cared about that, but the mention of BSU put something else on my mind.

I wondered what Friday night was looking like for a certain BSU princess.

- & -