Don't Love Me

Chapter 1

I checked myself in the mirror as I smoothed out my dress and ensured there weren't any wrinkles in it. I thought I looked pretty damn good, but that didn't stop my heart pounding in my chest as if it was trying to escape. Suddenly I heard a high voice yell out, "Mommy!" I yelled back, "Mommy's in her bedroom getting dressed, baby. What's wrong?"

I heard the quick pounding of feet as my kids burst into the room and jumped onto my bed. My twins, a boy, and a girl, sat down on the bed edge of my bed, little feet swinging, and stared at me. My daughter Amari said, "Mommy, you are sooo pretty; where are you going? Can I go too? Please, Mommy, don't leave me here with Armani. He is being mean to me." I looked over at Armani, who was avoiding my eyes. I said, "And how is he being mean to you, Amari?" She said, "He said I had cooties!" He yelled, "No, I didn't! I didn't say it, Mommy!" I looked him in his eyes and said, "Are you sure, Armani?" He looked down again and softly said, "Maybe." I said, "Uh-huh. Apologize to Amari, Armani. That's not a nice thing to say; you're her big brother; you are supposed to protect her, not tease her." He grouchily said, "Sorry."

I leaned over on the bed, kissed him on his forehead, and said, "Good boy. Thank you." As I turned back around and listened to my kids talking to each other about what happened at school that day, I heard the door downstairs open and a voice call out, "Hello, anyone home?" At the same time, my kids yelled out, "Grandma!" They jumped off my bed and ran out of the room, heading towards my mother. I yelled, "I'll be down in a second, ma!" She said, "Take your time, baby."

I turned back to the mirror and admired myself for a moment. I will admit I didn't look like a 28-year-old mother of two 9-year-old children. I often got mistaken for about 20, continuously getting carded when I went out anywhere, not that I was going to complain about the compliment.

I was a little on the short side, standing around 5'4. I had smooth milk chocolate skin without any blemishes. My hair was natural and hung to the middle of my back when straightened. I had a cute little figure with a small waist, hips, thighs, and an ass to match. My breast was large and perky and still sitting on their own; thank God the kids didn't make them saggy. I had full lips, a tiny nose, with almond-shaped chocolate eyes. Overall, I was a good-looking woman. Not that I did anything with it or wanted to, for that matter.

I looked over my outfit. I was wearing a baby blue satin halter dress that came to my knees with a split on the side stopping right before my hip bone and panties and a scoop-necked low-cut front showing a tasteful amount of cleavage. My hair was down and in its natural loose curls with my edges laid and a side part. I was wearing silver sandals with a 5-inch heel. I was wearing large silver hoops with small studs in the other piercings and a silver bracelet and necklace with a heart-shaped diamond hanging from it. Not to sound cocky, but I was fine as hell.

I took a few selfies and full body pics in my mirror before grabbing my purse and keys and heading downstairs to the kitchen, where I heard my mother with the kids. She was pulling ingredients out of her bag that she had brought with her and grabbing pots and pans from my cabinets. The kids sat on the stools I had placed near the island in the middle of my kitchen, watching her as she prepped.

My mom looked up and said, "You look beautiful, baby. That dress is so pretty." I said, "Thank you." She gave me a slick look and, in an overly innocent voice, said, "So you really don't think he will be there, huh?" I rolled my eyes and said, "I highly doubt it, ma. I'm sure he is entirely too busy to attend." My mom said, "Oh, is that so? So, you just put on that sexy little number just because, huh?" I glared at her and said, "It's a reunion; why shouldn't I show everyone how good I look? It's not for anyone in particular." She gave me that all-knowing look that mothers have perfected over centuries and said, "Whatever you say, Kiera. Either way, you look beautiful."

She stopped what she was doing and came over and kissed me on the cheek. Amari said, "Mommy's the most beautiful woman in the world." I walked behind her, kissed her forehead, and said, "Thank you, baby." Armani rolled his eyes and said, "When will you be coming home, Mommy?" I said, "I'm not sure, honey, but it'll probably be late."

I turned to Mom and said, "Is that ok?" She nodded and said, "I was just going to spend the night here anyway; I knew you might be out for a while and rarely go out. I want you to enjoy your time, have fun, and catch up with people. Besides, your father is having his little poker game tonight, so that he won't need me. I made them plenty of food to get them through the night." I said, "He's been playing those poker games every other Friday with those same men since I was little; you'd think they'd be tired of losing their money to each other." My mom said, "Baby, men are creatures of habit. Just let them do what they want to do, find yourself something to keep you occupied and out of their way, and leave them be."

I said, "What are you and the kids going to get into tonight?" She looked at the kids and said, "After dinner, we could bake cookies and watch movies all night." The kids cheered, and I laughed, "Sounds like a hit. Well, I'm going to go ahead and head out; call me if you need anything." I opened my arms and said, "Give Mommy her hug and kiss." Amari ran up to me with Armani trailing reluctantly behind her and hugged me. I leaned down for them to kiss me on the cheek and kissed them back. I grabbed my black trench coat, pulled it on, and said, "Bye, babies, bye, mom." She said, "Bye, sweetie, have fun; tell him I said hello if you see him." I glared at her and shook my head before walking out the door.