G.A.B.O.S. (Original Version)

Chapter XIII

Tamia smiled at her reflection as she observed her fit body in the full-length mirror on the wall of the guest bedroom. Apart from the bra, panties, and socks that she was wearing, she was completely naked. Her hair was wrapped up in a towel, and there were still small drops of water on her skin from the shower she'd taken over twenty minutes earlier. For the most part, she was satisfied with the appearance of the woman looking back at her. She was slim overall, but thick in all the right places. Her unmade up face was a sight that she thought everyone should get to enjoy seeing at least once in their life. Her lips were curved into a large smile, displaying her joy. She wasn't sure why she was so happy, but she didn't dwell on it too long. She just wanted to enjoy the rare feeling.

"Tania, are you ready to get out of the tub?" she asked, walking away from the mirror and into the bathroom on the other side of the room. She pulled a towel off of the rack and motioned for Tania to rise from the abundance of bubbles that she'd been playing in. She wrapped the towel around Tania's small body and lifted her out of the water. Tania laughed as her mother spun her around in the air and planted a light kiss on both of her cheeks.

Tamia carried her daughter back into the bedroom and dried her off before dressing her in a yellow spaghetti strap shirt, a pair of black skinny jeans, and a pair of black and yellow Adidas. She lifted her up onto her hip once she was fully clothed, and then walked back over to the mirror. She looked at Tania's reflection before speaking. "You are just too pretty, you know that?"

Tania smiled bashfully, then nodded. "Yes."

"You damn sure didn't get it from your daddy," Tamia joked. She stared at Tania for several seconds, unable to get over the fact that she and December had created something so perfect, and she wasn't thinking solely about Tania's physical attributes. After admiring her for a moment longer, she asked Tania if she was hungry, to which Tania replied with an overdramatic 'yes'.

She placed Tania on her feet and led her out of the room, grabbing her robe in the process. She sent Tania into Heaven's bedroom and walked down to the kitchen. When she went into the room, she saw a half-dressed Tremaine looking through the refrigerator. He glanced up when he heard someone else enter the kitchen, allowing Tamia to see his slightly bloodshot eyes.

"Good morning," she said with a smile.

Tremaine nodded, subtly observing her body. "Wassup?"

"Do you have any plans for breakfast? I could cook if you don't. That's what I came down here to do."

Tremaine closed the refrigerator and stood up straight. "Lynise went to pick some food up for everyone. She should be back soon."

Noticing the way that Tremaine kept avoiding making eye contact with her, Tamia frowned. "Why are you doing that?" she asked, despite the fact that she already knew the answer to that question.

"Doing what?"

"Why won't you look at me?"

"People don't have to be focused on you all the time, Tamia."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that." With a slight roll of her eyes, she walked over to where he was standing and situated her body in front of his. She was already tired of dancing around a conversation that she believed they would have to have eventually. Positioning her small hands on his six-pack, she looked up at him with a straight face. "How long are we going to keep ignoring the elephant in the room?"

"As long as we possibly can." Tremaine grabbed her hands and placed them at her sides. "Can you move?"

"Can you stop acting like we're not adults? We have to talk about this, Tremaine."