Getting Schooled (The Wright Brothers #1)(10)

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.