Getting Schooled (The Wright Brothers #1)(34)

Overall, life was good for me. I’d fallen into a groove, found just the right balance. When I was busy, or with my mother, or Devyn – basically with my family – I was really happy, and at peace, which I hadn’t been able to say in a while. It was the other times that were getting to be a little tricky.

I could enjoy my own company. Loved my own company, which was important to me because of the way things went after I lost my father. I could read, surf the internet, watch TV – I still wasn’t allowed back at Refill – do any number of things alone, and be perfectly okay with that… most of the time. But like almost any other human being, sometimes I craved human interaction.

Male human interaction.

A male human named Jason.

“Did you know your silver fox was Jason Wright’s father?” I asked my mother, keeping my voice casual, and light. She hadn’t said anything about it yet – didn’t really volunteer information about her boo at all – but I’d been trying to think of a way to broach the subject without seeming nosy.

She lifted an eyebrow at me, then focused on the mirror to swipe mascara across her lashes. “Not when we first met, but eventually, yes. I knew before we went to the dealership.”

“Wait, what?” I wrinkled my nose. “I thought the dealership was when you first met?”

My mother put the tube of mascara back into place on her vanity, and then turned to face me. “Technically it was, but not exactly.”

“Okay…? What does that even mean, mama?”

She let out a little sigh, and a smile crossed her face that seemed almost… embarrassed. “We kind of “met” online.”

“What?!” I snatched myself from my reclined position on her bed, sitting up on my knees. “Online?! Like online dating? Like… fifty-shades-of-gray-hair-dot-com?!”

“You’re not funny, little girl,” she scolded, finger pointed, even though I could tell she was fighting a smile. “And no, not a dating site. There was an online community for jazz lovers in the area, jamsession.com. It shut down about a year ago, but some of the members made a chat group thing for the members who wanted to keep in touch.”

I scooted to the end of the bed, super interested in what she was saying, and super excited that she was actually saying it. “Okaaay… and?”

“And…,” she sighed. “Well, neither of us had a profile image, because that was part of the appeal. We were people from all over, talking about artists, music, connecting over that shared interest. But sometimes me and “Jazzy Joe” would end up in a separate conversation about other things.”

I grinned. “So he… what, inboxed you or something?”

“What?”

“Like a private chat?”

She nodded. “Yes, a private chat. And as we talked, we got closer, little things would get shared. Life, and relationships, and personal philosophies… and more little tidbits. One of those was that he owned a car dealership. That didn’t really stand out to me until I needed a car, and I remembered his mentions of J&P.”

My eyes went wide. “So you didn’t tell him you were coming?!”

She shook her head. “Absolutely not. We hadn’t made a plan to meet up or anything, even though we’d hinted at it. I figured I could go, get a look at him. Satisfy a bit of curiosity.”

I laughed. “Mmmhmmm! You weren’t expecting all that salt and pepper fineness to run up on you like that, were you?!”

Her mouth spread into a wide grin, and she laughed too. “No… no, I certainly wasn’t.”

“This is hilarious,” I giggled. “And friggin’ adorable. I mean, I wondered why my cool, collected mama was all giggly over this man she just met, and now I see! You were already crushing on him!”

My mother shrugged, then bent to rub a shimmering body cream onto her legs. “Maybe a little.”

“Oh please,” I teased. “Does he know who you are?”

“I told him that night when he called. He thought it was sexy.”

“He called it sexy because you’re sexy,” I laughed. “Otherwise he would have called the police. What’s your username?”

Her head popped up, eyes wide. “Oh Reesie. I’ve already said too much. I’m not telling you that.”

- & -



“Who is “boogie_woogie_woman” and what you showing her tonight that she’s not gonna forget? Y’all being nasty ain’t you?”

I hopped out of the way just in time to avoid getting swung on by my dad.

I was already at his house, which he knew, and had come up the stairs looking for him. I found him in his office, with his back to the door, so immersed in whatever was happening on his laptop that he didn’t even hear me come in. Curiosity drew me closer, and I peeked over his shoulder to read what was on the screen.

“I oughta knock your head in,” Pops warned, rising from his seat. He closed the lid of the computer, glaring at me.

I lifted my hands in a soothing gesture. “My bad, Pops,” I chuckled. “I wasn’t trying to be in your business like that, I swear. I thought you were looking at new cars for the lot or something, not… that. Does your lady friend know you’re chatting with “boogie woogie women” online?”