RAGE (BWWM)

29

"I'm surprised you're not at the bakery," I told my mom as I poured her some lemonade.

"I do try to take a day off here and there."

"If you'd hire more help as I told you to, then you would have plenty more days off," I said, handing her the cup.

"I do have help, Amira."

"Not enough," I added, but she merely shrugged as she took a sip of the lemonade.

"Having little help does not bother me. Baking is therapeutic—it keeps my hands busy and my mind clear—so I don't mind working every day all day."

"Okay," I nodded. She said nothing further, so I changed the subject. "Would you like to watch TV? I have Netflix and Hulu."

"No, I can watch TV at home. I came to see what you were up to."

"I'm not up to anything," I laughed as she followed me into my room. I had a few things to do before getting dressed, so I made space for my mom to sit. And for someone who didn't want to watch TV, she immediately got quiet once I clicked on NCIS.

I took a shower first, washing and then exfoliating as I normally do. I'm glad I got waxed on Monday and not yesterday. Otherwise, my skin would still be a little sensitive. After I got out of the shower, I brushed my teeth for the second time today and applied some lotion to my body. I peeked inside my room to see what my mom was doing, but she wasn't there. I then heard a noise coming from the kitchen, so I went to check it out.

"What are you doing?" I asked, staring at her from the doorway. "Are you calling me dirty?" I narrowed my eyes as she started wiping down my counters.

"No, honeybun. Your apartment is very clean. You just had a few dishes, so I cleaned them up for you. Then I got carried away."

"I usually try to keep things as neat as possible, but I've been a little busy."

"I know. You take after me in that regard—we both like to keep our spaces clean. Your father, however, was a fucking slob," she laughed. I nodded as she continued cleaning. She seemed content, so I left her to do whatever she pleased. And about an hour later—after finding something to wear and figuring out what to do with my hair—I came back out to get her reaction.

She opened and closed her mouth a few times, desperately wanting to disapprove of my outfit, but she chose to compliment me instead.

"You look very pretty, Amira."

"Thank you, mommy." I turned around so that she could get the full view, and two seconds later, she started complaining.

"Oh great heavens, Amira. Are you not wearing underwear?"

"I am," I spoke, lightly frowning as she stormed up to me.

"It looks like you have nothing on underneath." She started poking around my butt to see if I truly had underwear on, and she gasped when she felt nothing. I merely rolled my eyes. If she would just inch her fingers up a little higher, she would feel the waistband sitting above my hips.

"I have on a thong, mom." I pinched the thin material and snapped it loudly against my skin, proving that I wasn't completely bare.

"How can you wear those things? Do they not annoy you?"

"They do, but I hate when the lining of my underwear shows, so I like to wear thongs with certain outfits," I said, handing her my phone.

"Can you take some pictures of me?" I quickly strapped on my heels while she stepped back to take some photos. I then did a few different poses, but nothing too much since I didn't want her complaining about vulgarity.