She was having the most interesting time of her life. Hook's family was a lot different than hers. There was no formal dining room where you sat prim and proper, with good China and a place setting, and was served by a maid. Everyone either gathered at the six-seat dining table, with added folding chairs or gathered on the couches between the two rooms.

Hook shooed some of the teenagers from the couch so they had a space to sit after they made their plate of food.

"You good babe?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she said, hovering her heaping paper plate of food over her lap.

"I see you weren't half-stepping with the food."

"I mean, there was so much and I wanted some of everything."

"You can get seconds you know."

"I will," she said, taking a bite of rib and chewing. "Mmm, did she get this catered in from Sugarfire?"

"Girl, blasphemy! My ma will cut you if you say she caters in food. She made err'thing herself, she don't play with her food. She don't even eat fast food."

"Well, wow," Angel said, licking her lips. "We don't even have to order them again, we'll just place an order with her. These are so much better."

She tore into the two ribs she had on her plate and then asked for Hook's. He sat there just watching her eat with a grin on his face.

"You gotta taste this though," he said, forking up some of his mostaccioli on a plastic fork and feeding her. "You like that?"

"Boy! That tastes better than yours."

"Who did you think I learned how to cook it from?"

"Maybe she can teach me how to cook since you don't seem to have the patience," she said.

"Yeah...like that will happen," he mumbled.

Everything on her plate was good and she was wondering how many to-go plates she needed to take with her when Mrs. Baker came over and sat next to her, on the end of the sofa. She set her plate on the coffee table.

"Mrs. Baker, everything is so good. I thought Hook was a great cook, but I see you're the one-"

"Chile, ain't nothing special, yo man gotta eat, you cook for him, right?"

"Well, I-"

"Ma, I cook for my babe cuz you taught me well."

"Where my old lady at?" Uncle Dwight yelled out walking into the room holding two plates of food. "Woman, you trying to kill me with all this food, but I love you for it. Imma die fat and a happy man."

"Nothing wrong with a little meat on your bones," Mrs. Baker said. "Some men like em thick, some like em...skin, and bones."

"Yo, ma, chill," Hook said.

Was she talking about her referencing skin and bones? She knew she was thin, not like she starved herself to stay thin. She had a healthy appetite and she ate, she just did not gain lots of weight. Helped for when she was a model, but being older, she could stand to gain a bit.

"Birthday boy has taste, she thick in all the right places," Dwight said, finding an empty spot at the table and having a seat.

Hook put his arm around her and whispered in her ear. "I find you sexy baby."

Mrs. Baker did not say anything else to her, she ate her food and talked to everyone else but her, and she was sitting right next to her. She did not know why she didn't like her. She was just going to stay quiet and try not to offend her or make her judge her more.

"I'm going for a second round," Hook said. "You want me to make you another plate?" Hook took her completely empty plate except for rib bones and chicken bones.

"Yes, please."

"What you want?"

"Some of everything!"

"Gotta make room for dessert," Mrs. Parker said.

"Oh, there will be room," Angel said as Hook walked out of the room.

"You sure got a nice sized appetite for a lil thing. What, you pregnant?"

"What? No! No, no, no," she said quickly.

She just grunted.

"Now Celeste, how you in this young girl's business? If that boy was having another one popping out, he would've told you first," Dwight said.

"Maybe she ain't tell him yet."

"Well she wouldn't be spillin' the tea to you, now would she."

"Hey, I'm not," she repeated. "No way, not a chance."

"How many kids you got?" Dwight asked.

"None."

"What? Pretty girl like you no babies? If I was a young boy..."

"Dwight Baker, sir, have several ass seats down or this birthday will be your last birthday," Mrs. Baker said.

Dwight went back to eating his food and did not open his mouth again. Hook came back with another plate of food for her and himself.

"You good?"

"Great," she said, digging into her food.

After everyone was stuffed with seconds and thirds, they started in on the desserts. There was a death by chocolate cake, a three-layer yellow cake with chocolate frosting, some store-bought cupcakes, various cookies, apple pie, a large pan of peach cobbler, and a strawberry shortcake. She never felt so giddy about food before in her life.

"Hook, can your aunt make all this food for my birthday? I mean, this is better than any catered meal my mom ever ordered," she said while they stood over the table deciding what to get.

He stood behind her and put his arms around her and kissed her neck. "I just want you and some of that death by chocolate cake, all over your body."

"Boy, stop! Your aunt already thinks I'm a hoochie, get off me before she sees you."

"I don't care," he said, kissing her neck some more. "I'm the birthday boy and we taking that cake home for later."

She enjoyed the peach cobbler with ice cream, and Hook, as promised had the death by chocolate cake, which nearly no one ate any of. Then he covered and packed away the rest to take with him. It was what he asked his aunt to make him as his birthday cake.

"I think you're going to have to roll me out of here," she said, rubbing her stomach. "I need a nap."

"You ready to go?" Hook was on his second serving of dessert, strawberry shortcake.

"No, whenever you're ready," she said, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"I'm probably gonna play cards with my unc and his crazy brothers. They wild. You want to go upstairs take a nap, I'll wake you up when it's time to go."

"Give your aunt another reason to rag on me, nope."

"Come on girl, she ain't mean-"

"It's cool," she said, picking a strawberry off his plate.

She watched Hook play cards with his uncle at a card table set up in the front room. She tried to understand the game of Spades but she never played before. There was another table going of dominoes in the dining table and they were really loud slamming them down on the table. The music was brought into the dining room area and some people were dancing and singing along to music she was not familiar with. Her parents listened to jazz and gospel. She grew up listening to N'Sync, Justin Timberlake, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, and maybe a little Destiny's Child if she were trying to be hip.

She did not have a big family like this. Both her parents were only children, so no cousins for her. Their house was five times the size of this, but it never had that many people in it celebrating a birthday. It was kind of sad actually, her little family.

"Hey, babe, why don't you go make some to-go plates, we're about done here and I better get you home."

"Okay, sure."

There were others in the kitchen with the same idea, filling to-go containers with food. Mrs. Baker was directing everyone on taking enough.

"Stella, you know you need to take the boys at home more meat than that. They love my ribs. And Freddie, don't get all the mac n cheese, you know you want to," she said, hip bumping an older man. "Hey, Ray-Ray, next time bring my great-niece over here. I ain't seen that pretty baby in who knows how long."

"Mrs. Baker, your mostaccioli is to die for," she said to her.

"Mmph! Are you sure you can eat it and you not on some kind of fancy diet, like keto or vegan or cabbage soup diet," she said with a chuckle.

Kill her with kindness, Angel thought. "I'm on a rib diet, I eat all the ribs I can see. Hook and I will take as much as you have left."

"Girl, help yourself. Less food for me to have to worry about all week," she said, handing her a to-go container. "And get some of that pork steak too, that's Antione's favorite."

She made them two heaping containers of food and Mrs. Baker gave her an old grocery bag to put them in, plus she handed her another container filled with nothing but mostaccioli.

"Since you love it so much," she said.

She made another container with desserts. She was carrying two heavy bags by the time she was done adding Hook's death by chocolate cake. Way too much food, but she was not going to complain. Hook was going around saying bye to everyone. His cousin Alphonso came over to her and grabbed the bags from her.

"Let me be a gentleman since that clown doesn't know how to be."

"Well thank you, Alphonso."

"Call me Zo, baby."

"He-ey! Zo, boy if you don't leave my girl alone," Hook said, walking over to them. "You ready to go, baby?"

"Yes, Zo was just helping with all that food. It's heavy."

"Boy, give me my food," Hook said, taking the bags from him. "You get to eat Ma's cooking every day."

"Bring yo ass over and you can too. And bring baby girl with you."

"Yeah, yeah," he said as they walked out.

"You really should visit your aunt more. Maybe we can visit her more so she'll like me," Angel said.

"Babe, don't worry about her. She'll get over it."

That night, she was so tired, she actually was not in the mood for sex, but Hook was. He took the death by chocolate cake, and as he stated earlier, put some all over her body and ate it all off while she giggled at him.

"Thanks for coming with me and meeting my wild ass family."

She took her finger and rubbed off some chocolate from his cheek.

"Well, now I just know you a lot better."

"And they don't scare you off?"

She pulled him close so she could kiss him and taste all his chocolatey goodness.

"I love you more."

A/N: At least Angel was nice and not her prejudgey self she was in the beginning. Remember that girl? What happened to her!

XOXO
Kimberly