He smirked at me. “You mind if I smoke?”
“Taylor’s home, but we can go out on the balcony,” I told him, standing and opening the balcony doors. I slipped on my robe and slippers, grabbed the baby monitor, and waited for him to slip on some joggers.
That print was fucking insane.
I was insane for wanting him to fuck me again.
We sat in the double seat, and I watched him break down the weed and roll it in the cigar wrap. He lit the tip and took a pull, then leaned back, allowing the smoke to circulate from his mouth. He then shifted, laying his head in my lap, and Imassaged his scalp. We sat in comfortable silence, feeling the night’s breeze and listening to the crickets chirp. I looked down at him, and his eyes were closed. He seemed relaxed, and I didn't want to bother him, but I needed to know what happened tonight.
“You want to talk about it?”
He shook his head. “I just want to lie here and listen to your heartbeat. We can talk about it tomorrow.”
I nodded and kissed his forehead. Again, we sat in silence for a good ten minutes until Taylor’s cries came through the baby monitor.
“I think we may have woken her up.” I giggled as he let me up. I hurried to her room, and she stood up, whining softly.
“What’s wrong, bumblebee? You need to be changed?” I checked her pamper and noticed it was full. I busied myself with changing her, then headed down to make her some warm milk to help her relax enough to go back to sleep.
I stopped by my room to inform Ghana what I was about to do, when he came out of the room, now with a T-shirt on.
“Hey, I was going down to make her some milk. I’ll be back up in a little bit. You need anything?”
He shook his head, then looked at Taylor. “Can I try?”
“To hold her?” He nodded. “Sure. Taylor, can Ghana hold you?”
“Gha-Gha,” she said. He smiled and reached for her, and she went to him.
“I like my new name, Tay-Tay. Let’s go get you some milk. Lead the way, Mommy.”
I bit back my blush and headed down the stairs while Ghana followed with Taylor. We went into the kitchen, and I busied myself by pouring milk into a pot to warm it up a little.
“She usually isn’t that receptive to people she doesn’t know. It took her a minute to warm up to Willow and Kenzi. So, to seeher so receptive to you, even at my mom’s house, must mean something,” I noted.
Ghana smirked and shrugged. “Maybe I’m not the monster under the bed people perceive me to be.”
“Definitely not a monster,” I said. I let the milk warm up for two minutes, then poured it into her cup and walked it over to her. Taylor took it, and I kissed her forehead and smiled at them. I then pulled Ghana in by his beard and kissed his lips.
“You sure you don’t want a sandwich or anything?”
“Now that you mention it, a nigga is kind of famished. I’ll take a sandwich and some water.”
“Okay!” I exclaimed, a little too excited. I just wanted to feed him because I was almost sure he hadn’t eaten today.
While I busied myself again with making his sandwich, I heard him humming a tune that was unfamiliar to me. I looked over and saw Taylor with her head on his chest while he continued to hum with his eyes closed. The melody and scene almost had me tearing up. Ghana was vulnerable tonight. The man cried in front of me. I knew how some men considered crying a weakness, but it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever witnessed—just as beautiful as the man sitting at my kitchen island, rocking my lifeline in his arms.
After I finished his sandwich, I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and walked it over to him. Taylor had fallen back to sleep, and I couldn’t help the good feeling I felt in my heart after seeing this.
“What song was that?” I asked.
“A melody my nana used to hum to us called‘Lovely Destiny.’ Put us down every time.”
“Your nana sounded like a good woman.”
“She was. I miss her.”
“I know you do,” I said, running my hand down the back of his head and kissing his forehead. “I’m going to put her backdown. Come up when you’re done so I can put you to sleep.” I winked at him as he chuckled and handed Taylor back to me. I walked out of the kitchen with a smile on my face, knowing that from this day on, everything was going to be alright.