“You good?” he asked.
“Getting there,” I said honestly.
He smiled slowly at me. “Well I have plans for us today that might get you there a little faster.” He kissed my forehead and sat up. “Can you be ready in an hour?”
I looked at him. “Plans?”
“Yes. Last night before you called me I was working on putting something together for us.”
“What are we doing?”
“It’s a surprise.”
I sat up. “Dex I need to know where we’re going so I can plan my outfit correctly.”
“Wear your swimsuit under your clothes and pack something to change into after.” He was already getting dressed, moving toward the door, grabbing his things like it was settled. “That’s all you need to know.”
“That tells me nothing.”
He grinned over his shoulder. “I’ll be back in an hour. Be ready.”
“Dex—”
But he was already gone, the door clicking shut behind him. I in the middle of the bed in my birthday suit with absolutely no information and exactly sixty minutes to figure out how to look cute for a location I didn’t know.
Chapter thirty
Clear Water
This was my first official date with Nique. I had thought about that on the walk over to her villa. We had known each other most of our lives and the closest thing we ever had to a date was the arcade in tenth grade, and even that was less romantic and more the two of us talking trash over Street Fighter until somebody’s mama called. Any other time we were out together the whole crew was around and whatever was between us got lost in the noise of everybody else.
This was just us. Finally.
I was putting the finishing touches on getting dressed, had just reached for my cologne, when my phone buzzed on the nightstand. I picked it up, saw Amina’s name, and stood there for a second. I knew if I didn’t answer she would just keep calling. I sprayed my cologne, set the bottle down, and picked up.
“Hey.”
“Can you take me to Aroma Cafe?” No greeting. Straight to it.
“Amina you need to stay off that ankle. Just order room service.”
“I don’t want to spend my entire vacation stuck in this room Dex. I didn’t come all the way to Tulum to stare at the ceiling.”
“You’re not supposed to be walking on it.”
“I wouldn’t even be in this situation if it wasn’t for you and your bitch.”
I pulled the phone away from my ear and took a breath. “You damn sure ain’t getting anything out of me if you keep calling her out her name.”
That’s when the dramatic crying started. I wasn’t an asshole. I hated to hear any woman cry. Even my worrisome baby mama.
“I hate you,” she said, her voice breaking. “I genuinely hate you Dex. You never even gave us a real chance. I gave you a whole child. I went through that pregnancy alone because you wanted to act like Demi wasn’t yours and then when she was born and you finally showed up I was already so far gone. The postpartum had me in a place I couldn’t even explain to anybody and you were barely there and I just.” She stopped, her breath shaky. “All I wanted was a nice vacation. I wanted us to finally get on the same page and stop beefing for Demi’s sake and now I’m just stuck in this room by myself with a wrapped ankle and nothing.”
I sat on the edge of the bed and let her finish. When the silence came I didn’t rush to fill it.
“You’re not a bad woman Amina,” I said finally, keeping my voice even. “I mean that. You are a good mother. You are just not the woman for me.
She sniffled. “That doesn’t make me feel better.”