“It’s fine.” I lied.
“You sure?”
“Yeah, Bless, I’m good. I promise. What y’all got planned for the day?” I asked, changing the subject.
“I need to clean my house, cook dinner, order groceries, then go visit my grandmother and get some herbs from her garden.”
“I ain’t ready for you to leave yet,” I responded, turning around to wrap my arms around her.
“You’ll see me damn near every day next week.” She laughed, softly kissing my lips. “I made you some breakfast.”
“Let me get some real quick.” I gripped her ass, giving it a soft slap.
“Noooo, Saint move. I gotta go check on my daughter.”
“Our daughter.”
“Oh, please.” She rolled her eyes, pushing me away.
“What? You should’ve kept that good ass pussy to yourself. We’re a family now.” I chuckled, walking back into the bedroom.
“You say that now, but as soon as things don’t work out, it’s gonna be fuck me and my daughter.” She said, looking through her duffel bag. She pulled a jogging suit out and started getting dressed.
“See, that’s the problem. I’m not even thinking about us not working out. What we got is going to last. I told you ain’t nobody ever made me feel like this. Shit, I might call my jeweler right now and get a ring. I’m just waiting for you to be ready for us to make things official. I don’t do this hiding shit. I wanna tell the world about you. The ball is in your court.”
“I hear you, Saint.” She mumbled.
I didn’t respond because I knew that was her way of ending the conversation. I’d said all I had to say. I know actions speak louder than words, but I planned on showing her that I mean everything I say.
“Let me know when y’all make it home safely, Bless,” I said, leaning into the window to give her a quick kiss. Once she pulledoff, I headed towards Kam. He was standing outside theYukon, holding the back door open for me. I thanked him and slid inside. “I just need to go to my mom’s. I’m gonna be over there for a minute, so I’ll let you know when I’m ready to head back to the crib.”
“Got you, boss,” Kam responded before turning the music up. On the drive to my mom’s house, I pulled my phone out to check my social media accounts. After scrolling through myInstagramnotifications, I immediately went to Blessing’s page. Even though I’d just left her, I couldn’t help but stalk her social media profiles. She’d posted a few pictures from last night, leaving me out of them. I double-tapped the images before exiting the app. Even though I understood her wanting to take things slow and keep things between the few people who knew, I still hated being a secret. We were grown as hell. The opinions of others had no place in my mind. She’d only be my physical therapist for a few more months. I had no choice but to wait until then.
I could smell whatever my mom was cooking as soon as I opened the front door. “Wassup, Mama?” I greeted, taking a seat at the island in her kitchen. When I got drafted, I bought my mother her dream home and spared no expense with the renovations she wanted done. She lived in a quiet, gated community that was a little smaller than the one I lived in. All her neighbors were people of color, and everyone around here got along pretty well.
“Hey baby. How you feeling today?” She asked. She was standing across from me, rolling out dough for whatever dessert she was making.
“I’m great. I had a little knee pain this morning but I’m feeling better now.”
“Mm. I bet. You know y’all weren’t quiet last night? I hope the girls didn’t hear y’all nasty asses. I thought you were up there killing that poor woman.”
I snickered, waving her off. “You’re exaggerating. Nobody was that loud. Thanks again for keeping an eye on the girls. We appreciate it. Where’s Ren?”
“She’s out back playing with that damn dog. I don’t know why you bought her that ugly thing. All it does is whine, scream, and breathe heavy all day.”
“I know you’re not in here talking mess about Franklin,” Ren said, walking into the kitchen with him following behind her. For her last birthday, I’d bought her a black pug she named Franklin, after a character from her favorite childhood show.
“Don’t bring that ugly ass dog into my kitchen, Serenity.” My mom said sternly.
“You see how she treats her grandson, Moo?” Ren said, giggling. “Stay!” Franklin sat outside the entry of the kitchen, whining.
“Y’all crazy. I’m finna go check on Nana.” I said, getting up to make my way into my grandmother’s room. Macie Jackson is the light of my life. She’s 65 and acts like she’s 100. She spent most of her time cooped up in her room, reading her black romance books and watching her soaps. On Thursdays, she goes to play bingo, and on Sundays, she goes to an early morning church service. Those were the only two times she left the house besides going to doctors’ appointments. Even at her age, she was as healthy as someone half her age.
“Hey Nana, how you feelin’?” I asked, taking a seat on the edge of her bed.
She looked up from her Kindle, peering at me through her glasses that sat on the bridge of her nose. “Hey, baby. I’m doin’ alright. Your mama told me you done got another girlfriend.”
“That’s my wife, Nana.”