Coming Home for Love

Chapter 12

I’d been in the States for a month and had no plans to leave. Unbeknownst to anyone, I was in the process of buying a house. Now that I knew I had a son, nothing could keep me from him.

I had been spending all my free time with him and his mother, and my feelings for Wynter had been getting deeper by the day. I loved experiencing her being a mom as well as living out her dreams. To show her my appreciation, I had a night planned for the two of us. My parents agreed to keep Little O until the next day. That little boy loved them just as much as he loved Wynter’s parents. Sometimes, I couldn’t even spend time with my own son because the grandparents always wanted him. I wasn’t mad at it, though, because my boy was loved on all sides. It also gave me and Wynter a little alone time when she wasn’t working.

I was in the middle of getting dressed for the date when my phone rang. It was Shannon, and I almost didn’t answer. She’d been calling me more than usual and acting strange. She acted like I owed her an explanation when I told her I wasn’t coming home yet. When she asked why, I told her something came up. I wasn’t ready to tell her about Osiris, but it wasn’t her business either. To avoid her calling all night, I picked up.

“Hello.”

“Hey, O. Are you busy?”

“Yeah, I kinda am. What’s up?” I put the phone on speaker so I could finish putting on my clothes. I wasn’t trying to be late for the reservations I had for Wynter and me, and I still needed time to pick her up.

I had been staying at my parents’ house, but for the night, I rented a suite at the Ferguson Hotel, and that was where I had gotten ready. I wanted Wynter and I to have a change of scenery and our time uninterrupted.

“Oh, what are you doing?”

“I’m getting dressed to go somewhere.”

“When do you think you are coming back? You said you were going to be gone for a week, and it’s been a month, and you hardly communicate.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose and blew out a breath. I knew I should have gone with my first thought and not answered the phone.

“Look, Shannon, I have to go. I’ll give you a call tomorrow.”

“Whatever, Osiris. Don’t even worry about it.” The line beeped indicating she hung up.

I shrugged and went back to what I was doing. Shannon and her attitude would have to wait for another day. Wynter was my priority for the night.

Thirty minutes later, I pulled up to Wynter’s apartment and was at the door waiting for her to answer.

“Hey, Si,” she said when she opened the door.

“Damn, Wyn. You look good as fuck right now.” I stepped closer to her and pulled her into my arms. Her cheeks slightly reddened.

“Thank you.”

I kissed her lips then released her. The way the dress hugged her ass made my dick hard. And she had the nerve to wear heels, and that made her ass sit up even more.

I adjusted myself, walked to the couch, and sat down. Her apartment smelled like cinnamon or some shit.

“Are you ready to go?”

“I am. Let me grab my jacket and purse.” She walked to the back of the apartment, and I focused on the pictures on the table, so I didn’t follow her to her room.

A minute later, she reentered the living room wearing her jacket and her purse in her hand.

I stood from the couch and grabbed her free hand. When we walked out the door, I made sure her door was locked before we walked to the elevator.

“I checked on Osiris earlier. He’s having a good time with your parents,” she said as we entered the elevator.

“I know.” I almost said I went by there, but she didn’t know about the hotel yet. I wanted that to be a surprise.

We talked about our day as we rode the elevator down to the parking garage. When we got off, I led her to my car and opened the door for her. Once she was situated, I walked around to the driver’s side.

Before arriving at her apartment building, I turned my phone on Do Not Disturb because I didn’t need anyone calling, especially Shannon. The only people who could get through were my parents and my sister, but they all knew I had plans and wouldn’t call unless it was necessary. My sister was dealing with her husband’s recovery, so I hadn’t seen much of her, but my nephews came to my parents’ house often, especially when Little O was there. They were older than him, but they included him whenever they could.

“How’s your sister’s husband doing?” Wynter asked as we made our way to the restaurant.

“He’s doing good. I think he’s supposed to go back to work this week.”

“That’s good.”

She didn’t say anything else, but I felt like she had something else she wanted to ask. I glanced over at her and noticed she was playing with her necklace.

“What’s on your mind?”

“Nothing.”

I gave her another look. “Be honest, Wyn.”

She sighed and let her shoulders drop.

“Have you decided when you are leaving?”

“I wanted to discuss that with you while we were at dinner, but since you brought it up, I’ll tell you now. I’m making moves to stay here permanently.”

Having this conversation in the car wasn’t what I had in mind, but I didn’t want it to bother her if I didn’t answer the question.

She shifted in her seat to face me. “What?”

“Yeah. I’m not trying to be away from y’all, Wyn.”

“Who is y’all?”

“You and Osiris.”

I may not have told Wynter exactly what I was feeling, but I was sure she knew what it was, but maybe she didn’t. I needed to tell her what I felt, but I also needed to dead that shit with Shannon too.

“I get it about Osiris. But I’m confused about you including me too. I know we’ve crossed the line multiple times, but I thought it was just while you were here.”

“It’s obvious I haven’t been doing a good job of showing you what my intentions are. I want us to be a family. I want us to raise our son together in the same household.”

Wynter and I both came from loving, two-parent households, and I wanted that for Little O as well.

She went back to fiddling with her necklace again, a sure sign she was nervous.

“Um. How?”

We pulled up to the restaurant, and I found a parking spot near the door instead of using valet. We had to finish the conversation before getting out of the car.

“It’s simple. I’m in the process of buying a four-bedroom house with the perfect kitchen for you because I know how important a big kitchen is for you. Every house I looked at was with the intention of having you and Osiris move in. Even if you didn’t want to take things further, the two of you could have the house, and I could live somewhere else. Regardless, I want the two of you to be comfortable. I know that you could buy your own house, but I want to do this for you.

“This night wasn’t just about showing you my appreciation, but I planned on asking if we could give this family thing a real chance. You don’t have to answer right now, but I’m serious, Wynter. Shit didn’t work out the first time, but this time, I promise you I’m not going anywhere. For now, let’s go have dinner and take it from there. I have a whole night planned for us.”

“This is all happening so fast, but my feelings have developed for you all over again since we have been spending time together, and I would love for our son to grow up the way we did. He’s surrounded by love, and I don’t want him to be in two separate households, either. I just…” Her sentence trailed.

I grabbed her hand. I didn’t blame her for being apprehensive because I hadn’t thought about giving her the house until I picked her up for the day. I wasn’t lying when I said I had her and Osiris in mind when I searched for houses, but I figured they would just visit. Something in me shifted when I laid eyes on her at her apartment, and I knew the right choice would be to have her move in with me or just give her the house.

“Like I said, you don’t have to give me an answer right now. See how you feel when the night is over.” I winked at her, kissed her hand, then got out of the car.

I then went around to help her out of the car. With my hand on the small of her back, I escorted her to the entrance of the restaurant.

There was another conversation we had to have, but it would have to wait until another time. For the night, I wanted us to enjoy each other, and by the end of the night, I wanted us entangled in each other until the morning came.