Session 33

Chapter- forty nine

The room was quiet—the kind of quiet that felt intentional, like the world outside knew to mind its business. The soft glow from the bedside lamp gave everything a warm, lazy feel, and the sheets were a tangled mess around us. Solomon was stretched out beside me, one arm tucked behind his head like he didn’t have a care in the world.

His thumb dragged across my knuckles, soft and slow, and every single pass made me feel a little more unsteady and turned on. I glanced over at him, and of course, he was already looking at me, like he’d been waiting for me to notice.

“Why are you staring at me?” I asked, trying to sound annoyed but failing miserably.

“Because I can,” he said, his lips curving into a lazy-ass smirk.

Everything about this moment felt... easy. But that was the thing about Solomon—he made everything feel easy, even when I wasn’t sure if it should. Yeah, that was dangerous. Because if I wasn’t careful, I’d start believing in easy.

Suddenly, the smirk fell, and he cocked his head. “Why are you helping Cassius after what he’s done to you?”

The question caught me off guard. I paused, trying to find the right words to explain why.

"That's my child’s father," I started, my voice low, trying not to sound annoyed and mindful of his feelings. "No matter what happened between us, no matter how much he hurt me, I can’t just cut him out of my life completely. Ekon needs his dad, a healthy dad. And if I can help make that happen, then I have to try."

Solomon was silent for a moment, his eyes searching mine. I could see the questions he was holding back. Finally, he asked the one that had been hanging in the air between us. "Do you still love him?"

I didn’t hesitate. "No," I said, shaking my head. "I don’t love him—not like that. Whatever we had is gone. It’s just... dead."

He nodded, but I could see the wheels still turning in his head. His gaze softened, but there was something else there—something I couldn’t quite place. "How can you be so sure?" he asked quietly, almost like he was afraid of the answer.

"Because when I’m with you, I feel alive," I replied, my voice steady. "With you, it’s different. It’s real. Cassius... he taught me what I want and what I don’t want. It makes it easy to know I want you. You’re my present."

He let out a slow breath, nodding as if my words were settling something deep inside him. Then, he glanced at the clock on the nightstand. "It’s almost eight," he said, his tone shifting. "I have to do something real quick. I’ll be back in the morning."

I blinked hard, thrown by the sudden shift—the way he pulled away like he couldn’t get out of there fast enough. “Okay,” I said, trying to keep my voice neutral, even though my stomach was tying itself into knots and my nerves were fraying. Had I said something wrong? I watched him get dressed, too scared to ask.

He kissed me, quick and soft, then left me alone in the dark, wondering if I’d pushed him away without even realizing it.

The next morning, I dropped Ekon off at Cassius’s and came back to find Solomon waiting for me at my front door. He looked as calm and collected as ever, in a suit on a Saturday—his day off—with an intensity in his eyes that I hadn’t seen before.

I smiled at him, relieved that he was here and not angry like I had thought. "Come on in," I said, opening the door wider to let him in.

I turned to close the door, and when I spun back around, my breath caught in my throat. Solomon was on his knees in the middle of my living room.

He held out a small, velvet box, opening it to reveal a ring that sparkled in the morning light. "Angel," he began, his voice steady but thick with emotion. "I’ve known for a while now that I don’t want to spend another day without you. I love you, and I want to build a life with you. Will you marry me?"

I stood there, frozen for a moment, my heart pounding in my chest as I took in the sight of him. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. All I knew was that the answer was yes—it had to be yes.