Aldrich #2
“That never starts off a good conversation, Ling.” Ami’s eyes were watching mine and I could tell that she could sense the change in my tone despite not being able to understand my words by how inquisitive she looked.
“What your mama gotta tell me, baby girl? Is she about to tell me that I put your baby brother in her belly?” Ling gasped and Ami grinned and drooled like she knew I’d scared her mama but she found it the funniest thing in the world.
“Aldrich, are you insane?” Sterling’s eyes were wide and I wasn’t sure if it was shock or anger that had her looking the way she was. When her fingers gripped the spoon she had been using to stir the waffle batter, I knew it was anger.
I bounced Ami again kissing her face as I realized I wasn’t panicked about Sterling potentially being pregnant.
The sadness I’d felt over how angry I’d been knowing about Ami’s life hit me again.
She’d deserved better and when I looked in her face and saw features that had to come from her egg donor, I didn’t get angry.
The love I felt for her softened the anger although it didn’t make it go away.
I knew if I had a baby with Sterling, I would celebrate from the second we confirmed it.
And despite how differently I felt about their mothers I wouldn’t love either of my kids any less.
“I’m not pregnant, Aldrich.”
Well damn, fuck up my fantasy then.
“Stop acting like it couldn’t have been a possibility, Ling. I been dumping in you each time we got together. I remember SEX/ED well. We know the consequences of that.” I grinned and nodded toward Ami like she needed a visual.
“Yeah, I’m on birth control so that’s not happening.”
“If it’s not a baby tell me what’s up.”
“What’s up is that we were discussing the first-game accommodations—”
“Y’all get everything handled?” I glanced up and saw a funny look on her face but it passed too quickly for me to believe it was something serious.
“Yeah it’s handled. But we started to talk about a few things and I needed to come clean about something.”
This sounded far more in-depth than some flight arrangements and where she was gonna stay when she went to New York. “You sound as though you need to get something off your titties, Ling so do it. This is a safe space.”
“It’s off your chest, Aldrich, you know that.”
“Ling, I know I get tackled a lot but my eyesight is great. Your chest has titties on it so what I said stands.” I stared pointedly at her chest, which I knew for sure had passion marks on it.
“You’re being ridiculous right now.”
“And you’re stalling so tell me what you need to tell me.”
“My family is well-off.”
“Speaking multiple languages, the classy way you carry yourself, the quality of your jewelry—yeah I already peeped that you weren’t a hood chick, Ling.”
“Yeah, I’m not saying that we’re not hood; we’re pretty well-off.”
“Cool.”
“Aldrich, you don’t have anything else to say? Like you don’t want to ask any questions?”
“What you want to compare net worths, Sterling?” Her having money was a perk, not something she should feel warranted this serious ass conversation.
I stared at her over one of the bouquets of flowers I’d had delivered while I was gone.
It was predominantly red roses and the smaller one next to it was for our baby girl.
“I mean…” She looked embarrassed but also like she needed to say more.
“Ling, how much money you got?”
“My mother is a member of the Sanders family.”
“The rich niggas? I thought you grew up in New York?”
She looked stressed and I wondered why this conversation was so hard. “I did. In Sag Harbor.”
“That’s New York?”
She stared at me like I were a child left behind. As though everyone should know where Sag Harbor was. “It’s basically the Hamptons.”
“So you're rich, rich.”
“They are.”
“But you’ve got business interest a trust fund, all that.”
She hesitated before nodding. “I do.”
“Good. That still doesn’t mean I’m not going to do everything I need to for you. You might have money but I don’t need you spending it on me.”
“But you can spend yours on me?”
“Yeah. See how easy that concept is for, mama?” I was talking to Sterling but looking directly at Ami. My baby was laughing her head off at me trolling her mama.
“You don’t feel some kind of way because—”
“‘Cause you got money? Hell nah. The fact that you can take care of yourself without me ain’t about to make me feel anything but pride. Only niggas who want to keep their girls under their thumbs try to control them with money. I didn’t want you to spend the money you worked hard for on furnishing this place or paying for things when I got it.
You might got it so it ain’t trickin’, but you still ain’t touching a door or your wallet around me. ”
“So I can’t ever spend the money I’ve earned?”
“Nah, but you can spend theirs if it makes you feel better.” I bust out laughing because Sterling having money didn’t surprise me.
The amount she had didn’t matter cause it wouldn’t affect anything that I had going on.
It reassured me that she didn’t need to be here with me, she wanted to be.
Hell, if she had a house in the Hamptons money, then she was definitely better off than I could put a number on and it wasn’t my business.
It was good to know that she didn’t let her money define her but if need be she had more than enough to fall back on for herself no matter how things went.
“You’re crazy.” Her smile was soft showing that she was no longer worried about my reaction.
“Nah I’m honest. If you want me to sign something saying I’m not gonna come after you for palimony or whatever these whack wanna be the girls ass niggas doing out here nowadays I ain’t go no problem.”
“Do you need that from me?” She was biting her lip again and I thought that shit was cute.
“Why would I?”
“To protect your assets.”
“Sterling, I’m about to put this baby down and lay down some punishment with you talking like that.
The fuck? You don’t want to spend my bread as it is but you worried that in the future I’mma be mad you wanna spend my bread?
Where that makes sense? I’m offering it to you now but you're tossing that shit back at me like fucking John Stockton. I bet you be in your head like, keep your pennies peasant.”
“Aldrich!” She bust out laughing but I saw all the tension from our conversation leave her body.
“That’s why you be calling me that overly formal ass name ain’t it? I should’ve known but it’s cool.”
“I can’t believe you’re not feeling some sorta way about this. I had gotten myself all wound up about you thinking I was keeping something from you.”
My stomach dropped and I stopped bouncing Ami around as I felt the bile try to climb from my stomach to my throat.
“Finances are a big issue for relationships, but being private about your money isn’t you doing anything underhanded.
I’m sure that you’ve had a bunch of people use that shit against you before so it made you nervous. ”
“That’s putting it lightly.”
Something was there and I was thankful that she didn’t feel the need to mask it in front of me.
The churning that had subsided was going back again and it made me want to hold Ami closer but I felt like shit using her for comfort.
I wasn’t even sure if it was a healthy thing or not but I would definitely ask Doc about it the next time I talked to him.
“You need to get it off your chest?”
Her brows rose and her lips faded contemplatively as though she were debating the ramifications of going into detail. I knew she worried it would derail our morning but with the way I could feel myself start to perspire I was about to ruin it my damn self.
“It involves my father and money. He wanted more of it and thought I would be a good way to get it.”
“That’s messed up. Y’all close?”
Her smile was soft and I knew it was one of disappointment and not joy. “Not at all. I don’t know what it’s like to be a daddy’s girl. So when I see how you are with her already it makes me happy.”
“Sterling, we've gotta talk.” I’d been joking this time but the quick way my tone changed had her back on guard. While we were sharing, it was only right I got this out.
“Are you about to fire me?”
“No, well maybe. But not right now. I’ll pay your contract out—”
She grinned and waved off my offer of pennies. “My cousin owns the agency so you’ve technically paid him.”
“Then I’ll deposit it directly into your account.”
“You don’t have to pay me for—”
“We're not even about to finish that sentence. But we do need to talk.” She’d been brave and now it was time for me to do the same.
She turned off the burners to the stove and nodded. I appreciated that she wasn’t asking me a bunch of questions but I still knew she deserved answers.
She walked toward me with her hands out. “Let me put her down because it’s close to her nap time and you’ve already worn her out.” She kissed me before taking Ami to walk down the hall. I watched her walk away and I prayed that I wouldn’t lose her with what I had to confess.