Chapter 12
W hen Truce first stepped over, the realization that my heart and future were about to officially meet hit me hard. Although Aryel knows Truce because we eat here a lot, this is different. Her role has changed for me and that’s a big step for Aryel and me. It’s not that I’m not unsure about Truce or my feelings for her. That shit is on lock. I finally have her in my life and I’m not letting her go. I’m going all in to build with her and that can’t happen without Aryel. She is my heart and I protect her with all that I am, which is why I don’t introduce her to random women or bring them around her. But this is different. Truce is different and seeing the two of them together right now makes me regret those five seconds of anxiety.
They are having a full-blown conversation without me. Aryel is so caught up that she hasn’t even unraveled my napkin and silverware. While I’m more than capable of doing that shit myself, she normally does it. It’s our routine. She tries to do little things for me and I allow her, to a certain extent. However, right now, she’s forgotten my ass and I love seeing her completely wrapped up in all things Truce.
“Let me go check on our food,” I say and Truce lifts her head.
“They still haven’t brought your food?” she asks unbelievingly. “I’ll go check.”
Before I can object, she slides out of the booth and heads toward the counter. I watch as she talks to the cashier then walks through the door leading to the kitchen area. When I turn back to Aryel, she has a huge smile on her face.
“Is she your girlfriend, Daddy?” she asks while grinning, sounding giddy and excited.
“Why did you ask me that?”
Her smile hasn’t faded at all, instead it’s made its way to her big, doe-shaped eyes. “Because I think she is,” she says.
“But why do you think she is?” I question, interested to see how her little observant brain is processing this…us.
“’Cause you like her. You kept smiling at her when we were talking,” she reveals then laughs. Amusement dances in her eyes and her entire body shakes as she does, causing me to chuckle a little too.
“If she is my girlfriend, are you okay with that?” I ask because her answer carries weight.
“Yes,” she answers quickly. “I like her.” She nods then reaches for my napkin. Because Aryel can’t mask her true feelings, I study her face as she unravels my napkin. Her sentiment is genuine and she really likes Truce. After she places my silverware on top of my napkin, she looks up at me. “We should have ordered her some food too.”
“Maybe we should have,” I say and she nods.
“She can have some of my spaghetti if she wants. They give me a lot.”
“That’s sweet of you.” My baby girl’s heart is so pure. When I have any doubts about anything I do or have done, one look at her and all that shit goes away. She is proof positive that I did some good in this world. “I love you, baby.”
“I know.” She smirks then adds, “I love you more, daddy.”
When I turn my head to check on Truce, I see her walking from behind the counter with a tray filled with what looks like our food. I immediately get up, rush to her, and take the tray.
“Don’t try me,” I tell her.
“You do know I grew up in here. I’ve done every job in here and can carry a tray or two,” she counters.
“But not if I’m around.”
As soon as we are back at the booth, Aryel studies the tray then looks at Truce. “If you want some of my food, you can have some,” she offers.
“Oh, thank you, cutie, but I’m not hungry,” Truce says and I eye her. In the past few days, she really hasn’t been eating but she promised to try and do better. Clearly picking up on my concern, she quickly adds, “I ate chicken and dumplings before I came here.”
“Good because you—” I begin but the urgent look on the server’s face who rushes over to our booth stops me.
“Sorry,” she apologizes then quickly says, “But they need you in the back.”
“I’ll be right there,” Truce tells her; then she looks at me. “Don’t leave without telling me.”
“I won’t.”
Truce slides out of the booth then rushes to handle her business. Aryel pulls her wipes out of her bookbag, hands me one, then takes one for herself. After we clean our hands, I bless our food and we eat. Questions about Truce dominate our conversation and I gladly answer them all to a certain degree.
Truce is the first woman I have brought around Aryel and she’s definitely the first woman to earn the title girlfriend. The whole thing is exciting and intriguing to my baby girl and she is overjoyed.
“Does Uncle Dax know you have a girlfriend?” she asks while we wait on her to-go box.
“No. Not yet. I had to tell the most important person in life first.”
“Well, can I tell Yaya?” she asks, referring to my mom.
“No. I’ll tell her soon enough. “
“Can I at least tell Kiana?” she asks, referring to her friend.
“Kiana, why you want to tell her?”
“So, her momma can stop liking you,” she says and I chuckle. She can definitely tell Kiana so her thirsty ass momma can fall the fuck back.
“Yeah. Tell her.”
Not only does Aryel look just like my sister, she also inherited Lyra’s desire to tell everyone’s business but her own. However, I’m letting her tell this time. My plan is to bring Truce to my parents’ anniversary party; there she can meet everybody at the same damn time.
Truce actually brings Aryel’s to-go container to our booth. While Aryel is preoccupied with carefully placing her spaghetti, corn, and half eaten roll in the box, I slide out of the booth and crowd Truce’s space. A small smile creeps onto her pretty ass face and when my arm snakes around her, her smile morphs into a full one.
“What time are you leaving?” I ask.
“In another thirty.”
“Hit me when you get home.”
“I definitely will.” My hand grazes the side of her face and she sighs softly. My desire to kiss her lips is strong and I don’t even try to suppress it. After moving my hand under her chin, I lift her head then kiss her passionately. When I release her lips, she smirks then shakes her head. “You can’t kiss me like that in public.”
“Why not?”
“’Cause that’s not a goodbye kiss. That’s a ‘mmhm, I’m here to stay and do other nasty things’ type of kiss.”
“I only know how to kiss one way,” I say before pecking her forehead. “Get used to it.” After winking at her, I drop my arm from her waist. She turns around and we both look at Aryel. Looks like she’s been done with her food for a minute because she’s staring at us, cheesing from ear to ear. Seeing me affectionate with a woman is so new to her and she’s beaming. This is going to be a long, inquisitive ride home with her. “You ready?”
“Yes, Daddy,” she gushes.
“You have a good night, princess,” Truce says.
“Good night, Miss Truce.”
“I’ll call you,” Truce utters to me. When she walks past me, she rubs my arm lightly.
I step to the table and reach over Aryel to grab her bookbag and her food bag. “Do you want a cup for your lemonade?” I ask.
“No. I’m full.” I extend my hand and help her out of the booth then we leave the restaurant. Her comments and questions fire out as soon as we meet the cold night air. “She’s pretty, Daddy, and I like her nails. Did you see them? I want mine like that. When I go Friday, can I get mine like that? They weren’t too long.”
While I love Truce’s nails and her soft hands, Aryel will not know how much. That fact will only give her more ammunition to plead her case for fake nails. “But they are still too long for you. Your nails are pretty too. You just need a touch up.”
She pouts a little but doesn’t hesitate to test my limits. “Well, can I get more diamonds this time?” she pleads.
“We can do that.”
“Thank you ’cause I want to show Miss Truce. Oh, do you think she can come to my competition Saturday? Auntie ain’t coming.”
“Lyra told you that?” I ask because I haven’t heard from my sister all week. She still hasn’t gotten back with us about this damn cruise for our parents.
“Yes. She told me yesterday so I have an extra ticket. We should ask Miss Truce.”
“We?” I question and she laughs.
We’re at my truck; so after I place her bags in the back seat, I open the front passenger door then lift her inside. She attaches the charger to her iPad before getting comfortable in her seat. She buckled in by the time I got inside.
After starting my engine, I look at her and ask. “So you like Miss Truce?”
Her eyebrows raise and she looks at me like I have two damn heads. “I been liked her, Daddy. She’s always nice when we come eat here,” she answers. “You been liked her too,” she adds, matter of factly, and I try to hide my amusement.
My little girl doesn’t miss shit. She’s so observant and in tune with me, which is another reason I don’t play when it comes to her. She picks up on everything and leads with her pure heart. Bringing random women in and out of her life wasn’t an option for me.
“She might already have plans on Saturday but I’ll ask her,” I say before pulling out of the lot.
“Good. I think she might come.” Aryel looks down at her nails then fans her hands out. “I’m going to get a diamond on each finger,” she gushes.
“I don’t remember saying each finger.”
“Daddy!”
“We’ll see,” I say, already knowing I’m going to cave once we are at the shop. I wouldn’t cave on getting the long, fake nails but rhinestones couldn’t hurt.
About five minutes into our drive, Aryel’s iPad rings. “It’s my momma,” she utters before answering the call. When Aria’s face fills the screen, I glance over and notice the immediate change in Aryel’s disposition. The big ass smile she was just sporting has dropped.
“Hey, baby!” Aria practically yells.
“Hey.”
“Where are you?”
“In the truck with my daddy.”
“Hello, baby daddy,” Aria says snarkily and I just shake my head.
I hate when she says that shit, and normally, I check her when she does. But since Aryel is right here, I keep it cool and just say, “What’s up?”
Aria laughs then gets back to Aryel. “How was your day?”
“It was fine.”
“Just fine?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Well, I have a surprise for you,” she says and I zone in. If she even mentions that shit about her getting married and introducing the nigga to my baby girl, I’m ending the call. “I’m coming to get you for spring break,” she says and Aryel whips her head toward me so fast.
“I’m going with her?” she asks me.
“For a few days. I’m going to get us a room at the mountain there. I looked it up and saw it has a waterpark,” Aria says. Blue Mountain Resort is definitely out of Aria’s price range, I’m guessing she came into some money because just a few days ago she was asking me to buy her plane tickets. This is the flip flop shit she does all the damn time and I hate it. “Doesn’t that sound fun?”
“Daddy?”
“Aria, we didn’t discuss that. I’ll call you once we get to the house,” I say.
“What is there to discuss? If I come there, I want her to stay with me and spend some time getting to know?—”
“Ay. I said we will talk later,” I say more sternly. “Tell yo’ momma good night,” I tell Aryel and she does exactly as I say then ends the call.
As soon as she does, she turns to me. “I have to stay with her if she comes?” she asks with concern.
“No, baby. She can come see you at the house and then we can go from there, but no, you will not be staying with her,” I say and she sighs, sounding relieved.
“Good because I don’t want to.”
“But do you want to see her?” I ask and Aryel’s body shifts like she’s uncomfortable. Then she shrugs. “Baby, tell me. Do you want to see your momma?”
“If I say no, you gon’ be mad?” she mumbles but I can hear her loud and clear.
“Am I ever mad at you?”
“No.”
“Then that’s your answer. You can always tell me how you feel. Talk to me, baby girl.”
“She not gon’ come,” she finally says.
“But what if she does? Would you want to see her?”
“I don’t know,” she says and my chest constricts.
Her and Aria’s relationship has always been hard for me. When Aria left and said she didn’t want me or my daughter, I was done with her. She made her decision and I did what I had to do. So when she first reached out a few years later, I ignored her. Then I listened to my mom and let her see Aryel. She was a little consistent in the beginning but that changed and she’s been more out than in. Real shit, I really have been thinking about keeping her out permanently. Hearing my baby girl talk just confirms my thoughts.
“If you don’t want to see her, you don’t have to. I’ll talk to her, okay?” I ask as I reach my arm out to her. I place my hand on her knee and squeeze lightly. “Your daddy loves you and I’ll take care of this.”
“Okay,” she says while nodding.
Her iPad rings again and I see it’s Aria. I grab it, decline the call, then quickly block Aria. She’ll have to deal with me from now on. The minute I place Aryel’s iPad back in her lap, Aria hits me. Her number appears on the dashboard. I press the button on my steering to decline it and just head to the crib. I’ll put her ass on do not disturb until I’m ready to have this conversation with her.
I’m pulling into my garage fifteen minutes later and we immediately start our night ritual. When she’s tucked in her bed and half asleep, I kiss Aryel’s cheek, turn on her TV, then leave her to fall completely asleep. Instead of going straight to bed, I head downstairs to work out. I need to burn off this Aria frustration. I’m jogging on my treadmill when I get a FaceTime from Truce.
Her beautiful face and fine ass body fill my screen when I answer. She’s curled up on her sectional in the very spot where she let me slide home. I shake my head at the memory of her warm, wet, sweet ass pussy and my damn mouth waters.
“Damn, so you had to be right there when you called me,” I say.
“It’s my favorite spot,” she says, then smirks.
“Was that before or after we marked it?”
“Before but definitely my most favorite place after.” She smiles and I can help but smile knowing I’m able to bring her some happiness right now. “Are you running?” she exclaims, as if she just noticed.
“Yes,” I say as I lower the speed from six to three to slow my pace as I talk.
“You work out every night?”
“Nah, not every night, but I try to get some type of workout in a few nights a week, either strength training or cardio.”
“I have the Tonal and I can’t remember the last time I used it.”
“The wall exercise thing? Where? I don’t remember seeing it.”
“That’s ’cause it’s in my guestroom. I need to move it in here or in my room. It’s so out of sight and out of mind. I paid too much to let it just collect dust. It’s far but my snack is close,” she says then turns around. When she faces forward again, she has food in her hands.
“What’s that?”
“The best snack in the world, graham crackers and peanut butter. It’s so good. Too good actually. It goes straight to my thighs and they are getting out of hand.”
“Oh, I disagree with that. Ain’t nothing wrong with those thighs. Use the machine but skip the thigh shit.”
“That is so crazy. I can’t skip the squats.” She adjusts a little and stretches one of her legs out. Then she pulls the throw from behind her and drapes it across her arms. “Where’s Aryel?”
“Knocked out. Wednesdays are long and she normally crashes once we get home.”
“She’s such a sweetheart; smart and so well spoken.”
“Too smart sometimes but she gets that from my mother. Plus, we talk all the time and I never used any babytalk when she was younger. She’s still my little girl though.”
“You can tell. She is amazing,” she says and my chest swells.
“She feels the same about you. You worked your magic on my baby. She wanted me to ask you to come to her competition this Saturday. It’s at eleven in Diamond Falls.”
“Aww. I would love to come but I can’t this Saturday. Daija is leaving and we are having breakfast before I take her to the airport. Tell her I’m so sorry but I’ll definitely come to another one.”
“I’ll let her know.” I stop the treadmill then place my hands on the rails while I steady my breath. “What are you doing Saturday night?”
“Whatever you want. I’m free.”
“Then I’ll scoop you at seven.”
“And where are we going?”
“Whatever I want. Ain’t that what you just said?”
“Don’t use my words against me. I just want to know how to dress. That’s all.”
“Just be sexy. Your usual.” I step off the treadmill with my phone. “Hold up,” I tell her. Then I take off my sweat drenched tee. After tossing it across my shoulder, I pick my phone back up and hold it.
“You took your shirt off,” she comments.
“Yeah. I’m 'bout to head up and take a shower.”
“Then I’ll let you go.”
Not wanting to end our conversation yet, I say, “Nah. I’m not in there yet.” I leave my little gym then trek to the kitchen. After I grab a bottle of Powerade, I head to the stairs. “How long are you going to be up?”
“At least through one episode of The Equalizer . I’m tired and have a lot to do tomorrow,” she says and I notice a slight shift in her eyes.
“You good?” I ask.
“Why you ask that?”
“Your eyes. They dipped a little. They overworking you already?”
“No. It’s not work. They are a great team. They are holding it down without me or my dad. It’s family stuff. I’m going back to my par… I mean, my dad’s in the morning. Daija and I are going through my mom’s stuff.”
“Oh,” is all I manage to say.
“Yeah. Tomorrow’s going to be a day.”
“I’m a phone call away.”
“And I know that. God! Sexy and sweet.”
“I don’t know about sweet but I do love and protect the ladies in my life. That’s the way I’m built.”
“Ladies?” she questions but with amusement. She knows I’m locked in on her.
“Yeah. Aryel, you, my mom, and my sister,” I tell her.
“Just checking.” She smirks. “I can’t be out here looking crazy, kissing you in my restaurant, and softening up for you, and you have other ladies.”
“Now that I finally got your sexy ass, I don’t even see any other ladies like that. I told you; I fell for you years ago. It just took us some time to get here, and now that we are, the only lady besides my family will always be just you.”
“Good to know. Now, aren’t you going to ask me about men?”
“Nah.”
“Rex,” she challenges. “You aren’t at all curious about the men in my life?”
“I know about your father and the men at the restaurant.”
While grinning she asks, “And the others?”
“Them ‘others’ niggas disappeared the minute you let me take you home that night at Flavor. Don’t try me, Truce. Just because I don’t get in the ring anymore doesn’t mean I lost my hands. I still have them.”
“You sound and look too serious,” she says, still smirking, but I’m serious as hell. Them other niggas don’t mean shit to me.
“’Cause I’m deadass.”
“Well, damn,” she says with a light titter. “It’s a good thing I’m only FaceTiming you after ten, in my PJs, in my favorite spot.”
“With them thighs all out, tempting me.”
“Yep. Good thing. Now smile. Stop looking so mean,” she says and I do. “See. So much better. Now, the even better thing would be if you could be right here with me.”
“I got you Saturday.”
“Remember you said that.” She yawns. “Go take your shower. I need to lay it down.”
“Good night, sexy.”
“Good night,” she says before ending the call.
After placing mine on the charging station, I trek into my bathroom to take a shower. My day starts early and I want to stop by the bakery in the morning to pick up something for Aryel and her class. After our conversation about Aria, I need to make sure my baby girl is straight.