PERCY
“Do you ever get tired?” I asked Royce.
She moved through the house where Ms. Cecily allowed me to stay with my daughter. She had been helping me find some sort of peace here, yet there still wasn’t any peace.
“I do get tired a lot, but I have things I’m trying to get accomplished, and sleeping and complaining isn’t going to get me there.”
I sat back on the old-fashioned couch as I watched Breann play with the few toys Royce had gotten her to keep her occupied.
“I think now she will be able to sleep comfortably,” she said after she finished fixing up the playpen with a bunch of cute little girl shit.
I rubbed her leg. “Thank you for everything,” I told her sincerely.
She placed her hand on mine. “I see the potential.”
I was trying to understand how she was still around. Most of the time, when a woman with no attachment found out a nigga had kids, it was an immediate red flag, but here she was still around. I felt like I owed her, and I wanted to make good on it.
“Can I take you out?”
She smiled. “You don’t have to take me out because I’m choosing to help. There are good people in the world who truly care.”
“I know, but before all this shit happened, I was going to ask. I mean, my daughter will be there, but I want to. Besides, I want to get your opinion about something.”
She eyed me curiously. “I’ll tell you what. If you promise to go back to school, I will let you take me out. Whatever it is you're going to ask me, I will give you my opinion, but I’m sure you already know the answer.”
She went to stand up, and I pulled her back down. Royce was so relatable. She was laid back, didn’t require much, and was genuine as hell. She was everything I thought Phoebe was.
My hand stroked her cheek. “Pretty ass.”
I leaned forward to kiss her, but she backed away. I couldn’t act like a nigga didn’t feel dumb because I thought she was as into me as I was into her, or that she at least wanted to kiss me.
“We’ll save that until after the date. You’re on a trial period, and you haven’t passed it. It’ll happen when it needs to,” she finished and stood back up.
She grabbed her keys and walked toward the door. I couldn’t help but look at her thick ass as she left.
“Shit!” I muttered.
I looked at my daughter, who was captivated by the toys.
I longed for her to have this kind of life permanently, but the house and these peaceful days were only temporary.
I grabbed my phone to do some research. Even though I hated it and knew it would hurt, I also knew Breann deserved more, so I decided to explore adoption options.