Chapter 6 #2
Going into the bathroom, I made quick work of my morning routine, then rushed out of my room and next door to Genesis’s room. He wasn’t in his crib, and for a second, I panicked. Then, Baltimore’s low, deep tone drew me away from Genesis’s door and into the living room.
Baltimore sat on the sofa with a fully dressed Genesis in the middle of the floor, laying on top of a blanket. His chubby cheeks indented when he saw me.
“Hey, baby.” Smiling brightly, I bent to pick him up. He smelled clean and was surely fed. My eyes darted to Baltimore, whose gaze was fixed to mine.
“Good mornin’,” he drawled as if he hadn’t put me into a coma last night.
“Good morning.” He made me so damn nervous.
“Where’s my mom?”
“She went to get breakfast.”
“Oh. Has Heir been out of her room?”
“She left with Coco a few minutes ago. She left you a text.”
“Oh.”
“You ready for the day?” he questioned. I still had my bonnet on and everything.
“Not really.”
He chuckled. “Well, get ready. Today is day one of you getting to know me.” The way he smirked lit a fire inside me. Last night, he established that he wasn’t going to play fair. All I could do was pray this wasn’t another downfall. “We’re going to Mobile for the day.”
Mobile? His family was in Mobile. It had been a while since I saw any of them. However, they knew very well who I was and who I was once married to.
“Are you sure?”
He stood and walked up on me until he hovered over me.
His nearness caused Genesis’s eyes to brighten even more.
With ease, he took Genesis into his arms, then he tilted my head back.
Absently, I noted how his large hand palmed my neck and face at the same time.
His closeness produced heat all over me.
“I think you don’t understand how serious I am about us. As a man—the man who wants forever with you—I have a great responsibility in making sure you know exactly what you’re getting ya’self into. If I can’t share every part of who I am with you, then this will never work.”
I was too mature to be hanging on this man’s word as if I hadn’t heard countless promises and lies before.
“Love bombing is often frowned upon,” I told him.
Unbothered, he smirked. “If I was love bombing you, Bell Estates wouldn’t exist. Nothing would contain the blast, and nothing would withstand the heat.”
I gulped hard.
He tweaked my chin. “Now, finish getting ready so we can get our day started.”
Even as I dressed, a tiny smile crept through. For so long, I wanted this. I wanted a man who looked at me the way Baltimore did, and a man who possessed Baltimore’s attentiveness. He was so good at being a protector that I couldn’t think of him as anything else.
With all those things in mind, I dressed with care.
This was a turning point in my life that I had to attempt to embrace with open arms. If Baltimore wanted to court me, I would let him.
Glancing at myself in the mirror, I couldn’t recall the last time I let my abdomen peek through.
Denim jeans rode my hips perfectly and accentuated the hell out of my ass.
I coupled the jeans with a black fitted T-shirt.
When I joined him in the living room, I caught a brief glimpse of the satisfaction on Baltimore’s face. A few minutes later, he had Genesis secured in his car seat, and I was comfortably situated in the front seat. I waved at Jahdi, who walked past my window to get to his own vehicle.
While I waited for Baltimore to join me, I read Heir’s text.
Baby Girl: Spending the day with Coco. Cooley’s taking you out *heart emoji*.
He’s so sweet, Mama. My opinion: Love rarely waits for someone.
When it does, it’s special. I saw the way Cooley looked at you inside that dungeon, Mama.
It was terrifying in there. However, you heard him say it.
He did it all for you. And me. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is, Ma.
I’ll keep your secret as long as you want me to.
It’s really nobody’s business, but WE ARE Bells *laughing emoji*.
Enjoy your day. I’ll be fine with Coco. You are the best mother a girl could ever want. I love you so much!
Baltimore snatched my door open and grilled me. “What’s wrong?” His hands cupped my face to wipe the tears streaming from my eyes.
Chuckling, I said, “I read Heir’s text.”
“Oh. Shit, tell me something.” We both laughed. He kissed my lips, then closed the door back. Seconds later, he was behind the wheel and steering us out of the driveway. After drying my face, I texted Heir back.
Me: You’re so wise beyond your years, baby girl. I will forever have your back, and I love you to eternity.
Not that I needed Heir’s validation, but knowing she was okay with me moving on so soon caused some of the apprehension about this situation to flee. She was the only person whose opinion was worth taking into consideration. After all, she was picking up the pieces of her life too.
“Tell me something interesting about yourself.” My question produced at devilish grin from Baltimore. I’d known him too long to not have truly gotten to know him. In a way, I hated that.
“Besides the fact that I’m down bad for you?”
Containing the smile that split my face was unavoidable.
“I’m down bad for Heir and Genesis too.”
His admission stunned me into silence.
“We’re family,” he said. “We’ve always been family.”
Leaning my head back against the headrest, I gazed at Baltimore, seeing him through vision that wasn’t distorted by my past or the hurt I experienced. I saw him as the man he was. A man who’d been my protector for too long. It was time for him to be more.