Page 52 of Are You Going to Love Me

“I don’t sleep for real, so sometimes I mindlessly scroll cause ain’t shit else to do but write and scroll.”

“That sounds lonely.”

Maximus rubbed his durag-covered head. “It’s been lonely since I got locked up that last time.”

“How many times have you been locked up?”

“Shiiiittt,” he blew. “Let’s see, my momma put me out when I was like thirteen or fourteen. Did some time in juvie, then got down with Trae Way... in and out four of five times, all county shit. That last bid was real time. I was looking at twenty, for real. When you hear numbers like that, it’s like you’re in a fuckin’ vacuum. All the shit that mattered before doesn’t.”

“How many years did you end up doing? Four, right?”

“Yeah, four because the judge saw something in me I didn’t see in myself.”

“There’s always an angel somewhere. How’d you get through the four years? No family?”

Maximus’ twitch was bitter; he was layered, and Eden found herself intrigued. The same way he was enthralled with her. “Nah. No family. I really don’t have much of that. Keon looked out for me. Cellmate Brody was cool. But outside of that, it’s just me.”

Eden hummed. “I can relate. It’s just me and Staysha, and as of late, Staysha is busy and I’m not. So there are a lot of nights, well mornings, like this.”

“Next time you up with that blue shit on your face, being an old lady, hit me up.”

“Why? Are you going to be an old man or pick on me?”

Maximus chuckled as he picked up the drink and sipped from the straw, his eyes steady on her, fearing that if he blinked, he'd miss a curl of her lip, a twitch of her cheek, or a twinkle or roll of her eyes.

“What?”

“I can do both. Old man to your ol’ lady and pick on you so I can see your dimples poke holes in your cheeks.”

Eden propped her face in her hands. “Enough of that.”

“Mm, nah. You like it.”

“You know what you should do? All of that,” Eden circled her finger in the air around his being. “Put it in your music.”

“You’re trying to get a song written about you already?”

“Uh, no. I’m talking about those layers you got. Let it all out and leave it on the track. You’ve got a story to tell that someone needs to hear. And the judge was right; there is something special about you. It's completely up to you to see that. So, start acting like you’re him.”

“Heard you. So now the question is, you made moves to have that pretty face on everyone’s TV screen?”

“It’s a bit complicated right now.”

“It’s only as complicated as you let it get, E. I got a feeling you know how to make something out of nothing, and you make that shit look effortless.”

“I hear you. We’ll see.”

“I’ll be watching.” Maximus took a bite of food, and just like before, Eden popped his hand. “I told you about that.”

“I told you about just digging in. Plus, you’re not going to do anything to me,” she challenged.

Maximus’ devilish grin spread over his face. “I’ll let you think you safe.”

“Because I am,” she quipped back and crossed her thighs.

He caught it and nodded, making a mental note and fighting the images in his head and urges coursing through his body. “Yeah, keep it up and see.”

Eden let a little smug smirk cross her lips.

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