Page 23 of Rounds
I chuckled, then captured her lips once again. “It feels good having you here, baby. Damn. I just hope you’re comfortable. I’m gonna have to tell my dad that you’re here.” I rolled my eyes as I lowered her to her feet. “We made a little wager about you talking to me again. He said when you came around, I would owe him a cheeseburger. I told him that I was done begging you to be in your life.”
I slowly shook my head as she smiled. “I take it you don’t let him indulge in fast food.”
“Not at all. He was complaining about the bland ass spaghetti they’d served him.”
“I’m flattered that I was a topic of discussion.”
“You’ve been ruling my thoughts. I was zoning out and sucking the fuck out of a cream-filled donut like it was you.”
Her eyebrows hiked up, and she laughed loudly. When she saw I wasn’t laughing, she asked, “You’re serious?”
“Dead serious. It was one of those lemon cream donuts with the white powder on the outside. When I realized what I was doing, I felt like a weak ass nigga. Girl, you were all I could think about. How ‘the stick and move’ nigga get sprung?”
She wrapped her arms around me. “Well, let’s just take this relationship slow. You already know I won’t be involved with anyone else, but I don’t want to be rushed into anything.”
It was my turn to back up. “I wasn’t going to bring up a relationship at all. Since you did, it lets me know that it’s on your mind. Thank you for giving me a chance to prove that I’m the one your heart and soul need.”
“Just don’t hurt me, Glover. Please. I don’t think I can go through that again so soon.”
“I promise. My only intentions are to cherish and protect you and eventually, love you. You’re my one, and I can feel that shit plain as day.” I kissed her lips. “I’m going to leave you to your business. I have to go back to my office for an appointment then I have to go check on the old man.”
“Okay.”
“Call me if you need anything.”
“Okay.”
I left her standing in the room, wishing I didn’t have to be an adult and handle my responsibilities like one. Delaney was mine now, and I refused to ever let go.
My dad’seyes were wide when I handed him the cheeseburger from Sonic. He licked his lips and quickly opened the bag like he thought I was playing a cruel joke on him.
“Glover! There are fries in this bag too! She gave you a chance!”
“Dad, she more than gave me a chance. So, she was just breaking up with her ex, and she was supposed to move into her apartment this week. He put her out Sunday, and the apartment complex moved her move-in date to next month. She was staying in her car. When I saw all the shit in her car, I was livid. I told her to come stay with me. She denied me of course, but when she walked away, she tripped and hit the cement pretty hard.”
“Let me guess. You doctored her up, and she changed her mind.”
I chuckled. “I doctored her up, and she changed her mind because she said that fall symbolized what would be next for her mentally. She was stressed to the max and felt that if she kept trying to do everything herself, she would fall mentally.”
“Hmm. I’m glad she was able to see that. So since she moved in temporarily, not only do I get a burger, but I get French fries too. We ought to make another wager.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not making another bet with you, because you don’t need this junk food.”
Disregarding what I said, he said, “I believe she will end up staying permanently. If she does, I want some chocolate chip cookies from McDonalds.”
I rolled my eyes. “Bet.”
“No, we have to shake on it. When it’s time for her to move out, she won’t leave.”
I hesitantly leaned over and shook his outstretched hand. “If she moves out and comes back, that doesn’t count,” I added. “Don’t even try to think of loopholes. There are none.”
He chuckled, then stuffed fries in his mouth. When his eyes rolled and he moaned, I slowly shook my head. “Okay, now you’re doing too much. I don’t need to see you making love to the food.”
He looked at me with a smirk on his lips. “I didn’t moan during sex. I grabbed necks and growled.”
My eyes were wide as hell.I know he ain’t talking about what he used to do to my mama.He laughed hard. “Maaaaaaan . . .”
He laughed as I tried to get the visual out of my mental. My lip curled up in disgust as I watched him take a bite of his burger. When he swallowed his food, he said, “It’s in your DNA. I was a beast . . . a savage. Your mama could testify to that.”
