Page 88 of Fever: Love In Scrubs
They stepped onto the floor and took off, dancing around the rink to the music. When they caught up to Jamari, she and Tikayla embraced before they all zoomed off around the rink. Igrabbed Wynter’s hand and slowly led her out to the floor. She held on to me for dear life as she stepped onto the slippery wood.
“Jaxson, if I fall, I’m crawling back to my seat.”
I laughed. “I promise, I’m going to laugh and record that shit before I help you up.”
She gasped. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Oh, but I would.”
She playfully pushed me, but quickly grabbed hold of me when she almost slipped. I tried to hold in my laughter as I wrapped an arm around her waist and held her other hand, pulling her in close to me.
“I got you, baby.”
Slowly, I skated us around the rink. Asia, Tikayla, Jamari, and Kacie skated circles around us. By the time we made it around the third time, Wynter had loosened up a bit and was comfortable enough to just hold my hand while we skated along. The DJ was playing some old school R&B. The sound of “Someone To Love” by Jon B was blaring through the speakers.
I skated backward, grabbing her hands as I sang along to the music. She blushed as I spun her around, then out before pulling her into me. That wedding talk outside had me ready to contact my damn jeweler. This was moving fast, but fuck it. It felt right and I’d learn to go with my gut on what I was feeling these days.
I was so wrapped up in singing and dancing with her that I almost missed Amandela walking through the double doors with a gift bag in her hands. She looked around until her eyes landed on us. A frown slowly crept onto her face, but she pulled it back. Jamari must have noticed her, because she stopped skating and just stood there for a moment before slowly skating over and stepping onto the platform.
“Go on,” Wynter said, nudging me.
I kissed her temple, then skated over to my daughter and ex-wife.
“Dela,” I said flatly.
“Jaxson.” She turned back to Jamari with a light smile. “You look so pretty, baby,” she said, cupping her chin. “I love the hair.”
“Ms. Wynter did it for me.”
Dela’s smile fell. “Oh. Well… she did a good job. Here.” She handed her the gift bag.
Jamari took it without much emotion. “Thanks.”
“Aren’t you going to open it?”
“Not right now.”
“Can I at least have a hug?”
Jamari didn’t move. She looked to me, but I didn’t say anything. This was her decision. Dela cleared her throat and narrowed her eyes.
“I see how it is,” she muttered. “You aren’t gonna say anything about this, Jaxson?”
“What do you want me to say? She’s old enough to decide if she wants a hug or not, Dela. Her feelings are hurt, and you need to accept however long it takes them to not be hurt anymore.”
“How am I supposed to fix this if you only allow me to see my child once a week?”
“How about call her? Ask to see her more. Forget the court order, if you wanted to see her and asked, I would make it happen.”
“You are the reason this happened?—”
“No, that’s on you. If you came here to argue and ruin our child’s birthday, you can leave.”
She glared at me, then looked over to a quiet Jamari. I could tell she swallowed every ounce of her pride before she spoke.
“I’m… sorry, Jamari,” she said.
Jamari turned to me. “Can I go back to skate now?”
