Page 83 of Cause When You Love Someone
“I know. I’m actually on my way out. I was waiting for you to have some space so I could fangirl over how dope you are,” Essen professed with teary eyes. “Lois’s Lane looks amazing. I checked your calendar online, and there are already days booked!”
“I know! I knew it would be a hot commodity since Silk Hills doesn’t have many dance studios, but I’m still grateful.”
Ishmael pulled me to his body so we were attached at the hip. “You would’ve come out on top anyway. If things didn’t go well, I would’ve paid for a few dates my damn self.”
I glanced up at him. “Always making sure my feelings aren’t hurt. I swear, I love you.”
We hung around until the cleaning company completed the job, then piled into Ishmael’s truck to go home. Since Isabella chose to go home with Essen, that meant I wouldn’t have my nighttime helper. The way Isabella acted over Isaiah, I was amazed she wanted to spend the night away from her nephew.
“Bae. Did your mom end up calling back during the event?” I asked, recalling a conversation we had at the studio.
A subtle twitch in Ishmael’s shoulders made me regret asking. Their relationship hadn’t gotten much better since shewent to jail, but strangely enough, she’d been in contact more since I gave birth.
“Yeah, but I missed the call again. We don’t really need to talk. She still blames me for the move Izzy made.” He chuckled. “The last time we spoke, I answered the phone, and she asked to speak to Izzy and Isaiah.”
“Maybe he’ll be her saving grace. She may be better to Isaiah than she was to you. I know that sounds harsh.”
He shrugged. “It’s the truth. I understand people change, but my son isn’t an experiment. She has to prove to me she will do right by him. I won’t let her disappoint him like she did me and Izzy.” He glanced at me. “You think I’m being hard on her?”
I shook my head. “You don’t play about your son. You could never go too hard on someone when it comes to him.”
As a way to escape the heaviness of our childhood trauma, I turned up the radio. Stevie Wonder’s “As” played as if God knew what Ishmael needed to hear. Good music was Ishmael’s love language. The smile that overpowered his face confirmed it.
When he yawned, I reached out and caressed his growing beard.
“Cut all that sleepy shit out. You have homework to do when we get home.”
“Little do you know, I submitted the assignment last night.”
I peered at him in awe. “You always talk about how proud of me you are, but you’re the one that deserves the praise. You take care of all of us and still show up for yourself.” I shivered. “Whew, I can’t wait to give you some pussy tonight.”
Ishmael’s eyes bulged as his focus raced from traffic over to me. “What I tell you about that? As baby boy gets older, he’s going to start repeating everything he hears. We need a nickname for the goodness between your legs.”
“Ooo, I like that.” I turned in my seat so I was facing him. “What are you thinking?”
His hands eased over to my side of the car, landing on the inside of my thigh. The contact sent a tremble down my back.
“It’s wet, hungry. Pretty. Soft.” The lower his voice dropped, the more I moaned. He bit into his bottom lip. “You’re so nasty. Velvet? Velvet. That’s her name.”
“That shit is so—” The sound of my baby babbling in the back seat put a weak smile on my face. “I can’t believe he is still up after such a long day.”
“That’s because he knows his daddy has a stop to make. He wants to get in on the action.”
“Hmm. What are you talking about?”
Ishmael pointed to the parking lot he was seconds from turning into. I was so caught up in him that I hadn’t realized we were driving in the opposite direction from our house until we arrived at Darwin’s jewelry store.
“Ishmael, what are we doing here? It’s almost eight. The store isn’t usually open this late.”
“For me, it is.” Ishmael winked. “He called during your event and said baby’s pieces are ready. Since little man wasn’t fussing when I put him in his car seat, I figured we could make a detour. You good with that?”
I rubbed my hands together. “Oh, baby. You know I’m never turning down a trip to the jewelry store.”
The last time I saw Darwin was the first time Ishmael worked as my bodyguard. So much had changed since then, but my appetite for a new tennis bracelet was still alive and well.
Since Isaiah was still fresh, we left him in his car seat, and Ishmael carried him into the building. Darwin met us at the door, wearing bright colors and a warm smile.
“Ms. Rose! My girl,” Darwin cheered as he led us into his spot. “It’s so good to see you, beautiful. I knew the day you came in here with that tall, handsome man following you around like a puppy, it wasn’t just because he loved his job.”
