Page 53 of When Love Becomes A Need
Ahmad hooked his finger around my chin and turned my face to his. “You don’t have to get all embarrassed, pretty girl. Besides, I think yomama was right. You’re opening up to me more every day.” He bent down and pecked my lips.
“She wants to meet you,” I said quietly.
He stared at me and licked his lips. “So, set it up.”
My eyes opened in shock. “For real?”
“Yeah, we’re doing whatever this is, right? If moms wants to meet me, then I’m down.” I wasn’t sure how to respond to him. “Unless that’s not what you want.”
I grabbed the bottom of his shirt and gripped it tightly while stepping closer to him. “It’s not that. I just...this is a big step for me. I’ve never taken anyone home to meet my mom. What does this mean?”
“It means we’re both figuring things out and opening up to each other to make whatever this is work.”
Slowly I nodded. “I’ll ask her when she’s free.”
Removing my hands from his shirt, I moved them to his face and pulled it down. “Thank you.” Stretching my neck, I kissed him.
Each time I spoke with Ahmad, my feelings grew for him. He was so easy to be around, so easy to talk to that me trying not to fall for him was hard. Ahmad always wanted what was best for me; that was shown before we started seeing each other. From the moment he walked into the coffee shop and saw me upset, he tried to uplift me.
He reminded me a lot of Johnny. When he first started seeing my mom, she wasn’t open with him and had a lot of reservations, but I would hear him compliment her and tell her all the things he loved about her all the time. My mom finally allowed him into her world, and I hadn’t seen the smile on her face disappear since then.
The way her mood would dramatically improve whenever Johnny was around was how I always felt when Ahmad was around. He would make a bad day good with just his voice alone. When I would have a long day at the coffee shop, he would talk me out of my bad mood. Hearing how passionate he was about his tattooing always gave me motivation for my photography.
He was a great catch. I just hoped I was able to be the same thing for him.
CHAPTER 16
Ahmad
“It’s so nice to see both my kids looking happy,” my mom said as we all sat around the table.
“Do we ever look upset?” I asked, bringing my fork to my mouth.
“No, but you both look so happy. Well, Autumn, you’re always in a good mood, but Ahmad, something seems up with you.” My mom narrowed her eyes at me, causing me to smirk.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, woman,” I chuckled.
“Your mom’s right, son. Something does seem different with you,” my dad commented.
“Ahmad’s seeing someone, that’s what it is,” Autumn interjected.
“You are!” My mom’s face lit up.
My eyes cut to my sister. “I don’t need you to speak for me.”
“I mean, you were beating around the bush, so I thought I’d put it out there,” she shrugged.
“Well tell me, who is she?”
I looked at my mom, debating how much I wanted to reveal when it came to Fatima and me. I wasn’t trying to even bring it up, but of course, my sister couldn’t keep her mouth shut. Not that I was trying to hide Fatima, but we were still trying to figurethings out.
“My neighbor!”
“The girl you mentioned a couple of months ago?”
I shook my head and took a drink from my cup. Now I knew my mom wasn’t going to let shit go.
“It’s not that deep. We’ve just been kicking it.”
