Page 17 of I Need It

“Barely walking,” Christian interjected.

I took a deep breath and rolled my eyes. “He helped me back to my room and has been checking on me ever since.”

My dad nodded. “Okay. You’re here kind of early though.”

“I’m an early riser mostly. When she responded to my text messages from yesterday, I knew she was awake. They gave her that pain shot, and she was out of there in minutes.”

“Yeah, Daddy. He’s a country boy. He probably had to get up and feed the chickens.”

He frowned, then a smirk appeared on his lips. “First of all, lil author, we have workers that do that shit. Excuse my language, Mister Ceasar.”

My dad lifted his hands. “She deserved it.”

My eyes widened as I turned to my dad. “You’ve only been around him two minutes and you’re already taking his side?”

“He’s here to see about my baby at seven in the morning. He’s all right in my book.”

I rolled my eyes as Christian flashed the most gorgeous smile I had ever seen. Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. When he noticed how stuck I was, he bit his bottom lip and winked. My eyes fluttered, and I averted my gaze on who was entering the room. The lady walked around the wall with my breakfast tray, so Christian moved to the side.

“Good morning! You have guests early. I wanted to get you your tray first since I heard you were being discharged,” she said then winked.

“Good morning. Thank you so much. My dad and my friend. They both seem to be overprotective.”

“That’s a good thing. Good luck to you.”

“Thank you.”

She left the room, and I pushed the tray away from me. I didn’t want that shit. I tried to eat breakfast yesterday, and it made me feel worse. My dad lifted the lid, and just the sight of the grits had me gagging. They were way too runny.

Christian chuckled. When I turned to him, he said, “My mother owns a diner in Nome. If you feel up to it, y’all can stop through on your way to Houston.”

I frowned slightly, and he noticed. “My bad. You probably don’t have anything presentable to wear. Y’all can still stop, and I’ll get y’all food to go.”

“For real? That’s sweet, Christian.”

He waved his hand. “It ain’t nothing. I ain’t got shit to do today.”

“Baby girl, how are we gonna get your car home?” my dad asked.

He wasn’t slick. He was trying to get Christian to Houston after his last statement. “We can come back and get it when I’m feeling good enough to drive.”

Christian’s lips twisted to the side. “Mya, I can use the business’s flat bed and haul your car to Houston. I just need to go get it. Let me go get it, so by the time you get discharged, I’ll be back.”

Before I could respond, he kissed my forehead and turned to leave. “I’ll text you when I get back. If you don’t mind, Mister Ceasar, I’ll need your help.”

“No, problem. Thank you.”

When Christian left, my dad said, “That’s a real man right there.”

I rolled my eyes, but I knew he was right. The way his lips felt on mine and the way his tongue invaded my space told me that much. There was so much passion inside of him, and he was allowing me to see it for whatever reason. Despite the hurt he’d gone through, he was still receptive to having a relationship again. I could only hope that I could eventually do the same.

CHAPTER 7

CHRISTIAN

When I got back to the hospital, I texted Mya, and within five minutes, her dad called me, letting me know he would pull her car out of the parking garage so we could load it on the flatbed trailer. When I got to Nome to get the trailer, Uncle Marcus’s ass was out there, all in my business. I already knew that Uncle Storm was gon’ know about this shit before the day was over. He wasn’t asking questions, but his ass was watching me extra hard. I’d called Jakari to let him know I was taking the flatbed and why.

When Mr. Ceasar waved at me, I began tilting the trailer so we could get her car loaded. That lil Corolla had seen better days, but I guessed if it was getting her from A to B, then that was all that mattered. However, if she was my woman, this shit would have to get upgraded immediately.

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