Page 24 of Mister President

“So…just to get it out the way,” Elias started, “Amanda is the mother of my son. Felicity is her cousin, and Tamar is her best friend.”

With a smile, I nodded as I crossed my legs. “I figured she was your ex-wife or something. Thanks for letting me know.”

“You’re welcome. Thank you for being cool.”

“Always. So it’s safe to say you two are in a healthy place?”

“Yeah, that’s my girl. If we continue with this, you’ll never have to worry about baby mama drama or no shit like that. Amanda is cool.”

“Good to know.”

Our waiter arrived and took our drink and appetizer orders. After he left, I asked, “So was she your last relationship? If so, when and why did it end?”

Elias relaxed further in his seat after taking off his suit jacket. My mouth watered at the sight of his muscular, tattooed arms.

“I had one relationship after her, but it didn’t last long enough to call it one. Amanda and I broke up five years ago. It ended because we were in different places and wanted different things.” He shrugged and looked away, making me believe there was more to the story that he didn’t want to share. I was cool with that for now. “What about you?”

I shared with him details about my last relationship, and our conversation continued to flow organically. After our appetizers arrived, he asked me, “How old are you? I’ve been meaning to ask.”

“Twenty-four, but I’ll be twenty-five in December.”

“Damn, you’re still a fucking baby.”

The frown he wore made me laugh as I lifted my drink to my lips. “Don’t say it like that. I’m very mature for my age, Elias.”

“I hope so. I’m thirty-five and over ten years older than you. That doesn’t bother you?”

My head shook. “I prefer dating older men.”

“I hear you, but I don’t want to feel like I’m grooming you. If I feel like you don’t have enough relationship experience to be with me, I don’t know, Fi.”

“That’s fair. I can honestly say I’ve dated a lot, and what I haven’t learned from dating, I learned from my parents. Since sixteen, I’ve been prepared for marriage and motherhood. If you give us a chance, you’ll see I don’t need to be groomed, but I am a woman who has no problem submitting and being cultivated by the right man.”

I could tell he was impressed by my answer. We continued to talk and get to know each other. Elias was surprised that at my age, I was ready for babies and marriage. I watched as his eyes lit up while he talked about his son and desire for more children.

“Why didn’t you have more with Amanda?” I asked.

“No lie, I would have, but it just didn’t work out that way. She’s an amazing mother, and I’m honored to have a little person roaming this earth that’s half of her. It was just us that we couldn’t get right, you know? But let’s get off that.” He opened his palm on top of the table, and I placed my hand inside. “Tonight is about us.”

It was, and we made the most of it. After our amazing meal, we went up to the rooftop for more drinks. Then, we walked the beach and talked a bit more. He was so easy to talk to, and it further confirmed I’d made the right choice by positioning myself to be pursued by him.

When we decided to end our time together, Elias walked me to my car, where he gave me the sweetest kiss before telling me to let him know when I made it home. The whole time I drove, I couldn’t wipe away the smile that was on my face. Whatever it took, I was going to have to convince Daddy to approve of us being together.

13

Elias

Since my firstdate with Fiona included a lot of talking and getting to know each other, I wanted our second date to be laid-back and fun. I could admit I had a better time than I expected. She was really cool and easy to talk to. Plus, she was mature for her age. Her being in her twenties, wanting marriage and kids surprised me, but it was cool because I wanted the same things. At this point, I wouldn’t say I felt like she was the one just yet, but I was interested in seeing how far things would go.

When the date first started, my heart dropped to my feet at the sight of Amanda. Not only did she look beautiful, making it hard for me to keep my eyes off her, but I thought it would be weird sitting with her and Fiona at the same time. Thankfully, that hadn’t been the case. So far, Amanda hadn’t mentioned the date or seemed weird when I checked in on her, so I guess we were back to our version of normal.

For the first part of our date, I took Fiona tocr8, which meant a gondola ride along the river, where I purchased her roses that she swooned over. Atcr8, we made candles, and Iknew she would love that cutesy shit. After that, we walked a little ways down to Mali Tyson’s botanic garden. They were having a fall exhibit that included Disney movies and characters created out of plants and flowers. I was glad Fiona liked it, but a part of me wished I would have brought Amanda here. I didn’t know what the theme was going to be when I planned the date, and she loved Disney everything.

There wasn’t a Disney movie she hadn’t seen, and if it was one of her favorites, she could recite it word for word. I remembered a couple of years ago, we did a challenge on social media where I started the opening credits to like ten movies, and she recognized each one in a matter of seconds. That was one of the lighter moments between us, and it was a memory that was engrained forever. The shit went viral, and I got her a collection of all the movies which made her cry.

Amanda hadn’t been the most emotional and expressive woman, so to see her soften like that meant a lot to me. I think that was why I remembered it so well. When I couldn’t shake the feeling of doing Amanda wrong, I decided to end the night at the exhibit early. I couldn’t focus on Fiona because I was thinking about my girl. It felt like I was in a goddamn love triangle, and I didn’t like that shit at all.

Fiona and I took the gondola ride back to our cars, and after taking her to grab something to eat, we went our separate ways. I didn’t even eat because I’d lost my appetite. I wasn’t sure how I planned to date and fall in love with another woman, in this city, and not have Amanda hovering in my heart and mind. A part of me felt like the right woman would make me forget about Amanda; the other part of me wanted Amanda to be the right woman. I knew that wouldn’t be the case though.

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