Page 15 of Mister President

I wasn’t sure how it happened, but I ended up showering and leaving my home to go to his. As I drove, I told myself it was to remind him that I didn’t want him taking care of me financially, but that wasn’t it. All that was, was an excuse that would get me in his presence. For a while, I was okay with that.

The ride to his place was quiet, giving me time to calm my nerves. I wasn’t even sure why I was nervous. I guess because I was going to this man with no clear plan or reason in mind. Even though I knew Elias wouldn’t turn me away, he was going to question why I came. The lie about the money would only last for so long before he saw straight through me. If I couldn’t be honest with myself, how was I going to be honest with him?

I shook that question off as I hit the button to open his garage. After parking in the only available space, I called him and let him know I was about to come inside. When I walked in, I found Elias in the living room. He looked unnaturally sexy, shirtless with gray sweats hanging low on his hips. As he rolled a blunt, Elias watched me as I walked over to him.

“You ready to talk?” he asked, like it wasn’t damn near two in the morning.

“No.”

“You wanna fuck?”

Chuckling, I shook my head as I sat next to him. “No. I came to remind you that, unless I’m dancing for you or it’s for our son, I don’t want you giving me money.”

The quiet bark of laughter he released amused me. His eyes traveled to the TV. It was on Netflix, but nothing played yet.

“You could have called and told me that, so what’s the real reason you’re here?”

“I think since we’re both ready to get into relationships, we should talk about boundaries,” is what came out of my mouth, and I had no earthly idea where it came from. It sounded good, though, so I decided to go with it. Plus, it was true.

Slowly, his head turned in my direction. He licked his lips as he eyed my frame. “So you came here, after we spent the day together with our son, to talk to me about boundaries for a future relationship that neither of us are in yet?”

My brows wrinkled and mouth twisted to the side. With a huff and determination to not sound even crazier than I already did, I nodded and cupped my hands in my lap.

“Mhm. Yep.”

His quiet laugh made me laugh. “Just say you wanted to be around me, Mandy. You know admitting that won’t lead to the end of the world, right?” My mouth opened, but no words came out when he placed a soft, tender kiss on my neck. Then my jaw. My mouth snapped shut and eyes closed when he kissed my cheek. Then the corner of my mouth. “I missed you too,” he almost whispered against my ear before kissing it. “Shit feels different now, right?”

Relief washed over me after hearing his confession. “Yeah. I thought it was just me. I guess—” I paused, wondering how honest I really wanted to be. “That night I told you I wanted something real…that changed things for me. I finally releasedyou, you know? So spending the day with you and EJ felt weird, and that’s never been the case.”

Elias sighed as he licked his lips and lit the blunt. We rotated it for a while silently before he replied.

“I don’t want things to be weird between us, bae. We’ve worked too hard to get to where we are.”

“I agree. I think that’s why I came. I didn’t want to admit it, but I missed you. The way we used to be.” Chuckling, I took a pull from the blunt. “It feels like it’s been forever, but it’s only been what…two weeks?”

He gave me that sexy smile that I’d fallen in love with over a decade ago. “Two weeks is short, but it’s long as hell when it’s the amount of time that’s passed with things not feeling right between us.”

“But it has to feel right, though, right? If we’re really going to be with other people, this will have to be our new normal. No flirting, no sex…a normal, platonic coparenting relationship. We have to get used to that.”

His head tilted as he puffed the blunt twice. “What if I don’t want to?”

“You don’t have a choice.”

The chuckle he released was quiet as he handed me the blunt. “I always have a choice. And when I want to, I’m going to choose you. Until we’re in committed relationships with other people, I’m not going to deny us of that. Are you?”

I should have said yes. That was the sane, healthy thing to do. Instead, I shook my head. His arm wrapped around me, and he pulled me back onto the couch. We continued to smoke and watch a series that came up as a suggestion. By the third episode, we were finishing our fourth blunt, and I was sleepy as hell.

“I’m thirsty and sleepy,” I said aloud.

Elias laughed as he reached for the remote. “Aight. I’ll put you to bed.”

I nodded my agreement and slumped down further on the couch. By the time he’d returned with a bottle of water, I was already drifting off to sleep. After chugging almost half of it down, I almost choked from laughing at him laughing at me. I wiped my mouth and stood then handed him the bottle. He drank the rest before picking me up and carrying me to the guest room I always slept in when I stayed over. I couldn’t resist kissing his neck and blowing a breath against his ear.

He shivered before saying, “Don’t do that.”

“I’m sorry,” I replied through a giggle. My hand lifted and caressed his waves. “I really do love you, E. I want you to know that.”

He didn’t respond immediately, and I was cool with that. I didn’t tell him for anything in return. I really just wanted him to know. It surprised me that he closed and locked the door, but I was too tired to question him about it.

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