Page 70 of Mister President

My smile was genuine as I bobbed my head. If I was known for anything, it was skipping lunch to work. “I will, Mandy.” I wasn’t going to tell her, but I’d scheduled a flower delivery for her as well. This space we were in…I liked it—a lot.

After disconnecting the call, I called West and asked him for Ryit’s number. My soul would be more at peace if I knew someone was going to check on Juelz. For some reason, I just felt like it wasn’t supposed to be me.

41

Amanda

“Do you trust me?”

Elias paused from putting the spoon of chili into his mouth. The temperature was finally low enough for me to start cooking chili and soup, and him and his greedy son couldn’t wait to devour my chili. He was on his second bowl at this point, and I couldn’t hold the question back anymore. The only reason I asked was because of how easily we’d fallen back into a relationship. It made me wonder if he really expected me to be faithful or if a part of him thought I’d cheat on him again.

As he slowly put the spoon in his mouth and chewed, I laughed. He waited until he swallowed to respond.

“Yes. Do you trust me?”

“Of course.”

“Where did that come from?” he asked, dipping his grilled cheese in the chili.

“I just want to make sure you know I’m never going to cheat on you again. And I want you to know me cheating was never about you.”

Elias sat back in his seat. The way his eyes roamed my face filled me with curiosity. Normally, I could read every one of his expressions. This one was foreign.

“When we first started with this, you didn’t have any feelings involved. When you cheated, it was because you were going after a specific outcome. Whether that was money or pleasure. I can admit it was a hit to my ego, but I knew the game because I’d been around men who treated women the same way. Now, I’ve never been a cheater, but I know how they operate. What you were doing had nothing to do with me nor did it have anything to do with my worth or what I lacked. It was solely a reflection of your character and what you valued.”

“That’s why you didn’t want to be with me?”

“Yeah. We simply weren’t valuing the same things. Plus, for me, commitment, fidelity, and exclusivity are what create value in a relationship. If any man can have you, I don’t want you.” Elias shrugged before biting his grilled cheese.

“So what changed? I know you said I did, but what helped you realize you could trust me?”

“You want the raw truth?”

“Always.”

“Out of the twelve years we’ve known each other, this is the first year you’ve expressed and been emotional with me. When I started messing with Fiona, you gave me anger, hurt, sadness, a reflection of your love and desire for me. I feel like that was the first time you realized someone else could actually have me, and you saw what it would be like to lose me.

“With no ego but all the confidence in the world, I can say I trust that you won’t do anything to lose me again… just like I won’t do anything to lose you again.” He took my hand in his. “I was willing to give us a chance because I love you, and I want our family to be together. To grow. But this is the last chance, Mandy. If you were to cheat again—”

“I won’t,” I interrupted him quickly to say. “You’re right. I’d been wanting you for years, but when she came into the picture… things changed. Would I have watched you be with someone else if I had to? Yes. But I would have regretted it, and I don’t ever want to feel that way again. I know we can be with other people and be happy, but I chose you, and I want to choose you every day for the rest of my life.”

“Good, because you ain’t getting rid of me.” He took a couple of bites before asking, “Do your parents know we’re back together?”

My mouth twisted to the side, and I tapped my fingers on my glass of water. Whereas most young girls were raised to be wives and mothers, to save themselves, to only date one man at a time, I was raised to date several men and always keep my options open. To never equate provision and sex with love. To keep my heart closed and emote as little as possible.

Looking back, Mama set me up to be a damn good stripper and cheater, or even a woman who enjoyed quantity with no strings attached. She taught me how to protect my heart, even if it meant breaking someone else’s. But I’d come to learn I had a lot to learn when it came down to being in a healthy partnership. As happy as I was that we were back together, I hadn’t shared the news yet. There was no doubt in my mind that Mama would tell me either the relationship wasn’t going to work because of our past or that I was going to somehow fuck up our future. For now, I just wanted to keep the news away from her.

“I haven’t,” I admitted. “Have you told your people?”

He chuckled. “They knew this was going to happen, but yes, I’ve told them.”

“I will tell my parents soon. I just know Mama is going to have something negative to say. She’ll probably find a way to make me believe you’re with me just to be on some get back shit.”

“Regardless of what she says, all that matters is what I do and how I make you feel. I know that’s ya mama, and I’ll respect her because of you, but I’m not letting her fuck with your head this time around. We’re in a good space, so if you don’t need to tell them, I’m cool with that. I won’t feel like you’re hiding me for some reason. Whatever it takes to protect what we have, that’s what we’ll do.”

That made me feel a hell of a lot better. We continued to talk as he ate before going and taking turns playing chess with EJ. After that, we talked more about what we wanted our future together to look like. The conversation couples usually had when they first started dating felt weird to have with him, but I also loved talking to him about what we wanted, needed, and how we wanted to be loved and cared for. Prioritized. The effort and intention we put into our relationship this time was new, and I was sure it would be what made us a success.

A Little After Midnight

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