“I’m not moving in with you, Clinton.”
“I wasn’t gon’ suggest that, but since you brought it up, why not?”
“Because I signed a fifteen-month lease to lock in a lower price for my rent. It doesn’t expire for another eight months.”
“I don’t give a fuck about a lease. You’re about to have my baby, and there’s no way in hell you’re staying here for another eight months.”
“It’s too soon for us to move in together. I moved in with Winston after a few months of dating, and you see how that turned out.”
He suddenly hopped out of bed, startling me. When I turned over, he was stepping into the pants he had worn the night before.
“What’s wrong?” I asked as I sat up.
“I’m not Winston, and I told your ass not to mention him around me. I’m nothing like that nigga, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t compare us.”
“I wasn’t comparing you.”
“You weren’t? What would you call it then?”
“I was just saying that me and him moved quickly, so I—”
“So you gon’ make me pay for the fucked up shit that nigga did?”
“No, I just… Clinton, please. Come back to bed and let me explain.”
“Nah, I’m good and can hear you from here.”
“Fine. I know you’re nothing like him. I didn’t say that to compare you. I was just making a point.”
“Do you think moving in with me would end the way it did with him?”
“No, that’s not what I think, but we’re still very new. I don’t want to rush into anything and have regrets later. I want to be with you, I want to build with you, and I want to fall in love with you. Can’t we just take it one day at a time and let things flow naturally?”
His expression softened, and he came to sit on the edge of the bed. I crawled over to him and wrapped my arms around his neck from behind.
“You want to fall in love with me?”
I nodded. “I do.”
“At least our hearts are moving in the same direction. I’m sorry for overreacting, and I apologize for snapping at you. I thought you were insinuating that I would do you like your ex. He’s a bitch ass nigga, and I can’t have you thinking I’m anything like him.”
“If I thought that, do you think I would’ve let you fill my womb with your seeds over and over again? You’re the first man to feel this pussy raw in at least six years.”
“I knew you trapped me.”
“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t, but either way, I don’t regret a single thing that happened in New Orleans.”
“Neither do I.” He removed my arms from around his neck and turned his body so that he could face me. “Before I got in my feelings and let my ego get in the way, I was going to suggest we alternate weeks at each other’s places. Is that cool?”
“I like that idea.”
“Good. We’ll start at my place. Pack enough stuff for a week, and I’ll be back to get you when I’m done at the office.”
“How about I meet you at your place? If you pick me up, I won’t have my car for the week.”
“You won’t need your car because I’ll be dropping you off and picking you up every day.”
I smiled. “Ooh, a chauffeur. I like the sound of that.”