Page 8 of Amaze

“I won’t, baby.” She beamed.

“You’re so damn pretty.” I shook my head, admiring her as I passed her the helmet designated for her.

I loved the way her smile grew as she slipped the helmet over her head. Damn, I had missed her. Just being in Wesley’s presence made me feel warm and light at the same time. I wasgenuinely happy. The feeling was so foreign that I barely had a name for it.

I climbed on my bike and waited for my baby to get on behind me. When she was seated, she wrapped her arms around me.

“Tight, baby,” I reminded her, sure that she hadn’t forgotten. It didn’t matter. I would always make sure she was safe and secure.

“I’m holding on, Maze,” she assured me, giving me the confidence to fire up my bike.

The little café I wanted to take her to was less than ten minutes away from Wesley’s house. So we made it there in no time. It felt so good riding with Wes again that I considered prolonging the trip, but I was too hungry to waste time. We had a lifetime of riding to do. I found a parking spot in front of the door and pulled right in.

As soon as we were off, Wesley pulled out her phone and called Anthony. It was nine in the morning. Even in the few months that I had known him, I had never seen our son wake up before eleven on the weekends. He stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, messing around with his electronics and whatever else he could think of doing.

As long as his grades weren’t slipping and he did his chores, I didn’t have an issue with it. I did make sure to mention the importance of getting the proper amount of rest. He let me know that he tried to be asleep at a decent time during the week, but on the weekends, anything went.

He was a good kid, so I didn’t give him a hard time. I was still navigating how to fit into his life. I wasn’t there to make a whole lot of changes when I had just met him. Still, he was my son. I would protect him with my life, just like I would his mother.

I grabbed Wes’s hand and led the way to the front door. I was shocked when I heard Anthony answer the phone.

“Hey, baby. I can’t believe your butt is awake. Me and your dad came to get breakfast,” I heard Wesley tell him as we walked into the diner.

We were quickly seated, and I picked up a menu as if I didn’t know what I would order. I had come to this place a few weeks ago and thought Wesley would love it. Even though she had improved, I liked to make sure that she ate. Stressful situations seemed to be a trigger for her. I knew her stress levels had been at an all-time high lately, so it was my duty to make sure that she was good.

“Tell him I said hey.”

“Amaze says hi, Ant.”

I shook my head and laughed. I didn’t say hi. I was pretty sure that I had never said hi in my life unless I was telling somebody that I was high. Either way, the excitement in his voice tripped me out. “He wants to speak to you.”

Accepting the phone, I put it to my ear. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Grandma is taking me driving this morning. She wants to go look at plants or something after we go to my birthday breakfast.”

“Oh, that’s going to be an all-day affair. Good luck.”

“I get food, and I get to drive my new whip. My luck is already good, Pops.”

“Sounds like it to me.”

“Uncle AJ is coming with us, I think. Well, he said he will meet us there because he doesn’t trust my driving.”

“I can’t blame him for that.” I chuckled.

“He said if my dad is teaching me how to drive, then he knows better than to get in the car with me.” My son laughed just a little too hard.

“Oh, he said that shit? That boy must not knowNascartried to recruit me to drive for them. I just didn’t want to trade the bike for a car. I need to be teaching his ass how to drive.”

“I don’t know what he’s talking about. I’m a good driver,” Anthony added.

“Right! I wouldn’t be letting you chauffer my mama around if you weren’t.”

“Well, we’re about to leave. See you later, Pops. Tell my mama I love her.”

“OK, I love you, Son.”

“Love you too, Dad.”

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