Page 35 of Made to Love Ya

He lifted his eyebrows. “That ain’t even true. You know I was that cat. All the honeys were chasing me down.”

“That’s because they were thirsty. You and my brother both were crusty as hell.”

He laughed. “Thank God we’ve all come a long way then, huh?”

“Yep,” I replied as he led me to the playground.

“Maybe our kid might stand a chance.”

It was my turn to stop and stare. “You want children, Zae?”

He tugged my hand to get me moving again. “Yeah. Someday, I do. I don’t want a whole brood of them, but one or two might be nice.”

“I never took you for that guy.”

“Why? You don’t think I would be good with kids?”

“I do. I just didn’t think you would want any of your own.”

“You are sadly mistaken, Ms. Campbell. Why wouldn’t I want to see all this greatness reflected in a mini-me?” he asked with a wink.

I laughed. “Boy, you’re a hot damn mess.”

“And you love me. Hop up on this swing,” Izael stated and slapped my ass.

I did as he commanded, and he pushed me on the swing. I kicked my legs out and lay back just a little bit. The sun shined on my face and in my heart because a great man loved me.

I didn’t feel bad about being on the swing because there weren’t many kids out at this time of evening.

He pushed me in silence for a while before speaking. “I know how you feel about your family finding out about us, Chè, but I want you to know that I’m not worried about anything—not ya mama, ya daddy, or ya brother. The only thing I’m concerned about is how you feel about me and how you allow me to love you. You understand that, girl?”

Izael stopped pushing me and sat on the swing beside me. He turned sideways in his swing to face me.

“I do. But that’s the part of me that has to protect you, Zae. It’s easy for you to say that you’re willing to sacrifice anything for me,” I replied as I twirled my swing around in circles until the chains were completely twisted around each other. “But I know what my family means to you. I understand how important it is for you to be accepted, loved, and welcomed by our family. My parents were there for you when your family was falling apart. My dad took you under his wing when your father couldn’t be there, and he taught you all the things that he taught Tahj. My mama gave you that attentive ear, affection, and her homemade brownies when your mother worked long hours. And Tahj is your brother from another mother. I wouldn’t dare dream of taking that from you.”

“And if they take all that away from me because I love you so deeply, then did they ever love me? I mean, if they are able to overlook their preconceived notions about who we should be to each other and still love me anyway, then that’s real love. That’s genuine love, Talia. I couldn’t buy that, and that’s the type of love that I want.”

“I know, baby. I just don’t want to see you hurt. I mean, I know they’ll be upset with me, but I also know that they’ll get over it. So, that’s not what I’m worried about.”

He blew out a long breath of air before he spoke again. “Chè, I’m a man, and I can handle a man’s shit. I will face whatever I need to face to be with you, girl.”

“Okay, Zae. ”

“Yeah.” He stood as he reached for my hand.

We held hands and walked across the park to the slides and the jungle gym, where we proceeded to play like we were little kids again for the next thirty minutes.

“Are you hungry?” Izael asked when we finished.

“Starving.”

“Let’s get some sub sandwiches from Antonio’s,” he suggested as he pointed at a sub shop across the street. It was on the same side of the street as my building.

We headed over there, ordered our subs and chips, and returned home.

“You think the paint is finished drying yet, baby?” I asked as he unlocked my apartment door.

“I doubt it. It’ll take a few hours, not too long, but it should be done in the morning. You can move the couch back in its place in the morning,” Izael explained as we stepped into the coolness of my apartment.

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