Page 90 of Out of Bounds
“Have what? Chased yo’ ass?”
I nodded.
“Till the day I took my last fucking breath. I’ll keep chasing you in all the ways that matter. The hard times, easy times, and all of the moments in between.”
“Why?”
“Because to me, Masai… you’re worth it. And honestly, the more I chase you, the more I realize I don’t want to stop. With you, I’m always going to keep running right beside you. Never ahead, never behind, just with you.”
“I think I like that.” I smiled.
“Good. I hope you get used to it. ’Cause I’m never letting you go. Definitely not ’bout to let you be happy with another nigga. That was youronetime. Next time you even think ’bout giving another nigga a piece of you, they gone find his ass in a ditch somewhere.”
“The same goes for you, mister.” Grabbing him by the chin, I pulled his head down, so we were staring into each other’s eyes. “As long as you keep chasing me, I’ll continue running toward you. Never away from you, but always to you.”
“I think I like the sound of that.” He smirked.
I pecked his lips. “You better.”
My heart raced as I looked into Kreed’s eyes. Remembering the way he used to make me feel, hell, the way hestillmakes me feel, even when shit went wrong. My heart wants to hesitate because of the scars from our past, but reconciling with Kreed was showing me that love isn’t always perfect, but it’s real.
It’s not about erasing the past or pretending it didn’t hurt, but understanding that those painful moments were part of our story and choosing to move forward together made us stronger because of it. Putting my family back together was the only thing that mattered to me.
Sliding up behind me, Kreed wrapped his hands around my waist and nestled his head in the crease of my neck. “You good?”
Closing my eyes, I released a shaky breath and nodded. “I am.”
“If you’re not, I get it. I don’t want you to feel like youhaveto be here.”
“I know… I wanted to be here, though.”
Today was KJ’s birthday party. He’d turned one last week, and Kreed was determined to keep the celebrations separate. All week, he’d been running around trying to make sure he had everything in order for today. He’d reiterated over and over again that it wasn’t necessary for me to attend the party, but I wanted to be here. We were working on our marriage, and KJ was now a permanent fixture in my life. As hurt as all of this made me, it still wasn’t enough for me to not be here.
This was just year one. We still had the rest of our lives to go. I was moving on, and at my own pace. Kreed was diligent about giving me the space to do so, so yes. While it wasn’t required for me to be here today, this was my family, so there was no other place I’d rather be.
“You sure?” he asked again.
Removing his hands from my waist, I spun around and wrapped my arms around his neck. “I’m okay. I’m here. I’m processing it, and I’m pushing through.”
He searched my eyes a few seconds before saying, “I’m sorry, Sai.”
“It’s okay, baby. We’re okay.” I smiled through my tears. “Really… I’m okay.”
Kreed stared at me like he knew I wasn’t sure, and instead of calling me out on it, he pecked me on the forehead. “His mother should be here in a minute to get him.”
“I packed his stuff already. I didn’t want you to have to stop entertaining to do it.”
“Thank you, baby.” He kissed my lips.
“You’re welcome. I’m going to clean the kitchen.”
“Aight.”
Kreed pecked my lips a few more times before finally letting me go. As I walked toward the house, I nodded my head for Koyato follow me. When we were alone in the kitchen, I placed my palms on the counter and sighed.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m working through it. I don’t want to live in this place forever. I can’t keep carrying this weight of resentment.”
