Page 78 of Heart of a Savage
“Really? How can you tell?”
“He’s been mentioning that he wanted me to meet you for a few weeks now.”
“Oh yeah? And how did you feel about it?”
He shrugged. “I’ve never seen him as affectionate with my mom like he is with you. But he had already explained to me when I was five that he and my mom were only friends… even though they don’t act like friends most of the time.”
Oh, they don’t, huh?
“Hmm. How do they act?”
“Like strangers or like they hate each other.”
“Hmm.” I hummed again.
I didn’t feel bad about letting the kid spill his guts. If I was going all the way with Messiah, I needed to make sure he was one hundred percent all in with me. I was teetering on the ledge of being in love with this man. As hard as I was trying to fight it, I couldn’t. I wanted to blame it on the sex, but the truth of the matter was, my feelings were starting to get involved.
He had shown me a great deal of tenderness, love, and care, which was something that I had been missing for so long. It was something I never had from any of the men I slept with. I could have possibly had it with Demarcus or my old high school fuck buddy, Maceo, but I was too closed off to venture off and see if anything would have come out of it.
This time, I was letting myself be “soft” for a man—a man I actually liked very much.
“Well, sometimes adults have their moments. It’s not to say your parents hate each other… If that were the case, she wouldn’t have been living here with you and your dad. Some parents just have disagreements, but I’m sure they love you very much, right?”
He nodded. “They do. She doesn’t live here anymore, though. Does that mean they hate each other now?”
“No, it just means they are making room to allow themselves to grow without needing each other.” I didn’t know what the hell I was talking about, but I hoped he understood what I was trying to say.
The door slid open as Messiah andFeliciacame walking out.
“MJ, ya moms here,” Messiah announced.
“Hey, Ma,” he greeted, standing and walking over to embrace her.
“Hey, my love. You want to go to Destiny’s birthday party with me? She really wants you to come.”
“Don’t lie to my son,” Messiah voiced.
She sucked her teeth. “I’m not lying to him. Don’t show out in front of your company, Si.”
Messiah clenched his jaw before looking at his son. “MJ, you want to go, son?”
“Hmm, yeah, I’ll go. I want to spend some time with Ma, if that’s okay?”
“It’s always okay, son. Go get your shoes and stuff on.”
“Sorry to ditch you, Ms. Arie.” He smiled at me.
“It’s no problem, MJ. We’ll have our time another time. Go have fun!”
He hugged me around my neck. “Thanks for the gift. See ya later!”
“You’re welcome. See ya.”
He hurried off into the house as Felicia stared at me.
I chuckled while shaking my head. “Bye, Felicia.”
“My name is Jalea.”
