He lets out an exaggerated huff. “Come on, man. You know what I mean.”
Slowly shaking my head, I say, "No, I really don’t.”
“What’s up with you buying her that expensive ass necklace in front of her boyfriend?”
I slow to a stop at the red light, flick my eyes toward him, and then return my gaze to the cars driving through the intersection. “It was from Amari.”
Kevin continues to stare at me. “But it’s your money.”
“No shit, it’s my money,” I snap. “I’m her father.” My shoulders are tight from all his questions. Why does it matter what we bought her?
He sighs, shaking his head. “I hope you don’t screw things up for her.”
The light turns green, and I press on the gas, moving the car forward.
“Are you trying to get back with her?” he asks, a bit quieter now.
I glance over at him. “What does it look like?”
“It looks like you are.” He rests his head against the seat and stares straight out in front of him, avoiding eye contact with me.
I shrug my shoulders.
“Seriously? Again?”
“What? She told me to work on myself, and I did. I’ve been doing great. We deserve to be a family again. We deserve to at least to give it another shot.”
"Dude, she has a boyfriend.”
“Yeah, he’s the problem now.”
He shakes his head. “So, you’re going to try to break them up?”
I pull up to Kevin’s apartment and put my truck in park. “No. But I'll try to get her to see we deserve another chance, and then she can make her own decision.”
Kevin laughs. “You’re an idiot.”
If Kevin sees that I’m trying to win her back, I hope she notices, too. I don’t want to surprise her the way I used to. My hope is that she will see my efforts and understand my intentions. I want to plant the idea in her mind so she can come to a decision on her own. She needs to see that I’m serious, that I’ve changed, and that this time, it’s different. I’m not rushing. I’m giving her the space to realize what we could have together.
Blakely
The necklace Kai and Amari gifted me is impossible to ignore. Even as I fix my appearance in the mirror, getting ready for work, I can't help but stare at it. Once I got home and looked at the necklace more closely, I noticed the two small letters on the bottom corner of the hearts, underneath Amari’s engraved name. I hadn’t noticed them before. The letters are so small, I had to examine it for a while—until I came to realize the two small letters are F and E.
Forever and ever.
The words we used to tell each other. My heart sank when I saw it. I haven’t seen or heard those words in years. Ever since Kai stopped trying to get back with me. He used to use it against me, as if it were a promise we made to each other. Well, itwasa promise we made to each other. But promises are broken all thetime. Our forever and ever had to be broken in order for us to be better for ourselves and our daughter.
That touch from Kai back at my mom’s house isn’t something I’ve felt in a while. He always plays around, and he touches me here and there, but it’s always playful. This gesture seemed loving and caring. It made goosebumps shoot down my spine.
I look at myself one last time before I head out for work. Liam had a late start this morning, so he took Amari to school, giving me extra time to get ready. Usually on the days I work, I’m rushing in the morning with no time to get ready. This time, I was able to do my go-to wing linger and glue on fake lashes. I pair everything with a nude lip, making it all come together. When I left Kai back in 2011, I discovered makeup tutorials on YouTube. It helped keep my mind busy, especially at night when I started missing him the most. YouTube helped distract me. It was a blessing and a curse at the same time. Because what started to only distract my mind became a shopping addiction. YouTube and Sephora opened up a whole new world for me. I constantly chased the next big product that was blowing up. Over the years, I’ve toned down my makeup. I used to show up to work with a full face of makeup and a smokey eye look. I was walking around the office looking like I was going to a nightclub.
“Who’s the hottie?” Paige asks as I sit down at my desk and clock in for work.
I giggle. “Thanks. Liam took Amari to school, so I had extra time to get ready.”
“That’s nice of him. I wish I had a man to wake up to.” She sighs as she twirls around in her chair. “How was your Mother’s Day?”
“It was nice...” I pause, remembering the way Kai touched me. “And unexpected.”
