“What I do, that’s what I do as a man. You don’t have to repay me for that. All I need you to do is stay soft for me. Let me take care of you and be ya man. That’s all I need in return. I love making you happy and solving your problems. That won’t ever change.”
Lifting my head, I looked into his eyes. As I cupped his cheeks, I willed my tears not to fall.
“With all the bullshit we’ve been through, us coming together was more than a silver lining. It’s a blessing. I used to question why me, but if my reward for everything I’ve gone through is forever with you, I’m grateful to God for that. I love you, Him, more than anything else in this world.”
“Damn, girl. Now you got me getting all teary eyed.”
I laughed, but it turned into a moan when he gripped my neck and kissed me. My hand lowered to his dick, and I strokedit as it hardened. Making my way under the covers, I gave him slow, sloppy head that had him moaning and groaning and whispering my name. When he couldn’t take it anymore, he pulled me up his frame by my hair. I straddled him, getting comfortable on my feet before sliding down his long, curved dick.
I started out slow, giving myself time to adjust to his size. Once I picked up the pace, he went from caressing me to holding my waist and matching my strokes. The friction of him fucking me back had my body trembling and spine tingling as I circled his nipples with my thumb. He released an animalistic growl as he shot his seeds inside of me while we came simultaneously.
“Shit, boo,” he moaned quietly, eyes fluttering until they closed. He rubbed my ass, movements slowing and getting weaker with each second that passed. “I luh you,” he slurred, and it took everything in me not to laugh as he fell asleep.
My baby was tired.
I lowered myself and kissed him before sliding off him and out of bed.
After I cleaned myself up, I did the same to him, smiling as he snored softly.
As soon as I climbed into bed, I decided I’d sleep on my side so he could rest.
That didn’t last long.
Only a few minutes passed before he was waking up out of his sleep, feeling around for me in the bed. Giggling, I rolled and made my way next to him, tossing my leg over him and rubbing his belly. And within seconds, he was out again.
Three Days Later
Shit was weird. Pops had asked me to come over for dinner, he was calling my girl his daughter and asking me if she was okay. I didn’t know what the fuck was going on withhim, but I was determined to get to the bottom of it. As soon as I walked in the house, he greeted me with a smile. That was it for me.
“Are you dying?” I asked.
He stared at me for a few seconds before releasing boisterous laughter that had the rest of his sons coming into the room. The man was laughing so hard tears were falling from his eyes, but I was dead fucking serious.
“The hell is he laughing at?” Clover asked, sitting down.
“I asked him was he dying.”
“What?” Keem asked with a bark of laughter.
“Why on Earth would you ask him that shit, bruh?” Nathan wanted to know.
“He’s been acting weird. Calling me son and shit, calling to check on me and my gal. Then he invites me over here for dinner with y’all and was smiling at me and shit. Some’ going on. I figured he must be sick.”
They laughed harder, which only pissed me off. I was seriously worried about his health, because to me, him dying was the only thing that would have made this make sense. Sucking my teeth, I gave them a dismissive wave of my hand, then went to the kitchen to grab a beer. That was when I noticed Mona hadn’t cooked. The stove was covered with takeout from his favorite fish place, which was weird. By the time I made it back to the living room, their laughter had settled down. I sat in the recliner that was on the left of the couch.
“To answer your question, no. I’m not sick,” Pops said.
“Then what the hell is going on with you?”
Pops pressed the pads of his fingers together as his forearms rested on his thighs. “I know I haven’t been the best father,… especially to you, Him.” He chuckled. “Damn. I think that’s the first time I’ve ever called you by your first name.”
He cleared his throat and shook his head. “I’m closer to my other sons because I raised them in the house with me. With you,… shit was different. Not to make excuses, because regardless, you were my responsibility, and I should have handled things better, but I didn’t want to lose my wife. Mona was the only person I truly feared losing, and I was willing to do anything to keep her.
“I’d cheated and felt like I couldn’t ask her to raise another woman’s baby. Plus, I didn’t want to bring you around someone that would mistreat you, so when my parents agreed to raise you, I was cool with that. I felt like I couldn’t get close to you without betraying her, and again, that’s not an excuse. That’s simply my truth.”
“So what’s different now?” Clover asked. “Because Mama made it very clear to us that getting close to him meant betraying her, and while her other two sons didn’t give a fuck about that, I did. I never wanted to add onto the pain she already had because of your infidelity.”
“And see,… that wasn’t your problem or responsibility. That wasn’t for you to do,” Pops said. “It never should have been an issue between the two of you because I cheated. She should have never told you no foul shit like that, and I shouldn’t have let her get away with it.”
