“She wearing a nigga out,” he chuckled.
Ellie sipped her hot chocolate.
“She likes you.”
“Yeah, she’sa cool kid,” he replied.
“If I choose to stay here in Michigan, what does that look like for you?” she asked.
“It looks like I’d move you in-”
“Untuh,” Ellie interjected, stopping him before he even got started.
“I have two girls. I can’t just move in with you. This has to happen progressively. We need to date. We can’t skip steps. They need to get to know you. I need to get to know you.”
“I’d put you up in a place of your choosing, fully furnish it, cover all expenses to relocate, and whatever else you need me to do,” Loyal responded.
“What’sthe catch? Because I keep waiting for the other foot to drop with you. Anything that seems too good to be true normally is.”
“There’s no catch. I do have a requirement, though.”
“And that is?” Her brow lifted.
“I need to have a conversation with Brooklyn’s father, and you need to push forward with that divorce. I’llpay for whatever attorney is necessary,” Loyal stated.
“And what about you? Your situation? Your baby mama? Your son?” She wasn’t a fool. She knew that there was unfinished business there. If she was considering uprooting her entire life and giving him a chance, he needed to uproot his as well.
“That situation will never reach you,” he assured.
“What does that mean? Because it doesn’t sound like you’re ending it. Just because it doesn’t reach me doesn’t mean it’s not present. I don’t do side bitches well,” Ellie stated.“I don’t have time for anything that I have to second-guess.”
“I told you; my gameisn’t manipulation. I like to tell the truth and let a woman choose her own experience,” Loyal stated.
“Loyal, be straight up with me. What am I getting into with you?”
“I know you in some shit right now that has left you fucked up, E. I can’t predict the future. I can only tell you Iain’t coming into this with bad intentions,” he said.“Some people you just meet, and you know. It don’t take a man years to know when they’ve met their one.”
“I can’t handle more drama,” she said.“It just feels like we both have situations that are too complicated for us to entertain anything with each other right now. There is a such thing as meeting the right person at the wrong time. You know the fucked-up shit I have going on, but I’m going in dark. Like, what’sthe arrangement with your son’s mom? Is it clear you’re ready to move on? Is she still attached? Are you still fucking her?” There was so much mystery around this man.
“We just met, E. Iain’t ironed out the details yet, and I don’t want to lie to you. I was with Tisa for a minute. She’s familiar, so yeah, I have been fucking with her,” Loyal stated.“But I have no problem making it clear. Iain’t have a reason to do that before now, so I was just letting it be whatever I needed it to be.” His brow furrowed as he looked at her sincerely.
She didn’t know why it hurt her feelings to know that this man, who she had just become acquainted with, was out here doing shit that men did. Of course, he was sleeping with his baby mama. She couldn’t be angry at him because he hadn’t done anything wrong.
“How do men do that? Just check out of one relationship and jump into the next?” she asked.“I don’t want to be the woman who stepped over another woman to snag a man.”
“Youaren’t the reason for the demise of that relationship, E. It’s been dead, we just holding on to what’s familiar at this point. I’llalways make sure she’s good because she has my son, but my heartain’t there. My loyalty was there because I got her pregnant, and I’m a man who takes care of the people on my team. We have a lifelong attachment. If me providing is going to be an issue, then this might be hard for you. I’llrespect it if it ain’t for you, but I’m not in love with her, and there will be no baby mama drama aimed at the woman I’m with. Niggas who allow shit like that don’t have control over their situation. I do.”
Sounds good until that damn girl stalking me on social media and keying your car,she thought.
“I wouldn’t give you up easily if I were her,” Ellie admitted. He moved around the table so that he was sitting next to her.
“Trust me not to get you into no bullshit,” he reassured.
“I’m sure there will be some residual feelings there, on her part and yours,” Ellie said.“That would need to be completely over before I made a permanent move. My divorce would need to be finalized before we do whatever it is we call ourselves doing. I like you, Loyal. My heart might even be begging me to say it’s a little more, but I’m not reckless with my life. I can’t afford to be. Where we go next depends on what you do next,” Ellie said.
“Right now, I just want to decorate a tree with li’l mama and get around these guards you got. That’s my next move,” he said.
He was so damn cute, so cool, and calm, and collected. He wanted her to go hard or go home and he wasn’t afraid at all to move all his pieces around on the Chess board to make it happen. Ellie was terrified to give in to Loyal. She had grown complacent in the dysfunction of her marriage. It was a terrible relationship, but it was the devil she knew. She was used to Cairo’s abandonment, and she knew exactly how bad his worst got. She could anticipate the threshold for pain with Cairo, and although it hurt, it had already scabbed over. Cairo didn’t have the power to make her bleed out. Loyal brought the spark back to a dormant heart, and the picture of love he painted was so enticing that it gave her hope. She didn’t want to be let down again. The vulnerability he exposed in her was dangerous.
