“Yes,” she responded, then started suddenly laughing.
I grabbed her hand so we could leave. I had had enough for the day, so I was sure Maverick did too.
“What are you laughing for?”
“I just realized how much you remind me of Spencer.”
I stopped and glared at her, but that didn’t do anything but make her laugh more.
“And just how do I remind you of a dog?” I crossed my arms over my chest and squinted down at her.
She wrapped her arms around my torso and looked up at me. “Because you are muscular like him.” She smirked as she ran her hands over my biceps. “More importantly, you are loyal and protective. I don’t even see you look at other women. Even though it’s natural to, as humans, but you don’t let me see it. You also don’t fool with too many people, just like Spencer. You’re also gentle with me, and you don’t like being away from me for too long, just like he doesn’t.” She beamed, and I couldn’t help but smile down at her.
I’d never been compared to a dog before, but her reasoning made sense. She was right about me looking at other women. I’d come across plenty of beautiful women, but none of them could hold a candle to Maverick.
“I guess I can see that. Let’s get out of here so I can show you just how much of a dog I can be.” I bit the side of her neck and picked her up, gaining me a loud shriek from her.
I carried her all the way back to my car, then we drove to her house.
When we arrived at her house, I rewarded her for being so brave at the festival. Maverick had my heart, and I had no plans of ever leaving her.
“Y’all,this man talked to his deceased baby momma about me.” I looked into my phone, where Kayla and Angie looked back at me. The three of us were on a group FaceTime call as I got ready to meet Onyx and Turquoise at the park.
“Oh, he loves you for real,” Angie said.
“That just means he’s serious about you. I’m sure it was probably hard for him to move on after losing her the way he did,” Kayla added.
It didn’t surprise me that Onyx spoke to Bria about me because of the relationship they had before she passed. It was also important because I was around her daughter. Granted, she wasn’t here physically, but I believed people’s spirits lived within us. I didn’t find it weird or anything. In fact, I was glad he didit because it probably relieved a weight that I was sure he held, even though he never mentioned it.
“Right. It’s crazy because everything moved so fast but felt so natural. It’s like the whole relationship has been easy, and every time I think the other shoe is going to drop, he assures me that it isn’t. And I love his daughter so much. Obviously, I would never try to take her mother’s place, but it’s an honor being able to be in her life. We’ve built our own special relationship, and no matter what happens, I want to be there for her.”
“Nothing is going to happen, Mav. You and Onyx will get married and have babies someday,” Kayla said.
I dreamed about marrying Onyx and starting a family with him multiple times since the day he walked into my hospital room.
“We shall see. I have to finish getting ready. I’m supposed to meet him and Turquoise soon.”
The three of us said our goodbyes, then hung up. Since we were only going to the park, I put on jeans and a sweater with knee boots. I wrapped my hair up in a low bun and put my watch on.
Once I was ready, I took my phone off the charger and grabbed my crossbody bag off the chair in the corner of my room.
“Come on, Spencer,” I called when I reached the bottom of the stairs.
When Onyx mentioned the park, he insisted I bring Spencer with me. I wanted to anyway, since he loved the park and playing with Turquoise.
After locking up my house, I opened the car door so Spencer could get inside, then went to the driver’s side. Spencer enjoyed riding in the car with the windows cracked, so I opened both back windows for him, and we were on our way.
The whole way there, I wondered why we were meeting at the park, but Onyx wouldn’t give me any clue.
A little while later, Spencer and I arrived at the park. I put his collar and leash on him, then we went to find Onyx.
“M&M!”
I looked up to find Turquoise running full speed toward us. She started calling me M&M a little while ago, instead of calling me Miss Maverick all the time.
“Hey, T!” I bent down and wrapped her in my arms. She smelled like cocoa butter and pink moisturizer, so I knew Ms. Sharon was the one who did her hair. “Your hair looks pretty,” I said as I gently pulled one of her pigtails. Ms. Sharon was the only person that I knew of who still used pink moisturizer.
She shook her head and made her barrettes make noise.
