If only she knew how good her daughter looked tonight, how she’d reacted when I touched her face, how she’d been seconds away from kissing me.
The conversation continued for a few more minutes—typical mother–daughter check-ins about eating well, studying hard, staying safe. I found myself oddly charmed by how patient Kelechi was with whatever question her mum was throwing at her, and how genuine her answers sounded despite the lies she was telling.
“Yes ma, I’ll call you tomorrow. Goodnight. Greet daddy for me,” she said finally before hanging up.
The silence that followed felt heavy with everything we weren’t saying. She stared down at her phone for a moment, and I could practically see her processing what had just happened, both the call and what had almost happened before it.
I cleared my throat.
“Late-night reading. That was very convincing.”
She cackled then, a real laugh that made her whole face light up despite her obvious embarrassment.
“Oh God, I’m a terrible daughter. I just lied to my mother.”
“C’mon, you’re just protecting yourself,” I said, starting the car. “There’s a difference.”
She looked at me with something that might have been gratitude, then settled back into the passenger seat, still wrapped in my jacket. Neither of us mentioned what had almost happened, but I could feel the weight of it hanging between us.
Smart, I thought as I pulled out of the parking lot.
Don’t push it, Marley. Let her process.
The drive back to campus was quiet but not uncomfortable, and I found myself taking the longer route without really meaning to, not ready for the night to end.
What the hell is wrong with me? I wondered, glancing at her profile in the passing streetlights. Since when did I take the scenic route? Since when did I care about taking things slow?
But there was something about her that made me want to be…better, be more careful. She wasn’t like the other women I’d been with. She wasn’t playing games or looking for casual fun. She was genuinely confused and curious and vulnerable, and something about that made me want to protect her, even from myself.
“Thank you,” she said quietly as I pulled up in front of her dorm. “For tonight. For… everything.”
“You’re welcome, and thank you for coming with me,” I said, meaning it more than I’d expected to.
She started to shrug out of my jacket, but I stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm.
“Keep it,” I said. “It’s cold, and you’ve got to walk inside.”
And because I like the idea of you having something of mine, I thought but didn’t say.
“But what about you?” she asked, concern evident in her voice.
“I’ll be fine. The car’s warm, and I’ve got a hoodie in the back.” I smiled at her. “Besides, it looks better on you anyway.”
She blushed at that, ducking her head.
“I’ll get it back to you.”
“No rush,” I said. Keep it forever if you want.
She gathered her purse and reached for the door handle, then paused.
“Marley?”
“Yeah?”
“I had a really good time tonight. Even though I was terrified most of the time.” She gave me a small, shy smile. “Thank you for being patient with me.”
Patient. If she only knew how much self-control it had taken not to kiss her senseless in this car, how every instinct I had was screaming at me to follow her upstairs and finish what we’d almost started.
