“I would never,” she said with a laugh. “But I do love gossip, you know that. I guess I’ll be off back to my post.”
“Thanks, cousin,” I said. “And since it’ll probably come out soon enough, I have—slept with him, and he’s still here, so hopefully that says something.”
Camille’s giddy smile told me everything I needed to know about how I’d approached men in the past. I knew Isaiah was the one—at least, he was acting like the one. And right now I wasn’t even looking for red flags or faults, and I hoped he wasn’t looking for them in me.
I got back to Isaiah, ready to answer any of the questions he had about the business. I had a huge smile on my face, the lines of boss and lover Daddy blurred at that moment. I’d set those lines, and yet, I was the one blurring them. It wasn’t intentional, I just wanted him, and I wanted the world to know that he was mine—in all aspects and areas of his life.
“So, when are you breaking that lease on your place?” I blurted.
“Huh?”
I tapped my fingers on the desk. “I just want you out ofenemyterritory,” I told him. “The last thing I need is you being used as a pawn against me.”
His smile faded a lot, and I knew I’d come on too strong. “We should wait, right?” he asked. “In case you actually don’t like me after the novelty has worn off.”The words came rightfrom a place of experience it seemed. They were soft but difficult as he spoke them, definitely hard won. “The last thing I need is to be dumped, homeless, and without a job.” He snorted a laugh and turned his head a little, wiping a tear from his cheek. “That would be the ultimate form of dominance, right, Daddy?”
I stroked the side of his face, ran my thumb up across his cheek. “You don’t have to worry about that. And if you decide to leave, you get a pay out. I’m surprised you haven’t noticed all those twinks out there getting nose jobs and buying expensive designer bags. Yeah, those were settlements.” I shrugged, almost anecdotally to myself. “Mostly from Tomaso, but I’ve paid out my fair share.”
“Ass retightening surgery,” he snorted.
“I’m sure that cream and my kisses helped you,” I said, kissing his cheek. “So I won’t rush you on that, but you’re the first person I’ve ever asked, and—”
He smirked. “You’re not used to hearing people sayno, are you?”
“No, I’m not.”
And on that same note, I could tell he’d been told no and denied a lot in life. Maybe it was knowing that that had pushed me closer to him—that desire to give and give until the void of all those no’s were filled. Maybe it was filling my own void, the one where I’d been denied a boyfriend. Not officially, but if my father had ever found out they would’ve been—no, I wasn’t going to imagine the fucked-up shit my father would’ve done. That fucker was dead, and I was alive. I was alive and happy, and he wasn’t going get his toxic bony hands on my life again now.
Isaiah’s touch brought me out of my thought spiral. “It’s been a long day,” he said. “I know there’s a whole ‘gays move too fast into relationships’ thing, and I don’t want to play into that stereotype.”
“Okay, baby.” I smothered his cheek in kisses. “Saying all that, I will be introducing you as my boyfriend to my mom.”
“What?” he mustered.
***
We spoke about it in the car on the way to my mom’s house. It was the place I’d grown up in alongside my brothers. A large house with a deep brownstone perimeter wall and two large black iron gates that opened automatically for certain cars. Isaiah was nervous, but I’d tried helping him through that with a hand on his lap and another behind his back, stroking him. I kissed up his neck, and if we’d been alone in the car, I might’ve even let him climb on top of me to give him some real deep reassurance that would drip right out.
“What if she hates me?” he asked as the gates opened.
Ronnie, in the driver’s seat, briefly looked back, and as I locked eyes with him, he knew to speak. “Mrs. Bianchi is the sweetest woman alive,” he said. “Just make sure to clear your plate when you’re done eating, or she might think you hate her food.”
“How many people are gonna be there?” his panicked voice asked.
“Are you coming in, Ronnie?” I asked.
“Oh no, I’ve got to go watch a high roller game,” he said. “Your brother requested extra muscle. There’s about to be a couple million dollars plus on the tables tonight.”
I laughed. “Good, make sure to collect fees. We’re not running a charity.”
“On it, sir,” he said, parking in the drive.
My mom was right there at the door, with her big bouffant of dark hair and wiry greys, dressed in one of her Mother’s Day aprons from years ago. It caught me off guard fora moment—but it wasn’t Mother’s Day yet. Camille would’ve told me about that—Isaiah, perhaps not so much, it was a triggering topic for him.
I got out of the car first and my mom practically ran to me. I pulled her up into a hug, and standing a foot taller than her, I had her off her feet. Isaiah came out of the car what felt like forever after me, since I’d undergone a short investigation from my mom.
“Who’ve you been kissing?” she asked. “I can just tell these things. A momma can tell. So?”
“Mom,” I said, gesturing to the opposite side of the car, and at first she thought I was gesturing to Ronnie in the driver’s seat. “Let me introduce you to Isaiah.”
