My brows pulled in as I looked at her from across the table. I was at my parents’ house for Sunday dinner. It had been a few weeks since the family got together due to everyone’s schedules. Well, really, for me it was because I’d spent the past couple of weeks up under Arielle, but Mama didn’t know that. Or maybe she did, judging by the question and the knowing look in her eyes.
“I don’t know what you talkin’ ’bout, Ma,” I lied.
I didn’t really want to get into the logistics of my and Arielle’s relationship for a couple of reasons. First, I knew the shit was moving fast as hell.Ididn’t care, but I knew others would haveopinions about it. I didn’t really care too much about that, either, but I knew Arielle might. It was weird as hell for me to consider someone else’s feelings as I moved through life, but Mermaid had me moving differently. Ever since I showed up at her job wildin’ out, I sat my ass down and realized I couldn’t just do what I wanted anymore with no consideration of her, at the very least.
The other reason I didn’t want to say anything was because my family would be all up in my business. Every single one of us was nosy as hell. If it was Denise who was in a new relationship, I would have already gotten the nigga’s address and social security number and ran several background checks. I’d done it before. Nobody else was as extreme as me, so Arielle’s privacy wasn’t at stake, not at that level at least, but they would 100 percent ask a million questions.
I took a long sip of my lemonade, already knowing my reasoning for wanting to keep Arielle to myself a little longer didn’t hold a chance against Gloria Spivy. Her spidey senses were going off, and I would have to appease her.
“Her name is Arielle,” I finally said.
I continued to eat my food and focus on my plate. Everyone’s eyeballs were on me. I could feel it, but I wasn’t about to make this shit easy on them. If they wanted to know something, then they needed to ask.
“Like the mermaid?” Pops asked.
I snickered.My mermaid.
“Yup.”
Silence surrounded me once again, and I continued to eat. These niggas better start eating before their food got cold.
“Damnit, Reem. Tell us about her,” Denise finally snapped.
She slapped me on the back of my head, but I ignored her. Her little ass didn’t scare me. She might be older, but she knewwho big dawg was. I heard her kiss her teeth, and I fought back a chuckle. Driving her crazy was my favorite thing to do.
“Where did you meet her, Son?” Mama finally asked. I could hear the intrigue in her tone, and my gaze slowly peeled off my plate and onto her.
“At the resort y’all sent me to.”
Mama gasped. “You been knowing her all this time and ain’t say nothing?”
“Correct,” I replied before biting the chicken wing. Mama knew she could throw down. That thought made me think of Arielle. I had never met someone who could hold a candle to Mama, but she could. She’d been keeping me fed. That thought made me grin like a wild man. Fed with food and that sweet ass pussy. My mouth drooled, and it was no longer because of the spread in front of me.
“Look at that boy. He’s in love,” Pops declared.
My smile faltered. “Fuck you say?”
Everyone in my family knew I cursed. Mama used to beat my ass for it, but she’d grown tired of it. I did my best to keep my mouth in check around her, but I wasn’t perfect. She cut her eyes at me, and I shrugged before giving my father my attention again.
“Love, Son. You got it written all over you.”
Love?
Snax had said I caught the love bug back when Arielle entered my office a month ago. I hadn’t really thought about that word before I met Arielle. I knew I loved my family, but that was the extent of it. I felt deeply for Arielle, but I’d never loved a woman before, so how was I supposed to know if it was love?
The confusion must have been written all over my face because my mama smiled softly at me and reached across the glass table and patted my hand.
“You think about her all the time?” she asked.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“You find yourself smiling when you think about her?”
More than I cared to admit. “Yeah.”
“You find yourself wanting to do things for her? Things you’ve never done before?”
My mind flashed to all the things we’d done together over the past few weeks. I took her on dates, laid up with her, watched girly TV shows . . . just the fact that she kicked it at my house was something I never thought I would allow. That house was my sanctuary, my safety zone, but suddenly, it didn’t feel so safe or comfortable if she wasn’t there.
