Page 25 of And It’s Still You

“I’m glad you know. The only time I’d ever bring a woman around Ocean was if I could picture a life with her, one where I had to intertwine her with his. And of course, I’d speak to you ’bout it. You’re his mother. I understand the boundaries, so you’d meet her before he would.”

“I appreciate that. It’s the same with me as well.”

“Does that mean you haven’t been dating?”

I moved my hand back and forth. “Kind of. I don’t know if you would call it dating, honestly.”

“So, fuckin’?”

“Shea!” I gasped before bursting into a fit of giggles. “Did you really just ask me that?”

“Hell yeah. As long as we’ve been divorced, I know yo’ ass hasn’t been celibate.”

“Which means you haven’t been either, right?”

“We’re human, Love. We have needs.”

My tongue trailed over my top teeth as I bobbed my head. “You’re right. Was that one of your needs calling you?”

“Do you want an honest answer?”

“That’s all I expect from you, Shea.”

“Then yes, it was. Was that one of yo’ needs talking to you at Ocean’s play that day?”

“Huh?”

“If you can ‘huh,’ then you can hear.”

I picked up my napkin, balled it up, and threw it at him. “You get on my nerves.”

“Nah. Don’t try to deflect now, Moya. I told you what’s real, so you can do the same for me. That’s all I expect from you.”

The way he mimicked my voice made me laugh harder than I wanted to. “I don’t even sound like that.”

“I’ll let you think that. From the way you’re avoiding the question tells me everything I need to know. It’s all good. I know that pussy is too good for you to keep to yourself. I’m not a fan of you giving it away, but you’re a single woman. I respect it.”

Why must he do that?

“If you must know, yes. He was one of my needs.”

“When’s the last time he’s fulfilled it?”

“Now, that’s too personal.”

Shea held his hands up and sat back in his chair before crossing his arms. “You’re right. My bad, but tell me something.”

“What?”

“Has anyone been able to fulfill yo’ needs like I did?”

Hell no.

As long as Shea and I were together, he’d learned my body. I never had to ask him to do something better to please me. He would follow my lead, catching on to the cues my body gave him. That was something I did miss, and from the way his eyes hazed over, he did too.

“I plead the fifth,” I finally replied after a few seconds and changed the subject before he had me squirming in my seat. “As I was saying earlier before your need called, I apologize for my attitude and being so stubborn, again. I told you that I was working on it, and I meant that. This entire situation has me thrown off. It makes me think about the past and how things were.”

“I understand. I do, but what did I tell you the other day? I’m not that same man. You know what made me change?”