Rock Chick Reborn (Rock Chick #9)(46)
He was into me.
He called me every night.
We were going out to a nice dinner the first night he was free after his girls went back to their mom’s.
I needed to get over it.
“Actually, I’m pretty funny in those books,” I told him. “It’s just that, in the early ones, I was drug-dealing, poker-game-running funny.”
“This isn’t going to surprise me, Shirleen,” he reminded me.
“Right,” I muttered. “Uh,” I went on, “have you thought, you know, if this works with us—”
Moses cut me off. “If it does?”
“Well, yeah.”
“You don’t think it’s working?”
“It is now.”
“You think it’s going to quit working?”
“I hope not.”
“So how ’bout we use the word ‘when’ this works.”
This was not a suggestion.
“It doesn’t fit in my question,” I explained.
“What’s your question?”
“Okay, when this works and I meet your girls, and then I got a question after that. Do you think that fits?”
“It could be when we’re confident this is working and you meet my girls.”
It was safe to say Shirleen was getting irritated.
“My man, are you honestly tellin’ me what to say?”
“I’m telling you not to say or think negatively that it might not work.”
“I can tell you right about now I’m thinkin’ negative thoughts about a man telling me which word to use.”
I knew what he thought about that.
He thought that was funny, and I knew he did because I heard him laughing.
“You think I’m being funny?” I asked.
“No. I think it’s all kinds of good you got no problem tellin’ me like it is when I’m being a jackass.”
“Well . . . humph.”
Yep.
I humphed.
But the situation warranted it.
“So, what was the question you wanted to ask about when we know this is working and you meet my girls,” he prompted.
“I know this girl’s nerves are getting worked by her man.”
“Yeah,” he whispered, that honey pouring right in my ear. “Like that. ‘Her man.’”
I shut up.
But I liked it too.
Legs-getting-restless-while-I-was-lying-on-my-bed liked it.
“Baby, you were gonna ask me a question?” he pushed.
“What are you gonna tell them about the woman their daddy’s datin’ being an ex-poker-game-running drug-dealer.”
After I asked that, I held my breath.
I didn’t have to hold it long because Moses answered immediately.
“When the time is right, which will be when they’re older, I’m gonna tell them you used to run games and deal drugs.”
“Say what?” I whispered.
“By then they’ll know you, Shirleen. They’ll know you’re good for me. They’ll know Roam and Sniff and what you did for them. They’ll have met your friends and know how much they love you. And I don’t keep anything from my girls, not anything that big. It’s disrespect. So they’re too young now. But when they can get it, they’ll know.”
I didn’t know what to think about that either.
“I know my girls, baby,” he went on. “And when you do, you’ll get that’s the right way to play it.”
“That scares me.”
“I bet,” he said gently. “Sadly, that’s the penance you have to keep paying after you do shit in your life that affected other lives in bad ways that you regret.”
“Yeah,” I muttered.
“It’ll be okay,” he assured.
I hoped so.
“It’ll be okay, Shirleen,” he repeated.
“I hope so,” I replied.
“Baby, listen to me,” he urged.
I was listening but I listened harder.
“Do you think I’d be with you if I didn’t think they’d see in you what I see in you?” he asked.
That made sense.
“No,” I whispered.
“I wouldn’t do them like that and I wouldn’t do you like that,” he continued.
“Okay, Moses.”
“So don’t worry about it.”
That might not be possible.
“Okay, Moses,” I lied.
“My beautiful woman is totally lying,” he muttered.
“Humph.”
Yep.
Even though he called me his beautiful woman, I humphed again.
He chuckled again.
Then he got serious. “We had our bad, Shirleen. It’s time for our good. I’m committed to giving you that. Now what I need from you is for you to believe in it. But don’t worry. I’m okay with taking that slow too. Just as long as we’re moving forward.”
“You’re annoying when you’ve been annoying and then you’re all sweet.”
“Wish right now I could be a different kind of sweet,” he murmured.
I shivered.
“Please tell me your boys have plans tomorrow night so I can make out in the car with you for at least an hour after I take you out to dinner,” he stated.