Page 19 of Passion

“Hey, G.”

He kissed her cheek then extended his hand to me. “I’m Clayton.”

“Gentry.”

I shook his hand but chose not to be overly friendly since he wasn’t. He was dry as fuck, and I matched energies all day long. “I already made reservations for us,” he said then headed inside the restaurant.

Giselle glanced at me then followed his lead. He was holding the door open after he’d already walked in, so I grabbed it as Giselle entered. He notified the hostess of our arrival, and we were seated immediately. I sat next to Giselle, and he sat across from us. Grabbing my hand under the table, she said, “Thanks for picking a seafood spot.”

“Yeah. I know you don’t eat beef and pork and that you love seafood. I’m good with whatever. I hope this was okay for you too, Gentry.”

I nodded. “Yeah. Thanks.”

It got quiet again… awkwardly quiet. The waitress appeared and introduced herself then took our drink orders. Once she left, Clayton said, “This feels weird as hell. I’m sorry. I just… I don’t know how to even bring the subject up.”

“Well, let me introduce myself. I’m Gentry Fleming. I’m a veterinarian and have been for the past eight years. I started my own clinic almost three years ago. I’m thirty-three, and I don’t have children. I have three siblings, and both of my parents live here and are married. Although it was quite unorthodox, I wanted all the dating to be eliminated. I was sick of pointless dates and weeding through the mentally undesirable.”

I took a break and stared at Giselle. “Had I known Arranged Hearts would do this great of a job pairing me with the woman of my dreams, I would have done this a couple of years ago. This woman is so perfect for me.”

Turning back to him, I continued. “I’m sorry that this moment is awkward, but I don’t regret a minute of it. I’m going to give my all to her and to the kids, Dakota and Kizzie, AKA Princess Tiana. I know they’re your babies, but I want you to know that you have nothing to worry about with me. I will treat them like they’re mine.”

He nodded repeatedly. “Thanks for that. I’m sure she’s told you all about how we ended up co-parenting and our history, so I’ll spare you those details. I’m extremely protective of my babies. I can’t let them move in next weekend. I hope y’all understand. I’m just not comfortable with them being around you just yet.”

I nodded. Giselle stared at him for a moment then asked, “So how long are you anticipating keeping my babies from me?”

While I could somewhat hear the ice in her tone, her voice remained steady. She was doing her best to stay calm. I gently rubbed her thigh, trying to provide the peace she needed. “G, it’s hard to say. I wanna get to know Gentry better before I can make that call. One dinner isn’t enough for me. I’m not keeping them from you. You can come over and see them whenever you want and stay as long as you want.”

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Okay, Clayton.”

He and I exchanged numbers and promised to get together again soon, as the waitress reappeared to deliver our drinks and take our orders. I had a feeling this was going to get a lot worse before it got better. Despite that, we enjoyed light conversation, filling each other in on particular details of our personalities and backgrounds.

I learned that he was pretty low-key until he felt threatened. I was more outgoing, but only around people who were the same way. I tended to adjust to my surroundings… matched energies. There was no way I would exert myself for a nigga that didn’t seem like they wanted to be around me. It may have been petty, but whatever.

When we got ready to leave, I could see the sadness in Giselle’s eyes. She missed her babies. This situation was killing her, and I felt like it would eventually come between us if Clayton didn’t give in soon. I was very attentive and could peep shit quickly. My intellect wasn’t lacking in the least. After shaking his hand and him promising to hit me up soon, I grabbed Giselle’s hand.

She glanced at me then released my hand and hugged Clayton. He kissed her forehead as she promised to drop by tomorrow after work. She reached for my hand, and I grabbed it again and led her to my car. Once I helped her inside then got in myself, I turned to her. “I’m sorry.”

She slowly shook her head and took a deep breath. “This is all my fault. I have to suffer the consequences. I just felt like had I told them ahead of time, I would have never met the man of my dreams. I literally would have let them talk me out of it. I was pretty sure you felt awkward around everyone.”

She stroked my cheek with the back of her hand as I stared into her sad eyes. I gave her a tight smile as my heart turned to mush. “You’re the woman of my dreams too, baby. It felt a little awkward, except for Vegas. After he said what he had to say, he was cool.”

“That’s because he doesn’t know me as well. Plus, he works for a PI firm and is a former thug. He’ll know what he needs to know about you before you could think about telling him and actually do something about it without remorse or regret. He says what he has to say so you know his stance, then he’s done with the issue unless something comes up to cause him to revisit.”

She pulled her hand away, but I grabbed it and kissed it. “You got me so soft right now. I just wanna make love to you, Elle. Can I do that?”

“You never have to ask for what’s yours, baby.”

I bit my bottom lip. The way we just fell into this shit like it was normal was a turn on like no other. There was no hesitation. Our souls were meant for each other. It was evident by how comfortable we were with one another, even amongst naysayers. There wasn’t an ounce of doubt inside of me, and there didn’t seem to be any inside of her, either, that we’d made the right decision.

I found the song “YOU” by SiR and allowed it to engulf us. We remained silent all the way to her place. When we got there, she turned to me. “I love that song. Let me pack some clothes, and we can go back to your house.”

I nodded. “I’m not letting you walk in the dark by yourself though, baby.”

She gave me a soft smile as I got out to open her door and help her out as well. After closing the door, I put my arm around her and kissed the side of her head. Her spirit was so heavy, and it was causing mine to be the same. Him not giving her a definite timeframe had her on edge. He didn’t even want the kids around me at all. I wanted to be upset about that, but after I thought better of it, I agreed.

Them meeting me would make them feel like their mother was choosing a man over them. That couldn’t be further from the truth. She just wanted to be happy. However, I knew without them, she would never be happy. For an extremely involved mother to go without her children would be like trying to exist without air. I would do my best to help her through it though.

She opened the door to her apartment, and we walked inside. Before she could retreat to her bedroom, I pulled her in my arms and held her close. I needed her to feel my soul. “I’m here for you, baby. Whatever you need me to do, I got’chu. I know I couldn’t possibly take your mind off the hurt, but whatever I can do to bear some of the weight for you, I’ll do.”