Page 48 of Passion

He picked Dakota up and showed him more love as he laid his head on his shoulder while hugging him. It was such a sweet moment. Gentry kissed his head and closed his eyes for a moment. Seeing him this happy with my kids only increased my desire to have more, just for him. I failed to tell him that I had stopped my birth control pills a week ago. I knew he wouldn’t have a problem with that.

Just from our conversations, I knew he wanted kids, and it didn’t matter when it happened. I didn’t want to waste time. I already had kids, so it wasn’t like we got a lot of privacy anyway.

When he set Dakota on the floor, he said, “It’s pizza time! Y’all, come help me!”

I laughed as they happily followed Gentry outside to get the pizza from the car. Placing my hand on my chest in an attempt to slow my rapidly beating heart, I thanked God for supplying all my needs. He allowed me to go through everything I did to make me a better person… a better mother and a better wife.

When I saw Dakota carrying a box and Kizzie a pizza box, I chuckled. Making my way to the door, I opened it to let them inside. Once they got to the island, they turned to Gentry. He took the boxes from them, and they ran to the table. After setting them on the countertop, Gentry pulled me in his arms and said, “I got you some lemon pepper wings from Sweety Eaties.”

“You’re the best, baby. Thank you so much.”

I kissed his lips, allowing it to linger. He always thought of me, knowing I wouldn’t eat pepperoni pizza because of my sabbatical with beef and pork. His consideration for me was unmatched. “You can thank me later. I love you so much, Elle. I can’t wait to tell Arranged Hearts how right they got this shit. I’ve been all in since before I even laid eyes on you. But when I did see you, I knew you would take my heart and fuck that shit all up… in a good way.”

I kissed him again. “Well, we go for our three-month follow-up interview next month. I can’t wait to tell them how amazingly they executed God’s work. They had to have executed His plan to the T, because we are perfect for each other.”

He kissed me again as Kizzie whined. “Daaadyyyyy! We’re hungry!”

He laughed against my lips, breaking our kiss. He pecked me then got plates from the cabinet. “I’m sorry, baby. Your mama distracted me with her beauty.”

He bit his bottom lip as I licked mine. Damn. I was gonna fuck him straight to sleep later.

“Thank you for agreeing to join us here to discuss custody arrangements. Do you have a plan set out already?” Mr. Oxford asked.

Clayton was seated next to him, his head lowered. I could tell he was embarrassed by his behavior. He was avoiding eye contact with all of us, even his attorney. Shy said, “Yeah. I think what Giselle outlined in the agreement is beyond fair.”

He slid the paperwork over to them. I’d only gone back to our original arrangement. That had worked for us. It was Clayton who changed things up. Since he didn’t disagree with what Shy had said two weeks ago about being jealous of Gentry and the relationship he could possibly form with the kids, I had no choice but to believe it was the truth.

He and his attorney read over everything, and for the first time since we’d been here, Clayton stared up at me. He glanced at Gentry then brought his attention to me again. “G, I’m so sorry. Thank you for not taking them completely. You’re a good woman and were a great friend, and I destroyed that.”

He took a deep breath and turned to Gentry. “It was never about you, man. I mean, it was, but indirectly. G hasn’t been in a serious relationship since the kids were born. She dated, of course, but nothing to where she really had to introduce a man to our kids. I let my insecurities with who I was as a father cause me to act uncharacteristically. That’s why my behavior caught Giselle off guard. Hell, it caught Paul off guard. I can tell you’re a good man.”

He slid his hands down his face, and for a moment, I saw my friend again. He brought his gaze back to mine. “You did good, baby girl. I was so scared that my children would be calling another man daddy that I forgot to just be happy for you. While I was slightly hesitant about the situation, I was never concerned about their safety. Taking care of children full time is hard. I realized that I’m not even cut out for it. I didn’t appreciate you enough. I destroyed our friendship. While it was your idea to have these beautiful children, I agreed to be a parent as well. I filed child support on myself. You can put it in a savings account for them if you want.”

After taking a deep breath and wiping the tears that had fallen down his face, he said, “You could have taken them away from me forever after the shit I pulled. Thank you for allowing your heart to speak instead of giving me what I basically deserved. I’m sorry for what I put our kids through too. They didn’t deserve that.”

I nodded. “Thank you for showing me the Clayton I know versus the one I got acquainted with for the past month and a half. The kids are fine and have come out of this unscathed. Mama has talked to them, and she assured me that they were fine. I want us to be able to go back to how things were with the kids. That was their routine. As far as our relationship is concerned, I already know it won’t be as it once was any time soon. With time, we may can get back to that.”

He nodded and extended his hand to shake mine then Gentry’s and Shy’s. There was nothing the attorneys needed to say. I supposed they were only here for the legality aspect of it. Clayton signed the papers, and we both retained a copy. After more formalities, Clayton agreed to pay my attorney fees, although Shy wasn’t charging me, and my lost wages from work to make these appointments.

Everything worked out in the best interests of the kids, and that was all that mattered. They loved their dad, but Kizzie realized he didn’t know what the hell he was doing when they lived with him for that brief time. She was ready to go home, but that didn’t make her love him any less. He was still her dad.

He would be picking them up tomorrow evening from day care, and I would get them Saturday evening. The next weekend, he would have them the entire time. While I was somewhat nervous about what he would be allowing my kids to see or hear, I knew they needed him. If Kizzie witnessed anything, I would be adamant that she told me. Unfortunately, we would have to revisit this agreement if she told me something I didn’t like.

“Things went really well,” Gentry said as we walked out of the lawyer’s office.

“Way better than I expected. I was ready to engage and tell his ass to be grateful we weren’t pressing charges for what Kizzie witnessed. Good for him,” Shy said. “I hope you cooked because I’m starving. I need to see my uncle while I’m in town too. Oh, Vegas and Jungle are on their way out here too.”

“Yes, I cooked, Shy, but I didn’t cook enough for all y’all niggas. I’ll have to go to the store.”

“Okay. Well, make that happen.”

I rolled my eyes as he patted my back. “I may as well invite our parents out too, along with Daniel and Jorielle,” I said.

Gentry chuckled. “I love you, baby. I’m glad we can get to what will be our normal.”

“Me too, baby. I need to tell you something.”

He looked at me as he took a deep breath to brace for the worst. He stopped walking, so I stopped too. “What’s up?”