Page 25 of Ride
“Aren’t you Laikin Trenton, the guy who races cars for a living?”
“Virgil, please go, and I will call you,” I insisted, moving around the living room to pick up Kayne.
The atmosphere was so thick, and I knew that at any moment, Virgil could call his men inside and make it a bigger problem. My parents hated drama, and right now, I was bringing nothing but conflict into their home.
My pulse quickened, I snatched up the keys, pulled Kayne by my side, and started for the door. “Amena, where are you going?” Mom came up beside me.
“Virgil, you and my sister are divorced the last time I heard.” Brett's intense stare gave us all pause. I tore my eyes away from Mom to see Virgil and Brett with balled fists at their sides.
“Brett, leave it alone. He’s only going to use it as a way to take Kayne from me. Mom, we’ll talk later.”
“What happens between my wife and me has nothing to do with you.” Virgil remained uncomfortably still, then bumped shoulders with Laikin and walked towards the front door to leave. He stopped and glared at me. “Kayne, I will be back for you.” Virgil held the doorknob and gestured for his security to follow him to the car. The entire time, my parents’ eyes were on me.
“Before you two start, let me take Kayne home and get him fed and into bed. Virgil took him from daycare without telling me, so right now I can’t take a lecture.” I spilled my entire guts, not letting them answer, then walked out to my car and got Kayne situated in his car seat.
I buckled him in and shut the door. I leaned up and released a breath, then bumped into a hard chest and almost fell before warm hands came around my waist.
“Give me your keys.”
“Laikin, no,” I said, then backed up to put space between us.
“Amena, I’m driving. You are upset, and Kayne needs you to be clear minded.” Laikin held a hand out for my keys, and I sighed.
“Okay.” Slouched in the car, I covered my face with my hands in thought, listening to Kayne talk to him from the backseat. A few minutes went by, and Laikin reversed out of the driveaway.
* * *
What I didn’t think would happen was Laikin making us come to his place. Once we got home, I took a nap so I’d be in a better headspace. His place was clean and modern, with opulent Chinese art on the walls. A mixture of warm leathers and bright prints.
Laughter echoed throughout Laikin’s living room. I watched him sit with Kayne on his game console, teaching him how to play and distracting him from what had gone down. Rather than cooking, he ordered burgers, fries, and chicken strips and that let me have some free time to order furniture for our place and avoid the three voicemails from Virgil.
The money I had was enough to get everything for my baby’s room and the living room basics. With the money from my commercial shoot with Laikin, I bought more clothes and toys for his room.
Shutting down the computer, I stood and headed to the kitchen to set up the food on the table, then poured water for Kayne and grabbed a beer for myself.
“Kayne, time to eat.” The clock hanging on the wall read eight-thirty. Normally I would have him showered and in bed by now.
“Yes. ma’am.” Kayne stopped playing the game and came over to the table with Laikin trailing and pulled a chair out to sit down.
“Thanks again for driving us back.”
“Mommy, is Daddy coming back for me?” Kayne ate his chicken strips, soft eyes looking at me in wonderment. Protecting him from any harm, including his father, was my job and I refused to let Kayne become like Virgil.
I leaned over to cut up his food. “No, baby. Your dad is not.”
“Laikin can be my dad.” Kayne grinned.
The last thing I wanted was Laikin feeling obligated to take on the responsibility of being Kayne’s father. “Finish your dinner, then bedtime,” I rushed out, grabbing the glass of beer and taking a sip. Kayne continued his conversation with Laikin about the next time they would play the game. I listened and smiled at the joy he’d felt in the short time they’d spent together. In another world Laikin and I could have been a family if I had never left to marry Virgil.
* * *
I heard a knock at my window, dropped the clothes in my hand, and jogged over to let him in while I had the guts to see his face. As usual Laikin pulled me into his arms and tried to kiss me on the lips. We hadn’t talked since I caught him at the party. He tried calling and talking to me at school, but I avoided him. My friends told me I was too serious about dating him when I should be single. Besides, so many girls had tried to break us up by making it seem like he’d slept with them behind my back.
“Amena, you’re still on that party shit?” Laikin sat down in the chair at my desk and stretched his hand out to pull me into his lap.
“Laikin, we need to talk.” I rubbed my arms, not ready to tell him the truth.
“Where are you going?” Laikin jumped up from the chair and tossed my shirts to the side of the bed.