He moves my phone and takes its place. “What’s up?”
“My dad found an apartment. I can move in by the end of the week.”
The room turns mute until Maliki clears his throat. “You can stay here for as long as you want. You know that, right?”
I nod. “It’s just … we’re not exactly just roommates anymore. What if things change between us? I’ll end up in the same situation as I was with Devin.” My situation was better with Devin. We co-owned the condo. I could’ve stayed, but here? It’s Maliki’s. I have no claim.
“The only turn our relationship will take is in the right direction of growing stronger.”
“No one plans for relationships to fall apart. Devin didn’t plan to cheat when we married.”
I didn’t plan on divorcing him after three months of marriage.
My father didn’t plan on cheating on my mother.
I trust Maliki, but never say never.
His jaw clenches. “You and Devin didn’t work out because you belong with me, not him.”
I scrub my hand over my face. “My father needs an answer by the end of the day, or the landlord will rent to someone else. It’s the only place available, and if I don’t take it, who knows how long it’ll take for another one to open up?”
“What if we rent it together?”
My mouth falls open. Together? As in him moving out of the apartment? I grin at the thought of us being in our own new space, but then reality crashes through.
I shake my head. “The only reason the apartment was offered is because the landlord is an associate of my father’s. My father wouldn’t allow him to rent to us, nor would he be okay with you staying there.”
He nods in disappointment. “It’s your decision, babe. If it counts for anything, I want you here as much as I can get you. If you’re scared of breaking up and need a backup plan, go ahead. I won’t be upset. As for me? I’m not doing anything to fuck this up. Now that I have you, I won’t risk losing the woman I love.”
“What?” Good thing I’m sitting, or his words would’ve knocked me on my ass. I stare down at my lap, studying my hands, unsure if I’m fighting back a smile or a sob.
“Look at me, Sierra.”
That’s Maliki’s thing—always wanting me to look at him, to keep that eye contact. He wants to read me—read my eyes, my heart, every emotion bleeding through me.
When I do, there’s a tenderness on his face I’ve never seen. His eyes are soft with affection when our eyes meet. Maliki has never been a softie.
He smiles. “Even with you being a pain in my ass, I fell in love with you.”
“Really?”
He nods. “I think it’s been obvious for a while.”
I laugh. “And I think it’s been obvious I love you.”
His voice turns arrogant as he cracks a giant grin. “Oh, babe, I know.”
I roll my eyes. “Shove it.”
He wraps his arms around my shoulders, drags me into him, and kisses the top of my head. “This is the best way for us to say it—romance with a hint of sarcasm and teasing.”
“That’s our style.” I grin. “You know what else is our style?”
“Hmm …”
I pull away, and he relaxes against the couch when I straddle him. I skim my hands up and down his chest and lean forward until our lips are nearly touching. “You’ve had feelings for me for a long time.”
He gulps. “Probably. I was just too pissed at myself for wanting an eighteen-year-old.”
I gasp when his hand falls to my ass, catching it and pulling me into him. “I was grown.”
He clenches his jaw while I grind against him. “Yes, eighteen—old enough to gamble and do porn is what you said. You don’t understand what those words did to me.”
My lips part as he cups my chin and brings my mouth to his.
“I wanted to make a point,” I whisper against them.
“And you certainly did with my imagination.”
I gulp when he teases my top lip with his tongue. “Good thing because I love you, too, and I’m sick of feeling like a stalker.”
“It was fun, being stalked by you.” His hands anchor on my waist to pull me to my feet.
I’m hardly stable when he throws me over his shoulder and heads toward the bedroom.
“Let me show you what you’d be missing every day if you left. Don’t think I won’t do plenty of convincing with my tongue on the matter.”
Three hours later, when I’m good and orgasmed out, I call my father back.
“I’m not taking the apartment,” I blurt out when he answers.
Maliki loves me.
He said those three incredible words and then brought me to his—no, our bed and made love to me with his fingers, his tongue, and his cock.
“Sierra,” he cautions. “Don’t be foolish.”
Am I being stupid?
I won’t turn my back on this with Maliki.
Let’s hope it doesn’t come back to bite me in the ass.
“I want to be with him.”
“How about you be with him while having your own place?”
“Look on the bright side. I’ll save money on rent.”
Hopefully, this persuades the man who’s a spitting image of money talks. He’s a lover of the dollar, so maybe he’ll understand from that perspective.
“I’ll pay your rent until you get on your feet. Problem solved,” he promptly fires back.
“Dad …”
“Don’t Dad me. What excuse do you have now?”
“I’m happy, living with him.”
He blows out an exhausted breath. “This is a mistake. Let’s hope I can find you something when you change your mind.”
“I won’t.”
“Don’t be so sure of that.”
“Gosh, quit being so negative on love.”
“I have a meeting and have to go. Love you. You have by the end of the day to change your mind. Think about it.”
“Love you, too.”
Twenty-Five
Maliki
Three days have passed since I learned I’m a father, and I still haven’t wrapped my mind around it.
What’s worse is that I’ve been an absentee father, thanks to Jessa.
I hate her and now have to figure out a co-parenting plan.
After Sierra leaves, I give Jessa permission to come over.
I’ve kept my phone off when I’m with Sierra because Jessa has made it her mission to blow it up.
It’s such a dick move.
Sierra told me she loved me.
We made love.
And now, I’m letting Jessa step into our home.
But what else can I do?
I sure as shit can’t meet her in public or in the bar. This needs to stay private until we make a plan.
This isn’t an easy fix.
My daughter thought a different man was her father for years, and now, I’m supposed to walk in and say, Surprise! I’m your dad.
An annoying smirk is on Jessa’s face when she drops the results onto the table. “I told you, asshole.”
I pluck the paper back up, fuming, and point to my chest with it. “I’m the asshole? Not you for hiding the fact I have a goddamn daughter? Not only that, but you also made her believe she had a different father for years! How fucked up is that, Jessa?”
“You didn’t want me!” she shrieks.
“That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want her!”
“Oh, please,” she sneers. “You, a father, especially at that time? You would’ve said you weren’t ready.”
“Fuck off. Don’t say that shit.” Anger spreads through my body. “Where do we go from here?” Enough with the bullshit. We need to figure out the now shit.
“You tell me. Apparently, you’re calling the shots and not answering my calls. Do you want to be in her life?”
Is that even a question? “Fuck yes, I want to be in my daughter’s life.”
“What about your little girlfrien
d, huh? Have you told her yet?” She rolls her eyes and shifts her weight from one foot to the other. “God, I hate seeing her around Ellie’s. I do everything in my power to avoid it.”
“Trust me, I’m sure she does the same with you.”
She perks up, a sly grin on her face. “Does that mean she knows?”
“None of your business.” I rest my elbow on the table and rub my forehead with both hands, warding off the Jessa-ache.
“Oh, she doesn’t. This will be interesting. Want to tell her together?”
“Shut the fuck up,” I grind out.
“When do you want to meet Molly?” She parks her hands on her slender hips.
“We need to ease her into this.” Shit. I need to ease into it myself. “She knows Pete isn’t her father?”
She nods. “She doesn’t know about you yet. She’s asked a few times who her real dad is, but I want us to do it together. Until I find a home, I’m staying at my grandparents’ while they’re in Florida. You can come over tonight and meet her. Six o’clock okay?”
“Sure. I’ll be there. Do I need to bring anything?”
She licks her lips. “A bottle of wine would be nice.”
“Our daughter doesn’t need wine for me to visit her,” I sternly reply.
“Whatever.” Her gaze flicks upward. “It would be nice for me to get through this stressful night.”
I walk her to the door. “Good-bye, Jessa.”
She waves with too much enthusiasm. “See you tonight.”
I hate myself.
“Hey, babe,” I say to Sierra over the phone.
“Hey,” she chirps. “I’m about to head home. Do you need anything while I’m out?”
Home. She’s coming home, and I’m about to fucking lie to her.
A sour taste sets in my mouth. “I’m good. I wanted to let you know that I’m not working tonight.” I need to leave before she gets here. I can’t face her.
“Uh-oh, the boss is calling in?” she teases.
I force myself to chuckle. “Cohen needs help at the Twisted Fox.” I cringe at how easily the lie comes out. “They’re short-staffed, and the others are on vacation.”
I went through lies all day today. I need to tell Sierra about my daughter, but things are so damn good between us. Not to mention, she turned down an apartment for me. She was right. It’d put her in the same position as Devin. I need to figure out the perfect path to spring this on her and pray she doesn’t freak out.
Shit.
Not only is the change to our lives a daughter, but it also involves Jessa—a chick she can’t stand.
Fuck. I don’t even know why I’m hiding it.
I’m a pussy. That’s it.
“You can’t have Mikey do it?” she asks, snapping me away from my worries.
“It’s too hard, explaining the ropes on a night shift. I helped Cohen open his bar and know my way around it.”
I hear the disappointment in her tone. “Oh, okay. I’ll see you later then. If you need an extra hand, I don’t mind tagging along.”
“I’ll ask him and let you know, okay? Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
I hate myself more when I hang up.
Even worse, I have a message from Jessa giving me the address with a smile-face emoji.
I’m sweating bullets.
My mind is scrambling.
I’m suffering from more anxiety than I have in my entire life.
I’m about to meet my daughter.
My heart races as I park down the road from Jessa’s grandparents. I don’t need anyone seeing my car there.
I gulp, my hands sweating when I knock on the door.
It swings open, and I jerk back as soon as I see her.
She’s beautiful.
My daughter has dark hair, identical to mine. It’s pulled into tight French braids with red bows on the end of each one. She’s wearing a purple unicorn shirt, polka-dot pants, and unicorn slippers.
Her mouth pops into an eager smile. “Hi! Who are you? Mommy tells me not to answer the door for strangers, but sometimes, it’s a Girl Scout selling cookies. I love Girl Scout cookies, and I told Mommy I want to be one, so I can eat all the cookies in the world.”
Holy shit.
She’s adorable.
“But you’re a boy, and boys aren’t allowed to be Girl Scouts. You have no cookies. Bye-bye.”
I stop her from shutting the door.
“Whoa, I’m a friend of your mom’s, and sadly, I don’t have cookies. I’ll bring some next time though.”
A friend?
Way to confuse her more.
She wavers and keeps the door cracked. “Mom!” she yells. “There’s a man without cookies at the door! He said he’s your friend!”
Jessa comes to the door with a wineglass in her hand. “Molly, honey, this is Maliki, the friend I told you was coming to dinner.”
Dinner? I didn’t agree to fucking dinner.
Jessa is wearing a tight red dress, baring plenty of cleavage, is barefoot, and her hair is pulled into a tight ponytail. There’s no denying she’s an attractive woman. It’s what drew me to her and caused me to fuck her so many times. I ignored her craziness in exchange for her hotness.
“Come in,” Jessa says, waving me in, and Molly stands behind her. “I didn’t see you pull up.”
“I parked down the street.”
“Of course. You don’t want anyone to see you.”
My heart leaps when Molly bounds down the hallway. I follow her into the living room where she has coloring books sprawled over the coffee table and dolls lined up the couch. I glance at Jessa in hesitation, asking for permission, and she smiles with a head nod in Molly’s direction.
My steps are slow, and I settle down next to Molly on the floor, keeping distance between us. “Whatcha doin’?”
“Coloring,” she says, stating the obvious while snatching a crayon.
Her head tilts to the side as she colors a unicorn the same color as the one on her shirt.
“What are you coloring?”
She holds up the book and points to it with the crayon. “This is a unicorn and the castle she lives in.”
I control my shaky breath. “Wow, you color really well.”
“Thank you! I’ve been practicing real hard because I’m going to start school soon! My daddy said I need to color in the lines before I go!” She drops the crayon and frowns. “Well …” Her eyes shoot to Jessa. “My old daddy said that. He doesn’t want to be my daddy anymore.”
I inhale a breath, and Jessa rushes over to squat down next to Molly.
“Honey, I told you that’s not true.”
Tears fill her eyes. “I don’t know why I don’t have a daddy … but Mommy said I’ll get another one.”
I freeze, and swear to God, tears prick at my eyes.
Jessa fucked this up before giving me a chance.
My gaze flicks upward to give Jessa a glare.
She turns away, her attention returning to Molly, as she wipes loose strands falling from her braids away from her face.
I stand.
“Honey, why don’t you finish coloring your picture, and Mommy will be right back, okay?”
“Okay,” Molly says in a soft-spoken voice.
I follow Jessa into the kitchen. I keep my voice low, but there’s no hiding the anger in it. “You’re confusing the shit out of her! A different daddy? Where’s she expecting to get one? From goddamn Santa Claus?”
She holds her hand up toward me. “Chill out. What was I supposed to do? She wouldn’t stop begging to call Pete, and he doesn’t want to talk to either of us. I needed to find a way to explain his absence. Otherwise, she thought I was keeping her away from him.”
“There were better ways.”
“You know of a better plan, Mr. Sudden Parent?”
“Don’t do that.” I scrub a hand over my face. “You’re right. I don’t know.”
“You should thank me. I made it easier for you
. Now, she knows Pete isn’t her dad, and you won’t have to explain that to her.” She smiles as if her plan is gold and won’t further fuck up our daughter’s head.
“Where do we go from here then? Since you have it figured out?”
“I made dinner. Let’s eat, conversate, help her get comfortable with you, and go from there.”
Jessa made over-boiled spaghetti and burned garlic bread.
I hardly touched my food while listening to Molly, my daughter—fuck, it’s weird saying that. Sauce is on her face as she rambles about enjoying dance and how she wants to be a cheerleader and then an astronaut when she grows up.
I nod, captivated by her every word, not wanting to miss one.
“What do you think?” Jessa asks, pouring herself another glass of wine after we clean up after dinner.
I’ve turned down a glass of wine or whiskey five times. Molly has gone back to her coloring in the living room.
“I think she’s ready,” she adds, shocking me.
“You do?”
She nods.
I trail behind Jessa into the living room. She asks Molly to sit on the couch and takes the seat next to her.
“Sweetie, do you remember when I said you have a different daddy?” I’ve never heard Jessa speak so soft.
Damn, she went straight for it.
Molly blinks at her in disbelief and rubs her eyes. “Yes …” She drops her hands and rests them in her lap. “But … I don’t know why Daddy can’t be my daddy anymore. I liked him being my daddy. I love him!” Her cheeks turn red as tears fall down them.
Tears hit Jessa’s eyes, and she hurriedly wipes them away. I have no doubt she loves our child.
They cry while I struggle to control my own emotions.
Struggle to not console them.
I knew this would be hard, but I didn’t think it’d be this painful.
My heart knocks against my chest while breaking at the same time for the little girl I hardly know. I’m livid with Jessa but also with myself.
What if she’s telling the truth of knowing I wouldn’t have wanted anything to do with Molly?
Regret slams into me like a headache.
Jessa pulls Molly into a hug and mouths to me, Tell her.
Just Roommates Page 18
