Coveted (19 page)

I start in on him again. “You have no rig-”

He interrupts me, and if looks could kill, I would be dead right now. Speaking lowly, but with finality he says, “If I were you, I would tread very lightly.
Very
lightly.” With that, he walks away.

Visibly shaken, I had to calm down before returning to the car. I do not want Kaven to see me like this. I did not know what to do. I walk around for a few more minutes, until I feel composed enough to be around my child.

As soon as I got into the car, Kaven starts with the questions.

“Mom, why are you so upset? Mr. Thomas comes to our practices all the time.”

I turn to look at him.

“Listen to me honey; Mr. Thomas is not your friend okay? I want you to stay away from him. Do you understand me?”

“But, Ma he taught me how to do this really cool….”

“Kaven, I said to stay away from him. That’s the end of it okay?” I ask and start the car.

Hearing only silence in return, I ask again. “Kaven, if I have to say it one more time its on, do you hear me?”

“Yes. I hear you,” He says sulking from the passenger seat of the car.

“Boy, I know you better get that attitude in check. I am not having it,” I say, raising my voice slightly.

“Yes, ma’am. I don’t have an attitude.”

“Good, then lets be on our way.” I look over and see him staring out the window with a sad look on his face. I feel so bad.

“Tell you what kiddo; I’m in the mood for ice cream.” Looking over at him, I suck in my cheeks to make fish lips and noises. “How about it, my favorite football player?”

He looks over at me and breaks into a toothless smile. He was going through that stage. Losing teeth every other day it seemed. I smile back at him and pinch the cute dimple on his cheek.

“Do I take that as a yes?”

“Yeah! Let’s go!”

I laugh, “Okay, ice cream it is.”

With Kaven tucked in for the night, I go and retrieve my college yearbook from the bookcase and sit on the sofa in the living room. Going through the pictures, I laugh at the memories and how much fun we used to have. Then I see the picture of Chris and me. Instantly my smile fades. No one knew about us. Not even Naima. I kept our whole encounter a secret. Gazing into the distance, I can remember everything so vividly.

Our library on campus is the best thing that ever happened to this freaking university. It has been under construction since I set foot on campus over a year ago. It was mid-term season so the library was the new hangout. I was standing in the checkout line, for what must have been my third visit today, alone. I am a little irritated. I had class at 8:00 this morning, and then had to head over to Naima and Kaden’s apartment to watch Namiyah while they went to class. This was typically our routine since we got into college, but Namiyah was getting to be a handful and I had to study. Sometimes I felt like I had a child too. I loved my best friend, so anything she needed, I tried to be there for her. Plus, seeing Kaden everyday was an added bonus. Damn Naima got lucky. Kaden could get it if he wanted, but he never tried and I didn’t want to put my friendship in danger. Just then, in the middle of my thoughts, I was bumped hard from behind.

“
Excuse me,” said the person that bumped me. I turned to give him a piece of mind. I was not invisible. How did he not see me standing there? Now facing the culprit, I forgot whatever insult I was about to hurl at him.

Where do I start, the muscles, the smile, the mouth that I swear was saying ’Haven come kiss me.’ He was wearing sunglasses so I could not see his eyes, but he was a whole lot of goodness wrapped up in one package. Finally finding my voice, I was able to respond to him.

“Oh, that’s okay. I was probably the one in the way in the first place.”

He looked down at me and smiled, damn him for having the cutest dimple on the side of his chin.

“Do you like what you see?”

He caught me staring at it, staring at him, and his smile widened. I was not going to be embarrassed, so I owned up to it.

“As a matter of fact, I like everything that I see.” I said looking up at him.

“Is that right?” he asked me. It was then I realized he spoke with an accent. How sexy.

I opened my mouth slightly and gave a little smirk. “That’s right.”

‘So what do you say to doing me right here, right now.” He eyed me intently.

“
Okay, maybe I don’t like what I see that much.” I relented. He called my bluff big time.

“
I’m glad you said that. I would hate to lose respect for you.”

“
Why did you extend an invitation, if you didn’t want me to take it?”

“
I was curious to see where your mind was. Women today are either very easy, or like to play hard to get. I was interested in seeing which category you fell into. The woman I plan to pursue must have a good head on her shoulders.”

I didn’t know whether to be offended that he was trying to see if I was a ho or excited that he was standing here telling me that he intended to pursue me. Either way, I was unsure of what to say next.

“
I’m Chris Thomas,” he said as he offered me his hand.

I took his hand into mine. “Haven Williams.”

“
Haven and Chris. Has a nice ring to it, huh?”

I looked at him incredulously. Most guys run from any form or commitment and here this man was, already combining our names. “I don’t mean to be rude Chris, but I really must be going. I have a full night of studying waiting for me and it won’t wait.” I really was not trying to be rude but unless he was going to ask me out, I had to buckle down and study.

“
I need to study too. I can walk you back to your dorm if you like,” he offered.

I weighed the pros and cons of him walking me back to my dorm, and figured that he was harmless. It beat walking back alone.

“
Sure, you can walk with me. I would like that.”

That was how I met Chris Thomas. He loved me once upon a time. I realize that now. I wish I could turn back the hands of time, and take back the things I did to him. What he endured because of me is inexcusable. He sought me out to claim what was rightfully his, and I don’t know if there was anything, I could do about it. He was back to torment me. I could see it in those sparkling, emerald-green eyes of his, and he wasn’t going to leave until he got what he wanted.

Kaden
19

Finally, some things in my life were going according to plan. I am all moved and settled into my new home in D.C. and I couldn’t be happier. I still have a few boxes to unpack, but nothing major. Living in that big old house out in the suburbs was depressing me to no end. I was tired of being lonely. I even gave into Haven one night because I had been deprived of sex for so long. It was just sex though. The I’m-lonely-and-need-a–quick-fix–from-my-baby-momma meaningless kind of sex.

I come across Damir Collins business card again. It has been about two months since I met him. I have been so preoccupied with all the issues in my life, that I have not taken the time to contact him about the job opportunity. There is definitely no time like the present to be productive. That is something I picked up from Naima. She was a woman constantly on the move. I miss her. Every day I miss her, and there is nothing I can do about that situation. I need to focus on things that I can control, like calling Damir.

I was about to make the call, as my phone rings in my hand. Naima’s name flashes across the screen and I instantly I get excited.

“Naima, what a pleasant surprise.”

“Hi Kaden. I was wondering if you had some free time to stop by my parent’s house tonight.”

I am genuinely shocked.

“You just want me to stop by? You actually want to see me?” I ask, getting my hopes up.

“Well,” she starts hesitantly, “it’s just that the children haven’t seen you in a while, and I was thinking that we could both spend some time with them together. So they can still feel some sort of family bond with both of us.”

I look up at the ceiling and silently thank God for the opportunity of a lifetime. I plan to make the most of it.

“I would love to come over,” I tell her. “What time did you have in mind?”

“We’ll be here all day, so whenever you want to come through, come on. Ma is cooking, as usual,” she laughs softly. Damn, I miss the sound of her laughter. “You know how she always thinks the end of the world is coming tomorrow and we must eat as much as possible.”

“Yeah, Mrs. Cynthia always has the kitchen on lock.” I look down at my watch it is about 2:00 in the afternoon now. “I can be there in about an hour. Will that work?”

“An hour would be perfect. Thanks so much for doing this. The kids will be so excited.”

“And what about their mother? Will she be excited as well?” I do not know why I asked her that. It slipped out before I had a chance to think about it.

There was a prominent silence on the phone before she speaks again.

“Kaden, don’t do this, okay?” I can hear the exasperation in her voice.

I quickly interrupt her, “I apologize. I got caught up in the moment. It won’t happen again.”

“Okay, well then we’ll see you in about an hour. Bye” And just like that, she was gone.

I can barely contain my excitement. Naima wants me to come over. Even though I know it is just to spend time with the kids, I am happy nevertheless. At least this way I could see and spend time with her.

I am still holding Damir’s business card in my hand. I forgot that I was supposed to call him before Naima’s call came through.

I dial his number and the phone rings until his answering machine picks up. I leave a brief message reminding him who I am, how we met, and my contact information so that he could get in contact with me.

Having my business squared away, I head out to visit Naima and the kids.

I pull into the familiar driveway about 45 minutes later, and smile when I see Namiyah sitting on the front step.

She is at the car before I can even turn the engine off.

“
Daddy, guess what!” She was talking as soon as I opened the door.

“
What, Muffin?” I ask her as I ruffle her hair. She tries to duck as she continues talking, not really waiting for my comment.

“I take dance lessons now. Want to see what I learned?” Before I could open my mouth to respond, she is already twirling in the yard.

I hear laughing from the doorway of the house; I turn and see Naima standing there.

“Looks like someone missed her Daddy,” she says as she waits for me to join her.

I look down at her as I reach the door.

“Is it okay if I give you a hug?” I ask her. “I know this may be hard for you to believe, but I do miss you and I am happy to see you. You look good.”

I can see the color rising in her cheeks. “Are you blushing?” I jokingly ask her as I pull her into a hug. Since she did not say no, I figure it is be okay. I smile as she puts her arms around me and returns the hug.

“See, that wasn’t so hard.” I tell her. “You survived.”

Laughing she gently pushes me away. “Kaden you are a mess. I do not hate you. We always used to have fun together remember. I can appreciate that now.”

“Well I hope time has helped you heal.”

She sighs then says, “We are not going to get into that right now. Come in so we can start family day.” She turns back toward the yard. “Namiyah! Come inside, we’re about to have family day.”

Situated in the house Namiyah brings all of her little board games into the family room. That is pretty much how the day went, all of us sitting on the floor and Kalani in Naima’s lap. Laughter was the only noise heard coming from the room, one of the best afternoons that I‘ve had in awhile.

After dinner, I can see the little ones starting to drift off to dreamland. For the first time in, I do not know how long, I help Naima put our children to bed. With them all tucked in, I can finally focus all my attention on their mother, the love of my life. She is on her way to her room when I catch up with her down the hall. I open her room door for her.