Chapter 25

25

M alorie

That Weekend

I'd had enough of hanging with the guys, so today, I was hanging with the women in my life. Ma had come home for the weekend, so she and I made plans to do a spa day with Lydia and Christina. Something told me to invite Naomi, and I was so happy she accepted the invitation.

We'd spent hours relaxing and being pampered before going to The View for lunch, and I was glad that was where our time together was going to end since my apartment was just a few feet away. I still couldn't believe I had an apartment on the beach. Being able to get up and walk on the sand was bringing me closer to God, and that hadn't been my intention. The anger I'd been feeling toward Him because of my father's death was starting to dissolve.

When I walked the beach, I was at peace. I talked to Him, I cried to Him, I vented to Him. Being here was a form of healing within itself, and even though it was expensive and took a large chunk of the money I had saved, it was so worth it.

"I got grandbabies from Malik and Christina," Ma said. Her elbow gently bumped Naomi's and she giggled. That was all I needed to see to know she was about to be on some bullshit. "When am I going to get some from you?"

I took a sip of my lemonade, because I knew she wasn't expecting an actual response.

"Girl, you hear Mama talking to you," Christina said with a smile. "Bianca needs you to give her a sibling to play with."

"She has the twins. Give them like six more months and they will be able to walk."

Her eyes rolled as they laughed.

"Y'all leave her alone," Naomi said coming to my defense, but she threw salt in the game when she added, "Her and Neek have to become friends again before lovers. Then, we'll get our baby."

My mouth hung open before I cackled. "Wow. So you just already have this worked out in your head huh?"

"I do." Her chin jutted as she smiled. "You might not be being honest with him about why you came back but Mama, or should I say your mamas, know."

I looked from her to Ma, and between the confidence in their eyes and smiles, I couldn't deny the truth. These women were a safe space for me, so I felt comfortable being honest with them.

"I can admit I do still love Neko. I feel like we had unfinished business, and I ran away because that was the safest way to keep anyone else from getting hurt. Well, apparently Neko still got hurt. I do want to fix that. I feel like I'm doing a good job so far."

"You are," Naomi assured me. "He actually mentioned it to me during our last family dinner. He said he had a lot of hurt and anger in his heart toward the situation, not you in particular. He said he felt like his friendship with Leek cost him the love of his life, and he'd been hardhearted because of that. With you being back, your presence is melting the ice around his heart."

"That's all fine and well, but are you going to actually give a relationship with him a chance?" Ma asked.

"I want to. I don't want to hurt Malik or come between them, but I genuinely want to be with Neko."

"Girl, your brother won't care," Lydia said casually.

"How do you know?" Christina asked before laughing. "I mean clearly he talked to you about it because you're his wife, but what did he say exactly?"

"When Mal came back, he was like he didn't know how things were going to shift within his crew's dynamic. I asked why and he told me it was because y'all were together when he told y'all not to be and when he found out things hit the fan. He said he gave y'all permission to date but neither of you were interested at that point."

"Did he say anything about how he would feel if we dated now?" I asked, sitting up in my seat as I cupped my hands in my lap.

"He did say Neko had changed and become what he feared over the years and that he didn't want him with you." Sad expressions covered Ma and Naomi's faces. "But he also said if he could trust Neko with you, he'd be okay with it."

That made us all smile.

"I don't know if that matters at this point anyway," I admitted. "Even if I told Neko I wanted to be with him, I feel like he's not willing to risk coming between us or putting me in a position to choose my brother again. I came to get my man but… now I'm feeling like too much damage may have been done."

Naomi reached across the table and took my hand into hers. "Don't give up on him yet. He has always loved you. Men don't typically invest in things they believe they will fail at, so he won't be quick to pursue you if he thinks there's a chance it won't work. Keep dropping subtle hints that you're willing and invite him to initiate. When he feels safe to do so, trust me, he will come after you."

"Maybe I'll get Malik to have a sit down with him too," Ma offered. "I commend you for choosing your brother, but I'm proud of you even more for being honest with yourself about what you want and going after it. I firmly believe things with you and Neko will work out and your relationship with your brother will be just fine."

After this conversation, I was glad I went with my first mind and spent time with them. Things had been moving slow between me and Neko and I was starting to get discouraged. Now, my confidence was restored, and I had faith things would work out between us.