Kisses and Warfare

“He just said he’s moving in. That’s not happening,” I say, shaking my head.

“Well, he could be.” She bites her lip.

“What do you mean?” I ask her, confused.

“I don’t think Blaze takes things at a normal pace. He’s either all in or not.” She shrugs. “It’s one of the things Tanika liked about him.”

“Do you think he loved Tanika?” I ask Rochelle, and she should know.

“Tanika may have been falling for him, but for him, I think it was different. He didn’t look at her the way he looks at you.”

“And how does he look at me?”

“The same way Marcus looks at me, of course. As if we’re the only people on this earth that matter.” She smiles. “They don’t know love. They don’t understand it. They have never had it, Kat.” She touches my leg over the sheet. “You have to decipher their love, and I finally was able to do that for Marcus. It took me a while, but I got the way he loves me. And I accept it.”

“What if he can’t love me the way I want to be loved?”

“You’ve never been in love before either, Kat. So, maybe you two can discover it together.”

“He’s not moving in, though,” I say.

“Yeah, you can have that fight and keep me out of it.”

“Where’s Marcus?”

“Outside, waiting for me.”

“You can go. Honestly, you don’t have to babysit me. I’m a big girl and I can look after myself.”

She stands and looks down. “Blaze asked me to stay, and he wasn’t an ass when he asked.” She smiles. “I’m sure he likes me now, and I don’t want that to change.”

“Don’t tell Marcus that.” I laugh. “He might get jealous.”

She waves a hand at me. “That man knows I don’t care for anyone but him.”

“You got really lucky there,” I tell her. It could have ended badly as he had huge issues. Rochelle didn’t tell me everything, but the things she did tell me, I could tell were eating her up inside. She wanted him, but also didn’t want to stay with him because of his darker side. She seems to have worked that out and lives with it now.

I’m hoping I can do the same.My mother said you fall in love slowly, like watching a leaf lose its color after it hits the ground. Slow, but sure to happen. And some loves are unexpected, others sneak up on you, and some are right in front of your face, and you didn’t even know it was there.

Blaze is a combination of all these loves.

He’s unexpected.

He snuck up on me.

And he’s in my face, and I didn’t even know.

I don’t want to tell him how I feel. The only sure thing I have loved more than life itself is my daughter. And yes, my family, but love at first sight is what a child is.

Blaze? Well, Blaze is Blaze.

Mitchell is here, ready to collect Annabelle. He hasn’t commented on my lip, just looked at it, then looked away.

“So, have her back before dinner?” Mitchell asks.

“Yes, please.” I lean in and kiss Annabelle’s cheek. She smiles at me but stays in Mitchell’s arms.

I look up at him. “You’ve been good, you know. I just thought you should know that.”

Mitchell offers me a small smile. “I have to tell you something.” I wait as he looks to Annabelle, and then back to me. “I’m not interested in women anymore, Kat. Will that matter?”

“You mean… you’re gay?” I ask him, but I’m not really understanding.

“Yes. I fucked women when I was drunk to hide who I really was. I played the playboy part well, when all I really wanted to do was meet someone who made me happy.” He looks to Annabelle. “I don’t regret it, you know, and I certainly don’t regret you. Because you gave me a gift that I probably would never have gotten, and I thank you for that.”

I nod, not sure what else to say.

I don’t care if he’s gay or straight. As long as he treats my girl the way she deserves to be treated. That’s all I can ask for.

I watch as they leave, and when they do, I hear Blaze come up behind me. I asked him to stay in my room. He got back last night with a bag and crawled into bed with me and went to sleep. My stomach’s feeling better, even if it is black and blue today, and my lip is healing slowly.

Blaze’s hands wrap around my waist, and he is careful where they go.

“Bed and fuck, or fuck then bed?” he asks.

“Neither,” I say, pulling away. “Did you hear?”

He nods. “Puts me at ease knowing he more than likely wants me rather than you.” He smirks, his scarred eyebrow rising.

“You aren’t moving in,” I tell him.

“Yes, I am.”

“No, you are not. I’m not one of your girls who you can boss around. This… between us, will go slow.”