Page 16 of Love Me Now: Baltimore & Madelyn
The other end of the phone was quiet for a brief moment. Then, Maddie asked, “May I ask you a question, Cooley?”
“Absolutely anything,” I replied.
Her heavy sigh seeped through the phone line. “Is it crazy to want someone to love me now? Is that asking too much? Is it wrong to want that so soon?”
“Wanting to be loved is never asking too much. Asking the wrong person to love you is the issue, baby. It’s an issue you no longer have. Rest ya mind, aight. I’m not goin’ anywhere. I cherish the thought of kissin’ you for the first time and what that experience will be like. Trust me… The last thing you need to be concerned about is if I love you, Maddie. And before long, you’ll feel the same about me.”
Her silence was only broken by the sound of her crying softly.
“If I was there right now, I’d lick those tears dry just to make you shed some more while cummin’ all over me.”
In an instant, her cries shifted to heavy breathing.
“Once I have you, there’s no indecisiveness, no tears over another nigga, none of that shit. Aight?”
“Okay,” she croaked.
“I’ll be back in Niceville Shores soon.”
“Okay,” she replied again.
“Later.”
“Bye, Cooley.”
I swear she must’ve hurried and hung up the phone. I chuckled to myself. Maddie had no idea what the fuck she was in for.
Leaving the conference room, I headed back down the hall to Dayton’s office. My face frowned up hearing familiar voices.
“Oh, my God!” my mama shrieked as soon as I walked into Dayton’s office. She pushed my pops out of the way to get to me and Genesis. Although Genesis was comfortably sleeping, she took him from me and laid him on her chest. Unshed tears were in her eyes as she kissed all over his face.
“I thought Dayton was lying,” she stated. She glared at Dayton and so did I. He simply shrugged his shoulders.
“Figured I’d help you out just in case you got cold feet,” he said in explanation for why our parents were there.
I dapped my pops and peeped the way he smirked. In the next twenty-five years, I hoped to look as youthful as he did. This man was responsible for the amazing childhood I had. He was the anchor to this family and never once folded on my mother or his kids.
“Maddie’s not here?” my mama asked.
“Her mama’s in town,” I explained.
My mama made a face. “So, does that mean we can’t come stay for the weekend? I want to spend time with Genesis.” My mama looked like she would burst into tears if I said no. I was a grown ass man with a mama who still saw her children as her babies.
So, I replied, “You know you don’t have to ask me that. Give me some time to get things settled with Maddie before y’all run her off.”
Beaming brightly, my mama showed me exactly why she had my pops wrapped around her fingers.
“Okay!” she gushed.
This was something she’d waited a lifetime for. It didn’t matter that it was all fresh. It didn’t matter that Maddie and I weren’t even official yet. Just like I knew Genesis was mine, my folks knew it too. I’d mentioned Maddie plenty of times over the years for them to catch a clue. I was cool with them knowing how much she meant to me.
CHAPTER 6
MADDIE
“I’mnothappy,Mama.”
Crying to my mother wasn’t something I liked to do. She wasn’t the type to hold my hand through my pain. Although I had two amazing sisters, they were much younger than me and didn’t know the first thing about love and heartbreak yet. So, my mother was the only person I could go to.