Page 63 of Taming a Menace

Just in case I still wanted to remove him from my lap, Key held onto my thighs as he got back comfortable. I didn’t want to move him. I enjoyed spending time with him and the barrage of questions he asked as if we weren’t sitting here watching the show at the same time. He was funny and insightful. I usually hated it when people talked through a TV show, but Key’s commentary made the show seem even better than I remembered it being.

“Oh hell naw!” he yelled out, startling me as I began to doze off.

“What?”

“That little bad ass slapped his mama. They need to beat his ass. She sees that time out shit ain’t working for him.”

“She needs to do something.”

“I never thought I wanted kids until the last couple of years. Seeing my brother with my niece only makes it worse. She’s so pretty and sweet, the opposite of his mean, ugly ass. She probably takes after her mom. I know a little girl would make all my hair fall out, but I want at least one. If I can help it, I want to have two sons and a daughter, or maybe one of each. I think I would be a good daddy. My dad was the best,” Key rambled. “You want kids?”

Damn, where was all this coming from?

“Um, yeah. I figured once I got married I would have them. I didn’t expect to be in my thirties still waiting for the right time to start my family though.”

“Thirty is still young. I’m thirty-four, and I don’t have kids.”

“That’s actually a rarity for a man to not have kids after thirty.”

“I think that’s true for both sexes. I’ve never minded my women having kids, especially since I didn’t want any of my own. Somebody else did the heavy lifting and I just came through to serve my purpose.”

“Well damn.” I laughed.

“If you want kids, why did you have an IUD?”

“What?” I frowned at his question. Not that it was so crazy, but it actually caught me off guard.

“If you want to have a baby, then why did you have an IUD? Do you still have it?”

“I never told you I had an IUD.”

“I could feel it, Moon.” He chuckled as if I was crazy to assume he didn’t realize it was there.

“I got it after my last relationship. We were together for most of our twenties. I thought we would get married and start afamily. After we ended things, I didn’t want to get pregnant from a one-night stand after having been with someone for six years and never conceiving. It was almost a knee jerk reaction. At the same time, I’m glad I got it.”

“You were throwing this pussy around like that? Hell, I thought I lucked up and got a taste.”

“No, I’m just saying it gave me more of a chance to decide when I want to have a baby. I’m grateful to have left my last situation without having to drag a child into our mess. I mentioned having it removed a couple of times, and he was totally against it saying that I had the right idea about waiting until I was married. I would have never guessed he had another woman pregnant at the time.”

“Cold blooded.” He shook his head.

“Tell me about it.”

“What they call that shit when parents raise the kids in different homes?”

“Coparenting?” I suggested.

“Yeah, yeah, I don’t think I would be a good coparent. I don’t want my children growing up in a home that I’m barely welcomed in. I want to be with them full time. Children need love and protection at all times.”

“Agreed.”

I stroked the top of Key’s head absentmindedly as I watched TV. Somewhere in the back of my head, his promise to take me to my car played. I wasn’t interested in going anywhere though. As wrong as it felt to be there, it felt even more right. There was no way I was supposed to be anywhere else other than right here enjoying my time with this hilarious, handsome man.

After a moment of silence, I realized that Key was no longer narrating and questioning everything on the show. He was dozing off. His eyes were closed, and my lids were heavy as helltoo. If I weren’t so sleepy myself, I would have reminded him to take me back to my car. I could barely keep my eyes open.

“Have you ever buried something so deep that you forgot about it?” he asked groggily.

“Like a body?” I asked him. There was no telling with him.