Page 58 of Tangled Hearts

Lorraine grabbed her bags, her eyes darting to her son one last time. Rock refused to look at her. “I was young?—”

“We were younger!” Rock cut her off, pointing at Rocky. “She ain’t have a mama. I ain’t have shit. And now you think you can just walk in and it’s fixed?”

Rock’s hurt had him unwilling to understand anything she had to say.

Lorraine didn’t blame him, though. She knew the damage she’d done, but the truth was, she didn’t care enough to try and fix it.

Fixing things meant facing everything she’d run from.

It meant taking the blame instead of blaming the men she chased.

She wasn’t built for that. Love, for her, was always about who could make her feel alive in the moment not about who she left behind.

She glanced at Rocky, tears streaking down her face, and for a split-second Lorraine felt something tug at her chest. Rocky still looked at her like she wanted a mama to show up.

But that kind of love made Lorraine uncomfortable.

She didn’t know how to hold it, didn’t know how to give it back without feeling trapped.

Rock though. He was stone. He wouldn’t piss on her if she was on fire, and deep down, she couldn’t even be mad about it. She had left him too many nights with an empty fridge and promises she never kept. That kind of hurt turned into hate, and she’d sown it herself.

She straightened her bags on her arms, chin lifted, heels clicking as she turned toward the door. The house smelled like family. Like everything she’d thrown away. And instead of fighting for it, Lorraine walked out, convincing herself she still had time to find another man to make her feel wanted.

Rock picked up his glass, throwing it across the room. It shattered jarring everyone.

“I know you mad but act like you got some damn sense,” Mae Lou fussed, already grabbing the broom and dustpan to clean up his mess.

Flopping back into his chair, he slumped over, head resting in his hands. “Why she ain’t want me? She should’ve aborted the fuckin’ mission if she was gon’ be a piss poor human being cause I ain’t never wanted no perfect mama… I just wanted,” he choked on his words.

Shakeisha and Roddy climbed into his lap, wrapping their arms around him as his body shook.

He hugged them back, fully breaking down.

“I might didn’t have her but I’m so happy I had you,” Rocky spoke up, joining in on the family hug. “At least God gave me you, big brother.”

Rodeisha was out cold by the time Rock carried her into her room. He laid her down gently, pulling the blanket over her, then sat on the edge of the bed watching her tiny chest rise and fall. He brushed a curl from her forehead and kissed her temple.

“I got you, baby girl,” he whispered. “Ain’t nobody ever gon’ make you question that.”

He lingered, holding her little hand until it slipped from his grip in her sleep. When he finally stood, he found Shakeisha leaning against the doorway, arms crossed.

“You did good tonight,” she told him. “You’re a great father.”

Rock gave a small nod, rubbing his face. “Trying to be what I didn’t have.”

“That’s clear,” she acknowledged. “But Rock, you can’t let what she did to you be the reason you half-love everybody else. I get it. I do. But it can’t be your excuse forever.”

Her words hit him harder than he wanted to admit. He walked past her into the living room and sat down, elbows on his knees. “You don’t think I know that?”

“I think you do. I just don’t think you’re ready to fix it yet.” She didn’t wait to hear what he had to say, instead she moseyed into her room.

Rock leaned back into the plush couch, just staring up at the ceiling. His chest felt heavy, like every word she threw at him was a truth he didn’t want to swallow. He rubbed his palms over his head, thinking about how much he wanted to do right but never quite knew where to start.

He didn’t know how long he’d been sitting in the same position with Lorraine’s pretty face looping over and over again in his head. But it had to be a long time because the sound of Shakeisha clicking into the living room in heels pulled him from his mental prison.

“Where you going?” he asked, his eyes low like he’d smoked a pound of weed.

A short satin dress hugged her curves. It was a soft pink color that popped against her brown skin. Strappy heels clicked across the floor as she checked herself in the mirror near the door, adjusting a small clutch under her arm.

She didn’t hesitate to say, “a date.”

His head snapped toward her. “Dead ass?”

Rock’s eyes ran over her body. He hated how good she looked when she wasn’t dressing for him. He hated knowing she was about to sit across from another man, laughing the way she laughed at him earlier, giving away the softness that he was just starting to realize he needed.

“I’m single, Rock. You don’t get to dictate my moves.”

He stood up, so much taller than her. “I want to see where we can go.”

Shakeisha raised an eyebrow. “Is it because she doesn’t want you?”

They hadn’t talked about where he and Knycole stood, but she could read between the lines.

Whatever they had was done, and it wasn’t Rock who pulled the plug.

Knycole had to be the one to let him go.

Everybody knew her heart was tied to Hov.

Shakeisha never understood how she even thought about walking away from him.

That man was rare. Gentle when it mattered, reckless when it didn’t, but never half stepping about his people.

Rock wasn’t weak by any means, but if she was in Knycole’s shoes, she would’ve chosen Hov without hesitation.

Over and over again. That didn’t mean she couldn’t see the good in Rock.

He had his own shine. If he’d handled her right when he first came home, she would’ve picked him in a heartbeat.

She wasn’t bitter about what went down when they were younger—she’d already healed from that.

What mattered now was that he understood she wasn’t that girl anymore.

Life had flipped on her, forced her to grow up, and she wasn’t about to let anybody drag her back into places she’d already fought her way out of.

“Nah. I know I haven’t been handling you right, but I’m trying. I want to try.”

“Okay,” she answered plainly.

Angry dimples sunk his cheeks. “Okay?”

“Yea. But understand you gotta put in the work like anyone else. Show up. Date me. Sweep me off my feet because it’s what I deserve. Words don’t mean much when the actions don’t match.”

Rock reached for her wrist. “I can do that.”

“Then start.” She slid her hand free and grabbed her purse.

“Where we stand then?”

Shakeisha looked him dead in the eyes. “You’re the father of my daughter, and I’ll always respect you for that. But if you want me, show me. Until then, I’m dating and having fun.”

Her heels clacked against the floor as she headed to the front door. Rock stood there staring after her, the weight of her words heavy in his chest. For the first time, he didn’t want to run from it.

He crossed the room before she could grab the doorknob. His hand pressed against the wood, trapping her there. She tried to keep her face straight, but her breath caught when he leaned in close.

“You leaving me like this?” His voice brushed her ear, low and rough.

Shakeisha’s chest rose against his. “You had your chance to claim me, Rock. You gotta come harder this time around. Until then, I’m outside, baby daddy.”

“I’m not tryna stop you from living,” he murmured, sliding his hand down her arm. “I’m telling you I want to be the one you live with. The one you breathe with.”

Her lips parted, but before she could answer, he tilted her chin and kissed her hard. She tried to push him back at first, palms flat against his chest, but the fight left her as fast as it came.

Their kiss deepened, tongues clashing, years of frustration spilling out in one pull.

His hands found her waist, gripping like he was scared she’d vanish. Her dress rode up as he carried her to the counter, spreading her knees with his hips. She clutched his braids, pulling his mouth closer until she gasped against him.

“You don’t get to ruin my night,” she whispered, though her legs locked tighter around him.

“Then let me make it right,” he countered, dragging his lips down her neck. “Let me love on you the way you should’ve been loved all along.”

Her body betrayed her words, arching into him. His palms slid over her thighs, pulling her closer, until there was no space left between them.

“Rock…” Her tone was a warning and a want at the same time.

He lifted his head, eyes dark, breathing heavy. “I swear to God, I’m done running. I’ll show up every day if you let me. Just don’t leave me out here knowing you still feel this.”

Her reply came in another kiss, softer this time, slower—carrying more than lust. It was the kiss of a woman testing if she could trust again.

When his hand slipped under the satin of her dress, she didn’t stop him. She only whispered against his lips, “if you want me, you gon’ have to prove it outside this kitchen too.”

“I will,” he promised, lifting her higher, his mouth trailing lower. “But right now, let me remind you who you are to me.”

His dark lips peppered kisses down her body until he was close enough to greet her already dripping pussy.

“Fuck,” Shakeisha tried to keep her voice down knowing her baby was sleeping down the hall.

Between her moans and the hum of the refrigerator, nothing else could be heard but the sound of Rock slurping on her.

“Give me one,” he encouraged her release tickling her pearl with his tongue flicking in a quick motion, only stopping to tug on her clit gently with his teeth.

She sucked her lips into her mouth to muffle the scream she wanted to release as she came fast and hard.

Her body twitched when he licked her a little more before coming up for air. “That’s what the fuck I’m talking ‘bout.”