“I’m not that hungry, either. I think the day’s events kind of took it out of us.”
“You want something to drink? I’ve got wine, beer, iced tea and some cola.”
“Water is fine.”
She plopped down on the couch and leaned into a pillow, stretching out and wiggling her toes. She looked as if she belonged there. Was meant to be there. He brought her the bottle of water and sat next to her with his beer, using the remote to start up the fireplace. He pressed another button, and 11:11’s ‘Call Me Daddy’ began to play. Lauren drank some of her water and slammed the bottle on the coffee table.
“Aries, you are trip. You’re not fooling anyone.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You don’t even listen to music like this. I know what you’re up to.”
“You don’t know what I listen to, and if this is about sex, we already said what we were up to. I just wanted to get Aiden out the house first.”
“I am saying that you are just trying to impress me, get in good. I’m not talking about sex, and yes I do know the type of music you enjoy. I even asked you what types of music you like and—”
“And I mentioned R&B, didn’t I?”
“But you’re only playing it because you know I like it, and you think you can earn brownie points this way, just like I said.”
“Bullshit. I like some of these songs too, simple as that. Who are you? The music police?” He smirked as she twisted her lips as if she didn’t believe one word that came out of his mouth. “Come on over here, girl. Why are you way over there? Lie down on me and be my personal blanket.” She scooted closer and snuggled against his chest. He wrapped his legs around hers and together they relaxed, listening to music, enjoying one another. He relished how she stroked his arm, her touch providing a special sense of comfort.
“Are you okay, Aries?” she asked after a while, breaking the silence. “Let’s be real about this. Today was hard. I definitely didn’t expect things to happen the way they did.”
He ran his fingers through her curls as he looked into the jumping flames of the fire.
“Not really.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“There’s not much to say. Talkin’ won’t change anything.”
She held onto his arm with both hands and squeezed tight.
“I’m disappointed in Benjamin, as a man, Aries. Nevertheless, I do appreciate his honesty. He could have kept lying to save face. He could have made up some story to put himself in a positive light – like tried to say that he begged your mother to see you but she refused, or something like that. Instead, he told the truth. Your mother didn’t want him popping in and out of your life, and she didn’t want you to be paid off so he could be freed of responsibility. That says something about her character.”
“What do you think it says about my mother’s character?”
He felt her stiffen, as if surprised by his words.
“It says that she wasn’t impressed with his money, that she wouldn’t let him off the hook, no matter what. Being a parent isn’t just financial responsibility. She probably hoped that putting her foot down would be the catalyst to make him do right by you.”
“But it didn’t work. And we lived in squalor.”
She stiffened once again. “Aries, are you angry with her now?”
“No, but I’m not happy with what she chose to do, either. She never told me any of this. She never asked me, once I got a bit older, what I wanted to do. Instead, she made the choice for me. She was so busy trying to prove a point that I lost out on some of my basic necessities. My mother was trying to punish him for how he’d done us, but she ended up punishing me in the process. That wasn’t smart, Lauren. It wasn’t a good move no matter how anyone tries to twist and turn it.”
She grabbed her water bottle and took a few sips, then looked at him from over her shoulder.
“I’m not a mother, obviously, Aries, but I imagine it was really hard for her. I understand what you’re saying, but I still find it admirable. Maybe she was wrong.” She shrugged. “But her son couldn’t be bought. No price was high enough for your heart. She didn’t want you hurt. At least, that’s what I take from it. Only she actually