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His declaration warmed my heart. He was gonna be a little protector, just like his dad. A few kids yelled for Marz, and he darted out of the room. Aries grabbed the phone, and that was my cue to give them some privacy. I tried to leave, but Merc pulled me onto his lap.
“Oh, hey,” Aries said through her chuckle. It was obvious she was surprised by the gesture, but I didn’t get a sense of anything negative.
“Hi.”
“Aries, this is Neo. Neo, this is Aries.”
“It’s nice to virtually meet you,” she said with a warm smile.
“Same. You have a handsome son, and he’s sweet and gentle yet protective, just like his dad.”
“I know. I was truly blessed.” Her hand lowered to her belly as she said, “I’m hoping this one will come out just as good.”
“You’re having another boy?” I asked.
“I don’t know yet.” She released a tired sigh. “Just hoping for the best either way.”
“I feel you. As long as they are healthy, that’s all that truly matters.”
Aries nodded her agreement. “Well… I just wanted to call so Marz could see his dad. I won’t hold y’all. Y’all be safe out there.”
“You taking him to my parents?” Merc asked, rubbing my thigh.
“Nah. I convinced Omar to wait until next week to go look at apartments.”
“Good. I’m glad to see you’re finally using your influence for good.”
With a playful grin and roll of her eyes, Aries looked away. “Bye, Merc.”
“Bye.”
He disconnected the call and kissed my shoulder. “What can I do to make sure you trust there’s nothing going on sexually or romantically between me and Aries?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. Assurance is one thing, but if your actions when we’re apart don’t align, it means nothing.” I was sure that wasn’t the answer he was expecting, but it was all I had to give. I didn’t know what he could say to make me trust them or what he could do. “Maybe if I knew y’all history, that would help.”
“Well, we dated for a year and decided we were better off as friends. We didn’t have any of the same interests and hobbies. And in the case of opposites attract, there wasn’t much binding us and keeping us together. With the recreational intimacy missing, we weren’t spending a lot of time together, so that caused a lot of static.” He paused and chuckled. “Ironically, when we agreed to break up, that’s when we found out she was pregnant. We got back together and tried again, but just after Marz turned one, we broke up for good. So in four years, we haven’t been in a relationship or had sex. She’s been with other men, obviously, and I’ve dated other women and had sex, but I haven’t committed to anyone.”
“Why not? Because they can’t top her?”
“Not at all. I haven’t been committed because no woman has been worth it. I’ve dedicated myself to my son and work. Now I won’t lie and say I haven’t prioritized Aries, because I have. She’s an extension of my son, so I’ve taken care of her over the years, but it’s been out of love and respect for her being the mother of my little man, nothing more.”
“How do you… take care of her? What does her place in your life look like?”
He didn’t answer right away, and I was glad he was careful with his words and tone for this conversation. His expressions and energy didn’t give annoyed with my questioning, and that made me feel like I’d be safe to express my concerns with him.
“They live in the mother-in-law suite behind my house, so she’s stable because of me. Aries doesn’t work. I wanted her to be able to take care of our son and have the time to still enjoy her life, whether she wanted to do that with rest, play, or starting her own business. I pay her bills to ensure she’s good because, in turn, my son is good too. We had a very healthy coparenting relationship until she started dating Omar, then it started to get a little… off. It didn’t get bad until he proposed though.”
“Okay, thank you for sharing.”
“I know there might not be one thing I can say or do to get you to trust that all of you is safe with me, but if you give us a chance, I promise you won’t regret it. My time with Aries has passed. The only thing tying us together is our son. I have no romantic feelings for her. The only woman I want to be with romantically is sitting on my lap.”
Resting my forehead on his, I admitted, “This helped a little.”
Merc chuckled as he wrapped his arms around me. “Good. I don’t care if you have to hear me say that a million times, I will. I don’t want anyone else but you, baby. And I’m going to show you that every day that I have you.”
I covered his lips with mine, but the sound of a large truck caused me to pull away. We went to the living room window and watched as a snowplow slowly pushed snow forward.
“Well, it looks like we’ll be out of here soon,” he said.
