Page 37 of The Way Love Heals

“What?”

“Keeping God first through it all. With Him, anything is possible. He knows your heart and your intentions better than anyone. Seek Him first, and I bet He’ll give you the desires of your heart.”

“You sound like my mom. She tells me that, too, and so does Mama Z. I believe y’all,” he revealed, stepping closer to the case and scanning all the pictures. “I try to make sure I pray before every game. Sometimes, I forget, so I’ll pray while we’re playing.”

“That’s the perfect way to do things too, AJ. Not only pray for yourself but for everyone on the field and the opposing team. We’re all there for a reason.”

AJ turned toward me and gave me a once-over. “You know, Nyle, you aren’t bad at all. There’s a reason my mom likes you. I can see why. You gotta promise me that you won’t hurt her, okay? She’s very special to me, and I’ll be your enemy if you do.”

I held my hand out and waited for him to take it. “You have my word, AJ. I’ll never do anything to intentionally hurt your mother. She means a lot to me, and so do you. My words go for you as well. You’re a part of her, so it’s a must I treat you just as good as I treat her. You cool with that?”

“I’m cool with that.”

We dapped one another up, and he surprised me by giving me a hug. My gaze went to Brittish who had been standing off to the side, watching us. She blew me a kiss, and I winked at her. Now that I had AJ’s trust, I felt everything would continue to go smoothly with us. I wanted them to be able to put their love, trust, and faith into me. While I was a work in progress, I felt I was on the right track, and I had Brittish to thank for it.

“Today was everything, Nyle. Thank you,” Brittish stated as we pulled up to her house.

Once again, the ride had gotten to AJ, and he was fast asleep. He’d worn himself out at the game. Between eating and yelling along with everyone else, I figured he wouldn’t be any good once we got in the truck.

“It really was. I’m glad we got to do this. I had fun with y’all.”

“I think it’s safe to say that AJ has warmed up to us. He barely talked to me at the game. I almost felt some type of way.”

I chuckled. “We just share the same love and passion, so of course, he gravitated to me in the moment.”

“That’s understandable. I guess.”

We shared a laugh before a comfortable silence fell over us as we sat there, gazing at one another. Grabbing her hand, I kissed the back of it and admitted, “I don’t want to leave you.”

“And I don’t want you to leave.” She glanced back at AJ then back to me. “How about I get him inside, in his room, then you can come in.”

“Why does it feel like we’re sneaking around?”

“Doesn’t that make it fun?”

“It does.” I couldn’t deny it. Brittish had me feeling like a horny teenager trying to sneak in her house without her parents knowing.

The corners of her lips curved. “Exactly. We gotta keep it spicy. Plus, AJ might be cool with it, but he’ll have a million questions if he sees you coming in with us.”

“No, I won’t.”

The sound of AJ’s voice startled both of us. Brittish jumped with her hand over her heart while I glanced back with wide eyes.

“Boy!” Brittish screeched. “How long have you been up?”

“When you were plotting on sneaking Nyle in,” AJ revealed, yawning. “All I care about is taking a shower and going to bed. I’m exhausted, and I want to call Dad before I go to sleep.”

“That’s fine. Come on. Let’s go inside then.”

Brittish bit her bottom lip and shook her head as I killed the engine. Once we were inside her house, AJ gave both of us a hug before disappearing. I followed Brittish to the kitchen where she grabbed a bottle of wine from the fridge and held it up. I nodded, so she grabbed two glasses and led me outside to her back patio. It was set up nicely with a couch, two chairs, and a sheer cover to keep the bugs from getting inside. She poured us both a glass and handed me mine.

“You gotta get your game right, Pretty Lady. How we get caught before we even get inside?”

Brittish almost choked on her wine from laughing. “I’m saying. His little sneaky ass probably heard our entire conversation.”

“Probably so. It’s good we weren’t talking about anything we didn’t want him to hear.”

“Exactly. Can I ask you a question, Nyle?”