Page 180 of Vega

“No.”

When he struggled to find something to say, I told him, “Talk about something else.”

“A’ight.”

His hand rested against my back while he guided me out of the clinic. “I’m going to Michigan in a few days.”

I forced a proud smile. “You decided to go see your father?”

“I’ve been sitting on it for a few days, kept staring at that picture of him.” He pulled his keys from his pocket as we approached the elevator. “I’m tired of wondering. I need to hear the truth from him.”

My heart went out to him. Prodigy had shown up for me through the worst part of my life without expecting anything in return. He checked on the baby even though it wasn’t his responsibility. He listened when I wanted to talk about Kash and never acted irritated when grief pulled me away from a good moment.

He was so soft for a street nigga. The people who feared him probably wouldn’t recognize the man who sat in an OB/GYN waiting room for over an hour because he refused to let a pregnant woman grieve alone.

“I hope you get whatever you need from him,” I told him as the elevator arrived.

We took the elevator down in silence, since there were other people on it. The elevator arrived to the lobby, after making a stop on the second floor. Prodigy guided me off with a hand at the small of my back, and I felt guilty for enjoying his touch.

“You think I’m doing the right thing?” he asked as we crossed the hospital lobby toward the sliding doors.

“I think you deserve answers. I hope the truth helps you move forward, whether your father is part of your life afterward or not.”

The humidity outside struck my face. It gave me something else to focus on besides the empty chair in that exam room and all the things Kash would never get to see.

Prodigy walked beside me toward the parking garage. We reached his truck, and he opened my door before walking around to the driver’s side.

Once he was behind the wheel, I turned toward him. Prodigy started the engine, but he watched me instead of backing out of the space.

“You’re a good man,” I told him. “You’ve spent all this time wondering why he left, but his reasons don’t change the person you became without him. Whatever he tells you, don’t let it make you question that.”

His eyes held mine. There was an attraction between us that had grown beyond curiosity. It lived in every lingering stare, every touch that lasted too long, and every conversation that made us forget why neither of us was ready to want somebody new.

His gaze dropped to my mouth before returning to my eyes, and mine did the same. The air inside the truck became too personal, filled with everything we’d avoided since the night we almost kissed.

Prodigy put the truck in reverse, with his eyes still on mine. He kept looking at me for one second too long and nearly backed into the car behind us.

“Prodigy!”

He slammed on the brakes and looked over his shoulder. “Damn.”

I covered my mouth, laughing for the first time since entering the doctor’s office.

He pulled forward, shaking his head, and a smile broke across his face before he backed out more carefully.

We left the garage and merged into traffic.

“I appreciate you,” he said after a while. “For real.”

I turned toward him, listening.

“I be needing these talks. I can’t bring everything to Vega and Wise. Them niggas care, but I gotta get through jokes before we get to the real conversation. With you, I can just say it.”

“I like talking to you too.”

I turned my head, looking out of the passenger window, so he wouldn’t see me blushing. I hated that I’d met him during this part of my life. I was grieving the man I’d believed I would build a future with. Some days I missed Kash so much that I couldn’t see beyond the pain. Other days, I could see Prodigy clearly, and that scared me more.

But he wasn’t free either. Part of him remained attached to Arielle.