The Unusual Suspects Book 2

Dom

"...there comes a point where you must let go, because it's best for your health. Because in order to heal, you must first complete the task of forgiving yourself." I said closing out the night with my poem What Must Come First. I listened to all the claps and snaps for a moment and took it in. "Thank you all for coming out. See you again, next week. Same time, same place." I said as I walked off backstage and Little Man was standing there smiling at me. "What?" I asked.
"That was good. I see you." he said as he wrapped his arms around me and we looked into each other's eyes for a minute. "So...to the studio?" he said breaking the silence between us. I nodded. He grabbed my hand and we went through the back and I collected my money from the bouncer as we exited the building. He opened the door for me and I got into the truck so we could head over to the studio. It was so quiet in the car that it felt weird.
"What's on your mind?" I asked him. He glanced over at me for a second.
"You really wanna know?" he asked.
"I asked, didn't I?" I said to him. We pulled up to a red light and he looked over at me.
"D...I'm not even gonna lie to you, I got feelings for you. I know you may or may not feel the same and that's cool. But I can't sit back and fake like I'm okay with the fact that your ex is staying at your house tonight." he said and I understood him more than he knew.
"But you know what type of person I am, him being there won't change the fact that what was between us is dead. There's no recovering that." I told him.
"You sure?" he asked me.
"I'm positive." I told him as I stared into his eyes. He looked back at the road and continued to drive towards the studio.
"Do you trust me?" he asked me. The question caught me off guard for real.
"You haven't given me any reason not to." I told him as we came to another red light and he turned to me.
"That doesn't answer my question though. Just because I haven't given you a reason not to, doesn't mean you do." he said to me. He was right.
"I trust you." I told him.
"Stay with me tonight." he said. "I mean my house may not be as glamorous as yours, but it's safe, clean and all that. I'm not trying to get in your pants either D, I just want you with me." he said and I thought about it for a minute.
"Okay." I said and I couldn't lie I was a little nervous, but I loved being around him though. I couldn't deny that.
"You sure?" he asked me.
"I'm sure." I said to him.
"I mean...we don't have to go to the studio tonight." I told him and he looked in my eyes and nodded. Not gonna lie, the ride to his house was a little longer than I thought but I got to see a different area. He actually stayed out in Marietta. It was a nice little area he stayed in. When we pulled up, he got out and helped me out of the car and lead me to the house. When he unlocked the door there was a little older woman sitting there at the kitchen table.
"You're back early tonight." she said getting up from the table.
"Yes ma'am. How was Keisha today?" he asked her as she grabbed her jacket.
"She was good. Her homework is all done, she's still awake up there." she said as she finally looked in our direction. "Oh Lord, you must be Dom." she said as she reached out to shake my hand and I took it.
"Yes ma'am, I am." I said to her.
"Ms. Gladys helps me with my sister and everything." he explained.
"And he doesn't shut up about you." she said with a slight giggle.
"Alright Ms. Gladys, have a goodnight." he said as he passed her the money he pays her and we both laughed.
"Nice to meet you Beauty. I'll be back tomorrow Kevin." she said as she left and he locked the door behind her.
"So you do talk about me?" I said to him. He laughed at that.
"Keish!" he yelled out and shortly after she came down the steps.
"Yes bro." she said walking in the room. "Keish, this is Dom. Dom this is my sister Keish." he said introducing us.
"Hey! Nice to meet you, I like your music." she said to me.
"Aww thank you. Nice to meet you as well." I said. She had to be like 13 or 14 years old, very pleasant though.
"You know it's about bedtime." he said to her. She passed him her phone. "See you in the am sis." he said.
"Okay goodnight yall." she said as she went back upstairs. Wow I didn't know it was like this for him.
"You okay?" he asked me and I nodded. "Come on." he said as he turned off the light in the Kitchen and he led me to his room and closed the door. "Make yourself at home." he said as I sat down on his bed. It really was nice and clean in here and everything.
"So it's just the 2 of you?" I asked him.
"Yeah I got emancipated so that I could take care of her. I didn't want her to go into the system. So...I do what I gotta do." he said.
"I commend you for that. It takes a strong and driven person to do all of this." I said to him. He sat down next to me and looked in my eyes.
"Family is everything to me. My mother is in rehab and my father is in a nursing home. I'm all she has." he said.
"You spend a lot of the time taking care of everyone else. So who takes care of you?" I asked him and he looked away.
'I do." he said simply.
"Let me change that." I told him and he looked at me like he was confused. I got up and straddled his lap and kissed him.