TEACH ME NOT 2 HATE LOVE

40

🧑Nik Anthony POV🧑

The best sleep I had, like in forever. I just want to share that with the whole world. Waking up with Tajea in my arms in the morning is the most wonderful feeling ever. It's like all my problems disappeared like yesterday.

Ugh, why did the sun come up? I wouldn't mind being like this with her all day. For all eternity. But little Nik is up, and he needs to get ready for school. Tajea had to leave to attend to his needs. Lucky man.

All I can do is hope and pray for the day when she starts attending to my needs, if you know what I mean.

Alright, time to go get me a cold shower. This bad boy is behaving very badly. It's miserable. He needs a time-out, a tap-out. A choke-out, rather.

By the time I was done showering and getting dressed, Tajea was already finishing up with little Nik. All that was left was for him to go to school. He kissed her on the cheeks, hugged me, then left with Kenneth.

Afterwards, Tajea went to serve me breakfast, but she was acting all strange. I wonder what's wrong now. We were seated across from each other in the dining room, eating breakfast and drinking tea.

Then she asked out of the blue. "Who was that girl?"

"What girl?" I was clueless.

"Oh, don't play dumb, Jackass," she argued. "The one you came with at that fancy place. What's the name again? Gold&Rose. Wednesday night."

Thinking for a few minutes. Oh, Ashley. Oh sh*t! I was so captivated by jealousy and anger that I totally forgot about her. What happened to her anyway? I don't have a clue. And to be honest, I'm too happy at this moment to really care. "She's no one special."

"Well, the way she was hanging on to you like a monkey on a monkey bar, that doesn't seem to be the case."

"Are you jealous?" I teased. Aww! That's sweet.

"Of you?" Tajea scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Boy, please. I don't get jealous. Especially of a jackass. And besides, it's not like we are together." She's not being honest with herself at all. But I'll give her all the time. As long as it takes for her to give herself up to me willingly. And this morning proves to me that there might be hope for us as a couple.

"Then there is no need to tell you about her, is there?" I smirked to piss her off even more, and it worked.

"Yes, there is. I can't sit by and let some strange b*tch—I mean, some unknown woman—come live here with you and little Nik. Not without my approval." That's a good excuse, but I'm not buying it.

"OK. Her name is Ashley, and my mother was the one who forced me to go on a date with her. She even chose the place and the time I got to that place."

"That witch!" she cursed after a few minutes of thought. I wonder what's up now. "She dragged me to that place because she knew you were going to be there."

"What?" I asked, looking at her as if she had finally gone beyond crazy. Insane.

"Your mom and Regina set up that whole night. And your girl Ashley and that pain in the ass chatter box, Arthur, are a part of it."

"OK, what?" I was not getting what she was rambling on about.

"What's wrong with your damn dickhead?" She yelled.

That made me blush a little. "It's fine, thank you."

"Do you think us being at the same place at the same time is a mere coincidence?" She asked. "I was at that place because Regina dragged me there. And you were there because your mother forced you to go there. Those two wanted us to meet up there."

Oh, now I get it. Why didn't she just say that? "But why would they?"

"Isn't it obvious? To do what they have been trying to do for weeks now, from before we met. Hook us up."

Several weeks ago, when we just met, maybe I'd have been furious at Mother for doing this. But right now, that seems like a good idea to me. The way she goes about it is conniving and sneaky, but that's okay with me.

"Is that such a bad thing?" I inquire.

"Nik. I—"

"It's cool." I didn't let her finish that. I don't want to ruin this moment. "So now that you know the truth, what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know. Were you in on this, Nik?" She asked suspiciously.

"No. I wasn't. We hated each other back then, remember?"

We both laughed, feeling silly.

"So, are you going to leave us? Leave me?" My voice has gone all soft and desperate.

"Can I even do that now?" She sighed. "I mean, if I'm gone, who's going to clean up your mess and ensure my sweet boy doesn't grow up to be a jackass?"

Woo, I feel the need to just jump across the table and kiss her. However, I restrained myself. For now, a smile will do. "By the way, breakfast is delicious."

Tajea glared at me fiercely. "You made it sound like I cooked shit all the other times before this."

"Of course not." I chortled tensely, then dug into my meal. However, that didn't save me from her wrath.

"From now on, you will cook your own meals."

"But I can't cook," I complained.

"And how is that my problem?" She arched her brow.

"I'll starve to death if you don't feed me."

"Tell that someone who cares."

"Do you care about me?" Please say yes.

"If you will excuse me, I have work to get done." Tajea, who suddenly seemed a bit uneasy, got up from the table with her plate that still had some leftovers, gearing to leave. SMH. She's dodging my question. Does that mean she cares but is too shy to say it out loud? My heart is racing just thinking about it.

"Can you at least finish breakfast with me before you go?" That was an attempt to keep her here with me a bit longer, but to no avail.

"As I said just now, there is work to be done," she responded.

"As your boss, I order you to stay and finish breakfast with me."

"That's not how it goes, pal," she scoffed. "Now I'm going to get some work done, so stop stalling. And don't you think of going out and drinking with that deadbeat, bad influence, spoiled prince friend of yours. If you come in drunk, another night I'll kill you, Nik."

"OK, Mam." I chortled tensely. She gave me one last mean glare, smiled, and left to go do what she does best—keep this place in top shape.