Eternal Sunshine ✓

23. Favorite Mistake

A/N: Take a listen to Giveon's Favorite Mistake 👆🏿
[I was listening to this while writing parts of this chapter & I was kinda was inspired by it in some aspects including the title.]

*

Silence stretched between the two of them. Funny enough, that silence spoke more volumes than their words could.

Tasha sighed. "So you're saying my dad and your mom have... history?"

"Not history, more like they had a thing." Steven played with her braids as she laid her head on his lap. "According to my mom, your dad basically played her."

"But I don't understand. Why would my dad not say anything? I mean, the man even met you! Did he not know who you were? Crest Bay is a small ass town."

Steven shrugged, trying to resist the smile that was forming on his face. He loved when Tasha was confused, her face contorted in such a cute way. "I guess not, or maybe he didn't want to make things awkward."

Tasha sat up abruptly, causing a pout to form on Steven's face. Like usual, they were hanging out on a rainy Friday evening. They were watching a Disney movie when Steven paused it and told Tasha what his mom had dropped on him the day before. It didn't come as too much of a surprise to Tasha, as she could see that something had been wrong with Steven the whole day, he'd been too silent and distracted.

"Why would my dad do something like that? I get it he needed the money but dang. He obviously really hurt your mom." Tasha realized something, her eyebrows raised in shock. "Wait, don't tell me that's why she hates me...?"

"She doesn't hate you, Tasha. No one could ever hate such a cute face." He pinched her cheeks jokingly.

She slapped his hands away. "I mean that's true, but your mama hates me, Steven. Wow, what my dad did to her is probably why."

Steven shrugged and crossed his arms. "That's unfair, either way. What your dad did does not represent you or any other black person. She can't call black people gold-diggers cause of that."

"Yeah, you're right." Tasha laid her head back on his lap, looking up at him with a smile. "You know what? Let's finish this movie, for now, we can continue this discussion later, okay?"

Her smile was revitalizing. He had tried for the past couple of weeks to minimize his thoughts about kissing the hell out of her, with respect to her new developing relationship with Jason, but every day she made his heart beat faster. She really wasn't playing fair.

One of his hands found one of her's, while his other hand racked through her long, month-old box braids. She stared at him with something resembling fear, she already knew what he was about to say.

"I know that you're with him but..."

"But what?"

"I really, really, really wanna kiss those beautiful lips of yours about right now."

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She was biting her lips and that was only making things worse for her, Steven was slowly inching closer and closer to her enticing lips.

"I don't think we should do thi-" Opening her eyes, she was in shock to see Steven's face extremely close to hers, so much so that she rolled away from his lap unto the carpeted floor.

Sighing, he bowed his head and passed a hand through his hair. "I know I should stop and we shouldn't kiss, and you don't want me, but I want you, Tasha."

That made her feel guilty. Was she playing with Steven's feelings?

Besides Kennedy, Steven had become her best friend. He was always there for her, always truthful on the way he felt about her, and even when she thought he was annoying, she wouldn't trade him for anyone else.