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Sighing, Elite swallowed and sat back in his seat. “One of the reasons.”
Denali chuckled. “Okay, it’s clear you’re not ready to talk about yourself, so that’s cool. I like your vibe enough to just chill with you, but I would like to get to know you better when you’re ready.”
“How about we agree to eat and keep the conversation light? After we eat, I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. I’m a firm believer that company and conversation impacts digestion, so I like to eat in peace.”
With a smile, Denali nodded in agreement. “Okay, I’m cool with that.”
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After breakfast, they went to a nearby park for that dreadful talk. Elite may not have wanted to do it, but he figured the sooner the better. It wasn’t something he wanted to put off and have looming over them. Plus, she deserved to be able to decide if she wanted to deal with him and meet him where he was with life and love.
They shared the facts about themselves. Elite shared that he was thirty-four and would have a birthday that summer. July twenty-third, to be exact. He told her about his brother and how close they were, along with Nicole being like a sister to him. Now that he had two additional sisters, Elite was trying to mentally prepare to go around Greg again, which opened the door for him to tell her about his childhood.
She was the only woman, outside of Jacintha, that Elite shared those details with. If Cassie and Greg trusted her, he believed he could too. Besides, he got nothing but good vibes from Denali.
When he was done, she shared the facts about herself. Her thirty-third birthday was next month, and Elite was more excited about her Jesus year than she was. Admittedly, Denali expressed her lack of excitement came from everything that was going on with the father of her children.
After Denali filled him in, Elite offered to take that problem off her hands if she gave him Blaze’s location. Though she laughed and told him she appreciated the offer, she assured him she could handle the ex who didn’t want to let go.
She also shared facts about her childhood as well, and the fact that her parents divorcing was the reason she’d been trying so hard to keep things on solid ground between her and Blaze. When her parents split, she and her sister were right in the middle of it. They used their kids to hurt each other, and their pain became Denali’s pain. She longed for the days of peace, love, and happiness that they had before the divorce, and she’d convinced herself that marriage was the only way to keep a family together.
It wasn’t until her children witnessed the fights between her and Blaze that she realized sometimes peace and happiness comes from separation, and that was the place she was in now. Her parents were in a good space and had a genuine friendship, so she couldn’t ask for anything more when it came to them.
As they sat on the bench, their conversation shifted to their present moment. Elite was aware of her current job, but he found it interesting that she wanted her own boutique.
“I’m going to get it eventually,” she promised herself. “I’ve been hustling for my kids to make sure they were more than straight, but one day, I’ll have the luxury of going just as hard for my own desires. My boutique is at the top of that list. I want to invest in some rental properties for them too, so when they go to college, they can make money while focusing on their studies.” Denali sighed. “It’s just difficult planning for the future when everything you have is going to your present circumstances, you know?”
“Most definitely. You’ll get there. Your intentions are pure. You want to succeed for your kids, not for selfish gain. God honors shit like that.”
Denali chuckled as she nodded, gripping the edge of the bench so that their fingers grazed one another.
“I’ve been thinking about sucking it up and just getting a loan for the boutique. I hadn’t wanted one for a while, but my credit is great, so I think I’m going to go for it before the end of the year.”
“Congratulations in advance then. Let me know if you need help with anything and I got you. I love seeing people win.”
“What do you do?” she asked.
“I had a jewelry business, but I shut it down earlier this year. When the situation happened with my ex-wife, it fucked with my business, so I closed it. I valued it too much to let it suffer because of her lies.”
“I can understand that. Especially if it meant a lot to you. So when are you going to reopen it?”
With a lazy exhale, Elite wrapped his arm around the back of the bench.
“That’s the million-dollar question. Literally.” He chuckled as he looked up at the sky. “I guess after I heal a little more. Jewelry has always been sacred to me. I didn’t want the situation with her and everything I was feeling for my Pops to ruin that.”
She rested her back against his chest, and Elite couldn’t deny how good it felt to have her there.
“All things will start to become passionate and beautiful again with healing and time.”
As he looked at the side of her face, Elite said, “They already are.”
Denali looked back at him with a smile that made his heart skip a beat. Lowering his lips to hers, Elite cupped her cheek and kissed her. What was supposed to be an introductory light kiss turned deep and tender the longer their lips remained locked. They weren’t kissing like strangers. They were kissing like their souls had been paired in previous lifetimes.
When their lips parted, she returned her back to his chest as a quiet giggle escaped her. She lifted her legs to the bench, wrapping Elite’s arms around her in the process. He allowed himself to relax with her in his embrace, losing himself in her company and the clouds.
Elite didn’t realize how long they’d sat there until her alarm started going off.
“It’s time for me to go and get my babies.”
