Page 11 of Pushing Styxx
My heart tightens and my stomach flutters. His offer is sweet.
“I wouldn’t want us to be a bother.” I hate asking for help and taking from others.
“Wouldn’t have said anything if I didn’t want to offer. My daughter seems to like Promise.”
“Won’t your wife have something to say about that?” I blurt before I can stop myself.
Styxx cocks a brow and crosses his arms over his beefy chest. “Maybe so if I actually had a wife.”
“Your girlfriend then.” God, kill me now.
“No girlfriend either.” Styxx grins. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were fishing,mo chathú. But to set your mind at ease, there is no woman. Eabha’s mother died before she was born.”
My heart hurts at hearing this. I want to ask, though it’s not my business, so I’m not going to. I also wanted to know whatmo chathúmeant, but I hated to ask, afraid of what it meant.
“I need to get Promise home,” I say, changing the subject back to what it needed to be about. “Thanks for this.”
“Not a problem. Give me a second, and I’ll carry her over there, so you don’t have to wake her. I just need to grab the baby monitor.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that.” The words spill quickly out of my mouth. “There’s been many times I’ve woken her to get her home from the babysitter.”
“Well, tonight, you’re not gonna wake her,” he says and leaves the room. Not even a moment later comes back holding a baby monitor. “Here, you hold this.”
Styxx hands me the monitor and moves to my sister, swiftly, yet gently picks her up without so much as jostling Promise. Together we make our way out of his house and over to mine. I unlock the door, push it open, and step aside so Styxx can carry my sister through.
“Her room’s down the hall on the right.” It was the only other room besides mine.
I follow behind them the whole way, and my heart tightens at how Styxx handles my sister, carrying her and tenderly putting her to bed. I can only imagine how he is with his daughter. Sweet. Compassionate. Loving. All things my sister lost when our parents died. I did my best to give her what I could, but I never thought it was enough. I can’t give her what a parent would give their child.
Styxx steps back from Promise, and I move in, covering her with her softball throw blanket, before leaving the room with Styxx right behind me.
I walk toward the door and hand him the baby monitor. “Thanks for this. I do appreciate it.”
“Not a problem,” Styxx grunts and takes the monitor, his fingers brushing mine. “She’s welcome anytime.”
“Okay.” I nod, trying not to sound breathless as my lungs seem to be wanting to seize up from the simple touch.
As Styxx steps out onto the porch, I get a glimpse of his backside and can’t help but think he’s got one fine ass in those sweats. Not to mention the tattoo that’s on his arm and goes up his shoulder and his back. If he didn’t have a shirt on, I’d be all about looking at it more thoroughly.
“Lock up, Hope,” Styxx orders, glancing back at me. “I’ll wait until I hear the locks click.”
“Um, okay,” I murmur and do as he says, locking the door. I lean against the blasted thing and let out a heavy sigh, shaking my head.
Turning out the lights, I make my way to my room, strip out of my clothes, and fall right in bed. Sleep claims me nearly instantly, but my dreams were filled with the same man who’s consumed them every time since opening night.
“Thanks,” I whisper for the seventh time in over two weeks.
“No problem,” Styxx grunts as he does each time.
Promise has gone over to his place nearly every day and spent time hanging out there with his daughter, Eabha. Most of the time, she’s eaten over there as well. Only seven days out of the two weeks has she fallen asleep on his couch. He evenwent to her softball games and picked her up for me since I was working.
It’s one of the things I absolutely hate about my schedule. I wasn’t able to be at her games. When she was younger, I’d get to go to them since they were always on the weekends. Nowadays, I miss them, which sucks. Thanks to Styxx, I at least get pictures and clips of her while she’s playing. There was even one of her holding Eabha while in her softball uniform with one beaming smile after winning the game.
The girl was talented out on the field. I knew she already had scouts looking at her for colleges, and I couldn’t be prouder. Our parents would be beside themselves, bragging to all who would listen.
“She’s got a game tomorrow. I’m not gonna be able to make it, but my sister-in-law, Josephine, will be there. She’ll make sure Promise gets home.”
I’d met Josephine previously, when she and her husband, Scythe, were at Styxx’s place. It was on a Sunday, and they invited us over for a cookout. Promise had a field day with both Eabha and Auggie. I knew she wanted to go to school for early childhood development and work with children. It was something she loved to do. Something I’m glad she has figured out at such a young age. Me, I didn’t do what I wanted to do. Granted, I love dancing. I love being on stage, even more now with the new nightclub. But it’s not what I wanted to do forever.
