Dinner.

Aria woke up with Aura laying next to her touching her face and Nawf watching her.

"Momma, your finally up." She kissed all over Aria's face.

"Momma was tired." She told her kissing her back.

"Well daddy says your going to be getting up soon so we can go to your parents." She smiled.

"I am. I just need 15 more minutes she stretched.

"Okay. I'm goin to get my toys." She ran off as Aria climbed out her bed. The sight of nawf right now was just to much.

She just didn't get how he thought the shit he was doing was okay. She just was trying to stay out of her own feelings.

"How was your fake date?" He asked climbing out her bed.

She ignored him as she headed for her closet.

"Damn, is this goin to be every day for us?" Nawf asked her.

Aria laughed shaking her head.

"I dont know what's funny." He said.

"You are. 'Is this going to be every day?' Yes, yes it is. We have nothing to talk about except Aura. That is it that is all. Once you meet my parents it'll remain just like this." She said grabbing her clothes.

"Aria-" He started.

"Its crazy to think you want to talk now. I'm fine Antjuan. I mean you couldn't even wait a day to get into some new pussy but could wait to talk to me. By the way I hope you were mature enough to apologize to you daughter after you stormed out on us both. So much for that 'I got her. I got you.'" She mocked him.

"Yo what is yo problem?" He asked her.

"I'm sure your smart enough to find out. Matter of fact dont even worry about it. Worry about your daughter and not my business." She said.

"Aria I'm sorry damn." He sighed.

"Antjuan you dont even know why you are apologizing. That's fucking stupid." She rolled her eyes.

He sat silent because she was right. At this point he was just apologizing just because.

"Look, just you and your mixed messages stay the fuck away from me." She walked into her room.

"Aria, chill." He grabbed her arm as she snatched it away.

"Get the fuck out my room." She looked at him.

"You not finna keep talkin to me any kinda way." He grabbed and held her arm.

"In my fuckin house I will and if you dont like it go the fuck home." She snatched her arm.

Nawf held onto her.

"Aria. I'm sorry the other night was a mistake." He said.

"You fuckin some gir-" She started.

"Us." He cut her off.

It seemed like it was blow after blow from him.

"We shouldn't have slept together you were right. My bad." He said.

Aria's eyes said it all without needing to say anything.

She quickly turned away to keep him from looking at her and hurried to the bathroom. She didn't get how sometimes the little shit he said hurt her feelings. She barely knew him and here she was crying knowing he damn well didn't care about her feelings.

Aria got in the shower as he stood by the door still talking to her. She tried to tune him out over the water but she had left her phone on her nightstand.

"Aria, I'm sorry." He said again.

Tears came down her face the more she heard his voice.

"Can you please leave me alone." She said as the water hit her face.

"I'm sorry for being an asshole." He said.

"Leave me alone!" She said tired of hearing his voice. The same voice that called her name out. Aria stood under the water as she let her tears fall freely.

"The girl you saw me with was my ex. My first love. I guess maybe we were both meant to get back with our first loves." He tried to reason with her.

His words only made it worse as she remained silent.

After a few more minutes of silence Nawf walked away. He figured his words would have made things better but after seeing her face he knew he only made it worse. Nawf headed to the living room and spent the rest of his afternoon playing with Aura.

---------------------------------------------------------

"Dinner was amazing." Nawf smiled at her mother.

"Thank you and Thank you for coming." Her mother smiled.

So far the night had gone well. Outside of Aria giving him an occasional look of hate all seemed well.

They all looked to Aura who decided to head in the den to play with her toys.

Aria excused herself after grabbing the plates.

She honestly was over Nawf and his nonchalant-ness. He seemed so one sided that it bothered her. He watched her leave letting out a deep breath.

He thought he was giving her what she wanted and yet she was mad. He shook his head watching her leave.

"Care for a drink?" Her father asked as Nawf nodded.

"C'mon." He told him as they got up from the dining table and headed to her fathers study.

It was a small office space with a homemade library of all Robert's favorites.

"So she's pissed?" Robert could easily tell when his daughter was upset.

"Yea." Nawf said not wanting to give any details.

He knew if Aura was in Aria's shoes he would have killed his self.

"She is a simple woman but very strong hearted. Once you hurt her you got to be careful because she's not really forgiving." He told him.

"Oh do I know." He said as he passed him a glass.

"I made her that way. It kinda back fired on me. I made her so strong she didn't need a man not even her father." He chuckled.

"Well thanks." Nawf joked.

"I dont regret it. She's strong that way. She takes what life throws at her and makes it work. She got that from me but her heart? She got that from Ann." He said referring to his wife.

"She's a hard lover." He told Nawf.

"Love?" He said as her father nodded

"I'm sure she doesn't love me." Nawf smirked.

"No woman gets mad at a man she doesn't care about. I'm not sayin yawl are in love but you guys looked like an old couple fighting." He told him taking a drink.

"Me and her have different plans. She has her ex and I have mines." Nawf said as he finished his glass.

"Ex's are ex's for a reason. Their for the season. You must be a little intimated by Camren?" He chuckled.

"Intimated?" Nawf scoffed.

"Camren was her first love but like I said she is  a hard lover. Once she is hurt, she's hurt. I saw you looking at her. Ex's or not you both like each other. Hopefully you figure it out before its too late." He said.

Robert poured them another glass.

"Thought you would have been team her ex?" Nawf was shocked.

"I'm team who makes my baby happy. You will see one day. You got Aura." Robert said.

"Aria is not fuckin wit me right now." He admitted.

He started to think if he was her he definitely wouldn't.

The look on her face when she saw Leah. To make matter even worse when he tried talking to her about it he saw the hurt in her face. He didn't get it because she was the same one willing to go meet her ex after the spent all night together.

Honestly him hearing Camren confess his love to her made Nawf doubt his self. Aria was different and although he wanted her he wasn't sure if her different was for him.

"They never do when their mad. Just give her some time but talk to her. You guys have years of co parenting and I'm sure it'll be easier if she at least likes you a little bit." Robert laughed.

Nawf had to admit he was a super chill guy.

He was thinking that he would have been this uppity nigga or too good for the hood. Instead the entire night they had good conversation outside of his ongoing beef with Aria.

"Whenever she will talk to me again. I kinda fucked up." He admitted.

"Well fix it." He told him.

Nawf nodded.

He knew there was no reason to get into particulars on what happened knowing it would like ruin their night and leave them with a bad impression.

"I been wantin to ask you, do you know Charles? Charles Johnson? He went by CJ?" Robert asked Nawf.

Of course he knew him.

"Yea, That was my dad." He told him.

Robert smirked.

"I knew you looked familiar." Robert pointed at him.

"Me and CJ went to Washington together and Lafayette." Robert told him.

"It's a small world." Nawf said realizing it really was.

Tonight he found out Aria not only grew up in the same neighborhood as him but they went to the same schools they were just a few grades apart.

"Me and him use to kick back all the time. I'm sorry for your loss." Robert told him.

"Its been a while but he is still missed." He told him.

"How's your mother been? I haven't spoken to her well over 10 years." He asked.

"That's about as long as she has been gone." Nawf told him.

His mother took his fathers death harder than anyone could have imagine. Nearly a month after him passing his mother sent him to live with his grandmother and had never came back. Everyone thought it would be just for a while but after the first year of no calls or letters they assumed the worst.

It wasn't until Nawf got older that he learned about his mother. She had left avoiding her son since he was a mirroring image of his father. It was just to much to take in. The guilt alone was enough as she pushed her son away. The more she pushed the further she found her self away from home.

By the time Nawf found her she had been addicted to drugs for 3 years. She was now a stranger to her own son. He had found her over a year ago and as much as he wanted to drag her home he knew she left for a reason and asked her to reach out to him when she was ready to get clean. The woman he saw on the street wasnt the woman who left him at his grandmother's and as naïve as it may have been waited in hopes one day she would come home.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Robert said looking at Nawf.

"I guess its life." He shrugged it off.

"Parenting is never as easy we think." Robert told him.

"In time you will see. Things aren't as easy as we all think." He told as he nodded.

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