“It’s okay to miss Genie, but you gotta understand she ain’t coming back. Your mom is here now, and she’s been through a lot to bring you here and come back to us. We will never force you to feel anything towards her but promise me that you will give her a chance.”

  Lovie sighed as she nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  I never thought I would feel like shit for giving my daughter what she’d always wanted. After kissing her on the back of her head, I headed to my room. Sandy yelled out and told me she was about to get Lovie ready for bed, and I started to tell her to let me handle that. I asked Lovie if she was cool with it and she said yea, so I let it ride.

  As I sat on the edge of the bed, I couldn’t get my mind of Genie. A part of me wanted to keep the lamp to remember her by, but she’d be trapped if I did. The least I could do was help her find a new master soon so she could get out. We discussed how much she wanted her freedom, and I was starting to feel like an asshole for not using one of my wishes to give it to her.

  Running my palms up and down my face, I sighed and tried to think of where I could take her lamp. The feel of Sandy’s hands on my shoulders didn’t do anything to relax me. In fact, it made me even more tense. I would have preferred her to be in Lovie’s room or in the guest room, but I couldn’t say that shit and not look like an asshole.

  “Where were you?” I asked, curious about heaven and hell. A part of me prayed she was in heaven, but who was to say?

  “Believe it or not, I was in hell. It wasn’t hot and what you would typically expect; it was actually my worse fear – over and over again on a loop. There was a pit of fire, but I wasn’t there yet. I don’t think people will actually be there until Judgment day. All you heard was yelling, crying, and screaming, it was horrible.” She sighed and shivered as she sat next to me. “So you can only imagine how grateful I am to be back.”

  I took her hand into mine to comfort her. “I’m glad you’re back too. And Lovie is as well. She just needs a little time to adjust. Plus, she’s missing Genie. So it’s a little hard for her to be happy about you when she’s sad about her.”

  Sandy nodded as she mumbled, “I understand, and I’m totally okay with giving her time. You too.”

  I looked over at her and she smiled. Finally, I felt a little flicker of something as I smiled back at her.

  “Since you’re handling this well, there’s something else that I feel like I can tell you now too. Or maybe I need to show you.”

  I never thought I’d be telling her or anyone else that I was of the Nairobi bloodline, but I felt like I could trust her with that truth at this point. Leading her into the bathroom, I turned the water on. When we were dating, I never went out while it rained or let her see me after my shower. In the beginning she questioned me about it but eventually she stopped and just assumed I was weird.

  After the water was warm enough, we stripped down and stepped inside. I got directly under the water and watched her watch me. Her mouth fell open as my hair turned blond and my skin turned red. Covering her mouth, she blinked rapidly and took a step back. Shaking her head, Sandy reached forward and almost touched me, but she yanked her hand back.

  “It’s okay,” I assured her.

  Slowly, she took two steps forward and touched my skin.

  “What’s happening?”

  “I’m of the Nairobi bloodline. That means I’m immortal. The only way I’ll die is if the woman I love dies. When we were together, I genuinely thought we were in love. But when I remained alive the day you gave birth… I realized I loved the idea of you being the mother of my child. I promised in that moment that I would live for as long as I could to make sure Lovie had at least one of her parents to look after her.”

  “Is this why you always said you never wanted marriage?”

  “Yea. I figured it was best if I just stayed away from this shit altogether. But when you got pregnant, I knew it wouldn’t be that easy. I wanted to do right by y’all and that’s why I proposed but…”

  “You never really loved me. Not for me at least.” I remained silent, not wanting to hurt her more by actually saying that out loud. “Thank you for telling me.”

  Sandy tried to step out of the shower, but I grabbed her arm and pulled her back into me.

  “I still can’t say that I’m comfortable with the idea of love and death, but I am comfortable with us seeing if there’s something between us. If you still want to.”

  She nodded softly as I wrapped my arms around her. I lowered my lips to hers and kissed her tenderly. While I didn’t feel anything emotionally, my dick did start to get hard. That was good enough, I guess. If I couldn’t have Genie… why not have a second chance with Sandy?

  I wasn’t expecting to get a new master this soon, but the moment my lamp was rubbed by a new hand I began to make my exit. It was really hard ignoring Hareem’s attempts to get my attention, but I felt that was for the best. The fact that he was trying to explain himself to me, however, that wasn’t necessary. At this point, reasoning didn’t matter, only the actions behind it.

  My landing was a bit smoother this time since I had my hands out to stop me from falling flat on my ass. Looking around, I chuckled at my surroundings.

  “Genie!”

  I’d never forget that sweet voice. Lovie quickly made her way over to me and wrapped her arms around my neck.

  “Hey, Lovie dovie! What’s going on?”

  “Daddy left your lamp on the coffee table and I rubbed it, so you’re mine now!”

  “Well…” I chuckled and shook my head as I hugged her back. “I am here to serve you, little one. What would you like to wish?”

  Lovie stepped out of my arms and looked down at me with pure determination on her face. “I want you to help me love my mommy.”

  Christ.

  Standing, I took her hand and led her over to her bed. We sat on the edge of it, and I began to rub her back as I thought of what to say.

  “Unfortunately, creating love is one of the two things I can’t do. I don’t possess that power. But you can try to get to know your mommy and connect with her, that way, you’ll learn to love her on your own.”

  She began to pout as she gave me a soft nod. “I guess,” she replied, making me smile. I ran my fingers through her hair before telling her to get back in bed so she wouldn’t get into trouble. When she asked me to sleep with her, I agreed.

  We were face to face, and she was trying her very hardest to keep her heavy eyes open. After yawning, Lovie whispered, “Do you know what I wish I could wish, Genie?”

  “What’s that,” I whispered back.

  “That you were my mommy.”

  My eyes watered as I smiled bitterly. Boy, how I wished I could be her mother. But that was impossible. Instead of replying, I kissed her forehead and told her to rest up so she could prepare to make her first wish tomorrow.

  It was Lovie’s bright idea that we surprised her father, so I went back into my lamp until it was time for breakfast before she went to school. When they called for her, I came out and walked into the dining room with her. At the sight of me, Sandy was visibly confused while Hareem’s expression was unreadable. All he did was stare at me as I slowly made my way inside. His eyes didn’t leave me, not even when Sandy asked who I was.

  “This is Genie. My Genie,” Lovie answered.

  Sandy looked at Hareem while she asked, “I thought she was gone after you wished for me?”

  “She was, but I rubbed the lamp, so I get three wishes now,” Lovie answered since Hareem was still staring at me.

  “Whatever. Lovie, do you want to sit by me, baby girl?”

  Lovie’s head shook rapidly as she grabbed my hand. “No. I want to sit by Genie.”

  Sandy’s smile turned into a scowl as she stared at me. “You can sit between us both,” I offered as Hareem stood from his seat.

  “I need to talk to you,” he requested, well demanded, gripping my wrist and tugging me out of the dining room. Pressing me against the wall he asked, “What’s going on, G?”

  I shrugged. “She rubbed the lamp.”

  He sighed as he released me. “Why didn’t you let me explain?”

  Looking away from him, I grabbed my stomach. It didn’t start giving me trouble until I came back here last night. Brushing it off, I scratched my scalp as I gave him my eyes.

  “It doesn’t matter. You made your wish and that’s it.”

  “I just… want you to know that…” He stepped closer. Pressed his body into mine. Rested his forehead against mine. Gripped my neck gently. Kissed my cheek softly. Blew an exhale against my ear that make me shudder. Whispered quietly, “I was falling for you. And the only reason I wished her back was for my daughter – not because I didn’t feel anything for you. Lovie deserved a mother, and you blessed her with that. But she has nothing to do with the love that I almost felt for you. Aight?”

  Blinking rapidly, I nodded softly. My heart needed that, even though my mind didn’t want to believe it. It felt nice to know that he felt something for me too. Nostrils flaring, I nodded again and tried to look away but his hand on my chin wouldn’t let me.

  “I was falling in love with you, Genevieve. And you know how dangerous that is for me. I can’t risk that.”

  “I know,” I whispered, voice shaking. But it was firmer when I repeated, “I know.”

  Cupping his cheeks, I fought not to kiss him, but Hareem covered my lips with his anyway. He sighed against them before sucking each one. “I missed your ass so much, G.” Before I could say it back, his tongue was slithering into my mouth and cutting me off.

  “Hareem! Your food is getting cold,” Sandy yelled.

  Punching the wall by the side of my head, Hareem pulled back and groaned. I wiped his lips gently as our eyes said the words we couldn’t. He was the first to look away, and when he did, I removed myself from between him and the wall. When we walked back into the dining room, I noticed that Sandy had pulled Lovie’s chair so close to hers that there was no room for her to get out on that side. I chuckled and shook my head as I sat down.

  As we ate, Sandy asked me what felt like a million questions. When I came back, when was I leaving, where was I going to go when I left, could I take my lamp with me to make sure no one else she knew could rub it.

  “Stop actin’ up,” Hareem ordered, not even bothering to look up at her as he cut his pancakes.

  By the end of breakfast, Lovie and Sandy were making small talk which led to them agreeing to wanting to see Meerah when Lovie got out of school. Since I couldn’t go to school with her, I went back into my lamp. There was no part of me that wanted to witness Sandy and Hareem interact with each other.

  When Lovie made it back home from school, I came back out of my lamp. Hareem had asked his mom to bring her home from school, and the moment she saw Sandy in the living room she began to sob. They ended up spending three hours catching up before Lovie was asking if she could spend the weekend at her grandparents place. At first, Sandy wanted her to stay, but then she mentioned having some alone time with Hareem and said she was cool with it.

  I couldn’t help but feel sick to my stomach thinking about her getting what I was getting from Hareem, but a part of me felt like he’d never be able to treat a woman the way he’d treated me for our brief time together. Per Lovie’s request, I sat in the backseat with her as Meerah drove back to her home. We talked on the way there, and I tried my hardest to be my normal cheerful self, but it was a little hard not to be sad at the thought of Hareem being with someone else.

  When we made it there, I spoke to Diesel and he pulled me into a bear hug as Meerah told Lovie to get settled in her room before dinner. As soon as Lovie left, Meerah asked me, “You’re in love with my son, aren’t you?”

  With a half smile, I looked up at Diesel as he leaned against the fireplace wearing his own smile.

  “Is it that obvious?”

  “Yes.”

  My tears began to fall as I covered my face. I tried to explain the situation to her through my hands, but since it came out muffled, she lowered them as Diesel handed me his handkerchief. I told them about the curse from Quenton and how I’d stupidly requested love for Hareem to fill my heart. Now, I was suffering watching him try to reconnect with someone else.

  “This isn’t his fault at all. He made it clear that he didn’t want love, but I chose to love him anyway. Besides, I’m a Genie – what chance could we really have to be together anyway?”

  “How would that have worked?” Diesel asked, sitting on the side of me.

  “Well, if I fell in love with a man who loved me, I would be free. My age would be whatever the age of my partner, and my last act of power would be to create the life and career I want before I lost it. I would be mortal, but there’s no doubt in my mind that it would be worth it.”

  “And that’s what he’s trying to avoid,” Diesel replied as Meerah sighed.

  “Right. I’ve always wanted my own family, and even though I knew it wouldn’t be forever, I felt like I halfway got that with Hareem and Lovie. Even you two. You all accepted me and welcomed me in with open arms.”

  Meerah took my hand into hers as her eyes watered. “I will always love Sandy as if she’s my daughter, but I felt an instant connection to you because…” Meerah paused and looked at Diesel. When he nodded, she continued. “I was a Genie too.”

  “What?”

  She nodded as her smile widened. “I was actually his father’s Genie. When Diesel and I first saw each other, it was love at first sight. And his father loved Diesel so much that he used his final wish to free me. That very, very rarely happens, so I understand your plight. But I want you to know that you will always be a part of this family. Genie or not, because you’ve given me three gifts that I can never repay you for. You brought Sandy back, you healed my granddaughter, and you softened my son’s heart. You sacrificed your happiness and desires for this family, and for that, we all will be eternally grateful, Genevieve.”

  Meerah pulled me into her arms, and the tears that I’d been holding in began to spill. I held her tight, feeling that feeling that I always wished I could have with my own mother. Diesel’s hand went to my back, and that only made me cry harder.

  “Hey! What did y’all do to my Genie?” I heard Lovie’s little feet running over to me and I laughed through my tears.

  “I’m okay, Lovie,” I assured her as Meerah released me. As I wiped my tears I asked, “I am anxious, little one, do you know what you want your first wish to be yet?”

  She nodded with a wide smile. “I do! I want a unicorn I can carry around all day. A small but real one that’s only for me!”

  “You better not get any unicorn poop on my floor,” Meerah warned as she stood and headed for the kitchen.

  “Don’t worry, unicorns poop candy,” I teased, getting a laugh out of Lovie that was like music that soothed my soul.

  Sandy and I hadn’t had sex yet, but I felt like that was about to change the moment she grabbed my dick. I’d just gotten out of the shower and was about to get some boxers out of my drawer when she helped herself to what used to be hers a while back. Not even bothering with foreplay or that romantic shit that she used to like, Sandy dropped to her knees and took my semi-hard dick into her hand. Her mouth wrapped around my shaft, and the warmth of it had me gripping the back of her head.

  The moment I closed my eyes I saw Genie, and it was weird as fuck because it felt like I was cheating on her. Not wanting my dick to get soft, I picked Sandy up and carried her to the bed. I yanked her skirt up and smiled at the sight of her peephole panties. The opening was right at her hole, so I didn’t have to take her panties off or push them to the side.

  Her pussy was glistening already. She was wet and ready. That made me a little harder, so I grabbed a condom out of my nightstand and slid inside.

  “I want to ride,” she requested, so I got on my back and let her take control.

  Before I could even lay down good, she was bucking hard as hell. Dropping down on my shit like that bitch did Bernie Mac on Soul Men. I gripped her hips and tried to slow her down but she wasn’t having that. The sex wasn’t sweet and passionate like it used to be; it was hard and rough – and I was wondering if hell had done that to her or if it was because it had been so damn long.

  “If you want this to last you need to slow your ass down,” I warned, but she ignored me and kept going wild on the dick.

  To keep from cumming soon, I closed my eyes and thought about my last time with Genie. I got so deep in my thoughts that I completely tuned Sandy out as she had her way with me. I didn’t come back to reality until I felt her slap the shit out of my chest as she came. When she came down from her orgasm, I causally pushed her off of me and sat on the edge of the bed. There was no point in me even faking like I’d cum. At that point, I was just glad the shit was over.

  She went into the bathroom to clean up and brought me a wet towel in the process. Didn’t seem like it was the right time to talk about this at all, but that didn’t keep Sandy from asking, “What’s the deal with Genie?”

  “What you mean?”

  “Why is she so close to Lovie?”

  “Genie saved her life. She set us up for life. And she brought you back. Plus, she’s a damn Genie. Of course Lovie is going to be attached to her.”

  “Are you?”

  I didn’t answer right away, and apparently, that was an answer to her. With a roll of her eyes, Sandy hopped off the bed and stormed into the bathroom as she grumbled under her breath. I wasn’t in the mood to argue with her, so I didn’t bother going behind her. This took me back to before she had Lovie and how we always argued over women. She was so damn insecure that I was always having to convince her that I wanted to be with her instead of someone else.

  “I just think it’s funny…” Sandy started in the bathroom. “How she can’t just go the fuck away. I think she wants you, and the way you look at her makes me feel like you want her too.”

 

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