Now that he was getting somewhere with Aida, working out the details for what they were going to do about telling his son, he felt better about things. This was not going to be easy, coming in and rocking his son's world. Things could go wrong.

What if he hated him because of it?

What if he never wanted to see him again?

What if he was not able to be a father to him?

He struggled so much with thinking negative thoughts. Davina was still mad at him so he couldn't call her up and talk with her. Nova was busy with her sister and brothers. He called up his friend slash manager Fabian.

"But this is what you wanted lil boy, your son."

"I know," he said, with a rub through his locs as he lay in his hotel bed, thoughts of his son hating him raced through his mind. "I didn't even think I wanted to be a father till I saw him. He didn't deserve any of this. If I could take it back I would. I would be there for him since day one."

"And this girl...that you're chasing after. You would be with her, right?"

He didn't even know if that was true. He liked to think Nova would still want him knowing he had a kid with a random girl he never cared about. At least it was not Starchima who she did not like.

"I love Nova, she loves me, we would have made it work." He was sure of that. "Maybe we would have our own kids too." He grinned at that thought.

"Look here Mister Man before you get into the Happily Ever After Fairy Tale life...that ain't how it happened!" Fabian was quick to destroy his high. "And you said this baby momma is going to ask for lots of money and child support now. She knows you have it and she could take everything you've worked for."

"No. No, Aida isn't doing this for the money. My sister...my sister is doing that because she's upset with me."

"Your own sister trying to drain you dry?"

"It's not like that. I will pay whatever I need for my son. I can make more money."

"Can you now? You've been in St. Louis too long and I can't hold back these producers wanting you to come out to L.A. to do this screen test."

"I'm already booked to leave in three weeks."

"I know, but they want you to come out to test for another film. Malik, this might be good for you and you need the work. You need the paycheck."

He was right about that. If he wanted to continue to enjoy his lifestyle and give his son whatever he needed, he needed to have more.

And then there was Nova.

"Book me a flight out and let me know."

He hung up the phone with his friend. He did not want to leave Nova, not right now. She was almost done with the school year and that would mean more time with her. Then he would be leaving St. Louis and not have much more time with her.

He had to convince her somehow to move with him.

The next day he planned on spending the whole day with Nova, then he got a call from Aida.

"I told him Michael was not his father."

"Whoa! Already?" He was afraid to know how his son reacted to that but he needed to know. "How is he? Is he okay?"

"He cried. He said he hates me. He wants to go live with Michael because he really thinks that man cares about him. I don't know what to do."

He could hear Aida sniffling. He knew this would not be easy, but he had to believe he was doing the right thing.

"Did you tell him about me?"

"No! How can I even...how can I even get into that right now when he hates me right now." She stopped to blow her nose. "He doesn't want to talk to me. My parents took him out for a while to calm him down."

"Can I...can we tell him together? That way maybe he can take his anger out on me. It's my fault we're in this situation."

"I don't know."

"Aida, I want my son to know who I am. I'll be a man about this. If he doesn't want to see me or have a relationship with me, I can accept that. I will try anyway. I will still support you and my son with whatever you need."

"Malik, this is a lot. I can't..."

"Just let me meet with him again. Trust me."

"Okay."

"And can I bring a friend?"

He had to have Nova there with him. If his son rejected him, then he still had her. After he got off the phone with Aida, he got himself ready for the day. Showered, shaved, pulled his locs back with a hair tie, and dressed in jeans and a Cardinals jersey he bought since being back. He felt like he was going on a date, but the date was with his son. He paced around the hotel suite, getting his nerves together. He was in movies and TV shows with some of the biggest celebrities, but none made him this nervous.

He texted Nova to let her know he would be there soon. He left his suite and made his way to her place which was a lot closer now because he chose to stay in a hotel suite in downtown St. Louis. A short drive and he found a parking spot and headed to her place.

When she let him in, she had her hair back in twists hanging down to her waist, wore tiny shorts showing her slim, toned legs, and a short shirt bearing her small waist and flat stomach. She looked amazing. He was so in love with her his heart sputtered seeing her.

"Hey." She greeted him with a peck on his lips. "You okay?"

He wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her close to him. "I love you, that's all."

She smiled and squeezed him tight to her.

"I know I said we would do something fun today, but I...I need you to do something with me."

"Okay, what is it?"

"Go see my son with me."

He did not know how she would react to that, but she simply nodded.

"Okay." She looked down at herself. "Can I go change?"

"Why? You look good." He gave her a long, intense kiss. "And sexy."

"I don't think meeting your young, impressionable son I want to look sexy." She pulled away from him and started to walk off.

"Anything you wear will be sexy to me, just saying."

She did a quick change into a long, flowing dress and topped it with a floppy straw hat, and grabbed a pair of sunglasses. He took her hand and they left her building to get into his car.

Aida said she had not told Anthony anything and they could meet at the park again. He hoped things worked out. He was so scared things could go left.

"He's your son Malik. And he's young. He has a right to feel upset about these things, but he will realize you're here for him now."

"I should have been there for him from day one."

"Can't change the past, so just look forward."

They made it to Tower Grover Park and found a picnic table where they could sit. He was more nervous than the last time. Nova could see he was nervous and grabbed his hand and held it. Then he saw Aida and Anthony approaching. He was glad his son came and he appeared to be calm.

They sat across from them, Anthony across from Nova, Aida across from him.

He was speechless, he did not know what to say. He looked to Aida to start the conversation. Aida was about to say something when Anthony said something first.

"Who are you?" His question was directed towards Nova.

"My name's Nova, I'm a friend of Malik's."

"She's my girlfriend," he said, squeezing her hand. "I wanted her to come meet you."

"Oh," he said, looked towards him, blinked his eyes then said, "You're my father. I figured that out."

He was shocked, he did not know what to say. Of course, he figured it out. Big change going on in his life, what was different? Meeting a random guy his mother introduced him to. He had to see they had the same eyes and similar features. He was a smart kid.

Anthony's attention turned back to Nova. "I've never seen someone as dark as you."

What was he supposed to say to that?