Chapter 8 #3
The box opened, and her breath hitched as her eyes widened a little, then softened as a slow smile crept up her mouth.
There was a slight pause as if something in the air had shifted.
Lex ran her finger over the charm gently, almost reverently, and looked up at me with a look in her eyes.
It wasn’t uncomfortable, but powerful, like an unspoken feeling that we were both on the exact same page.
It was then that I realized she knew exactly why I’d gotten her that charm.
Even if we never spoke about what went down at the cabin again, the charm would always speak for itself, serving its purpose as a silent but unforgettable memory.
“Why are you trying to get me in my feelings tonight?” she teased, but her voice was soft, almost too light to be joking.
“Does that mean you like it?”
She nodded while turning the charm over in her fingers as if she didn’t want to stop touching it.
I didn’t want her to either. I stepped closer to her, maybe a bit awkwardly, or maybe even too fast as if I was scared I’d change my mind if I thought about it too much.
To my surprise, Lex also stepped forward and wrapped her arms around my waist, hugging me longer than I expected.
She pulled away and smiled. “It’s beautiful, Oak. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Lex,” I replied before lightly kissing the top of her head.
The next few weeks seemed to zoom right past my black ass. By the time I looked up, I was already a little less than a month away from closing on my new house, which meant Lex’s wedding was right around the corner.
My phone dinged with a text just as I hopped out of my truck wearing a hoodie. I shoved my hands into the front pocket and pulled it out as I made my way to the construction site for the pre-drywall walk-through of my new home. It was a text from Yasmine.
Yasmine:
I’m free later tonight for drinks if you wanna meet.
We’d been texting here and there since our run-in at the mall, but I still hadn’t made time to solidify a link up.
My mind and my heart had been too consumed with other things.
One being my new house. It was hard to believe that I was getting closer and closer to calling it mine.
I purchased the land over a year ago, and construction began six months later as part of a seven-home community, with four bedrooms and bathrooms and over three thousand square feet of living space.
From the outside, I enjoyed the modern look with brick accents and oversized windows.
Inside were more large windows on every floor to let in natural light, a gas fireplace, and a chef’s kitchen that would have top-of-the-line appliances and custom cabinets.
Upstairs were three bedrooms—two for guests, and the spacious master suite with two walk-in closets, an ensuite bathroom with a frameless glass shower, a freestanding tub, and heated floors.
But my favorite part of the house’s layout was the top floor, which opened to a roof deck with an outdoor fireplace.
It offered more privacy and shade from the sun or other weather elements with the built-in pergola.
At move-in, even the basement would be finished with a wet bar, additional bedroom, and another bathroom with heated flooring.
Now that I’d seen the space in its entirety, the blueprints and all the months of waiting didn’t do it justice.
Everything about it was perfect, and since I was about to have more space than I knew what to do with, all I had to do was find the right woman to share it with.
But deep down, I knew I’d already found her.
It was the type of place I could see Lex turning into a real home.
All she had to do was unleash her womanly touch.
With every room I drifted into, I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about what she’d say or the things we’d do in them.
It didn’t matter how much I tried to fight it; I couldn’t stop thinking about her if a nigga had a gun to my head.
She was the missing piece to my puzzle and always had been.
My phone rang, dragging me out of my thoughts. I fished it out of my pocket to see Liv’s name and photo on my screen. I hovered my thumb over the accept button before placing the phone to my ear. “Sup?”
“Oak?” Liv replied, sounding like she had a frog caught in her throat.
“What the hell wrong with you? You sick or something?”
“I think . . . no, I know I have food poisoning. I went out to this Chinese spot down the way from the hospital to grab the lunch special with one of my coworkers, and I haven’t been able to come out of the bathroom since.”
“Damn. What you callin’ me for? You need some Pepto or somethin’?”
She smacked her lips into the receiver. “No, boy. I was supposed to go with Lex this afternoon to her final dress fitting, but I seriously feel like death on steroids right now and won’t be making it anywhere for the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours.
Can you pleaseeeeee go to the bridal shop and FaceTime me so that I can see her?
" she begged. “I swear I wouldn’t even be calling you if it wasn’t important. ”
“So, she’s still marryin’ ol’ boy, huh?” I probed, feeling jealousy prickle underneath the surface of my dark chocolate skin.
“Yeah, she is,” she confirmed. “So, you need to go ahead and get a tux, suit, or whatever black-tie attire you’re gonna get soon because we’re less than a month away and counting.”
“Oh shit. I didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“They moved my closing date to the Thursday before the wedding. The movers can’t come get me into my new place until the next day, so I won’t be your plus-one after all,” I explained.
“Are you serious right now?”
“Dead serious.”
“So, now all of a sudden you’re okay with being the only Gray not in attendance?”
I sucked my teeth out of frustration, not wanting to talk about Lex’s wedding or see her in the dress she was going to wear for another nigga—one that I knew was no good for her. “It is what it is, right? Why can’t you ask her to FaceTime you?”
“Because she doesn’t want to be there alone, Oak!
Dress fitting is the type of things girls dream about doing with their mothers and grandmothers or at least besties and aunties.
All Lex has is me and Mama, and Mama is volunteering down at the nursing home with the missionaries from her church this afternoon and can’t go. ”
I pulled the phone away from my ear long enough to check the time. It was already half past one. “What time is the dress fitting?”
“At two,” she verified.
“She know I’m comin’?”
“No. I haven’t told her yet. I’m about to send you the address, but right now, I gotta—”
Her incomplete sentence was followed by a distant retching sound, and I already knew what time it was.
My face screwed up in disgust as I quickly ended the call and slid my phone back into my pocket to continue on my way back to the truck.
A few minutes later, it dinged with back-to-back texts from Liv.
Liv:
3211 North Hampshire Road Suite 102.
I let her know you were coming.
I copied it into my GPS, and luckily, it was only a twenty-minute drive from my new place.
Me:
Bet. On the way.
I arrived at the bridal shop situated on the corner, beating the estimated arrival time on my GPS by two minutes.
The bell on the door chimed as I stepped inside.
The first thing I noticed was the gleaming hardwood floor that I could damn near see my reflection in.
That, and the multi-tiered crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
A woman wearing a yellow T-shirt that read “Fall in love at Glenda’s Bridal Boutique” and black slacks approached me with a bright smile.
“Hello, welcome to Glenda’s Bridal Boutique. How can I help you today?”
“I’m looking for someone. Her name is Alexis Rosewood. She’s supposed to have a fitting here.”
“Of course. I recently took her up to our try-on area on the second floor. You can follow me.”
I dipped my chin before following her to the elevator next to the stairs, with its railings wrapped in twinkling fairy lights.
On the second floor, the elevator doors opened up to a velvet gray love seat with throw pillows that read “She Said Yes” and “I Do Crew” stationed behind a round platform with oversized floor mirrors ahead of it.
Off to the side was a row of dressing rooms, and a collection of veils, belts, shoes, and other bridal accessories on display.
In the middle of the floor were three headless mannequins wearing designer dresses, with racks of wedding gowns of all shapes and sizes behind them.
I’d never felt so out of place among all the frills and fluff.
“You can have a seat right over there in the waiting area,” she advised, gesturing toward the love seat. “Can I get you anything? Water? A glass of champagne or some sparkling cider?”
I swung my head. “I’m good for right now, thanks.”
“Okay. Let me know if you need anything.”
I marched toward the love seat and folded my tall frame into the seat, resting my back against one of the pillows.
As soon as I went to pull out my phone to call my sister, I heard someone talking from behind me.
I twisted my neck to see Lex walking toward me with a woman behind her who was carrying her sweeping, floor-length train.
She looked like a model straight off a magazine cover.
Her ivory gown was filled with sequins from head to toe.
The dress seemed to mold to her curves in the most perfect way, almost as if it had been painted on.
The skin-toned mesh around her plunging V-cut neckline distracted me, making me lick my lips.