Epilogue
EIGHT MONTHS LATER
“Stop it,” I giggled and elbowed Dyani lightly.
She cut her eyes at me but didn’t bother asking what I was talking about because she already knew.
It was the death stare she was giving Arris while he spoke to a group of women.
He wore sweatpants with his D-Ville flag hanging out of the pocket and a black shirt looking like a fucking slut and smiling all in those hoes’ faces, so I understood her frustration.
But I also knew Arris was loyal and honest and we had nothing to worry about, even if the women did start flirting with him.
He was networking and this new tattoo shop was a big deal for him, but even then I could admit I understood what Dyani saw. After all the tattoos he’d done for DP, I also thought he would have more male clientele than what had shown up so far.
However, ever since his work had made rounds on social media, there were people of all different walks of life trying to get him to tattoo them and they weren’t shy about showing up and showing out with money in hand.
It was a good look for him and his pockets.
I couldn’t fault him for the hustle and the way money just falling into his lap made it possible for him to renovate the shop and really make it his own.
He’d been able to take the cash and work out of another shop while fully renovating this one. Now the day of his grand reopening had finally come to fruition.
“Come on. Look at our man looking all proud and excited,” I offered.
“And sexy,” Dyani added.
“I mean yeah, but baby, he always looks sexy.”
“You’re right.”
She exhaled and pulled her eyes from him. I grabbed her hips and pulled her into me.
“Arris would be a fucking idiot to do anything to jeopardize his relationship with us, especially after…” I held my hand up and Dyani smiled softly as she looked down at her own wedding ring.
Arris had proposed to each of us only a few days apart.
He proposed to me with Blake in attendance at the little diner where we’d had our first date over a decade ago.
Of course I said yes and afterward I’d helped him plan his proposal for Dyani.
He’d done it with a painting he paid to have in a secluded part of a venue she was touring.
Naturally, she also said yes and the three of us had gone through a binding ceremony and immediately filed the proper paperwork to make sure we had rights in our relationship, even if we weren’t legally married.
We were married in all the ways that counted to us.
She exhaled.
“Yeah. I know.” She looked back at Arris again. “I’m just going to get a drink and do my best to not mean mug any woman who wants to take a picture with him.”
“You’re doing great so far.” I leaned in and kissed her. “Let’s get a drink in you, baby.”
We held hands while we went to the drink area and each got one. Then we settled in a little corner together. I looked back and forth around the room while we drank.
The shop looked amazing and the longer I stared at everything, the happier I got for Arris. I knew he’d worked hard for his own shop and he’d been beaming all day. He was happy, genuinely happy. That was something I was consistent in wanting for everyone involved, happiness.
I took Dyani’s empty glass as soon as she finished and grabbed another.
After she finished her second, the two of us went to the restroom to make sure our hair and makeup were still good and peed. Then we headed back out and I damn near did a double take.
What had originally been a small, welcoming event had morphed into a full blown party. DP members had made it over. I hugged and dapped up the ones I knew and introduced Dyani to the ones who hadn’t met her yet.
Apparently, there was a new DP member and he was seated damn near in the center of the room while Arris tattooed a small DP tattoo on the back of his shoulder.
A circle of people watched Arris work and I tried to focus on his artistry rather than how sexy he looked when he was locked in.
My eyes tried to stay on his hands but kept drifting to his face instead.
I shook my head at myself.
He finished relatively quickly and greeted more new arrivals. He worked the room like he was meant to do it.
Dyani excused herself to head toward her brother when he walked in.
I remained where I was, and when Arris finished making the rounds, he gravitated toward me.
“How are you holding up?” he asked immediately.
I grinned.
“This is a huge day for you and you’re asking about how I’m doing?”
“Yeah and you didn’t answer the question.” He grabbed my waist and pulled me in.
“I’m good.”
“You sure?”
“Mhm.”
Arris tucked me into his side and kissed my head. I looked up at him while he scanned the room for our other third.
“Dyani isn’t a fan of all the women hanging all over you,” I announced.
“For real?”
“For real.”
“Man, I don’t want none of them bitches.” He looked down at me.
“You better not.” I cut my eyes at him and he grinned.
“You already know how I feel about y’all. Even when I was a young nigga going through puberty, I never played about my loyalty to you.”
“Yeah, I know. You’ve always been a loverboy.”
“You fucking right. The fuck I want to do with some random hoes when I have perfectly loyal women at home?”
“And you better never forget it.”
“I won’t. I promise.” He winked at me. “Come on. Let’s check on Yani too.”
His hand slid down to mine and he led me over to Dyani standing with two DP wives and smiling softly.
“You good?” He let my hand go to pull her in.
“Mhm.”
“You sure?” His large hands spread across her hips and Dyani lifted her arms around his neck.
“Mhm.”
He locked eyes with her. “You know I love you, right?”
A huge smile took over Dyani’s face.
“I love you too.”
They kissed quickly then Arris smacked her on the ass and looked at me while his hand rested there.
“Y’all want to make the rounds with me?” he asked.
“No, thank you. Get out there and network, baby,” I said.
“You sure?”
“Yep.”
“Yani?”
“I’m good. I promise.”
“Alright. I’ll be back.” He leaned down and kissed Dyani quickly then me then headed back into the fray.
Dyani and I just hung out with some of the DP women, occasionally catching Arris’s eye when he checked on us and we checked on him from around the room.
He held the opening at night since he planned on the tattoo shop not even opening until around five or six p.m. and staying open all night.
That meant the get together felt a little more like a party, minus the drinking.
He refused to invest in alcohol, saying the last thing he needed was drunk niggas staggering around all the glass cases and stuff he had set up, especially after knowing firsthand how much money and time it took to fix the place once it was messed up.
The little party feel was also why around midnight Arris stood near the front door and whistled to get everyone’s attention.
“Ay, yo!” he called. “Everybody shut up!” He waited a moment and people turned to look at him.
“I just want to thank y’all for coming out tonight and celebrating this with me.
I, uh, I’ve thought about opening my own shop for a while; so this is a big deal to me and I wouldn’t be here without most of y’all.
So just real quick, let me fire this off because I’d feel fucked up if I didn’t take a moment to publicly appreciate y’all.
Thank you to DP first of all for letting me practice on you niggas and being my first clients, paying and unpaying, broke asses,” he joked.
One of them yelled, “fuck you” and several other members laughed.
“Thank you Alex for giving me my first internship and selling me this spot. Thank you to my family: my parents, Jayme’s parents, and all of our annoying ass siblings for all y’all did helping out with shit when I was struggling to find my style and clients, and last but not least, thank you to Jayme and Dyani.
” He held his hands out toward us. “Bring y’all fine asses up here, please.
” He waited patiently while I grabbed Dyani’s hand and led her up to our man.
“I just want to publicly thank y’all for everything that you do—loving me, supporting me, and helping me be the man I feel like I was meant to be.
Everything I do is for y’all and Blake and I want to make that clear to everybody here, all of our friends and family and potential clients.
I’m in love with these women and I’m not going to fuck it up.
So uh, all single women in attendance, please don’t flirt with me or try to fuck me, because Jayme gon’ knock yo’ head back.
Thank y’all for coming, but uh, get the fuck out.
” Arris laughed but he wasn’t joking. “Not you, Alex!” he called. “See me after this.”
People gravitated toward the door and Arris thanked some of them personally as they headed out. It took a good thirty minutes to get everyone out. Then he led us over to Alex.
“What’s up, A?” Alex asked.
“I want you to tattoo me in honor of my grand opening.”
“For real?” Alex grinned.
“I’m down with that. What do you want?”
“I want you to add a frame around the bird on my neck and I picked out the art I want you to add to it.”
“Alright.” Alex nodded. “I can do that.”
“And then,” Arris reached back and grabbed each of our hands, “I want you to tattoo their signatures on me too.”
“What?” Dyani asked immediately.
“You heard me,” Arris deadpanned. “I want y’all to sign me.”
“And put it where?” I asked.
“Other side of my neck?”
“You said that like a question and not a statement, Arris,” I accused. “Did you actually think about this?”
“As much as I needed to. I love y’all and know we’re not breaking up, so this ain’t even that big of a deal. Just sign the paper and come on, Jay.”
“Alright.” I didn’t bother arguing my case because we already had tattoos in honor of each other. “Get me the paper.”
“Already on it,” Alex announced.
Dyani looked between me and Arris.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“Dyani, I’m just as sure of this as I am that we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together.” He grinned at her. “Let’s do it.”
“Okay.” She nodded.
Alex came over with the sheet he wanted us to sign and we both gave it a shot. I re-signed my name three times before I liked one and Dyani re-signed hers fourteen different times.
In the end Arris got our names tattooed on the back of his hand, me on the right and Dyani on the left. Then, because he was a tattoo addict, he announced it looked too plain and made us pick out our favorite flowers. He added them to our names. Then he put Blake’s name on his side.
Honestly, it inspired me. So after Alex was paid and headed out, I ended up letting Arris tattoo Dyani’s favorite flower on me too and I got it right next to the rose I’d gotten for DP.
Dyani committed to her first tattoo afterwards, a rose on her hip that mirrored mine.
We cleaned up together, locked up the shop, and called Darryl’s parents to talk to Blake since they were babysitting. He was taking the family transition amazingly. He loved Dyani and wanted her over all the time anyway, so it just worked out.
We knew when he got older he’d have questions and we would answer them, but as of right now, there wasn’t much reason to inform him of specifics. Arris and I agreed on that.
We all took showers then collapsed in bed where we fell into each other in a heap of light touches, passionate kisses, and breathtaking orgasms that carried us to exhaustion.
When I fell asleep, it was with my head laid in the crook of Dyani’s chest while she lay on Arris’s arm. I knew without a doubt everything was exactly what it was supposed to be.