19. Amina Sinclair #3
There were voices in my head, telling me not to open the message because I didn’t want it to mess up the good vibes that Gemini and I had going on. At the same time, if I didn’t check to see what he sent, it would nag at me during dinner, so I went ahead, and looked.
Jacob sent an image. It was a picture of my engagement ring that he’d given me.
The ring that I took off my finger and left at the house.
I didn’t see the purpose of holding onto it.
I knew that I would never go back to a man that humiliated me in that manner, so that’s why I left the ring.
Leaving the ring was my way of letting him know that there wouldn’t be any second chances.
The text message read…
Hey. Please don’t take this as me being petty or anything, but I went back to the jeweler today.
I didn’t have the ring on me, but I was able to speak with someone, let them know what happened, and they told me that I could get a full refund of the ring.
Before I do that, I wanted to make sure you didn’t want it back.
I put it on your finger, so technically, it belongs to you.
Can you please let me know by the end of the week?
If I don’t hear anything back from you, I’ll just assume that you’re okay with me getting rid of it. Take care.
I read the message twice, and each time I read it, it would piss me off even more.
Funny how he claimed in the message that he wasn’t trying to be petty, but that’s exactly what his ass was doing.
Jacob wasn’t hurting for money. He’s a fuckin millionaire.
The ring that he purchased for me was pricy indeed, but he makes that kind of money in a day if he settles on a good deal.
He could toss that ring out of the fuckin window, and for him, it still wouldn’t technically be a loss.
He sent this message to me today to be hurtful.
Well, at least he thought that it would hurt me.
It didn’t though. If I was in the same dark place that I was in two months ago, I’m sure this message would have hurt me to my core, but it didn’t today.
If anything, it gave me a feeling of luck.
I felt as if I’d dodged a bullet with Jacob.
Not wanting to hide this from Gemini, I handed him over my phone, so that he could see the message.
I watched as his eyes scanned up and down the message.
From the amount of time that he held the phone in his hands, I could tell that he read through it a couple of times, just like I had.
He didn’t look upset though. In fact, that same nonchalant look was on his face that was always there.
He handed the phone back to me, and slouched down in the seat a little bit, while raising his hands, so that he could place them behind his head.
“That message don’t have shit to do with a ring, love.
He don’t need your permission to sell the ring back.
Even if, you gave him permission when you left the ring at the house.
That nigga sent that message to get up under your skin, and to get your attention.
You picked up and left London, and you didn’t go out like a crash out dummy in front of him.
He would have loved to see you crash out over him.
It would have boosted his ego. Text that nigga back with a picture of us and tell him that your new nigga going to get you an even bigger one.
Tell him fuck that ring,” Gemini said with a look that was serious as hell on his face.
I laughed, thinking that he was bullshitting me, but when he didn’t laugh, or even smile back, that’s when I knew that he was serious.
The plan had been to ignore the message.
Jacob made it clear in his text that if I didn’t respond, that he would get rid of it, so that’s what I was going to do.
I liked Gemini’s plan a little better though.
I’ve never really been the tit for tat, petty kind of person, but I wanted to be that person tonight.
Because I did, I scooted even closer to Gemini, picked my phone up, and he lowered his head, so that he could stick it into the crook of my neck.
His beard tickled me a little bit when he did that.
I went for the camera app, had the camera face us, and all I could do was smile when I saw all this chocolate looking back at me.
Gemini didn’t even have to pose. His face was the pose.
That face on him was out of this world. All he had to do was look into the camera, while I smiled.
I snapped the picture, and we did another one, where he kissed me on my neck. I took a couple more, and once I finished, I sent two of the images to Jacob, with a text that read…
You can keep it. My man said that he’s going to get me an even bigger one.
I knew that message was going to bring him down to his knees.
Jacob didn’t expect me to move on. Hell, I didn’t expect me to move on.
When I left London, I’d already told myself that I was going to be single for many years because I no longer trusted men.
If I was shocked by my own actions, and the fact that I’d gotten with a man, and fallen in love so fast, I could only imagine what Jacob’s reaction was going to be towards it.
I sat the phone down on the table, and at the same time, our waitress came over with the bottle of wine for us. She showed us the bottle, allowing us to see it, and make sure that it was the correct one, and from there, she opened it.
She poured a sample for Gemini, and me. We sipped it, assured her that it was good, and that’s when she poured us a complete serving of it.
We put an order in for appetizers after that.
Since neither one of us been here before, we ordered a few different appetizers, wanting to get a chance to experiment with different things.
After that, the waitress walked away, and I picked up my wine glass, motioning with my hand for Gemini to pick his up as well, and he did just that.
“I want to toast to the birthday boy. You are a remarkable man, Gemini. Erica and Darnell did a damn good job raising you. You are the man that I would want our son to mirror. I love your work ethic. Your ability to work before the sun comes up, and long after it goes down. You do it without any complaints too. Even with the long workdays that you have, you have a way of making me feel like you still see me on the truck with you. I was at my lowest when I got on the truck with you, but somehow, you managed to pull me out of it. All the truck stops, the never-ending highways, and the late-night conversations that we’ve shared together…
you became home for me,” I paused after that because my voice shook.
I was getting emotional. That’s how deep my love for this man was. When I spoke about him, and his love, it put me in my feelings quickly.
“I want God to continue to bless you in the way that he’s already have.
Bless your mind, your health, your business, and the road that you continue to travel.
Here’s to 36 years old, baby. Happy birthday, Gemini,” I finished, raising my glass in the air, and he did the same. We toasted together and drank our wine.
“That was so beautiful, baby. Thank you,” he said to me, motioning with his hand for me to lean into him.