Epilogue
O ne Year Later ...
I groaned as I stood up from the recliner chair.
I could hear the loud screams and laughs from outside as I rose to my feet.
I checked the time on my phone, and it was a little after three p.m., and I knew the party was on the way.
Before I could gather the rest of my thoughts, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," I called.
I already knew who it was, but she made a vow never to enter my man cave without an invitation.
She wanted to give me respect and space, even though I didn't care if she barged in or not.
I smiled at Mila as her beautiful face peered in the doorway.
Her skin glistened under the light. She rocked long, black, small braids that damn near touched the floor.
She had on a yellow flowing sundress, and her breasts sat at attention.
"You're up, sleepyhead?" she asked, smiling.
"I am." I walked over toward her, pulling her further into the room, kissing her lips. I smacked her ass as she giggled.
"Don't start your shit, Trey. The party just started, and people are asking about you. The kids are in the pool, and the caterer is here. Everyone is looking for you, including your mama. She said that if your narrow ass isn't outside in five minutes, she's coming up here to get you herself."
I shrugged. "Does it look like I care? They can wait longer."
I rubbed my hand up her thigh, and she swatted my hand away. "I'm not playing with you, Trey. Put a decent shirt on and get out there."
"Yes, ma'am," I joked.
She went to leave, but I stopped her. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to go tell everyone that you're on the way."
"Nah, I want you to walk out with me."
She raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Come on and stop being silly."
"I'm not," I insisted, sliding my shirt over my head. "This wouldn't have happened had it not been for you. We share this together."
"Trey..."
"If it weren't for you and your dedication, I wouldn't be opening the new offices. You played a huge hand in this through the recruitment, the decorating, the design, and the layout. This is just as much of your win as it is mine."
"I-I don't know what to say."
"Say nothing. Just make sure you're on my arm when we walk through the door. Let Chasity or Trina know to send KJ up here."
"Babe, he's wet from being in the pool."
"That's okay. That's just letting everyone know how authentic we are." I kissed her cheek.
"He's gonna be mad you're pulling him out of the pool with his cousins," Mila voiced as she pulled out her phone to call Chasity.
I shrugged. "My boy knows I'll make it up to him, so it's all good."
While she told Chasity to send KJ up, I checked myself in the mirror to make sure I was presentable to our guests.
Today we had close friends and family over at the house to celebrate the opening of my two new offices.
Even though I had decided not to open the two, Mila would not let me put my goals on hold.
She came up with the idea of hiring two managers to run each office.
Due to our attending the real estate conference, she was able to connect with a few people who she thought would be good for the job.
She also played a part in the hiring process of agents and office managers.
She had been informally coined the title of HR of Houston Realtor.
Mila pushed me and threatened to walk away from all of this if I didn't open the offices.
Her threat scared me, and I moved forward, with her by my side, calling the shots.
Mila owned that role. The way she took meetings, held trainings, and sometimes had to put a motherfucker in their place, she killed it.
She even fell so in love with her duties that she enrolled back in school for human resources.
She had found a passion, and it was all on her own.
This celebration wouldn't be happening if it weren't for her.
I smiled at Mila as she typed away on her phone. She was focused and determined.
"Work shit?"
She looked at me and sighed. "How did you know?"
"I know there ain't no man out here alive crazy enough to text that fucking phone. Plus, when you're focused, your eyebrows pinch in."
"You swear you know me."
"I do, but what's going on?"
"I'm waiting on a background check from the office manager for office location one.
He starts in two weeks, so I don't have time for them to be dragging ass!
I'm sending the company an email letting them know that if I don't have the background check in my inbox by Monday.
They might as well close their company when I finish with them. "
I laughed.
She pouted. "It's not funny."
"Aw, I know, baby. I'm not laughing at you. I just think it's cute as hell when you go into bossy mode."
"Really?"
I nodded, making my way toward her. "Yep." I pecked her lips. "When I think about it, I think that's how I fell head over heels with your cute lil' rude ass."
She sucked her teeth and laughed. "Yeah, right, you told my boss on me and tried to get me fired."
We both laughed.
"Nah, baby, that was just a test to see if you're really about that life."
"Whatever, Trey. I know if I had lost my job that day, I would've really shown your ass rude."
"I still would've hired you, boo." I kissed her lips.
"Swear?"
"Swear."
I kissed Mila again, but this time I added more tongue and gripped her ass.
I nibbled on her tongue and softly bit at her lips.
I bricked as the kiss intensified. Our guests would have to wait.
There was no way I was going to let Mila walk out of this room without a taste.
I lifted her dress and pulled at her panties, and as soon as I felt her wetness drip on my finger, the door flew open.
"Mommy, Auntie Chas said you needed me!" KJ's little voice declared as he ran into the room dripping wet. Even though he had a towel wrapped around him, it did him no justice.
"Yes, baby, I did. Mr. Trey wants us to walk in with him," Mila explained, jumping out of my grip.
KJ looked over at me with big, bright eyes. "I get to have everyone cheering and looking at me."
"Yeah, my man," I said, squatting down to this level. "Remember how you were helping Mommy put paper in the folders? Or even when you made sure Spider-Man was playing on the TVs during the interviews? You helped open these offices just as much as we did."
KJ's smile grew bigger but then dropped. "Wait, can I go to my room and get something?"
I nodded. "Yeah, go ahead, my dude."
KJ ran out of his room, and I couldn't control my stupid grin.
I got a kick out of KJ running up and down the halls of our home.
Just a year ago, I watched the color in Mila's face disappear because KJ had a medical scare.
It took Mila a while to even let him get back to being a normal kid, of ripping and running, but with time and patience, she let him get back to being a normal kid.
She even let him sign up for T-ball, but she made sure everyone had his asthma pump on them.
"I wonder what he's going to go do."
"Ain't no telling what KJ's got up his sleeve."
We walked out into the hall and met KJ. He had on a suit coat.
"Son, where are you going with this formal coat?"
KJ tugged on the collar and deepened his voice. "I want everyone to know I'm the man in charge, too! Mr. Trey always wears his jacket, so I'm going to wear mine."
Mila looked back at me, and I tried my best to hide my laugh.
"You're going to pay for the dry cleaning," Mila informed me under her breath.
"I got you," I whispered.
"Looking good, my man. Let me know where you got that coat from, so I can cop one."
"Yes, sir." KJ grinned.
I looked at Mila. "Ready, baby?" I asked with my hand out, waiting for her to accept.
She placed her hand in mine, then nodded. "Ready, KJ?"
"Yes, Mommy."
"Let's go, y'all."
We walked out of the house and were greeted with applause by all our close friends and family. We wanted to keep the event intimate and low-key.
"Thanks, everybody, for being here this evening. I can say I'm truly blessed that I could open two offices, which means more people in houses and more money in my pocket."
Everyone laughed.
"But in all seriousness, I wouldn't have been able to do this had it not been for my support system, but I wanted to give a huge shout-out to my partner in all of this."
I looked over at Mila. She smiled at me.
"Mila, thank you for supporting me through all of this. Even when you tried to run away from a nigga."
"Don't forget how she tried to check your manhood in Justine's," Chasity shouted out.
A few of the people laughed while Mila tried to hide her face. I pulled her and kissed her forehead.
"Shit, it's all good. If she hadn't, I would've missed out on the opportunity of falling in love for the first time."
The crowd swooned at my admission.
"Alright, y'all cut all that sappy shit, but for real, thank y'all." I looked over at Mila. "Do you have anything you want to say?"
"Oh wow, just put me on the spot. Um, many of you know my story, and you remind me every chance you get how you're proud of me, and I thank you all for that, along with the reassurance and the words of encouragement. Thank you."
Mila sighed and turned to me.
"To my man, thank you for everything, and when I mean everything, I mean everything. From day one, you saw me for me and would travel far and wide for me, and it never went unnoticed. Thank you for helping me find myself again. I love you."
"I love you, too." I kissed her lips.
"When's the wedding?" someone shouted.
"In due time, but until then, y'all enjoy each other's time and company."
Mila and I had discussed marriage on many occasions.
I was ready to pop the question, but Mila wasn't ready yet.
She wanted to give herself time, and I respected that, but sooner or later, I knew that as soon as I proposed to her, we're going to the courthouse that day. There was no way I would lose Mila.
"Hey, babe. I'm going to take KJ's coat back in the house. It's already damped. I don't want it to get worse."
"Yeah, I'll walk with you."
"Don't try any freaky stuff."
I held my hand up, surrendering. "I can't make no promises."
She giggled as we walked toward the laundry room of the house. I watched as she hung the jacket on a hanger. Regardless of opening the offices, being with Mila still topped the success.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" she asked.
"I like what I see," I said.
"No, sir, we're not doing this. I told you, we have guests that we need to entertain."
"Don't get me wrong, I want to rip that beautiful yellow dress off you and bend you over, but I'm staring because I was just thinking about how blessed I am to have someone like you."
"Aw baby," she cooed, walking into my arms.
"I'm blessed to have you, too."
"You know there's nothing I wouldn't do for you, right?"
"You sure?" she said, smiling.
I nodded.
"Fight a dog?"
"Yep."
"Ride a bull?"
"Sure would?"
"Sign up to help the one hundred men fight a gorilla?" She laughed.
"Hell yeah, on the front line, especially for you."
"How sweet of you." She pecked my lips while laughing.
"Anything for you, baby, anything for you."