Chapter 14 #2
“Don’t thank me yet.” I turned and left his office, heading to meet up with Messiah.
I pulled up to the location Messiah sent me.
It was in the Fashion District on Livernois.
I found a parking spot and walked into the shoe store, seeing him sitting on the bench next to some Caucasian bitch, who was sitting a little too close.
Her faulty-ass boob job was spilling from the top of her dress, and her funky ass was smiling way too hard as she showed him whatever photo they were looking at in the magazine.
I cleared my throat extra loud. “Ahem!”
They both looked up as she stood abruptly and walked over to me, the same ugly smile on her face. “Hi, I’m Donna. Welcome to Uniquely Yours . How can I help you today?”
“You can’t,” I told her.
“She’s with me,” Messiah said, standing and walking over to me.
“Oh! Perfect. Let me go get your order for you.” Dusty Donna scurried off as I side-eyed his ass.
He leaned in for a kiss, but I turned my head. He snatched me by the chin, turning my face back toward him. “Stop playing with me.” He kissed my lips.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
I didn’t get jealous, especially not at a bitch who had no ass.
“What’s up with you, Juicy?”
“Nothing.”
“It’s something. You want to talk about it?”
“No.”
“Then fix your face and attitude, or I’m going to do it for you.”
“Whatever. Go talk to Dusty Donna; I’m sure she’d love that.”
A smile drew up on his face as he bit his bottom lip. “You know I love when you act like that. It shows me that you care and do have a heart, tin lady.”
“Oh, really? I’ma show you how much I care when I put these hollow tips in you and blondie’s brain for trying to play in my face.”
He chuckled. “You want to shoot that little gun so bad.”
“Sure do. And y’all two are going to be my target practice.”
He laughed as DD returned, holding a box in her hands. “Here we are. Are you two ready to be wowed ?” she asked in a chipper tone.
“Totally!” I exclaimed in my fake valley girl voice, as she and Messiah laughed.
Ain’t shit funny, ho.
She set the box on the countertop and lifted the lid.
She pulled out a suede, ivory high-heeled shoe with rhinestones surrounding the line of the shoe with a red bottom.
When I looked closer, I saw a photo in a small diamond frame on the back of the shoe with a picture of Uncle Joe and Aunt Priscilla.
That touched me, and I felt my eyes mist.
“You thought of this?” I asked Messiah, lifting the shoe, and admiring the photo.
“I did. It’ll be her ‘something old.’ Harv got me the photo and her shoe size, and Ms. Donna got the job done.”
“Wow… it’s… She’s going to be super emotional seeing this. This is really thoughtful and beautiful.”
“Thanks. Sis deserves to be walked down the aisle, even if her pops can’t physically do so.”
I looked up at him and smiled, then immediately dropped it, placing the shoe back in the box. I was smiling too much with him.
Is that a bad thing, though?
“You did good. She’s going to love them.”
“Yeah… Bag ’em up, Donna.”
She smiled and proceeded to do as he asked. He paid for the shoes, and then we headed out of the store.
“I got one more surprise. Follow me, Juicy.”
“You and your surprises. I hope this one is for me.”
“It is, smart ass.” He walked me to my car and opened the door for me. “I’m two cars up.” I nodded and waited until he got in his truck and pulled out, then pulled out behind him.
We ended up back Downtown as he pulled into the lofts I was trying to buy. That brought me back to Corina’s tired ass. I hadn’t heard from that ho in weeks. I’d been so busy with Paige’s wedding and Messiah dragging me all over the city on dates, I hadn’t had the time to harass that snake broad.
She wasn’t off the hook, though. I was going to see her ass soon.
He pulled in front of the vacant lofts, got out, and then helped me out of the car. He led me up the few steps and pulled out a set of keys.
“Wait… you own these?” I asked.
He opened the door. “I do.”
He extended his arm for me to walk inside. I stepped in and looked around the lobby, already trying to figure out how to buy the building from him. I was sure he would sell since I had been letting him go to pound town on me.
We took an elevator up to the second level, then stepped off into one of the lofts. The open views and hardwood floors had me thinking of the paint and colors I would want to decorate the space with already.
“How much are you willing to sell for?” I asked him.
He chuckled. “It’s not for sale.”
“Why? I can buy it from you for triple what you paid for it.”
He walked up behind me, removing my hair and kissing my neck. “I don’t need your money, baby. It’s already yours.” He dangled the keys in front of me as I turned swiftly and looked at him.
“What do you—you’re giving it to me?”
“I’m gifting it to you. A little birdie came into my office and dropped your name. I knew you wanted it for over a month; I just wanted to feel you out first. I was going to sell it to a potential buyer, but as I have gotten to know you, I wanted to let you know how much I really like you.”
He pulled some papers from his back pocket and handed them over to me. There, on the deed, was my name in bold letters.
My eyes misted as I looked up at him. “What do you want from me, Messiah?”
“Your heart, your loyalty, and that good-ass juice box between your legs… Your time, and very soon, your love. That’s all I want, baby.”
“Fuck!” I exclaimed, running my fingers through my hair. I glared at him as he pulled me close.
“Come away with me.”
“What?”
“Come away with me. We can use that time to continue getting to know each other a little more. I want you to know how serious I am about showing you how to embrace your soft life. No stress, no worries—just me and you exploring each other.”
I stared at him in doubt. Not only had he been fucking my body, but he’d been slowly lowering my defenses. I didn’t want to let him in, but I felt myself falling for him. Truth is, I had fallen for him.
“Stop fighting it, Arie. I’m trying to be all about you and only you. I ain’t never felt this way about anybody. This shit is new to me, too, but I’m willing to step out on faith and give you that soft life you never had before.”
I looked into his eyes and could tell how sincere he was. I wrapped my arms around his neck and crashed my lips into his. He didn’t have to convince me of anything else. His words had done nothing but match his actions since the night we met in my club.
I pulled away from him. “I swear… I want to run away from you, but I also want to explore this soft life you’re promising me. Promise not to hurt me, Messiah. I don’t want to have to unalive you because the sex is amazing.”
He chuckled. “You got my word, baby.”
I kissed him again as my heart beamed. I prayed that by relinquishing my heart to him, this would be the start of something real, true, and pure.
I desired that.