Chapter 10 #2
“I’m glad you like them. You good here or you got something else to be handling?” I didn’t have to say anything to ol’ boy because he saw what was up, just like I felt it. From the way he was looking, I guessed this was her ex.
My attention found my phone for a few; Lois was texting me like I hadn’t just left the restaurant. I was grateful for that though, seizing my attention from the fact that I felt ol’ boy’s eyes. I was no bitch nigga at all, but I also knew how I could get.
“Really, Jade?” he asked, sounding like a real bitch.
“Yeah really, homeboy. Fall back for your sake.” I couldn’t even catch myself. I was already speaking before she could.
He sucked his teeth like a bitch, an action that had me about to move in his direction. “I don’t believe I was talking to you, my nigga.”
I laughed. “You didn’t have to. You were addressing mine, so I addressed you. Move around before you find something you weren’t looking for.”
“Um, Gavin. I think it’s time you leave. I’ve made it clear that I have no interest in revisiting anything we had.”
He didn’t respond, but I looked up just in time to see him damn near storming out of the store.
A few clicks of her heels later she was near me and I was slipping my phone into my pocket.
“These are really beautiful and you’re so sweet.” She smiled, setting the flowers on the counter. “Thank you.”
“You are welcome. How long before I got here had he been here?” I pulled her into me by the pockets of the lavender pantsuit she was wearing. Jade wore the fuck out of a pantsuit on any day of the week.
“A few minutes. He came in right after Ava left to take Chauncy outside and grab her lunch. Why?”
I shrugged, lowkey feeling odd about the tightness in my chest. “Just asking, is that something I need to be worried about?”
She locked her arms around my neck, a massive smile engraining itself into her warm cocoa features. “Baby, you never have to worry about a soul when it comes to me.”
My eyes found hers, boring into them. They resembled a mirror to my soul, loosening the tightness in my chest. “I’ma hold you to that.”
She leaned forward, pressing those buttery soft lips against mine.
What started out as a soft peck became heated and heavy.
I had to remind myself where we were before pulling back and silently promising when I got her to the crib what it would be.
Maybe not right when we got there, but after I got Aja situated.
“I’m waiting on Ava to bring Chauncy back. Then we can go.”
I nodded and looked around the shop. “Cool. We got time. But in the meantime, tell me about your space.”
She smiled nervously, then turned around to look. With her hand extended, she kept her eyes forward. “It’s jus?—”
“Nah, it’s your happy place. Show me your place, love.”
“Okay.” She grabbed my hand, tugging for me to stand. I was on my feet in seconds, moving with her to the center of the store. “From right here we see everything.”
“Alright.”
“We’re at the cash wrap, right in front of where two massive paintings will sit, here and here. Both created especially for this space, Beyah Hines’ exclusives. All the light fixtures will be gold while the walls will be smoke-colored with accents or specks of splattered gold.”
My eyes lived on her, so much that my ears had tuned out what she was saying.
I mean yeah, I was paying attention, but this woman was everything.
Her eyes glossed talking about this place and her smile quickened my breathing.
I was addicted to her happiness, what was oozing from her pores was what I found comfort in.
She closed the space between us a few seconds later, interrupting my thoughts. “Are you even listening to me?”
“Trying to, but the way you look while you talk got me distracted. This motherfucker is going to be tight, especially because you’re doing it.”
She giggled. “Thank you.”
“Well, what did I just walk into? You must be the hot chef that has my best friend slash boss all in love and incognito.” The sound of a woman’s voice made me look up from Jade to the petite woman standing in the doorway with Jade’s dog leashed a few feet away.
Jade chuckled. “Babe, this is Ava, my best friend and assistant. Ava, this is Oden, my…” she started but Ava finished.
“Your beau. The man who has you finally taking a moment to yourself.” She smiled in a knowing manner, moving toward me with her hand extended. “Treat her right, Oden, because I would hate to hate you.”
I shook her hand and nodded at her threat. “I got her.”
“Good. Now if you both will excuse me, I have a few boxes to break down before I get out of here. Here Jade, here is your baby. All his things are in that bag right there.” Ava then pointed to the bag at the other end of the counter.
“And also, I should have an update on this stalking situation by the end of the weekend. So, please don’t worry yourself. ”
“Daddy, what are we going to eat this weekend?”
“Well besides those damn smores you want, I was thinking homemade pizza and may?—”
“You had me at pizza.” Aja’s voice made me peer into the rearview mirror at her. We had been on the road for about three hours and of course Jade was knocked out next to me and Aja listened to her iPad the entire time. Well, almost the entire time because she was now asking me about food.
“Oh good. What do you want on it, shorty?”
“Doesn’t really matter. Can you just not put any vegetables on it? Auntie Blaze does and it’s so nasty.” Her expression had me laughing.
“Some people like their pizza with veggies, baby.”
“Yeah, some people. Just not me. Dad, are you ever gonna move back to the city?” By now she was looking out of the windows at the cornfields we were passing. We were no longer that far away from the house.
That question threw me for a loop and had me looking at her. “You want me to?”
“No…I don’t know. Does Ms. Jade live with you? All her stuff is at your other place.”
“Just for a little while. Does that bother you?” I had to ask. Aja was extremely inquisitive and she paid attention to everything. Just because she didn’t bring something up in that moment didn’t mean it wasn’t on her mind. That overthinking thing was something she got from me.
“No. Can I come live with you guys then?”
I was thrown for a loop. “You want to live with me full-time again? What changed?”
“Daddy, I miss it just being me. I love Tete and Uncle, but there’s a lot of babies. Like if I had one brother or sister, I guess I’d be fine, but Uncle Kinga and Tete have three babies and five dogs. Can I only spend weekends with them and live with you and Ms. Jade?”
As thrown as I was, this was my child. My only child, no part of me would ever tell her no. “Yeah, we’ll figure it out and I’ll let your uncle know. But you do know Jade is only staying with us for a little while, right? She has her own house.”
“Yeah. Uncle Kinga said that about Harlem but then they got married. Now she lives with us.” She damn near shrugged me off like whatever the fuck I said held no weight.
Less than a second later she was sliding her headphones back on her head and I was left deep in thought.
For Aja I’d move my whole life around, because that was what you did for your kids.
But shit, my daughter hadn’t lived with me in years, not since she lived with me and her mother.
Was I ready for that? Shit, it didn’t matter what I was ready for.
Once I had the car parked in the garage, I got out and helped Aja and the lil ugly ass dog into the house before going around to the passenger side of the car and opening the door to wake Jade.
“Where are we?” she asked, blinking a couple of times before she looked at me.
“My house, where else?”
“You have a garage?” She looked around before turning her body to me.
I couldn’t not laugh at the expression on her face. She was so confused.
“Damn mama, where do you think I’ve been living? Real sticks? C’mon, get out and let me show you the property. Aja already took that lil ugly ass dog in the house.”
She gave me a stern look. “Stop calling my baby ugly, Oden. That’s your second time.”
I laughed and extended my hand for hers. “Aight I got you.”
With her hand in mine, I led her through the garage to the first floor.
There I watched her walk around, looking at the place in awe.
It was an open, modern-ish floor plan with a chef's kitchen, of course.
When I realized this was where I wanted to exist, I spared no expense in making it comfortable for myself.
It was nothing too luxurious or expensive because the reason I was out here was to be closer to earth and to depend on the land.
“I’ll admit, babe. When you told me you lived in a lake house, I was thinking of a shack, not this. A place like this is peaceful. Shit, you probably don’t even have neighbors.”
“I do. An older woman a few miles up the stream. She makes jam and honey.”
“This is so beautiful.” She now stood in front of the large front window. It was specially ordered, completely impenetrable so no animal or person could break through.
“I’m glad you like it.” I then grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the office near the living room that also housed a nice view she doted over.
After we covered the entire first floor, we took the stairs in the corner of the kitchen.
Once on the second floor, I showed her my bedroom, Aja’s room, and the living room type space on that floor as well before I cut her loose and allowed her to roam on her own.
“I see why you come out here, shit live here.” Jade’s voice interrupted my thoughts as she entered the kitchen two hours later while I was putting together the homemade pizza with no veggies Aja had requested.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yes, really. It’s so warm and peaceful, yet extremely aesthetically pleasing. It’s so you.”
“So I’m aesthetically pleasing?” I looked up from the dough I was kneading.
She laughed. “Uh, look at you. Have you seen you? Extremely aesthetically pleasing down to the facial expressions. You’re probably on somebody’s mood board right now, baby.” Within seconds she hopped up on the counter next to where I was working.
I joined in her laughter.
“You’re laughing, I'm serious.”
Shaking my head, I moved around the kitchen to grab her a wine glass and the bottle I had already pulled out for her. I then handed her the glass to hold while I poured it.
“Even moments like this. Aesthetically pleasing.” She drank from the glass while I returned to this meat lover's pizza. Soon my thoughts went to my child and I wrapped my head around the idea of her being with me full-time again.
Silence swallowed us up for a while before she spoke again. “What are you thinking about so hard?” Her voice crept into my eardrum, making me look up from the dough to her.
“How do you know I’m thinking hard?”
“Because as handsome as you are, when those eyebrows do that thing where they knit together, I feel like it’s something. So spill.”
“Aja wants to live with me full-time. She’s a kid, so they always change their minds.”
“And how do you feel about that?” I felt her eyes without looking up.
“Like regardless I’ma do what’s necessary for my baby. I think she needs y?—”
“Yes, she needs you. Aja living with you would be good. I could see how that would be beneficial to both her and you.”
“How? When I’m very well the reason she doesn’t have Ashley?” Of course, my thoughts found their way out of my lips.
I looked up just in time to see the confusion in her eyes. But when she was about to speak, her phone notified her of an incoming text. She was quiet, which made me look up at her and the expression on her face had me dropping everything to move toward her.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ava said my place and car were broken into and trashed. Somebody really did this.” She handed me her phone and hopped off the island and went toward the front of the house.
I heard the door open but I was too busy looking at how bad those photos were.
Her sofa was cut up, TV busted, something red was all over her white carpets and a motherfucker had even spray painted the words “you’re mine” on her wall.
Her car looked even worse. I was pissed for her.
I had seen all I needed, so I put the phone down and moved in the direction she had gone.
When I walked out of the door, she was seated on the steps with her face in her hands and I heard her sniffling.
It pissed me off that somebody thought they could fuck with her like this and there would be no consequences.
I didn’t play those street games, nor had I ever been a street nigga, but what I did know was how far I would go for mine. Jade was mine.
“All of that is fucked up. I’m in no way, shape, or form going to tell you it’s not but I promise you it will be handled.” I took a seat next to her, pulling her body into mine.
“It’s just so frustrating. Because I really want to know who it is. Like who has this much access to me and my personal space that they feel entitled to ruin it?”
“Valid question, but I refuse to let you sit out here and dwell over this shit. Asking you not to think about this is crazy, but do you trust me?”
She nodded into my chest.
“Then rest assured this shit will be handled,” I assured her, meaning every single word from my lips.
“How?” she asked, lifting her head from my chest.
“I’m resourceful as fuck, mama. Let me figure that out and you keep pushing through. A motherfucker can’t affect you unless they get under your skin. Yeah, your shit got messed up but that's all material. But on me, you’ll get it all back in triplicate, even if I gotta go get it for you.”
She threw her head forward. “Okay.”