11. Legend
Legend
“ O h wow, Legend. These are beautiful.” Legacy greeted me at the front door and accepted the two cream tulips from my hands.
“And yet, they still pale in comparison to you.”
“I’m grateful, but I’m also curious,” she stated, walking inside to set the vase on her living room table.
“About?” I asked, shoving my hands in my pockets to keep from touching her.
I knew that if I touched her now, while she was bent over the way she was, there would be no stopping me. We wouldn’t make it out of this house. Legacy wore a wine-colored jumpsuit that hugged her bodice and her ass but flowed everywhere else. She stood tall in her wedges and walked back to me.
“Men usually gift a single flower or an entire bouquet. You gave me two flowers. Again, I’m not ungrateful, just wondering about the symbolic meaning is all.”
“And you’d be right to do that,” I replied softly as she reached up and hooked her arms around my neck.
“First, cream tulips symbolize devotion and deep commitment. It also means worthiness, and I want you to know that not only am I devoted to protecting your heart and keeping it safe, but I’m also deeply committed to seeing where this thing between us is going and making it work. ”
“Aww, you’re so sweet.” She pecked my lips.
“And you’re definitely worthy of everything that I’m ready to pour into you. I just pray that you find me just as worthy, baby.”
“I already do. From the moment that we met, you’ve done nothing but prove yourself repeatedly as the good man you are, Legend.”
“Good.” I kissed her lips again before I went on. “Two tulips are representative of the affection that I have for you, the way I want our bond to grow stronger, and it shows how perfectly you and I are paired together.”
She bit her bottom lip, and her eyes watered. I smirked as her bottom lip trembled.
“You’re so sweet and romantic. Damn it, you’re going to ruin my makeup,” she declared, laughing and swiping underneath her eyes.
“Nah, you’re just a big softie,” I replied and kissed her underneath her jaw. Legacy moaned, and my dick jumped. “Come on. Let’s get out of this house.”
“You still haven’t told me where we’re going.”
I linked my hands with hers and tugged her to the door. “That’s for me to know, and for you to find out.”
She pulled her hands free to lock the door. “You know what? I should’ve known that you would go and ruin the romantic moment by having something sarcastic to say.”
I chuckled and grabbed her hand again as we walked to my car.
I held her door open for her, and she climbed in.
A lo-fi CD played softly in the background as we maneuvered the streets heading to our destination.
The windows were down, and a soft breeze blew inside.
Neither of us spoke for several minutes.
“You know, I really like this chill vibe you’ve created.”
“What’s that?”
“The flowers, the music, the breeze, and even the silence.”
“You do realize that I had nothing to do with the breeze? I mean, I’m a beast at what I do, but I ain’t God.” I chuckled when she lightly punched me in the shoulder.
“You know what I mean.”
I leaned over when we approached a light and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek.
“I do. Sometimes, you just need moments to chill and do nothing. I mean, especially with the hectic lives we live, with my business, your career, and my son, it seems like life is constantly racing, and we never have time to catch up. I’ve come to realize that we don’t need to catch up.
We just need to live in the moment and embrace those moments every opportunity that we get. ”
“I like that,” she replied, looking at me with a soft smile that hit me in the heart.
We drove for another twenty-five minutes before we pulled up to a glass and chrome stepped facade building on the edge of downtown. It stood twenty stories high and was topped with an ice-blue dome.
“Why are we at Fifty-One on the Green?”
I turned the ignition off and peered up at the building through the windshield. “You said that you wanted to see a building that I designed one day.”
Her mouth dropped open in astonishment as she stared up at the building and back over at me.
Before I could make a move, Legacy jumped out of the car and stood staring at the building in astonishment.
I moved to her side and wrapped my arms around her.
Pressing a kiss to her temple, I asked, “What are you thinking, love?”
“That I am in awe at how that big ass, brilliant brain of yours works.”
I chuckled. “I feel the same way about you.”
“You don’t get to see my work in action though. It’s not tangible,” she professed breathlessly.
“And yet, it’s no less significant. You’re literally out here helping people save lives, changing lives, and redoing the way that they do business. I’d say that your work is very much so in action, ma’am.”
“This is just magnificent.” She blinked rapidly in slack-jawed awe.
I laughed and took her hand in mine. “Come on, baby. Let’s go inside.”
I led her into the mixed-use residential-office building and gave her a tour of the twenty floors, from the main lobby that held several restaurants, dry cleaners, doctors’ offices, and a drugstore to the first seven floors that were businesses and the last several that were residential spaces.
When we ended on the rooftop, she walked to the edge to take in the city’s skyline. “The view from here is amazing, Legend. How did you get a project of this magnitude?”
“It was our first large-scale commercial project, believe it or not. It came to us two years ago, and Courtland and I designed it. The only reason we landed this project was because our former employer sent business our way, and we blew the minds of the real estate investors on the first project we worked on for them. We did a few more projects, and then they took a big gamble on us by hiring us for this project.”
“I’m so proud of you,” she declared, turning around to face me with her back to the edge of the roof.
I reached out and took her hand in mine before I pulled her closer. “Just wanted you to get a deeper peek into my world since you were so interested.”
“I’m interested in everything concerning you.”
Legacy caressed the side of my face, and I stared into her beautiful eyes.
The adoration and the admiration that I saw reflected there squeezed my heart tight.
The feelings that were growing inside of me for this woman felt overwhelming, and although I wasn’t ready to admit just how deep my feelings ran, I knew that I wasn’t ready to let go either.
I wrapped Legacy in my arms and rested my forehead against hers. I brushed my lips against hers and then deepened the kiss. We were all lips and no tongue, but it was more passionate than any kiss we’d shared to date.
My arms dragged up her back and down again as she pressed against my body.
“Girl, you’re getting deep in here,” I professed. I grabbed her hand and placed it against my heart.
She smiled. “You’re already deep in there, sir, and burrowing your way deeper.”
I laughed. “Let’s go. We’ve got dinner reservations at The Sweet Spot.”
“What are we waiting for?” she asked and pulled away from me.
“The ambiance is nice here,” Legacy stated, looking around the restaurant as she bit into her smothered pork chop. A pianist was playing soft jazz music in one corner, and on the stage, a lady was singing about knowing her lover from another life.
“I thought you might like it.”
“I’ve waited all day for this meal.”
“You didn’t even know where I was taking you.”
She giggled. “No, I didn’t, but you told me that you were taking me someplace special. You always feed me whenever we go out, unless we’re chilling at your place. So, I made sure that I had an appetite for this evening.”
“You’re saying you starved yourself in anticipation of tonight’s dinner.”
“I’m saying that I didn’t want to waste your dollars, sir. So be prepared for my big back activities.”
“So that’s your excuse for being a big back tonight?”
“Oh, I don’t need an excuse to be a big back at any time,” she responded with a smile. “Matter of fact, let me taste some of your catfish and grits.”
“I’m going to give you a bite, but don’t think that you’re about to clean my plate. You should’ve ordered it.”
“But I wanted the pork chops and greens.”
“Then eat it.”
“I just want to taste yours, too, because it looks so good. What if I want to come back? I want to make sure that it’s worth my money.”
“Your ass had better not be coming back with nobody but me.”
“I might come up here with my girls.”
“Let me find out you up in our spot with another nigga, and you gon’ have problems.”
“Oh, our spot?” she teased with a smile.
“Yes. Our spot,” I replied, reaching across the table to grab her hand. “I’m trying to build beautiful memories with you.”
“I like that. I want to build beautiful memories with you, too, Legend. Memories that I can take out and treasure during the challenging times.”
“I don’t want to predict challenging times, Legacy.”
“But you and I both know that they will come. There aren’t any perfect relationships, and I don’t want to pretend that there are because then we’re setting ourselves up for failure.”
“I know there’s no perfect relationship. I just want to make sure that no matter what comes, you and I will go through it together. Promise me that you’ll fight by my side for the greater good of us.”
“I promise, baby. There’s no greater person that I would want to go to battle with than you, Legend.”