10. Talia
TALIA
“Baby, use the drip pan,” Izael instructed.
“I’m doing just fine. I know what I’m doing.”
“Is that why you just dripped paint on the back of your couch?” he asked and pointed at a speck of paint.
“Shit!” I screeched and jumped up.
“Aye. Chill ya li’l ass out. I got it,” he replied and dabbed at the spot with a cloth.
We were painting the wall where the paint had been removed. In its place was a dull black smudge right behind the couch. Our little sex session had turned into hardcore fucking yesterday after Izael came home from work.
He seemed a little stressed and apparently needed to work through a lot. I didn’t mind being his stress reliever at all. But now, we were sitting here trying to clean up our masterpiece that we had created.
“Thank you for letting me help, baby.” I purred when he put his paint roller down on the tray that was sitting on the drop cloth.
He kissed me. “You know I could’ve had this done an hour ago, right?”
“Yeah, but it wouldn’t have been as much fun without me,” I whined.
He laughed and shook his head. “You’re right, baby. Everything is better with you involved in it.”
“Seriously?” I asked and pushed my glasses up my nose.
I had taken a break from my contacts today to give my eyes a rest. I usually only wore my glasses after I showered at night and was preparing to go to bed.
“Seriously. I love doing shit with you. No matter what it is, I just love spending time with you, girl.”
“Thank you, baby. I love spending time with you too.”
I had begged him to let me help paint the wall. I knew that he didn’t need my help, and I also knew that he could have completed the job much faster without me. But I just wanted to be up under my man and enjoy some time with him. All day long, he had been on my mind. So, when I finished my writing for the day and shared a new recipe on my blog, I instantly headed to the home improvement store. Armed with the list that Izael had given me before he left this morning, I purchased paint, paintbrushes, a drop cloth, and a roll of plastic for the couch.
Izael had told me not to worry about doing that, but I wanted to do it. I wanted to be a part of it from the minute he told me that he was going to fix that ugly mark on the wall this morning.
“How long will it take to dry?” I asked as I leaned back on my hands. My arms were stretched out behind me, and I sat on the floor and watched the wall.
Izael finished tidying up the paint and making it look nice and neat before he replied with, “Forever if you’re gonna sit there and watch it.”
“Baby, I’m bored, and I don’t have anything else to do.”
“How about we go to the little park across the street while the paint dries?”
“And do what?”
Izael shrugged. “Shit, I don’t know. I’m sure we’ll find something.”
“All right. Let me change out of these shorts, and I’ll be ready in ten minutes. Unless, of course, you want me to go in these.”
Izael mugged me. “Try taking your ass out the house in them little ass shorts if you want to. You ’bout to get every nigga out there fucked up.”
“I just wanted to see your reaction.” I winked.
“You play too much. I’ll be back. I’m going to wash my hands,” Izael replied and headed into his room.
I exchanged the shorts for some ripped jeans, a tank top, and a pair of sandals. When I returned from my room, Izael stood in the middle of the living room, looking delicious as hell. He had changed into a pair of black track pants, a black T-shirt, and some black Air Force 1s.
“Took your little ass long enough.” He swatted me on the ass as I walked by him on the way to the front door.
“You ain’t been waiting for me that long.”
“Girl, I’ve been out here waiting for almost ten minutes. You said it would take you ten, but it’s been eighteen.”
“Well, I had to make sure that I was looking good on my baby’s arm,” I replied as I walked out the door.
“Nah, you look good no matter what you wear. I don’t give a damn if you were in a Mumu with slippers and curlers in your head. You’re still fine to me,” he stated as we jogged down the steps.
“Boy, shut up. Men will say anything.”
“Nah. Men who feel about their woman the way that I feel about you mean that shit. We don’t need all those weaves, fake fingernails, eyelashes, and beat faces and shit to love on our woman. We see through all that to the true beauty of a woman.”
“So, you’re saying that we do all that in vain?” I asked.
“Nah,” he replied as he pushed the building door open for me to step outside.
It was a warm summer day, but there was a cool breeze blowing. My hair blew behind me in the wind as Izael took my hand in his. The way that he claimed me made me feel loved and wanted. I smiled as another couple walked by us, and the woman smiled at me. It felt good to have a man who was proud to show me off when we were in public.
“Then what are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I think y’all do that shit for each other. Women be out here trying to look good and already got a man. Y’all either doing that shit competing with other women because you want her to recognize you’re that bitch, or you’re trying to get another nigga’s attention.”
The traffic light for cross traffic turned red, and the pedestrian light signaled that we could cross the street. My heart smiled at how he continued holding my hand as we crossed the street to the park.
“Or maybe we just want to keep looking good for our man because that’s how we got him in the first place.”
“Not me. I saw you with them thick-ass pigtails way back in the day. You were still my girl, snaggletooth, ashy knees, and all,” Izael teased me.
I slapped his arm and laughed. “Boy, shut up. You were a little crusty, too, back then.”
He lifted his eyebrows. “That ain’t even true. You know I was that cat. All the honeys were chasing me down.”
“That’s because they were thirsty. You and my brother both were crusty as hell.”
He laughed. “Thank God we’ve all come a long way then, huh?”
“Yep,” I replied as he led me to the playground.
“Maybe our kid might stand a chance.”
It was my turn to stop and stare. “You want children, Zae?”
He tugged my hand to get me moving again. “Yeah. Someday, I do. I don’t want a whole brood of them, but one or two might be nice.”
“I never took you for that guy.”
“Why? You don’t think I would be good with kids?”
“I do. I just didn’t think you would want any of your own.”
“You are sadly mistaken, Ms. Campbell. Why wouldn’t I want to see all this greatness reflected in a mini-me?” he asked with a wink.
I laughed. “Boy, you’re a hot damn mess.”
“And you love me. Hop up on this swing,” Izael stated and slapped my ass.
I did as he commanded, and he pushed me on the swing. I kicked my legs out and lay back just a little bit. The sun shined on my face and in my heart because a great man loved me.
I didn’t feel bad about being on the swing because there weren’t many kids out at this time of evening.
He pushed me in silence for a while before speaking. “I know how you feel about your family finding out about us, Chè, but I want you to know that I’m not worried about anything—not ya mama, ya daddy, or ya brother. The only thing I’m concerned about is how you feel about me and how you allow me to love you. You understand that, girl?”
Izael stopped pushing me and sat on the swing beside me. He turned sideways in his swing to face me.
“I do. But that’s the part of me that has to protect you, Zae. It’s easy for you to say that you’re willing to sacrifice anything for me,” I replied as I twirled my swing around in circles until the chains were completely twisted around each other. “But I know what my family means to you. I understand how important it is for you to be accepted, loved, and welcomed by our family. My parents were there for you when your family was falling apart. My dad took you under his wing when your father couldn’t be there, and he taught you all the things that he taught Tahj. My mama gave you that attentive ear, affection, and her homemade brownies when your mother worked long hours. And Tahj is your brother from another mother. I wouldn’t dare dream of taking that from you.”
“And if they take all that away from me because I love you so deeply, then did they ever love me? I mean, if they are able to overlook their preconceived notions about who we should be to each other and still love me anyway, then that’s real love. That’s genuine love, Talia. I couldn’t buy that, and that’s the type of love that I want.”
“I know, baby. I just don’t want to see you hurt. I mean, I know they’ll be upset with me, but I also know that they’ll get over it. So, that’s not what I’m worried about.”
He blew out a long breath of air before he spoke again. “Chè, I’m a man, and I can handle a man’s shit. I will face whatever I need to face to be with you, girl.”
“Okay, Zae. ”
“Yeah.” He stood as he reached for my hand.
We held hands and walked across the park to the slides and the jungle gym, where we proceeded to play like we were little kids again for the next thirty minutes.
“Are you hungry?” Izael asked when we finished.
“Starving.”
“Let’s get some sub sandwiches from Antonio’s,” he suggested as he pointed at a sub shop across the street. It was on the same side of the street as my building.
We headed over there, ordered our subs and chips, and returned home.
“You think the paint is finished drying yet, baby?” I asked as he unlocked my apartment door.
“I doubt it. It’ll take a few hours, not too long, but it should be done in the morning. You can move the couch back in its place in the morning,” Izael explained as we stepped into the coolness of my apartment.
“I thought you said it would be finished by the time we went to the park and came back.”
He chuckled. “I wanted your little impatient ass to chill. What’s the biggie about the paint drying anyway?”
I tucked my top lip between my teeth and replied, “I wanted to test the couch out again.”
Izael laughed and shook his head. “Didn’t I hook your little horny ass up when I got home from work already?”
“Yep.”
“Come on. Let’s eat our food and play Codenames Duet.”
“Ooh, baby, I haven’t played a board game in a while,” I replied as I headed into the hall bathroom to wash my hands.
“Go ahead and set up the food, and I’ll set up the game in the living room.”
We ate and talked about our dreams and a new apartment venture he was looking into. When we finished, we played the board game before I found myself becoming extremely sleepy.
We showered together, and then he dried me off so I could go to sleep.
“Your ass acts just like a little kid,” Izael stated as he hugged me close.
“How?” I murmured through a yawn as I pressed my naked ass against his semi-turgid dick.
“Good hot bath will put your li’l ass to bed every time.”
I wiggled again and purred contentedly.
“Stop that shit before you find yourself filled with my meat, Cinnamon,” he mumbled in my ear and gripped my thigh.
I yawned. “Wake me with it in the morning.”
The last thing I recalled was hearing him say, “You can have whatever you like, sweet baby. I love you.”
“Love you more, Zae,” I whispered.