Chapter 13
When I got back into the van after helping my grandmother get her things inside of her house, Jamia and Jerzey were staring at me. I knew their asses been had something to say, since I got back to the room this morning, but they wanted to be respectful toward my grandmother. As soon as I closed the door, Jamia went in.
“He must have put that shit down right !”
They fell out laughing as my face heated up. “She came in the room this morning with a big ass smile and glowing and shit,” Jerzey added, sounding like Regina King in the movie How Stella Got Her Groove Back.
“Oh, and don’t leave out breakfast! She couldn’t keep her eyes off his ass. Going into dazes, having wet dreams while she was awake! I’m sure Grandma knows about all the nasty shit they probably did last night and this morning!”
They fell out laughing again. “Y’all do know that I’m right here,” I said and rolled my eyes.
Ezekiel and I had an amazing time together. We took a shower, and he bent me over the bench in there and fucked me like it would be the last time. He wanted to pick me up, but I said a swift hell no. I needed to be sure he could truly handle me before I let him try to handle me while I was wet and slippery. I orgasmed so many times I lost count. I barely remembered sleeping at all. It seemed his dick was in me the entire time I was there. His drive far surpassed mine. I assumed after the second round, we would be done, and he would take me back to the hotel room. Not the case.
We didn’t get there until eight this morning, and he insisted on taking all of us to breakfast at The Breakfast Klub. My grandmother and these two fools were giggling and googly-eyed the entire time. I was so embarrassed at first. Ezekiel had grabbed my hand and pulled me into his world of ‘I don’t give a fuck.’ Their antics didn’t bother him in the least. I found, the longer I was around him, the more unbothered I became too.
“So, what’s up, boss lady? Y’all a couple?” Jerzey asked.
“Yes.”
They started screaming in excitement as I slowly shook my head. “The two of you need mental help.”
“On a serious note, Nishia, I’m so happy for you. I was hoping you would see just how genuine he seemed. Hell, he gotta be better than Will’s ass. You deserve him, plus more. You are worthy of all good things. Don’t ever forget that. The glow that I see on you right now is something I haven’t seen in a long time. It’s not even the same as the glow you get when talking about flowers. This is different, and I love that for you, sis.”
I glanced over at Jamia as she grabbed my hand. “Thanks, Mia,” I said somewhat softly. “He is such a gentleman… and a fucking savage.”
They died in laughter, Jerzey nearly falling out of her seat. I had to chuckle at their foolishness. I was happy, despite what was looming over me. Mama’s funeral was tomorrow, and the closer it got, the more nervous I got. I wanted to have the casket closed, but my grandmother had begged to leave it open for a while. She wanted to see her baby. I couldn’t deny her that. However, I didn’t want to remember my mama that way. I didn’t want the lasting memory of her lying in the casket.
“Hey, Nishia. Keep your mind on Ezekiel. I can see you’ve gone somewhere else,” Jamia said as I turned into the parking lot.
I took a deep breath and nodded. Ezekiel Wheeler was mine. How crazy was that? Denishia Boswell was dating a movie star. Who the fuck knew? A slight smile made its way to my lips, and Jamia said, “That’s it right there.”
I smiled at her, then parked so we could unload this van and go home. I was tired as hell. I would probably sleep until tomorrow morning. The family car would be picking us up from my grandmother’s house. After unlocking the door of the floral shop and heading inside to open the storage room, I saw a car pull up to the curb in front. It had to be someone that didn’t know our business hours. If they did, they would know that we were closed on Sundays.
When I saw Will get out of the car, I quickly made my way to the back. “Y’all get inside quick and lock the door.”
Jamia ran inside with the tripod she was holding, and Jerzey locked the door behind them as I heard Will knocking on the door. I couldn’t understand why he was so hell-bent on talking to me now. I’d blocked him from calling, so I supposed he thought this was the best way to get ahold of me.
Once inside, I could hear him banging on the front door. “Jerzey, call the police.”
She nodded nervously as I headed toward the front so he could see me inside and stop banging on my glass door. I was so sick of his ass. He flipped the script on me, and now, for whatever reason sounded good to him, I was supposed to hear him out. This nigga had embarrassed me at my place of business and stole my fucking car. What he thought we needed to talk about was beyond me.
When he saw me, he started yelling. “Denishia, please! I need to be there for you. I’m so sorry about your mom.”
I just stared at him. The other day, he had me feeling sensitive as hell, but now that Ezekiel had tended to my needs in the most pleasing way possible, I literally had nothing for Will. When I didn’t respond to him, he started banging on the glass, and I knew that was to try to get a reaction out of me. I casually walked closer to the door.
“If you break my door, I hope the glass cuts your fucking hands off. There is nothing for us to talk about, Will. You did what you did, now you have to live with the consequences. I’m not gon’ be going back and forth with your ass. You can either leave me alone and go on with your life or suffer the consequences of fucking with me. I’m tired of this shit. I have enough on my plate, and I refuse to add you and your bullshit to it.”
He jerked his head back like I’d spit on him. Just as he was about to respond, a police car parked in front of his car… a car that I’d never seen. It probably belonged to someone else.
“I can’t believe you called the police on me, Denishia! What the fuck? Is this what we’ve come to?”
“Hell yeah! I don’t want you around me. I filed a restraining order for a reason!”
The cop approached him as he frowned at me and nodded repeatedly. I didn’t like the look in his eyes, and I couldn’t for the life of me understand why he was so angry when he was the one that caused all this shit.
“You okay, boo?”
I nearly jumped out of my skin. I turned to see Jamia with her hands lifted. “I’m sorry. I thought you heard me coming toward you.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Your phone was ringing. It was Ezekiel. I’m sure he’s wanting to check to see if we made it safely.”
“Where’s my phone?”
“I have it. You left it in the console, so I grabbed it when I got out,” she said, extending it to me.
“Thank you, Jamia. I’ll call him in a little bit.”
I watched the cop question him, and when backup arrived, he came to the door. I really didn’t feel like dealing with this shit. Will didn’t care about anyone but himself. After unlocking the door, the officer stepped inside and gave me a polite nod as he said, “Hello, ma’am. I’m going to assume you’re Denishia.”
“Yes, sir. Denishia Boswell.”
“Will Fuller said you are his girlfriend.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m his ex-girlfriend, who also has a restraining order on him. It was filed two Fridays ago.”
He nodded and wrote something down on a notepad. I wasn’t sure what was necessary to write down right now. I just wanted him gone so I could go home. Details weren’t important. The only detail he needed was that I had a restraining order, and Will was in violation. That was it. Arrest his ass.
Bringing his attention back to me, he smiled and said, “We are going to handle this. I’m so sorry you’re having to go through this, especially at your place of business. Business that I patronize, by the way.”
“Thank you so much.” Maybe he heard my thoughts. “It’s extremely inconvenient, but it’s partially my fault for enduring my misery for so long. It gave him a false narrative. I just want to live my life in peace.”
“I understand, Miss Boswell. Sorry to hold you up. Try to enjoy the rest of your day.”
“Thank you.”
I followed him to the front and locked up as soon as he walked out the door. I noticed Will was in the back of one of their squad cars. Jackass. When I turned around, Jamia and Jerzey were standing there, waiting to console me. I didn’t need consoling. I needed a damn nap.
“Okay, let’s get the van unloaded so we can get out of here.”
“Boss lady, we got it. You go on and go home. We have to make sure everything is umm…”
I nodded, knowing what she was about to say. I’d prepared bouquets and a casket spray for the funeral instead of letting the funeral home do it. I wished I would have let them throw their generic ass flowers on my mama’s casket. I would have kicked my own ass. When I confirmed my mama’s plans, the funeral director had assumed I would be using their services. I was like, “Oh no, ma’am. I own Happily Ever After Floral Shop. My mama has transitioned to her happily ever after. I’ll be doing all the flowers.”
She’d simply smiled and nodded, saying she liked how I worded that. I wanted to say that I didn’t want their pitiful looking, dead ass flowers on my mama’s casket. I would have been over dramatizing it though. Their flowers weren’t that bad. They just weren’t on my level. They typically used carnations. My mama would sit up in the casket if there were carnations everywhere. She hated carnations. Maybe I should have let them do it then. At least she would be alive.
I quickly hugged Jerzey and Jamia before my emotions could get the best of me, then headed to my car. As soon as I was inside and started the engine, I returned Ezekiel’s call. He answered on the first ring. “Hey, baby. Y’all good?”
“Hey. Yes, we made it back to Beaumont. Sorry I missed your call. I’d forgotten my phone in the van.”
“That’s okay. I knew you would call as soon as you were able to. I miss you already.”
I smiled. “I miss you too. I wish we could have spent more time together, getting to know one another.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“When are you leaving Houston?”
“In the morning.”
“Oh. Okay. Well, I suppose we’ll have to get to know one another by phone.”
“Just for now. I should be able to come see you soon. I’ll let you know the exact date tomorrow.”
“Okay. I can’t wait.”
“Me either. So, what are you planning to do for the rest of the day?”
“I’m gonna go home and rest for a while. I won’t be eating lunch since I’m still full from breakfast. Later this evening, I’m going to my grandmother’s house. Her church friends are bringing food over. Most likely, I’m going to just stay the night there.”
“That sounds like a plan. Would I be able to stay with you when I come, or would I need to get a hotel room?”
“Are you serious?” I asked.
“Well, I don’t want to assume a thing.”
“I want you at my place. While it’s not as extravagant as you’re probably used to, it will accommodate you just fine.”
“Girl, please. Apparently, you don’t know where my parents live. They live in a one-level, three-bedroom house. They refuse to move. They love their house and said they had no plans of getting another one, whether I bought it or not.”
I chuckled. “Well, I have a three-bedroom home as well. One bedroom I use as an office, and the other room is a guestroom. The only people that ever slept in there were my mama, my grandma, Jamia, and Jerzey. I don’t really have friends like that. They were only here to help me with something pertaining to the flower shop. So, I don’t know what I even needed it for.”
“It’s always good to have just in case. Are you still at the shop?”
“No. I just turned in my driveway.”
“Okay, baby. Go on inside and get you a nap in. When you wake up, call me.”
“Okay. Talk to you later.”
“Bye, gorgeous.”
I ended the call, feeling somewhat light. It was a blessing to have Ezekiel. Talking to him kept my mind from dwelling on what tomorrow would bring. However, it was there now. Hopefully, I would still be able to take a nap and not be consumed with missing Patsy Boswell.