Chapter 17
They hit three more stores where Asao picked up what he needed.
Shopping was a rare thing for him, so when he stepped out, he did major damage.
Samari fell back and let him do his thing.
Because of the tension from their first stop, Asao didn’t push when he offered to foot the bill for whatever she wanted.
For the remainder of their afternoon, he shopped and she chilled close by.
When they were done, the two walked to his car with a handful of bags before Asao pulled up to valet and handed over the store cards which they scanned then notified concierges to retrieve the packages left behind and bring them to his vehicle.
“I’ve lived here all my life and never knew concierge was an option here.” Samari smirked after Asao handed over a cash tip to the two people dressed in all black who’d delivered their packages.
“You trying to tell me you shut the mall down and carry your own shit?” He pulled away from valet with one hand on the steering wheel and the other resting in his lap, looking sexy and relaxed. The easy smile on his face was becoming one of Samari’s favorite things.
“I’ve never shut the mall down, so carrying my own bags has never been an issue,” she confessed. Even at the height of her career, she’d never done it big at the mall.
“Who’s been in your life, Mari? Because whoever it was hasn’t been deserving?”
She frowned and he pulled up at a traffic light, turning his attention on her when he noticed the irritation in her expression.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“If your man wasn’t blowing stacks, he wasn’t showing love.”
“That’s what you think showing love looks like?” She was curious to know how his mind worked and how he loved.
“As a whole, no. The measure of a man is not the depth of his pockets but when he’s got it, she’s got it.
If a man cares about the woman he’s giving his time to, he gives her every part of him.
If he’s about business his hustle is his heart, so she should get that.
Whether it’s a want or a need. You don’t need and you refuse to allow yourself to want if I’m the one providing it.
I get that. But when my name is on you, you’ll match my fly and I stay fly as fuck.
” His sexy smile was exposed before a swipe of his tongue moved over his full lips.
She observed his words with a surface understanding before admitting the reason why. “I’ve always had to carry my wants and needs, so it’s not easy for me to share the responsibility.”
Asao glanced at her and nodded, committing what she wasn’t saying to memory.
Samari never had a real man in her life.
She shared that she’d never known her father, and based on what little she provided about her ex, he was not worth Samari’s time.
Asao wouldn’t consider himself the blueprint, but he was a damn good representative for how a man should love a woman.
The thought had him traveling back in time to the only woman he had ever given his heart to.
Na’Mya had been his one. She’d loved him deep and he’d loved her whole.
They were young but their feelings were no less relevant.
She’d lost her life because he refused to change.
The guilt of being the man she deserved for someone else loomed in the recesses of his mind but the past was the past. His mistakes didn’t have to be the foundation for the man he was now.
“What I need you to wrap your mind around is now that you’ve got your weight up, them arms can hold me down while I hold you up.
Let me do the heavy lifting. You’ve been carrying things you shouldn’t have to, Mari.
But that’s cool because it helped you get your weight up.
You will respect having a real man step for you because you know what it takes to carry the weight of the world on your own.
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you have to or should.
Strength isn’t always about power. God’s strongest soldiers are also his most beautiful and soft creations.
Let me bless you with that soft girl shit. ”
“Those sound very ‘you’re my man’ types of promises.”
“You think I’m not?”
She ignored the question because responding would mean admitting what she knew or telling a lie. “Where are we going?”
“Wherever you want. You gave me your time, so mine is yours.”
She accepted the offer and leaned forward, tapping the infotainment system to key in an address. Asao watched and arched a brow when he noticed the location but didn’t ask questions.
They pulled up at Big Reg’s and Asao parked in the dirt lot next to the building because the three spots at the storefront were taken. One by the silver pickup that belonged to the shop’s owner. The building looked the same as it had when he would fall through years prior.
“Whose chair are you about to sit in?” he asked once he’d opened the passenger door to let Samari out.
“Reg.”
He nodded, comfortably dropping an arm around her shoulders, tucking her at his side while they crossed the aged parking lot. Asao opened the door and they moved through it together.
The small brick building barely held enough space for the three stations that lined the left side.
They were empty today but that wasn’t surprising because Reg had age on him and only showed up daily to keep a steady routine that allowed his mental to stay focused enough to ensure he got out of bed.
“Well shit. Y’all trying to make an old man feel worthy.” Reg smiled, surprised by the two who’d walked in to bless his heart and pockets.
“Hey, Reg.” Samari untangled her body from Asao’s and crossed the room, falling into the open arms Reg offered.
She snuggled into his chest like the daughter he always made her feel she was.
Samari absorbed the transfer of love Reg had stored and tucked away just for her since the last time he’d seen her face.
“My little songbird. You haven’t been through here in a long time. Thought I was gonna have to send somebody to come get you.”
She smiled and pulled away, rocking back on her heels. “I’ll do better.”
“Yes you will and what’s that all about?” He motioned toward Asao who watched the exchange.
“You can’t even speak my name before you start minding my business?
” Asao walked up behind Samari, making contact with her body, feeling possessive over her presence.
He extended a hand, dapping the neighborhood senior who on more than one occasion had been the reason Asao hadn’t fallen victim to the destruction the streets caused.
“We’re good, youngin’, but when it comes to this one right here? I have to choose sides.” Reg motioned toward Samari.
Her smile expanded, knowing the two men were protectively staking a claim to her well-being. Reg as the father figure who’d shown her love as a child and Asao as the man trying to show her love now.
“Respect, OG, but she’s good with me.” Asao wasn’t bitchmade but he also had love for Reg, so he would let him know where he stood with Samari.
“With the way she’s grinning right now, I don’t know that it would matter.” Reg chuckled and lifted the cape tossed over the back of his chair before he motioned to it.
Samari took a seat and Reg covered her body while Asao filled the station next to them, turning so he was facing Samari. “You’re not gonna fuck her shit up, are you? You got a little more gray hair than I remember from the last time I was in here.”
“You really wanna talk shit about my gray hair when your taper line is gonna be back to your ears in a minute. Whoever you’re letting touch your head keeps cutting your hair line back too far.”
Asao chuckled and nodded, knowing his natural hairline was safe due to generous monthly payouts he made to Dre at She’s Elite Cutz. “You got that.”
“I know I do, now mind your business.” Samari locked eyes with Asao and grinned while Reg raked a comb through the left side of her hair. “So how’d you get hooked up with this hardhead?” Reg grinned at Samari through the mirror and her eyes went to Asao before she answered.
“Carver’s.”
“Hmm. You make him work for your heart, songbird.”
“You think I won’t?” Asao chimed in.
Reg and Asao shared a look which exposed their thoughts and revisited the past before Reg nodded and smiled.
“Yeah, you will. Between me and your pops you learned what you need to. He loves your mother and I schooled you right about how to step to women. Made a promise to Leedren that I wouldn’t let you disrespect his name. ”
Asao chuckled at the mention of his father. He had been the first to guide Asao to Reg’s chair back when he was just a kid. Even after the cops took his father’s freedom, Asao continued to show up, abusing the knowledge that he had unlimited access to Reg from the man who’d raised him.
“Who’s Leedren?”
“My pops,” Asao said, looking Samari in the eyes.
“Is he…”
“Dead, nah. His spirit some days because he’s boxed in. Doing thirty for defending my mother. Beat a man to death because he disrespected her.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to be sorry. You didn’t put him there.”
When his phone vibrated with a call, Asao stepped away to speak to Niles, watching as Samari let her guard down, laughing and talking with Reg while he cut her hair, doting on her like a loved one who had experienced her best and worst days.
Their interaction made Asao feel good that she had love in her life but also further fueled his need to provide her with the same because he understood moments like this were rare for Samari.
After he finished his call and found his way back to the chair, Samari turned her eyes on him with a suspicious grin on her face.
“What lies he over here telling you?”
She grinned wider. “You tried to fight Reg?”
Asao chuckled and brushed a hand over his waves. “That was a different time in my life.”
He thought about the angry ten year old who didn’t understand why his father had to do time for checking another man’s disrespect.