4. Where There’s Cute Things.
4
Where There’s Cute Things...
Phoenix “Phee” Preston - May 18th, 2025
This past month has been better than I could’ve ever imagined.
There wasn’t a day when Angel and I didn’t see each other. I'd stop by the bakery every morning before I went to work and have coffee and breakfast with her. I’d have to get up extra early to grab us some coffee from Maddox’s cafe, but I didn’t mind. I loved every second that I got to spend with her.
After work, she and I would have dinner together and just chill at her place as we watched movies or played games on her Switch. She was so damn cute every time she showed me something that she liked. I’d never been with a woman with as many hobbies as her, but I loved it. Everything was going great…until I realized that I never actually asked her to be my girlfriend.
I m ean, she never said anything, but a part of me wanted every moment with her to be special because she deserved that. She was so sweet and kind to everyone she crossed paths with. She cared for those around her and felt bad when she couldn’t give everyone the attention that she believed they deserved. Hell, she even kissed me one more time than I kissed her because she wanted to keep things even since I’d been the one to kiss her first after our first date.
Yeah, she was cute as hell.
Anyway, today I had an off day for the first time in over a month, and I was going to spend the whole morning in the city buying all of Angel’s favorite things and present them to her as I had asked her to be my girlfriend officially. I could already picture her now squealing as I surprised her with them and the lunch I planned to pick up on the way back. I’d never done anything like this for a woman in the past, but like I keep saying, Angel was different.
“How do I look, Nori?” I ask as I pose for her. She barked excitedly, and I smiled before ruffling her fur. “Thank you, girl. I can always count on you to hype me up.”
I give her a quick kiss on the head before exiting the room to put my shoes on. It was hot as hell out today, so I opted for an old graphic tee that I cut the sleeves off and paired it with some black cargo shorts. As for the shoes, I was just rocking some Vans. It was a simple outfit, but I was a simple person. I’ve never been the flashy type.
Okay, I’m lying.
I took pride in the way I accessorized my outfits. From the diamonds I wore in my ears to the ones I wore on my teeth sometimes. I like d the small touches of bling. I always had a nose ring on and a small chain around my neck that my parents had given me on my fourth birthday. Of course, I had to get it extended as I got older, but it was something I would always cherish.
My accessory needs were always satisfied thanks to the local jewelry shop, Harrison Jewels. I’d become one of the most loyal customers of the mother-daughter-owned business. All of the pieces were one of a kind and made in-house, and they were always worth the money I splurged.
“See you later tonight, Nori. Don’t eat all of your food at once,” I call out before exiting my apartment and locking the door behind me.
I jog down the stairs and slide into the driver’s seat of my truck. My phone started to ring as soon as I fastened my seatbelt, so I started the engine and answered it on the car’s speakers. Not even a few seconds later, my sister’s voice travels through the vehicle. If I weren’t fully awake, I would be now since she was always so damn loud, even at eight in the morning.
“Good morningggg, lovely sister of mine!” she sings, and I shake my head as I pull out onto the road.
“I know Lovey and Junior dread being woken up every morning by that loud voice of yours,” I say, referring to my niece and nephew. She cusses me out, and I laugh. “Not you cussin’ early in the morning.”
“You stay playing with me, Phee. I’m a changed woman, but you make me want to cut you every other day,” she replies, and I laugh harder.
“ Changed woman my ass. You’re still the same wild ass Rae. Only difference is that you have kids now.”
“Are you calling me a hoe, Phoenix?”
`“You know that’s not what I meant with your annoying ass,” I huff, shaking my head. She laughs at my reaction. “Bruh, what do you want this early in the morning? And it better not be no shit about a blind date. I told you I’m done with all that.”
“Bitch, I get it!” she says. “Damn, you so ungrateful.” I roll my eyes but don’t reply. “Anyway, I called to let you know that I needed to reschedule your retwist appointment. Senior surprised me and is taking me and the kids on a week-long vacation to Disney for the twins’ birthday. I had no idea!”
“Aww, okay, I love that for y’all,” I smile as I cruise down the street that leads to the main highway. I was headed to the mall because I knew that I’d be able to find a bunch of stuff I needed. “I hope y’all have fun. My hair can wait another week. You know I ain’t the complaining type, especially because you do my shit for free.”
She laughs but agrees. My sister has always been talented when it came to doing hair and makeup. She’d built up a client list at the age of fourteen and even had most of the same ones all these years later. When she was old enough to go to school for her passion, she worked hard as hell and graduated with honors. She spent a few years working at some high-end shops in the city, but when she met Senior, he promised to do everything in his power to get her a shop of her own. He kept his word, and about five years ago, she opened Rae’s Hair Salon . She was successful, and I was proud as hell of her.
“ Well, let me get going. We have to leave in the next thirty minutes to get on the road to the airport,” she tells me. “I love you, big sis.”
“I love you, too, Rae. Have fun and kiss my niece and nephew for me,” I say. “Drive safe, be safe, and take pictures for me. Oh, and tell the twins I’ll have their gifts when they return.”
We say our goodbyes, and I disconnect the call before turning on my playlist of driving music. I had about 30 minutes before I got to my destination. This morning, I called Angel and told her that I would be out of town running errands. She was sad that she wouldn’t see me until later, but I promised her I had a surprise, and she quickly perked up.
After half an hour of driving, I pull into the mall's parking lot and make my way inside. It was pretty packed since it was a sunny summer Friday morning. There were a few stores that I needed to stop at, so I pulled out my phone and checked the list I’d pulled together. I wasn’t trying to spend more than an hour in this place because I hated how crowded it got around lunchtime.
“Excuse me,” I say after entering a popular shop that sells cute figurines and plushies. The teen in the store’s uniform looks at me with a smile. I showed her the picture on my phone. “Hi, um, I’m buying some things for my girlfriend. Well, I mean, she’s not technically my girlfriend yet, but I plan on officially asking her today. Anyway, do y’all have any of these little fruit bear figurines?”
She looks at the picture and nods. “Yep, we just got some in yesterday!” she replies and tells me to follow her. She leads me to a wall decorated with all the new releases. She points to the collection I was looking for. “These are the ones. Do you know if she wanted a specific one?”
“Uh, no, I was just gonna get one of each,” I admit, and she looks at me with a surprised expression. She smiles again and nods. “She likes cute things and mentioned that this was a collection she was waiting to buy.”
“Wow, she’s lucky,” she chuckles as she places one of each of the six figurines in a small shopping basket. “These are like $40 each.”
“FORTY DOLLARS?!” I exclaim in mock surprise.
“Uh, yeah, did you want me to put a few back?” she asks nervously. I chuckle, shaking my head.
“Love, that price does not scare me,” I admit. She looks relieved as she nods. “You must be too young to get that reference. My bad.”
“Oh, yeah, I don’t know that one,” she chuckles before turning back to me. “Did you need anything else, or was this all?”
I look around the store and tap my chin before my eyes land on the ugliest fucking plushies I’ve ever seen in my life. I point at them. “What the hell are those?”
“Ah,” she giggles. “Those are Ugly Friends. They’re trending currently for being cute and ugly at the same time.”
“I just know Angel would love one of them stupid ass things,” I mumble to myself. I sigh, shaking my head. “Okay, I’ll take one and that’s it.”
“Any specific one?” she asks as we walk over to where they are. My face scrunches up as I look at them.
“Girl, I don’t know,” I groan. “Which one is the least popular one?”
“ The least popular?” she asks, confused. “Not the most popular?”
“If I know my Sweets, she’ll love the least popular one way more than the most popular one,” I nod. She nods and pulls down the bat/cat/frog one. Ugh… “Nice, I hate it.”
She laughs and leads me to the checkout counter, where she rings up all my purchases. I don’t even hesitate when the total comes to right under $300. I swipe my card and thank her as I take the bags. From that store, I went to the second floor to buy a few candles in her favorite scents. My last stop was at a clothing store that I knew she loved.
I look around the racks and pull everything in her size and favorite style until I have about ten articles of clothing in my hand. I could barely hold on to them and the bags I was holding, so a few of them fell to the floor. I sighed deeply as one of the workers rushed over to me. She helps me pick up everything and takes me to the cash register.
“Was this all, or did you want to go get a few more things?” she asks politely.
“Oh, that’s all,” I reply with a nod. She begins to scan the items.
“Is it someone’s birthday?” She asks.
“Nah, I’m just…okay, this is gonna sound weird, but I’m bouta to ask my girlfriend to be my,” I pause. “Girlfriend.”
“Wait, you’re gonna ask your girlfriend to be your girlfriend ?” she chuckles, and I nod. “How does that even work?”
“ We kinda jumped into it without actually establishing what we were,” I explain. “So, I want to make it clear to her that I want to be with her for a long time.”
“Honestly, if it were me, I’d fold,” she chuckles. She nodded to the other bags I held. “Are all those for her?”
“Yeah,” I smile toward the bags before glancing back at her. “I wanted to get her all of her favorite things. She likes cute things, and I like seeing her smile, so it’s a win-win, honestly.”
“Do they sell partners like you in the store or something?” she jokes. “My damn ex didn’t even remember my birthday.” She sighs. “Whoever this woman is sure got lucky. I hope everything goes well.”
“Thank you, love,” I reply as I pay for the clothes. She hands me the bags and my receipts, and I exit the store.
I returned to the car without dropping anything and placed everything in the back. On the drive home, I called Angel to see what she wanted for lunch, and she told me that she was craving some soul food. She squealed with delight when I told her I would stop at her favorite restaurant in town. We talked a bit more before she had to check on her cakes.
When I finally made it back to town, I called to place a pick-up order and ran to the nearest dollar store to get a few more things I needed. After collecting the food, I went to Taste of Heaven Bakery . When I pulled up, I saw that the parking lot was pretty packed, meaning she’d just announced on the bakery’s official page that she had fresh pastries. Every time she did, it was like everyone would stop what they were doing to come and buy some. Everyone loved her desser ts, no matter what they were. Even her oatmeal raisin cookies sold out.
“Damn, it’s packed in here,” I say as I squeeze past the waiting customers to get to the counter. I slipped behind the counter and almost ran into Angel. She had a box of pastries in her hand, so I took them from her. I looked at the name and turned towards the line. “Megan?”
“Right here!” A teen called, and I handed over her order with a smile.
When I turned around, I saw Angel about to move on to the next order, but I stopped her. “Whoa, hold on, Sweets,” I say as I pull her to the side so one of the workers can help the next customer. I tip her chin up lightly and kiss her lips softly. “Meet me at your place in fifteen minutes, okay?”
“Phee, there are so many customers still,” she tries to argue, but I shake my head.
“You have five workers here and they know what they’re doing,” I state. “Trust them and come have lunch with me, okay?” She nods. “Fifteen minutes, Sweets.”
“Okay, okay,” she giggles. I kiss her once more before leaving the way I came.
Once I’m out in the parking lot, I quickly get to work moving all of the stuff up to her apartment. A few customers gave me weird looks, but most of them picked up on what I was doing. Once I have everything upstairs, I organize everything on the couch to show everything at once. After that, I took the decorations that I’d gotten from t he dollar store and got to work decorating her living room in her favorite colors of yellow and green.
Next, I rearranged the small chocolate candies on the coffee table to spell out “Will You Be My Girlfriend?” I knew it was a little cheesy, but that’s the type of stuff that Angel ate up. I could hear her now, squealing like I’d gotten her a puppy or something. I stood back and looked at all I’d done, and I felt so accomplished that I took a picture to remember this moment later.
I then moved on to our lunch. I entered the kitchen to grab two plates, wine glasses, and cutlery. I fixed both plates of red beans and rice with cornbread, fried chicken, and green beans before placing napkins over them. Usually, you would eat greens with a meal like this, but she hated greens, so I opted for green beans instead. For our drink, I set out one of the many bottles of wine she had lying around, thanks to her cousin always gifting her the best stuff. I guess that was one of the perks of having a family that owned a vineyard and winery.
I check my watch and see that I’ve set everything up within ten minutes, so I have another five to wait. I decided to practice what I was gonna say to her. I’m not sure why, but I was suddenly nervous about what would happen. It was stupid to feel this way when I knew that she liked me as much as I liked her…and I liked her so fucking much.
I leaned against the wall as I thought about all our time together this past month. We’d gotten so close, and the more we learned about each other, the more I was sure she was the one I was meant to be with. If I’m honest, I never thought I’d ever utter those words, even if it were just to myself in my head. I thought that I was meant to be single forever because I was never into being serious with any of the women I’d been with in the past. Come to think of it, I’d never had a real relationship in my life. Just a bunch of dates and situationships here and there.
Plus, a lot of fucking, but that’s a story for another day.
But with Angel, I wanted it all. I wanted the dates and the kissing under the stars. I wanted to have anniversary celebrations and get the chance to spend the holidays with her. I wanted to dress in cute matching clothes and have matching phone cases and all that shit.
Fuck, I wanted it all.
“I’m so sorry I’m late!” I hear as I snap back to the present. I see Angel rush through the door, but she freezes when she sees all the decorations. “Wha…what is all of this?”
“Surprise,” I smile as I take her by the hand.
My heart was beating hard as hell, but I knew that it was showtime.