22. Harlem
HARLEM
A BIRTHDAY TO REMEMBER – TWO WEEKS LATER
“Come on, Baby. We’re gonna be late!” I shouted up the stairs from the second floor.
“I’m coming!”
I glanced at my watch for the third time and shook my head.
That woman knew she could take forever getting ready for any event.
I wasn’t sure why it took her so long, because she was naturally beautiful; but I didn’t mind waiting on my woman.
Today was her thirtieth birthday, and although she had told us not to, we were all making a big deal of it.
“I’m ready,” she announced, meeting me in the kitchen five minutes later.
She wore hot pink, silk baroque pants, a yellow embellished halter that showed off her newly pierced belly, and yellow designer heels that I had recently purchased for her birthday.
The front and rear straps of her shoes were decorated with Swarovski crystals.
She fingered the double C earrings in her ears. “Too much?” she asked.
“Dulzura, you couldn’t look more beautiful or more perfect if I brought Coco back to life and had her style you herself.”
She smiled and blew a kiss at me. Her long copper curls were pulled up into a bun on her head, and a few tendrils of curls escaped around her temples and the back of her neck.
Baby spun in a circle as I slowly made my way to her.
I pulled her into my arms, and I inhaled the fruity scent that she wore before I turned her around to look at her ass in the pants.
“Dulzura, you look and smell like a billion bucks, with ya fine ass. I don’t see how we gon’ make it out of here on time.
Good lawd.” I groaned as I pressed my hardening dick against her fat ass-cheeks.
“Would you stop?” She giggled.
“I can’t stop, babe. Your ass is making a fashion statement in them pants.” I moaned as I ground against her fat ass, trying to bury my dick between her soft cheeks through the fabric.
She pushed back against me and rocked up and down slowly. “Mm. Harlem, it feels good.”
“You ’bout to get what you’re asking for. Bump my dick like that again.”
“I’m not bumping, bae. You were pressing, and it feels . . . Oohhh!” She screamed as I pumped hard against her.
Her phone rang, and she pushed me back with a groan. “Shit. That’s Mama.”
I stared into her eyes, pinching her nipples as she answered the call. “Hi, Mama. Yeah, we’re on our way now. Yep, he’s standing right here.”
She bit her bottom lip and handed me the phone.
“Hello?”
“Harlem?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I’m a stickler for time. If you two haven’t left already that means you’re going to be late. I don’t tolerate lateness. If you’re late, you will have to deal with me, and that won’t make me happy. If I’m unhappy, then Baby’s daddy gets unhappy, and we wouldn’t want that now, would we?”
My eyebrows lifted, and I cleared my throat. “No, ma’am. We’ll be on time. I promise.”
“Get Baby here safe. You understand?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And you keep yourself safe too. We like you and want to keep you around for a while.”
“Thank you, ma’am. I want to be around for a while too.”
“Good. Harlem?”
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Why are you still standing in the house instead of in the car on the way here?”
I chuckled. “We’re moving right now. See you soon.” She ended the call before I could say another word. I grabbed Baby’s hand and my keys and tugged her to the garage door in the kitchen.
“Dang, slow down.”
“Look at you. Got us late, taking your time getting dressed and ready. Now got ya mama all over me and your daddy side-eyeing me,” I complained, locking the door.
She giggled. “Sir, that was you trying to get some bumps and grinds in before we left.”
“How does she know we were still here anyway?”
“She’s got my location.”
I groaned and pulled the car door open and all but pushed her inside before I ran to the driver’s side. I peeled out of the garage and headed toward the mall.
“Harlem, what are we doing at the mall? You just told my mama we wouldn’t be late.”
“Listen, I need to pick up another item before we head to the bakery. Your mama will be just fine.”
“Uhm, okay. I’d love to see that.”
“Trust me, your mama loves me.”
She giggled. “Secretly, I think she does. She’s always asking about you, and her neighbor asked about you the last time that I was over there. I asked her how she knew about you, and she said that my mama was always bragging about you.”
I smirked and led her to the rear of the mall. We stopped outside of a dark store, and I pulled a set of keys from my pocket and handed them to Baby.
“What are these for?”
“Open the door and you will see.”
She looked at me hesitantly, with confusion written all over her beautiful, smooth features.
The space was filled with pink and yellow balloons. They were tied to fixtures, floating in the air, affixed to stands and an arch and hiding people.
“Surprise, Baby!” her parents, her brothers, and Palmer shouted, stepping from behind the balloons.
“Ohhh!” She screeched. Startled, she jumped back and bumped into me.
I made a safe space for her in my arms, rubbing her arms as she calmed down, acclimating herself to the sight of her family and best friend.
“Oh, my goodness. What is this? What’s that?” She pointed to the rear of the retail space where a sign hung that read, “Welcome to Baby Got Buns II.”
She turned and looked at me in confusion. “I don’t understand, Harlem.”
I wrapped her in my arms. “Happy birthday, Baby. This is my gift to you.”
Her eyes watered up, and she replied, “I don’t understand.”
Everyone laughed, and I broke it down that the mall belonged to a corporation ran by my grandfather, and he bequeathed the corporation to CJ in his will.
CJ had a vacancy coming up because a tenant was moving out, and I leased the space from him to open a second shop for her.
All she needed to do was hire the staff.
“I’ve paid off your bank loans for your main store at the Old Barrington Heights location.”
The tears that had bubbled up now spilled over as she sobbed into her hands. I pulled her into my arms and kissed her head as her mother and Palmer sighed. “Aww.”
Her brothers chuckled, and her daddy stated, “That’s my girl. Always emotional.”
Baby pulled back and looked into my eyes. She was still crying but managed to speak through the tears. “Thank you, bae. Thank you so much. What did I do to deserve such a good man?”
“You’re deserving of the best of everything.
You’ve always given so unselfishly to others, and you continue to give of yourself.
I noticed that you give the leftover foods at the end of the day to the homeless man that comes by, although you’re not supposed to according to city code.
You gave both Mimi and Naina, two single mothers, jobs when they had no skills to offer and others were more qualified.
“You took a chance on Javar, who learned his skills in prison, and was fresh out of there when he was looking for a job. Then there is Hollis, who you have taken under your wings, and you’re teaching him about business management when he’s supposed to be cleaning your bakery.
You are such a good person, Baby, and you deserve all the best that life has to offer you. ”
Her family and friends crowded around her, wishing her a happy birthday and kissing her, until her mother rushed everyone off and reminded us that we still needed to get to the bakery.
“You had me fooled all this time. You and my mother were working together on this?” she asked as we drove to the bakery.
“Yep. She did want us to hurry up and be on the way, but she couldn’t say that. She knew that you were probably listening to the call, which is why she pretended to fuss at me.”
“How did she know that I’d be listening?”
“Everyone knows that you keep the volume on your phone at max. I can be sitting on the other side of the room and hear the person on the other line.”
She laughed and replied, “Fine. I’ll keep my volume on low now.”
“You do that,” I replied, kissing her fingers that were clasped in mine. “You like your birthday gift?”
“I love it. This is the best birthday. You didn’t have to do all that.”
“I’m your man. Let me take care of you.”
She smiled sweetly at me and replied, “Okay. I can do that.”
We pulled up to the bakery fifteen minutes later, and everyone was there already partying. People greeted her with hugs and kisses as we got out of the car. We took our time interacting with everyone until we made it inside the bakery where three tables were set up that held her presents.
“Oh my goodness! All of this for me?” she asked, looking around as her eyes welled with tears again.
“Must be old age that’s got you crying all day,” Easy teased.
“Boy, shut up.” She laughed.
“Easy, if thirty makes her old, what does that make you since you’re three years older than her?” their mother asked.
Everyone laughed, and Baby opened her gifts before she finally cut the cake that Javar baked and Thérèse decorated.
She gave a short speech on how she couldn’t be more blessed than to have a loving family, supportive friends, a new community, and a loving, generous man in her life.
She never expected to be here by her thirtieth birthday, but not only had all her dreams come true, but so much more.
We partied for a few more hours with the other business owners, staff, and patrons before it was time to head out.
We went back home where we showered and changed before we headed out to Black Diamonds.
It was an upscale club that some of the celebrities frequented.
We rented out the entire VIP space to celebrate Baby’s birthday.
I held her hand tightly as we walked into the club decorated in silver, black, and blue. The music was loud, and people were having a good time all around. I had my head on a swivel at the same time my eyes were pinned to my baby.