Chapter 11 #2
We lifted our glasses and cheered to that nigga being out of my life for good. I finally felt like I was done being in survival mode and was at the point where I could enjoy life.
The day kept moving after that, and by the time evening started creeping in through the windows, papers were everywhere, half-empty glasses all around, phones on chargers. We were all in the thick of it to make sure my day looked the way I wanted it to when we heard the front door unlock and open.
All four of us looked up from our phones and notebooks as Amir was walking down the hall with his face all twisted up.
“And I told the coach that wasn’t a foul—”
He stopped when he saw us and just stared.
Love walked in right behind him with flowers in his hand. His eyes immediately found me.
I stood up as Love walked over to me, handing me the flowers and wrapping me in his arms with a kiss.
“Wussup, mamas?” he asked.
A smile instantly came across my face.
“Hey baby, I missed you,” I said softly, taking the flowers from him.
“You see this shit?” Renee whispered loudly.
“They don’t even see us,” Kenya added.
“They in their own world,” Deja chimed in.
Me and Love laughed at them as he pulled away from me and looked around the living room.
“What the hell happened in here?” Love asked.
“You know I was wedding planning before you left, we been at it all day.”
Love chuckled. “It looks like wedding warfare.”
That made Amir laugh.
Love sat down on the couch beside me and looked through the things that were spread out.
“Y’all make any progress?”
“A lil’,” I responded.
“A lil’?” Kenya repeated. “We got it all planned, just need to lock everything in.”
Love smirked, then looked up at me.
“Did you pick a date?”
All my girls laughed.
“She forgot about that shit,” Deja blurted out before I had a chance to respond.
Love looked at me and I nodded.
“I kinda did.”
Love looked down at all the binders and notebooks, then back up at me and laughed.
“Baby girl…” That was all he could get out through laughing.
My girls laughed along with him. Amir did too.
“How you forget the date?” Amir asked.
I shrugged. “It has been a lot going on.”
Love stood up and wrapped his arms around me. “It’s okay, baby. We will get it together, but before that, do you ladies mind calling it a night so I can spend some time with my fiancée and son?”
My girls looked at each other with a smile and started to pick up what they came with. I closed all the notebooks and binders and made a lil’ corner for everything before I walked them to the door.
“Work tomorrow?” Deja asked.
“Yes girl, I will see y’all there.”
They walked out, and I closed the door behind them and walked back down the hall. Amir made his way to the living room, thrown in his beanbag, already on his phone, while Love was on his.
“Amir, go get washed and changed,” Love ordered.
Amir got up and went to his room with no questions. Love then turned his attention to me.
“I ordered dinner so you wouldn’t have to worry about it.”
I took a seat beside him and laid my head on him. I didn’t have anything to say. Of course, we had things to talk about, but for the moment, I just wanted his company.
About thirty minutes later, the food came. Love called Amir from his room to grab some pizza and wings. I laid on the couch as he fixed plates, watching how his diamonds hit in the light, how he guided Amir not to make a mess, then how he walked over to me with my plate and my glass of wine.
The music was still playing softly behind us. Love hummed along to the different songs as we ate, and he handled business on his phone.
He cleaned up once we were done eating, even putting the food away while I laid on the couch watching him. When he was done, he walked back over to me and reached out his hand while turning the music up.
“Can I have this dance?”
I sat up with a smile on my face. “Of course.”
Love pulled me off the couch and into his arms.
One hand settled on my lower back while the other held mine. The music filled the room softly as we started moving around the living room floor.
Slow.
Easy.
Comfortable.
The same way everything between us felt.
I rested my head against his chest while he guided us around the room.
“So, what day do you want to become my wife?”
I laughed softly against his chest.
“We gotta pick a date ASAP, huh?”
“Hell yeah,” Love responded instantly. “I need somethin’ on the calendar ASAP, we been through too much—I beat a nigga ass for you, you damn right I need that date.”
I shook my head while smiling. “You actin’ like we been engaged for years.”
“Mamas, if it was up to just me, I’d marry you in the kitchen right now.”
That made me pull back enough to look at him.
“Really, Love?”
“Yes, baby, you already know you’re stuck with me.”
I rolled my eyes. “You are a trip.”
He shook his head. “Nah, I’m ready to make you my wife and have a happy life.”
Love spun me around slowly before pulling me back in.
“How about in six months?” I asked softly.
Love was quiet for a second.
“Six?”
I nodded. “Yes, that gives us time to enjoy the engagement stage the right way.”
Love sucked his teeth while still moving us around the living room.
“That’s a long ass time, mamas.”
“No, it’s not, Love.”
“It is when I gotta wait to call you my wife.”
I felt my cheeks warm.
“Six months,” I repeated. “Plus, that gives me time to make it perfect.”
“I don’t need perfect, mamas, I just need you.” Love let out a sigh before he continued. “Fine, six months it is, but if you finish everything you’re trying to do before then, I don’t care if it’s in the parking lot of Lenox fuckin’ Square, I’m marrying you before that.”
I laughed. “Okay, baby, I’ll give you that.”
Love pulled away from me and held his hand out. I shook it, then he pulled me in for a kiss, picking me up afterward and carrying me down the hall.
Love took me to the bathroom, sat me on the counter, started the shower, then undressed me as he kissed me softly.
Then he just stared at me, not at my body, like he was studying my face.
“I love you, Mrs. Mayer to be.”
I lit up. “I love you more, Mr. Mayer.”