Chapter 25
Loving Love
Love was trying to have me singing his name like Keyshia Cole, the way he kept a smile on my face.
Love wasn’t a talker; he was a stepper, and he didn’t have a problem showing it.
He wasn’t loud with it. He wasn’t forced. He was PRESSURE!
I could be texting him, telling him how patients had been irritating, and minutes later, my name was getting called, telling me that it was flowers at the nurse’s station for me.
The notes attached were never long, but they always kept a smile on my face throughout the day. And by the time my break came daily, that nigga was having fresh meals pull up for me.
He made sure that I was taken care of without me having to ask him.
And that was different for me—he wasn’t a Gio.
Gio needed guidance, time, hell, for me to hold his hand and walk with him sometimes, but Love? He paid attention and moved off that. If I mentioned something one time, just talking, just venting, just being me, he acted on it.
I started thinking about Gio less and less, blocking him on everything, even deleting our pictures from my phone. And focusing on Love more, learning him like he was learning me.
He showed me I was special each time we were together, and each date topped the last. Whether it was private dinners, shopping sprees, museum dates, an overnight stay in an aquarium; this nigga had a whole bed brought in.
I told him I wanted to see a movie that was coming out he bought out the theater on the release day.
I thought Gio didn’t play about me, but Love, Love was a whole different creature, and I was slowly getting used to it.
But after Gio, what I was getting from Love was needed.
“Girl, you over there smiling at nothing, you thinking about that man, ain’t you?”
Deja’s voice cut straight through my thoughts.
I blinked, coming back to the room, and laughed. “Something like that,” I said, trying not to smile. “Love is… something else.”
“You are right about that,” Renee said, passing by without even looking at me. “He’s been taking up all your time.”
She looked at me, walked into a room to check on a patient, and walked out a few minutes later, giving me a stank look, and I laughed at her.
“He’s not taking all my time, just…”
“Taking up all your time,” Kenya said, chiming in. “And let’s be clear, we are not hating, I swear that art exhibit only worked out for you; we just miss ya.”
All three of my girls tried to give me puppy dog eyes to make me feel bad.
I sucked my teeth and chuckled. “I hear y’all, and I’m sorry, and I can make it up to you tonight. Love has to wait on some jewelry to come in, sooo, drinks tonight?”
They all smiled and agreed.
“I’m getting appetizers on you!” Kenya added with a laugh.
I hugged her before she walked away from the desk. “I got you.”
The rest of the day moved smooth. I was tired as hell, but Kenya, Deja, and Renee kept me entertained.
By the time my shift was over, I was more than ready to clock out and have a drink. We all met in the locker room. Deja went out on her break to get our spare outfits out of our cars. We washed off, changed our clothes, and fixed our hair.
The whole time, I was glancing at my phone.
“You got it, you got it bad, or whatever Usher said,” Renee said, staring at me through the mirror.
The rest of them looked at me and laughed as I blushed.
“Stop it, you guysss…” I said playfully. “I just want to make sure he’s okay.”
Deja laughed. “Well, listen, if he comes back early trying to see you, he’s gonna have to wait until we’re done with you.”
Kenya nodded her head, agreeing. “Yeah! We had you first!”
We all laughed as we gathered our things, and I walked to the door.
“Y’all shut up and come on!”
The hospital staff loved how close we were, calling me the missing piece to their group. We walked out, hopped into our cars, and pulled out into a straight line like we were part of some car club.
My focus was on the road, and where the fuck Kenya was going, because it wasn’t our regular place, when my phone rang, my dashboard lit up with Love’s name.
I instantly smiled as I picked up.
“Hello?”
“Wussup, mamas, how was your day?” Love asked, his voice low and deep as usual.
“It was good, baby, just long. I’m about to go out for drinks with my girls.”
I asked him about his day, and he didn’t say too much about it, keeping it very minimal. The girls hopped out of their cars and were walking over to mine while I was still talking.
I quickly told Love I was about to hop out when he quickly said, “Send me the address.”
I did, he hung up, and I hopped out. And locked arms with my girls.
“Kenya, this better not be no speed date shit,” Renee said jokingly.
We all laughed, knowing Kenya would be the one to put us in some different shit.
“Nooo, not this time, just a new bar I saw on IG.”
As we walked inside, Deja instantly started dancing.
“Oou, I like this spot, this is my shit!” she said, dancing to some old ass Migos song.
Renee went and joined her dancing while Kenya got our table, and I took pictures of them.
After we got seated, the server brought us a drink menu, but we were hungry and wanted some comfort fries after the day we had.
We talked, laughing, stuffing our faces, and making plans to do some things together when Deja stopped talking and looked past me with a smile on her face as she nudged Kenya beside her. Kenya then looked past me with the same look, and I tilted my head.
“What the hell are y’all looking at?” I asked, but they didn’t answer me. Their eyes were still following something all the way until I saw feet standing beside our table. I looked up, and it was Love.
He was standing there with flowers in his hand.
“What are you doing here?” I asked as I jumped up to hug him.
He squeezed me in his arms. “I got back early, and I missed you.”
“Umm, sir,” Kenya said, butting in. “But you have been taking up a lot of her time, and we miss her too.” Deja and Renee agreed.
Love let go of me and gave them a smirk.
“I understand that Islah is your friend and all, but I’m tryna make her my wife. When I want her, I’ma have her.”
I blushed. I never had a nigga talk to anybody like that. I spent years waiting for Gio to make me his wife when I had this nigga in weeks claiming what I was going to be to him.
Deja, Renee, or Kenya had anything to say after that. Deja just raised her glass while Love handed me my purse.
“I like him, Islah. Go ahead, we will see you later.”
I hugged each of them and told them I promise I would make it up. Kenya nodded her head.
“It’s okay, you don’t have to make it up… just make all three of us your maids of honor at your wedding.”
Love and I laughed as he took my hand and led me out. He was leading me to a black truck when I paused.
“What is wrong?” he asked.
“My car,” I said. “I need to get my car.”
He smirked and pulled me to the truck when I saw a nigga hop out of the passenger seat while Love opened up the back door.
“Give me your keys,” he said, and I did. “My nigga gonna drive your car home, you are coming home with me.”
The way Love controlled everything made me submit naturally.
After he handed my keys off to his nigga, we hopped in the back of the black truck and headed to his house.
I was all in his lap, kissing all over him as he gripped me tight in his arms. Love kissed me deep, making me wet and craving more of him.
Once we made it to his penthouse, Love picked me up and set me on his counter. He kissed all over me softly while his hands gripped me tight. Now and then, he would pull back and look at me.
“You can tell by now I don’t be playin’, right?” His hands tightened on me. “When I say something, I mean it.”
I nodded, my heart beating fast.
“I know you do,” I said low.
“I want to do it right, though.”
Love walked away from me, sitting on his counter, wanting him bad as fuck. He walked back out with a large box in his hand.
“I want you to know that everything about me is the truth, and the shit I say and do is not for show, it’s all for a reason.”
Love opened the box, and there was a pink diamond necklace that said love in scripted lettering.
I cuffed my mouth, shocked.
“Love, this is for me?” I asked, damn near speechless.
Love nodded with a laugh and took the necklace out of the box.
“Of course it is, love,” he said as he placed it around my neck.
The cold metal hit my chest and calmed me down a lil’ bit.
“Love, thank you, baby, I—”
He cut me off. “This is just the start, baby, you dealt with a clown,” he said as I wrapped my arms around his neck before he continued. “I’m the reason why you never settled for that nigga.”
A smile never left my face; I felt everything that he was saying.
“You are not working tomorrow,” he said. “I got you for the day.”
“What do you have planned?” I asked, not even caring what it was for real.
“The rest of your life.”