13. Treasure
TREASURE
“He has Bali’s complexion right now, but he looks just like Carter. I’m in love with my little nephew already.”
I smiled at Kingsley as I took a bite of my Monte Cristo. We were at Cheddar’s . . . finally. Being here amongst all these people was slightly uncomfortable, but I was here, trusting that everything would be okay and trusting that even if they weren’t, Kingsley would protect me.
“Yeah, I have a feeling his complexion will darken over the next few months,” he said.
I nodded and closed my eyes for a moment.
This sandwich was so good. When I opened them, Kingsley was staring at me with a smile on his face.
He was happy that we were out in public.
This was a first. I could honestly say that I was happy too.
Glancing at my flowers on the table, I couldn’t help but smile too.
I covered my mouth, and said, “I love the way this feels, King.”
“Me too, King’s Treasure. It almost seems unreal.”
“Right. I’m just glad that after my suicide attempt, I decided that enough was enough. I finally have a counselor that I believe will help me through things as well. I have another appointment tomorrow, and I’m going to go to her office.”
“That’s so good, baby. I’m so proud of you.”
He grabbed my hand from across the table and kissed it. After caressing it for a few moments and staring into my eyes, he released it.
“So, I can’t wait to spend time with you and your family. It seems none of my brothers are going to produce little girls, so I need to get acquainted with your nieces. What are their names again?”
He smiled. I could tell just how much he loved them. “The oldest is Roselynn and the baby is Katrice. When do you wanna go? My mama will probably want to cook to welcome you to the family.”
I smiled. He knew we would be together for the long haul. I loved when he expressed that. “Is Sunday too soon?” I asked.
“Today wouldn’t be too soon. She’d be cooking at one a.m. if we were coming. They’ve been looking forward to meeting their future daughter-in-law.”
I had to be blushing. My face was so hot. When I saw someone walking by, my gaze shifted to them. It was Kambel. “Kambel!”
She looked over and when she saw me, she smiled so big.
We used to be close. Although, by blood, she wasn’t my cousin, I considered her as such.
Aaliyah and Red Squared were our cousins, since Aunt Shana and my mama were first cousins.
We called her aunt because they were more like sisters.
Asad was Uncle Red’s son, but that didn’t matter either. He was our cousin too.
She walked over to us, so I stood and hugged her. She hugged me tightly and said in my ear, “It’s so good to see you out and about . . . and with a man.”
I giggled. In my peripheral, I saw someone else approaching and realized it was Kane.
I frowned slightly as he and King slapped hands.
Kambel smiled slightly. She said in a soft voice, “Kane was the man I wanted. Crew bullied his way between us. It’s a long story.
We’re trying to see if we can work things out after everything that happened.
I really hope we can,” she said, glancing at Kane while he talked to his brother.
“I hope you can too. As you know, this has been a long time coming. While I may seem comfortable, I’m a nervous wreck on the inside. I’m doing it scared. Eventually, I will be okay.”
I felt a tremble course through my body as I spoke. That was probably my body telling me to get in my safe space, which was in the booth with Kingsley. She kissed my cheek, and I kissed hers, then sat.
“Hey, King’s Treasure. It’s good to see you,” Kane said as Kingsley pushed him. He laughed. “He calls you that when he talks about you, so I had to mess with him.”
I smiled. “Hey, Kane. It’s good to see you too.”
He extended his hand, so I placed mine in his, and he gently squeezed it, then released it.
“A’ight, bro. Talk to you later.”
“Okay,” Kingsley responded and watched Kane and Kambel walk away.
He looked at me and smiled. “I wasn’t expecting to see the two of them here.”
“You look happy that you did though,” I expressed.
“Yeah. I’m always happy to see my brother. That’s my best friend.”
“I know.”
I went back to my food and so did he. We occasionally glanced at one another as we ate.
My body was heating up beyond belief. I closed my eyes, trying not to be nervous about it.
It was telling me that no matter how much I overthought this, it was time.
Kingsley deserved all of me, and he would get it much sooner than he probably thought. Tonight.
“Instead of going to Liberty, can I just stay with you?”
His eyebrows lifted. “Huh?”
I giggled and bit my bottom lip. “I know you heard me, King.”
“Umm . . . yeah. You sure you wanna stay with me? I mean, it’s gonna be a change of environment and—”
“Tell me you love me.”
He licked his lips as he stared at me. “I love you more than I love myself. I love you with my soul. My spirit has intertwined with yours, and there’s no way I could ever live without you. I love you with my life, King’s Treasure.”
I glanced down and saw just how aroused he was. I took a deep breath, then glanced at the traffic light. “It’s green, baby.”
He cleared his throat and drove through the intersection in China. He remained quiet, seemingly deep in thought. I slid my hand to his, and he grabbed it, caressing the top of it with his thumb. I closed my eyes, feeling just how calm my body was. I was making the right decision. “Kingsley . . .”
He glanced at me. “What’s up, baby?”
“What are you nervous about? I mean, I know it will be my first time staying with you at your place. My first time at your place alone. But I feel I’m ready. I don’t want to waste a moment of that feeling doubting myself.”
“I guess I’m just nervous about whether you’re ready for that, but you just clarified things. I got’chu, baby.”
I gave him a tight smile and turned to the front to see him approaching the traffic light in Nome. After he got in the turning lane to turn left on 365, he said, “Man, this is a dream come true, Treasure. I can’t wait until the day comes that you never have to leave.”
“Me either,” I said softly.
When the light turned green, he headed to Henderson Village.
My body began trembling slightly, so I closed my eyes again.
Then I thought . . . if I trusted Kingsley enough to be able to close my eyes to get myself together, why was my body behaving this way?
This was what Uncle Storm was talking about.
It was dark, and I was alone with a man, a similarity to my trauma.
It was the last time I was alone with a man.
My body was responding to what it last remembered dealing with in a similar situation.
I said in a low voice, “I’m safe. Kingsley is the man I love, and he loves me with all his heart. This is nowhere close to being that.”
Almost immediately, the trembles stopped.
He turned in his driveway, and I saw Royal outside talking to Seven.
Kingsley pulled into the garage and put the door down.
I knew he did that so they wouldn’t come over and startle me.
He turned off the vehicle, and I saw the side door of his garage open.
Surprisingly, I didn’t get nervous. I knew it was Seven or Royal.
They both walked into the garage as Kingsley gave me a tight smile and got out of the car. I watched them talk for a moment, then they waved at me and left. I was more than sure they probably thought he was alone. Kingsley came to my side of the vehicle and helped me out.
Once he locked it, he grabbed my hand and led me to the back door. I had goosebumps on my skin. My feelings were all over the place, but I knew lying in his arms would make everything right. Feeling his touch like never before was something I was anxious to experience.
After he unlocked it, we walked inside. The sounds of my heels, connecting with the wooden floors, echoed throughout the area until we stopped so he could turn on more lights.
When he did, I looked around, admiring his beautiful home.
It wasn’t heavily furnished but the pictures on the wall gave it a soft touch.
He had a deer mount above the fireplace, and I just knew that was gonna scare the shit out of me if I ever walked through here in the dark. Then again, it would probably be a long time before I was able to walk around his house in the dark. I would be used to it being there by that time.
He had a large area rug that looked like buckskin with an oversized sofa, couch, and recliner.
The TV was positioned right below the deer mount.
The attention getter was the somewhat out of place chandelier.
It gave the room contrast that I wasn’t expecting, especially not after seeing the deer mount.
“This is beautiful, Kingsley.”
He twisted his lips. “It’s a’ight. You can make it beautiful though.”
I smiled. He grabbed my hand and was leading me to the sofa until I asked, “Can you show me the rest of the house?”
“Yeah, sure.”
He led me from room to room, most of them empty.
We laughed whenever we got to a room and there was nothing in it.
“I didn’t want my mama decorating it, having it looking like a woman lived here.
I wanted you to be the one to decorate it and make it a home.
I refused to do anything in here, because I didn’t know what you would or wouldn’t like. ”
I slowly shook my head then went to him, sliding my arms around his waist. Before I could even pucker my lips, he lowered his face to mine and kissed my lips.
“I have something to show you.”
“Okay.”
He smiled at me, then led me down the hallway of the second floor. There was a door at the end of it. He stopped before opening the door and turned to me. “I don’t want you to be overwhelmed. I just couldn’t—”
I placed my fingers over his lips. He kissed them. “Just show me.”