Chapter 25-Devon
“Babe, your birthday is next week. What do you want to do? Name it, and your man will make it happen,” I told her as I sat down at the kitchen table next to her.
Dreux went to one of his friend’s houses for a sleepover, and that gave me and my woman a chance to bond . She spent the night for the first time since we started dating. I had to admit that I loved waking up next to my baby. Never had I seen a woman go to sleep and wake up looking flawless.
I knew that I was a lucky man to have her. No, scratch that, I was blessed to have her in my corner and on my arm.
I woke up before her to make us some breakfast, which no woman could ever say that I had done for them. Kenya was worth pulling out all the stops for.
We finished our food and were in the kitchen, talking, and drinking coffee like an old married couple.
This was her first birthday that we would celebrate together, and I wanted it to be special.
“I typically spend my birthday with my parents, my sister, and her family. Since we still aren’t speaking, I’m not sure how I will spend my day,” she responded.
I could tell that she was bothered, even though she didn’t speak about it too much.
When she told me that her sister went off on her because she told her about her husband having an affair, I couldn’t say anything.
I couldn’t comment because I recognized him the day I went to her parents for brunch.
Ivan’s baby mama, Rasheeda, was the homie.
I knew him before I walked through the door.
His eyes got big as hell when I turned the corner.
Yes, I could have blown his cover, but I wasn’t that type of man.
What he had going on in his house was his business.
It didn’t have a damn thing to do with what Kenya and I were building.
“What’s something that you have always wanted to do?”
“Umm … I don’t know. I can’t think of anything right now.”
“Well, when you do, let me know. I have a few stops to make today, get dressed, and ride with me.”
She nodded in agreement, got up, and went to my bedroom to get dressed. I made sure to follow behind her as she walked away from the table. I never missed a chance to watch her hips sway from the back.
Within an hour, we were out the door headed to Crossroads. I needed to pick up our bank deposit that Levi had waiting for me. Once we left the club, I planned to hit the bank to deposit the money, then head to the next stop.
When I mentioned to Kenya that I needed to chop it up with Levi, she said that she wanted to come in and speak to him.
They had formed a solid relationship, which I could appreciate.
One of the many things that I loved about Kenya was that she loved the people that I loved.
If I told her that somebody was important to me, she put the work in building a relationship with them too.
A lot of females tried to separate their men from their homeboys, but she was the exact opposite.
“Hey, K,” Levi’s big ass said as he bypassed me to hug Kenya.
“Aye, man, if you keep stepping to my woman like that, I’m going to have to handle you.”
“Say less with your jealous ass. Anyway, how you been, sis? You’re looking good. I hope that this clown has been treating you right.”
“Keep on,” I said, pointing to Levi. “The only man who can give my woman a compliment is me.” I responded and pulled her away from him.
It was fly to see Kenya evolve as a person since we had been together.
It was obvious that she was more comfortable with herself as a woman.
When we first met, she was as bougie as they came, but now, she was cool, chill, and more down to earth than the woman who was ready to walk out of our first date before it started.
I knew that she could flip the switch with her career though, and that was sexy as hell to me.
One day, I took a break and popped up at one of her court hearings, and to see my woman damn near emasculating her opponent left me speechless.
After the judge ruled in her client’s favor, she noticed that I was in the courtroom, came up to me, and flipped the switch to turn off her aggressive persona, and to turn back into the jovial woman that I had grown to adore.
“I am doing great, Levi, and yes, he is treating me very well. How are you doing?”
“You know me, no complaints this way.”
“Man, stop conversing with my woman, and run me my deposit.”
“Before I forget, the old bartender, Diamond, was here a few minutes before y’all walked through the door.”
“The hell was she here for?” I asked with disgust.
When I confronted Diamond about the bar till being consistently short, she was all tears, but tears didn’t restore trust for me.
Before I fired her, I let her know that if she needed money or if she was in some kind of trouble, she could’ve come to me, and I would have helped her out. I treated the Crossroads employees like family.
As a boss, I wanted to pay and treat my employees well so that they would stay with me. I never wanted to run the kind of business where I had to train people every few weeks because my employees quit, so I made sure to do right by them.
Diamond begged for her job back, but I told her that her efforts were in vain. It was only because she was a mother that I felt the need to give her two weeks’ pay before I sent her on her way.
“Same old story. She was begging for a job back. I ain’t gon’ lie, she pulled at my heartstrings a lil’ bit.”
“Nigga, you ain’t got no heart,” I said, causing Kenya to laugh. “You know how I feel about people lying and stealing.”
“Yeah, she just seemed like she’s in a tight spot.”
“Then you start a business and hire her.”
“Man, that ain’t a bad idea. Maybe once I hire her, she’ll make me her kids stepdaddy.”
“See, that’s what I’m talking about. I can’t take you seriously. What kind of business would you even start, anyway?”
“Real talk, I’ve been thinking about starting a wing and burger spot. I want to put a bar in there but keep it simple, so that families can feel comfortable eating there.”
“That’s a good idea,” Kenya said, giving Levi the boost of confidence that he needed.
“Real talk?” I asked because this was my first time hearing about this, but I could tell he’d put some thought into it.
“Yeah, man, real talk. I’m more than just my looks,” he joked.
“Since my woman thinks it’s a good idea, put it on paper, and I will help you make it happen.”
I gave Levi a hard time, but I would give him the shirt off my back if he needed it. I knew that he would rip it up with his Hulk looking ass, but I would still do it.
When Cross died, I took it as my responsibility to look out for him, and if that meant investing in his business, then that’s what I would do.
“Stop playing with me,” he said like he didn’t know me.
“When have you ever known me to play about a dollar?”
“Never.”
“Exactly. Put it on paper, come up with a business plan, make it make sense and cents, and we’ll make it happen.”
“Good looking out, and here you go,” he said, reaching over the bar to grab the deposit bag.”
“Alright, we’re out.”
I dapped him up, Kenya said her goodbyes, and we headed to the bank. Making the deposit never took me more than twenty minutes, and I was in and out.
“Alright, we have one more stop. Are you good? Do you need to stop anywhere? Are you hungry?” I asked, firing off question after question once I got back in my truck.
“No, I’m fine. Just enjoying being with you,” she said with a smile.
“That’s what I like to hear.”
Fifteen minutes later, we were at our destination.
One of my homeboys owned a popular tattoo studio, and I wanted to add to my back piece today. Many people would say that I was addicted to ink, but I just enjoyed having the ability to let my body tell my story for me.
“We’re going to a tattoo shop?” she asked, looking like she was scared and had just seen a ghost.
“Yeah, it’s my homeboy’s shop. He is going to add on to my back today. What’s wrong? You don’t want to go in?”
“No, that’s not it. I’ve just never been inside a tattoo shop before. This should be interesting.”
We got out and walked into the shop. When the receptionist greeted us, I told her that I had an appointment with Titan. She told us that he was finishing up with a client and directed us to the waiting area.
“So, you’ve really never been to a tattoo shop?” I said, staring at her, only slightly surprised.
“No, I’ve never seen a need to. I don’t have any tattoos.”
“Damn, a fresh canvas. I like that.” From my observation, you wouldn’t think that I’d explored every inch of her body, which I indeed had.
“Dee Money!” Titan’s loud ass yelled, calling me by an old nickname when he walked into the waiting area.
“What’s good, Titan?” I spoke as I stood up to greet him. “This is my beautiful woman, Kenya. Kenya, this is my boy Titan.”
“Nice to meet you.” Kenya spoke as she shook his hand.
“Likewise. Y’all follow me back here, and we’ll get started.”
On our way back to his booth, I caught Kenya staring at the pre-drawn tattoos on the wall.
“You want one?” I said, jokingly, knowing she would shoot down my idea before she had a chance to consider it.
“I think that I do,” she responded, astonishing the hell out of me.
“Ha. Ha! I know you’re playing with me, baby girl,” I teased, still following behind Titan until I noticed she’d stopped walking. It was obvious that one tattoo was calling her name.
“No, I’m serious. I want one.” She tore her eyes away from the board and glanced at me. It was her world, and her wish was my command.
“Titan, you think that you can tattoo the both of us today?”
“Yeah, what are you trying to get and where are you trying to get it, Kenya?”
“I would like to get a compass. I don’t want it to be too visible, but I want it in an area that won’t be too painful.”
“That will be dope. What kind of style do you want to go with? It can be bold, soft, feminine, etc. As far as an area that won’t be too painful, I would suggest somewhere with more meat and less bone. For example, your leg or thigh. Just let me know what you have in mind.”
“My thigh would be a good place, and I don’t know exactly how I want it to look, but I know that I want it to be bold.”
“Bet. Give me a few minutes to sketch something up for y’all, then we can get started.”
After about twenty minutes, he came back with two sketches that were both pure fire.
It shocked me when she said that she wanted a compass because that’s what I was getting added to my back. She smiled when she saw the sketch that he had for me.
To me, it was a confirmation of our relationship.
The odds of our choosing the same symbol were slim to none, but we did.
I went first, and she intently observed Titan’s every move. For her to be as intrigued as she was, I was surprised she didn’t have any body art already. My piece took an hour, and when he finished with me, he cleaned his station for Kenya.
“Did it hurt?” Kenya asked me with wide eyes.
“Nah, but keep in mind, I have a lot of tattoos.”
“How many do you have?”
“I stopped counting a long time ago. After a while, they started blending in with one another.”
“I’ll have to step it up to catch up with you.”
“We all would have to step it up to catch up with Dee,” Titan spoke up, making Kenya laugh and me shake my head.
She sat in the chair and took her first tattoo like a champ. I was expecting her to cry, but she didn’t break a sweat.
“What do you think?” Titan asked once he finished wiping her tattoo down.
“I love it. It’s beautiful. Thank you so much.”
She was rocking a large compass tattoo on her right thigh. It was a flawless addition to what was already perfect.
“No problem. Let me wrap it up and walk you through how to properly care for it once you get home.”
I paid for our new artwork, and we were on to enjoy the rest of our day.