“I’ll be fine. Once you get them back, I’ll build my clientele.”
Holly leaps into the air. “Delilah said she wanted to be first, but absolutely not! Me first! I have to be your first client!”
Pursing my lips, my eyes dart to Deshawn. When I don’t smile back, her face pales. “Actually . . .”
“Pleasedon’t ruin my day, Shaylene. My mascara isn’t waterproof.”
“Deshawn was my first client. We made it official this morning.”
Like a rabid animal, Holly leaps at him. “Judas! You knew we would all be here today to surprise her, and you just wanted to beat me! I expected that from Victoria, but not you.”
He takes the beating with a smile, and I know he’s going to be a great addition to the team. They already treat him like a brother.
Smoothing her ponytail, Holly collects herself. “I guess second place isn’t too bad.”
“That’s the mindset of a loser,” Brett whispers in her ear. “First loser can’t feel good, Holls.”
I laugh. “Give me a little bit to get settled, and then we can all talk. Go play some baseball. There’s plenty of room for everyone!”
For the first time ever, I feel joy at the place where I work. It’s full of happiness and people who care for and respect each other. I’m not afraid of negativity around every corner.
Thisis my dream.
Cade drapes his arm over my shoulders as we watch Brett and Holly fight over the same bat. Lionel, Andy, and Deshawn are by the mural, taking selfies with Cade’s face. Victoria applies purple lipstick in the phone’s camera, smiling as Delilah gushes about the color.
“So, this is how it feels,” I say.
Cade looks down at me. “How what feels?”
I lean against him and smile. “How it feels to have it all.”
Epilogue
Three Months Later
I hate moving.
Usually, at least. I’ve moved multiple times in the last two years, but I’m sure this will be the final time I have to pack my belongings, pile them into a moving truck, and unpack them all over again.
Moving in after three months of dating may seem quick to some people, but today is years in the making.
“Why are your bathroom boxes so dang heavy? I thought men only have a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a 5-in-1 body wash that they use for everything from their face to their ass.”
With a kiss to Shay’s forehead, I scoop the box from her arms. “Blame Lula for that. And ouch. You know my hygiene is better than a teenager’s.”
This is only the first of four boxes filled with Loc & Key products. Our partnership is thriving, and with Andy still by my side, we extended our contract.
In the bathroom, I place the box on the ground with the others and take in the space. Two towels hang over the door. Two toothbrushes sitbeside the double sinks. Two pairs of slippers hide beneath the counter, both fuzzy and pink because that’s what she wanted.
There’s two of everything because this is nowourbathroom.
Shay has lovingly reminded me multiple times that this place belongs to us and that I shouldn’t worry about taking up too much space. And it’s clear she meant it. Pieces of me are woven into every part of the house. My pillows sit to the right of hers, with my alarm clock and glasses on the nightstand. Video games are stacked beside her rom-com DVDs under the television. The beanbag chair I’ve had since Kenneth gave it to me on my sixteenth birthday sits in the corner. Photos that once lined the walls of my home now line the walls ofourhome, updated with pictures of us over the last three months.
When I walk into the kitchen, Shay is hunched over my lone box of kitchen supplies. We traded my fridge for hers, but other than a few essentials, I’m starting fresh.
“You donated my favorite glass cups but kept the janky toaster?” She glares at the beat-up toaster like it personally offended her.
“She’s notjanky.” I pick it up and rub a hand over the toaster protectively. “She has character.”
