I pressed my hand against my chest and warned myself to breathe. That was a huge problem of mine. As responsible, self-disciplined, and independent as I could be, I could also expect the worst. And when it came to men, I did. I had a hard time trusting them, because Jeremiah wasn’t the only man who let me down in the past, nor was he the only one who had hurt me.
I had begun to expect men to show their true colors after a while, and I found myself thinking the same thing about Christian sometimes. Yet, I knew that it was wrong to be that way, and I didn’t want to screw up a good thing by expecting the worst. Alternatively, I often told myself to slow down because I knew that I was moving too fast with him. It was the perfect way to ruin a good thing.
“Take a picture. It’ll last longer,” Sawyer teased me, nudging me with her elbow.
“Whatever,” I replied before I walked to where Christian was still with the kids in the ambulance.
“Hey, what’s up, beautiful?”
“We’re ready for the families,” I answered.
“Okay, I’ll go round everyone up and let them know,” he replied.
I nodded and headed back inside. “They are about to bring everyone inside. Can we all get in our places and prepare to hand out the gifts?” I called out.
We had names on the gifts and had broken them down by age groups. The adult gifts were being manned at a table by my grandmother, my mother, and Sawyer’s mother. Within ten minutes, all the families tumbled into the event hall. Excitement and cheers went up as they looked around at all the gifts we had brought and saw the large table in the rear where we would be serving them dinner.
I had taken pictures of the event to post to my page and even taken some video to post on my channel, but I did notcapture any with the families. I wasn’t about to exploit anyone’s suffering. I simply wanted to show my followers what their donations had done and the impact their love and concern had on my community.
Christian swung by my table an hour later when some of the commotion died down.
“You did your thing today, gorgeous. I might have to wife you down,” he professed with a wink.
I laughed and shook my head. “No, I simply followed the instructions you gave and made sure that I supported you, your crew, and these families.”
“Material for a good wife, don’t you think?”
“Sounds like he’s proposing,” Sawyer stated with a grin and a wink at Christian.
“Well, I don’t see a ring, and I don’t know why he would do that when we’re just friends.”
“Can I holler at you for a second?”
“Sure. Sawyer, I’ll be right back,” I replied, following Christian outdoors.
“Is that what we’re doing now?”
“Chris, you know that we cannot behave like that here. It’s a professional event, and besides, we haven’t told our families and friends about us yet. This isn’t the way for them to find out.”
He grabbed my hand and pulled me closer. “I don’t want to hide you anymore. I want to take you and Belle wherever I go proudly, baby.” He leaned down and brushed his lips against mine and caressed my face.
“I know, Chris. But all things in time, okay?”
“A’ight. I’m gonna hold you to it, and my clock runs fast, so be prepared.”
I chuckled and headed back inside. No sooner than I returned to my station, one of our old friends stopped by.
“Angel, this is a fabulous event.”
“Thanks, Ashanti. It’s good seeing you come out.”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she replied, crossing her arms and twisting her lips. I knew she was about to start some trouble. She was one of the few friends in our friend group that I didn’t care for. She was good friends with Erica, Christian’s ex, but she was always in the middle of some trouble. She loved gossip, lies, and drama. I hated that he had invited her, but I didn’t turn down help; besides, it wasn’t my event anyway.
“Is everything okay, Ashanti?” I asked as Sawyer busied herself with a mother and her little boy.
“I’m just surprised to see you and Chris together. I would have expected more from a girl like you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
