“I bet. Here you are, getting your shit together and trying to leave the bullshit behind, and here go this nigga like Jigsaw, ready to play games.”
“I’ll let you know when we get where we’re going. I’m actually glad Heavy is taking us away, so he can’t pop up like he wants to.” Giselle peeked at her rearview mirror while he settled in the driver’s seat beside her.
“Okay, boo. Be safe. Love you.”
“Love you, too,” Giselle replied before hanging up.
Heavy didn’t speak most of the drive. Instead, he sat forward on the edge of the seat, eyes on the road, gripping the steering wheel so tight she could see his knuckles. He stroked his beard, and Giselle leaned back with her head against the headrest. Twenty-five minutes later, he turned left onto a road that seemed to lead to nowhere. For about a mile, they drove through nothing but trees.
She leaned forward when the black metal barn style home came into view ahead. The porch wrapped around the entire home with wood columns and bordering bushes. Heavy whipped his truck around the driveway and pulled up to a three-car garage. One of the doors lifted, so he could pull inside. He shut the car off, and Giselle peeped the old school cars in the other two spaces along with a silver BMX 7 series. She’d been back for nearly a month, but when she spent time with Heavy, it was usually at her place. This was the first time he’d brought her to the place he called home.
“Come on, let’s get them inside. I’ll get the bags.” He pushed the door open and planted his feet on the ground.
When he stepped inside the home, he quickly hit the buttons on the alarm panel to disarm the system. He pushed the door open to his left and flicked the lights on. Giselle couldn’t believe her eyes when she followed him inside. The walls were a soft pink with little specks of gold glitter reflecting off the lights. Harlee’s name was in gold calligraphy above a cute little white canopy bed covered in unicorn bedding. There was a matching pink armoire, dresser, and two tables on either side with gold lamps and sparkly pink shades. Heavy walked over the shag pink rug so he could place her in bed. She rolled over, but didn’t wake, so he helped her out of her shoes and jacket and covered her with her blanket.
“I thought I was the interior designer.” Giselle chuckled. “This looks… amazing.”
“Apparently, you don’t recognize your own work.” Heavy sighed and grabbed Heir from her arms. “I got this out of one of your catalogs I found in some boxes at your spot.”
“I’ve designed a lot of things in the last three years,” Giselle said, trailing him out of the room and turning the lights off.
There was an additional hallway to their right, but Heavy stopped at the door beside Harlee’s room and pushed it open. Heir had blue walls with airplanes all over, and his name also above his bed in chrome letters. He had a bunk bed situation with a small area underneath for him to watch TV. Off in a corner was a table where he could stack and build Legos. An entire mini racetrack was arranged with little shelves built into the walls, each arranged with a different remote-control car. Sports and NASCAR memorabilia also hung around the room. Heavy lay him down gently in the bunk, then Heir turned on his side and buried his face in his pillow.
“He’s going to lose his mind when he wakes up,” Giselle gushed. “I can’t believe you did all this.”
“I want them to be comfortable here too.” He ran his hand over the top of Heir’s head and turned to her. “I wasn’t sure how this was going to work when you got back, but I knew they would be spending time with me, too, so they needed their own room when they were with me. I wasn’t hiding or plotting, not like you think, anyway.”
“I think you’re a good father, Heavy. I can’t stop you from being that to them, and I don’t want to. That’s why this whole thing is unbelievable right now.” Giselle let go of an unsteady breath. “I did this to us.”
“Come here.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her from Heir’s room but shut the light off and left the door cracked.
Leading her back into the garage, they bypassed his classic cars until they reached another door she hadn’t noticed. It was a place for storage, and she saw a lot of boxes before Heavystopped at another door. He flipped a switch, and a staircase appeared. Giselle wasn’t sure where it led, but Heavy started down the steps first. It was a basement, and when he turned another set of switches on, the space filled with light. On one side, there was an office space with a desk and a bunch of built in shelves behind it. The rest of the room was set up for production with large tables, a work bench equipped with tools hanging above it, and every piece of equipment she would normally use to create.
Her mouth slipped open, and she stepped past him into the room to admire everything. She paused at one of the big island tables and ran her hands across the concrete surface. There were corkboards and white boards arranged along the walls, so she could sketch, write things down, or pin ideas. Tears stung her eyes when she thought about all the work and effort he had put into this.
“You did this for me?” she choked.
With his hands in his pockets, he finally shrugged and released the breath he’d been holding. He wasn’t sure how she would react to it.
“You said you needed somewhere to work. I see how passionate you are about this, princess. Every time we step into a room, you’re taking it all in, trying to figure out ways to make it better. You see shit that other people don’t. It’s what makes you who you are.”
“I love it,” She whispered, pressing her hand against her chest. “I know this probably cost a small fortune.”
“I’m not worried about the money.” Heavy removed his hands from his pockets and approached her. “I already know you’re going to be successful.” His arms slid around her, pulling her slim frame into his. “So, consider this my investment in you.” Dipping his face low, he pressed his lips against hers in a soul stirring kiss.
His fingers latched onto her waist, and he lifted her onto the table. Parting her legs with his body, Heavy palmed her face in both hands, and Giselle’s arms locked around his muscular torso.
“Mmm.” She moaned against his lips as his tongue slid between her teeth to greet hers.
Giving her one last soft peck, he pulled away and searched her heavy-lidded eyes.
“Come on. Let me show you around the rest of the house. You still need to rest.”
“Only if you lie down with me.” She caressed his chest with her fingers.
The two stepped back inside, and Heavy guided her to the master suite across from the twins’ rooms, equipped with a bathroom and his and her closets and sinks. Just outside his bedroom was a separate bath and laundry room tucked behind another door. A fourth bedroom was across from Heir’s and Giselle assumed it belonged to Pierre because it had bunk beds and was also set up for a little boy. Past the bedrooms was the large living room with French doors, a fireplace, and ceilings so high she had to crane her neck to admire the wood beams. Under a vaulted ceiling in the opposite direction was the very large, open kitchen space.
“You want anything to eat or drink?” Heavy asked, pulling one of the double doors to the built-in steel fridge open.
