“Lay it on me,” I said, pretending that I didn’t know what she was about to say. I stilled myself and was thankful that she wasn’t next to me because there was no doubt my brothers could hear my heart slamming against my chest.
She lifted her hand to show me her engagement ring. “Grant proposed,” she said and smiled. “I’m getting married.”
“That’s what’s up!” I said, nodding. Seeing that punk ass ring on her finger had me pissed all over again. It wasn’t even her style; it was big and flashy and fucking platinum. Yale hated platinum, which is why she always wore gold. She said she didn’t like flashy jewelry plenty of times. “Ay, can I be your man of honor?”
“What?” she laughed. “You want to be my man of honor?”
“Yeah,” I said, nodding. “You can have me and Consonance up there on your behalf, but I want to stand next to you. Consonance’s gonna have to be the runner-up or something.”
“You’d do that for me, Amethyst?” she asked as she wiped her tears.
“I’d do any and everything for you, man, you know that,” I replied.
Someone called out Yale’s name, and she turned her attention from the phone to them, nodding. “I’ll call you later to discuss your man of honor role, okay?” she said with a smile.
“For sure,” I said. “I want to hear all the crazy shit I’m about to do.”
“Deal,” she laughed.
“Ay,” I called out before ending the call. Yale moved her hand from in front of the camera and lifted her brow. “I love you, Yale.”
“I love you, too,” she said, then ended the call.
I dropped the phone into the seat next to me and wiped my hands over my face.
“Play chess, Amethyst,” Pyrite said from the front seat. “Make sure she’s safe before you make a move. It doesn’t matter how long it takes you, either. Be smart enough not to move before you’re supposed to.”
“Noted.” I nodded. “Don’t move until I get everything under my control.” I moved my hands from my face and clapped them a few times. “And when I do move, trust me when I say, them niggas are going to hate me by the time I’m finished.”
Chapter six
Eight years later…
Chapter seven
Amethyst
“You know you look like a stalker, right?” Consonance said, coming to stand next to me. I crossed my arms and shrugged. I would stalk the shit out of Yale for the rest of our lives, if need be, and would never be ashamed of it.
“She doesn’t even know I’m here,” I chuckled and shook my head.
“Hence why I said stalker,” she replied as she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her dress. “You’re watching her from the corner of the room instead of standing next to her.”
“Her husband should be next to her,” I said, nodding to the space next to Yale. “I’m where I’m supposed to be.”
“No, you’re where you settled at,” she countered, and I briefly glanced at her, then smirked. “You know I’m right, too, which is why you didn’t deny it.”
“Something like that,” I said, nodding. The room was packed, and I couldn’t help but be proud of everything that Yale hadaccomplished in the last few years. After college, she’d gone into business for herself and made custom jewelry. There were a lot of sleepless nights, tears of frustration, but it was all worth it in the end. She was now a millionaire — how many times over —and had a waiting list of clients, some big, others small. She always said she’d continue making pieces for people in lower tax brackets because their money was just as good as that of people in higher brackets. She mainly enjoyed making wedding rings because she believed in the power of love. “What are you doing here?”
“The same thing you are,” she answered with a shrug. “Came to see her be her.”
We were at the local children’s hospital, where Yale was being honored for her continuous donations. At this point, there was no doubt that she could have had a wing named after her, given the amount of money she gave away.
The hospital board of directors gave speeches before presenting Yale with a plaque that I knew didn’t cost more than fifty dollars. She gave a short, sweet speech before stepping off the stage and taking her seat. I looked at my watch a few minutes later to read a text from her.
Sunshine: You know, you look like a big, scary man standing back there lol. I wonder how many people would believe me if I said you were a big baby who sleeps with a big bird plushy.
I chuckled, shook my head, and looked up to see her watching me. I gave her a nod, which she returned, then turned back to the person speaking. When they were done, I pushed off the wall as Consonance and I made our way to Yale.
