I’m leaving you the house because you told me you felt like you had no home. Like your parents dying made you an abandoned child. That was never the case, but I understood how you could feel that way. Do whatever you want with the house. With your experience and interest in interior design, I know you’ll turn it into something beautiful. Auntie wants you to take that money and start your own business. I love you, sweet pea, and if you remember nothing else, remember you are not alone.
By the timeI finished the letter, my face was drenched with tears. Lily must have gone to get Him because he kneeled and wiped the tears from my face. It didn’t seem to matter because more poured incessantly. Not just because she’d given me her home, but because she was right. I’d forgotten about her telling me she was my mother and that she’d take care of me. I was so young I didn’t realize how much of a blessing that was. She stepped up for me and took my mother’s place, and I’d neverthanked her for that. Now she was gone, and I’d never have the chance to. All I could do was hope she knew from my actions and gratitude about other things how much I loved and appreciated her stepping up for me the way she did.
Hours Later
I’d been sitting on Draco’s patio for I didn’t know how long. His huge home was on the biggest lake in Lakeland, which was just outside of Memphis. It had become my place of peace since the funeral. For a while, Draco let me do my own thing outside. When he decided I’d sat in my sadness long enough, he summoned me.
When I went into his guest suite and saw he had my favorite food, pizza, and lots of snacks waiting for me, I giggled.
“I figured we could watch a movie or something and chill since we didn’t go to the arcade,” he said hesitantly, as if I’d do anything but agree.
After I left Hickens’s office, I was emotionally drained. As much as I wanted to go to Draco’s adult arcade, I wanted to be alone more. The arcade was usually our escape. He’d created it because he didn’t have the normal carefree childhood. When heshould have been playing games and having fun, he was learning to fight and shoot guns. I loved that he’d left the streets and started working on healing his inner child. That might not have been what he said to describe the transition, but that was what it was.
My mind had been on Aunt Brenda’s letter all afternoon. I did have dreams of being an interior decorator and having my own home goods line. I wanted to have candles and room sprays, bedding, cookware, and a furniture line as well. A part of me felt like I’d never reach that dream on a wide scale, so I went a safer route. I worked as a manager at Sephora and did makeup on the side. I was content with my job, but Aunt Brenda planting that seed of me potentially being able to do what I loved had been gnawing at my spirit for hours.
“I’d love to, pooh. Let me take a quick shower.”
“Aight, bet.” He agreed with a soft smile that made me smile.
Draco was trulyHim. He was really that nigga. That man. That…everything.
He was the finest man I’d ever seen in my life.
His tall, athletic build was covered with tattoos—they were literally all over—from his legs and wide chest to his arms, neck, and he even had one on the side of his face. His head was square, he had a short, scruffy beard, and under turned, juicy lips. As rough as the tattoos made Him look, he had warm, soulful eyes that softened his appearance.
And don’t even get me started on the way he dressed, the way he carried himself, and his voice. It was hard and gruff… but soft when he talked to me.
Truthfully, I’d always been in love with Him. Sure, we started out as friends when I was fifteen, but that quickly turned into something more. For me, at least. It was clear he didn’t have any romantic feelings for me, because he hadn’t made a move on me in all these years. I was okay with that, just as long as hedidn’t get married. I didn’t think I could watch him love another woman in that capacity, but I also didn’t want to lose him. There weren’t a lot of things I feared or obsessed over, but losing Him was at the top of the list.
I took a quick shower, washed my face, then dressed in a pair of shorts and a tank top. It was late August, so Memphis was teetering between summer and fall weather. Today, it was cool enough for me to sit outside without sweating. As soon as I hopped into bed, I grinned.
If I didn’t know Draco, I wouldn’t believe he was a man who cuddled. I wouldn’t believe he was as gentle as he was. I wouldn’t believe he was affectionate or that he loved having his belly rubbed just as much as I loved having my head scratched. He swore he showed no other woman that side of him but me. He swore he reserved that softness for no one else but me. Draco had always been a man of his word, so I believed that.
He put on a new series as we ate my two favorite kinds of pizza—Memphis barbecue and chicken, bacon, and ranch from Domino’s. When we were done eating, we smoked and pigged out on the snacks before laying down and cuddling. My leg was tossed over him as I rubbed his belly while he rubbed and scratched my scalp. Not long passed before I drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
Two Weeks Later
It didn’t matter what I had to do personally or professionally, I would always show up for my girl. Today, her cousins wanted to get a few things out of their parents’ home, so Itold her I would be there. I wasn’t worried about things getting physical, but I knew they had smart ass, disrespectful mouths, and I didn’t tolerate that shit. Being loyal and protective was a part of my nature—maybe because a part of me wished people were more loyal toward and protective of me when I was growing up—either way, that shit was in me, so I pulled up whenever I could, to be there for Cordova.
She was trying her hardest to grieve in a way that didn’t consume her, but she still had her moments. I knew today would be hard. As excited as she was about quitting her job and focusing on starting her own business, she was holding back. I wondered if it was fear or because she felt she wasn’t ready and planned to talk to her about that. Since the moving truck was in their driveway, I parked my Challenger in my pops’ driveway and walked across the grass.
I bobbed my head in the direction of the movers and headed straight to Cordova’s room, because I knew that was where she’d be. Sure enough, she was sitting at her vanity, staring into space. Her brief moment of disassociation allowed me to appreciate my best friend’s beauty without looking like a creep. Cordova was short and slim, and she had the prettiest milk chocolate brown skin. Her hair was blonde and cut in a bob that brushed her shoulders that she often wore in messy curls that framed her beautiful diamond shaped face.
Cordova’s eyes were slanted and coffee brown in color, and her nose was pierced. She couldn’t see for shit, but she only wore her glasses to read or at night, which I thought was cute as hell,… especially when she’d scrunched her face and push them up the bridge of her nose. And she had the most beautiful smile and round, juicy lips. I’d dreamed of kissing those lips since the night we met. I didn’t feel like my feelings for Cordova were a secret, because I’d made it clear the moment we met that I was hers. Since she never said or did anything that suggested she feltanything deeper for me, I played the friend role. My plan was to be more the moment the opportunity presented itself.
While I was in the streets, I felt like I wasn’t good enough for her. She deserved better than a nigga she had to worry about dying prematurely or catching murder charges. That was part of the reason why I retired when I did. For her, I wanted to be legit before my thirtieth birthday. For her, I wanted to settle down,… get married,… have babies,… have the family neither of us had growing up.
I pulled the pack of Juicy Fruit out of my pocket and handed her a piece. She jumped slightly, clutching her chest with a smile. When she looked up and realized it was me, Cordova gasped and hopped into my arms. I loved how happy she was to see me. No matter what was going on, Cordova acted like just my presence made it better. That shit always made me feel good as fuck. Always made me want to be around her.
“You’re here,” she whispered, keeping her arms around me but leaning back so she could look up at me.
“Where else would I be, boo?”
Every time I called her that, she smiled, which was crazy because I’d been calling her that shit for over a decade.
“You said you had a staff meeting today?—”
“Nothing is more important to me than you.”
