“Suppose we do get back together. There’s women that?—”
“You can either be like Keyshia Ka’oir and have your ass at every fuckin’ show, club, and interview like you my handler how she be doing that nigga Gucci Mane…or you can trust and believe me when I say can’t no groupie hoe make me come up off you. It’s time for you to start making your own dreams come true. I don’t want you doing that shit while trying to worry about what I got going on. You gone see.” I blew out more smoke then placed my half of blunt in the ashtray.
“Nobody gone disrespect you, I mean that shit. Nobody coming in between what we got. We talked about a future before together, I gave you a ring and still got that shit for when the time is right. Let’s just take shit slow, we don’t got to put no labels on shit with us. I know how your anxiety gets. Just give everything a fair chance…Me, and therapy included.” I said firmly.
She let out a shaky breath, I glanced over at her and she nodded once.
“Okay, I’ll try.” She placed her hand on top of mine.
Something loosened in my chest; I squeezed the top of her thick thigh and smiled like a kid in the candy store.
“That’s all a nigga was asking for in the first place, Pancakes. Damn!” I shook my head, making her laugh.
“Connect your phone to the blue tooth so we can do some karaoke in this bitch. I’m tryna hear Fantasia, ‘When I See You’ so I can confess my love to you.” I chuckled as she talked her own shit while laughing at my crazy ass.
Chapter 12
Jatavia
Iwoke up feeling like I was still dreaming. Dreu’s bed felt like I was sleeping on clouds in heaven compared to my hard mattress back at my apartment. His bed was massive, so big that my body barely took up space on one side. The sheets were cool, soft and didn’t cling to my skin.
I turned over thinking I was going to see Dreu beside me, but he was gone. His curtains were closed; I appreciated that because I didn’t like sunlight being the first thing to wake me in the mornings. We made it to Cali at dawn. The sun had begun to rise when we both trekked to his room together.
I don’t even remember seeing his home nor did I care to tour it. I was so tired and exhausted from talking to him the entire drive. I brushed my hand against the smooth sheets where Dreu occupied, and it wasn’t warm. Knowing me, I probably slept until late in the evening. His house sounded alive as I sat up. I could hear muffled music and voices coming from somewhere beyond his bedroom walls.
I relaxed against the pillows and took in Dreu’s room. It was beautiful, very intentional for a man of his caliber. He had dark wood floors. His bed frame was upholstered, tall and elegant ashell. Dreu had minimal art on the walls, with gold and platinum plaques in between to remind him of his success.
His room smelled woodsy and masculine like him. His dresser matched the charcoal floor to ceiling curtains that looked like heavy linen. A huge flat screen TV was embedded in the wall with a built in electric fireplace beneath it. It wasn’t too flashy; it was just right and cozy.
I yawned and swung my legs over the edge of the bed but paused when I noticed neatly folded clothes with price tags still attached to them. Instead of standing up, I scooted my ass to the end of the bed and picked up the clothes from the bench at the foot of the bed.
Dreu had leggings, soft cotton joggers and ribbed tanks that matched the leggings for me. A cropped Nike hoodie, matching sandals rested on the rug. On the other side were bras, panties along with dark blue skinny jeans and a light blue pair. My eyes scanned the room, and that’s when they landed on more shopping bags.
Did he send somebody, or did he go to get all of this himself for me?
Everything was in my size down to the bra and panties. I stood up slowly with my heart fluttering in my chest. I silently thanked God that his bathroom was inside of his room. Soon as I entered his bathroom, I marveled at how luxurious it looked. My eyes darted from his huge glass shower with several jets built in the walls to his big garden tub that sat perfectly on the other side of the shower.
I loved to soak in a nice bubble bath and planned on doing that while I stayed down here for a couple of days. I didn’t have anything planned or figured out. I went from walking off of my job because of cramps to being five hours away from home in luxury.
Tammy was a deep sleeper but by now she knew who I left her home with. I shot her a text while me and Dreu were on the freeway. Normally, I took my time looking in the mirror when I entered my bathroom at home. Dreu’s bathroom forced you to look at yourself even if it was the last thing you wanted to do.
The sink was his and hers. Its marble counter tops stretched far out followed by the wide mirror. On the far-left side of the sink was a white bag, next to it was a new toothbrush and toothpaste. Soon as I peeked inside of the bag my breath got stuck in my throat and I found myself getting emotional over something that would probably not mean much to somebody else yet meant a lot to me.
Inside the bag were toiletries. It wasn’t just the basics either, Dreu put thought into each item. A gentle facial cleanser for my sensitive skin. Hydrating toner. A niacinamide serum. Spot treatment for acne. A rich moisturizer for dry skin. Under-eye cream and my favorite lip balm. All of it was expensive as hell. I picked up one of the jars and just stared at it in disbelief. I smiled at the bag of Always overnight pads inside. I never wore tampons because I didn’t like how they felt stuffed inside of me throughout the day.
I loved that he remembered. The acne on my forehead. The breakouts along my cheeks because of me eating sweets and stuff that my skin was against. My skin was always dry, especially in the winter. So I cared for it with good body butters that lasted all day. It was shit like this that mattered a lot to me because he paid attention and took note of it even when he didn’t have to. Dreu didn’t have to accommodate me, but he did without asking any questions or second guessing.
It was the simple care he put into getting all of this in order to make me feel comfortable while being in his space. I shook my head slowly because I refused to get all emotional again like I’vebeen doing since laying eyes on him again. Maybe it was time for me to embrace having Dreu back into my life.
I needed to also embrace the fact that I’ve been living paycheck to paycheck. Stressed the hell out and unhappy with a man that never paid attention to me enough to even notice the small things about me. Devin never mentioned any concern for my mood swings and whenever things were off with me. Not that it was his responsibility to take note of it…it just spoke volumes to me that Dreu still remembered things that he had every right to forget once I cut him off.
The only hurdle between Dreu and I was that he was a ladies’ man when we first tried at a relationship together. He hurt me, it was actually my first heartbreak ever. I was a stubborn woman, that was raised to never let a person get over on you. I loved to forgive but never forget. I also pledged before I got in any relationship that a man cheating on me was an unforgiveable thing. Something that I wouldn’t take them back for at all.
Hell, I didn’t even like second chance romance books. I looked at those women as being weak or a little too forgiving. Now I stood in his massive bathroom looking at myself in the mirror questioning all my beliefs. I could put up a front to Dreu but not myself.
I wanted him after saying I would never talk nor entertain him again. Me being in his home felt right, it didn’t feel like we were strangers moving at a fast pace. Instead of frowning in the mirror or looking at myself with no emotions. The corners of my lips stretched slowly into a big smile. I could already imagine my cousin Tammy pumping all of this up.
I turned sideways, placed my hands on my knees and did my best twerk dance. I laughed even harder when I looked at myself in the mirror. I ended up turning the shower on then took a second to really take in Dreu’s bathroom. Just from his bedroom and bathroom, I knew the rest of his house was banging.
