“Oh, so Raineisyour aunt, huh?” I asked, and she nodded. “Then you must be the one she called Tiny Tot.”
Her face softens, and the frown is instantly replaced with a smile. She nods enthusiastically. “Yes, but my real name is Emelia,” she informs me. “What’s your name?”
“Nice to meet you, Emelia. My name is Dawn,” I answer, reaching my hand out for her to shake. She giggles and shakes it. “So, is it okay if I come in?”
“Oh, yes, come on! I’ll go get TeeTee!”
She runs off down the hall, and I step in, closing and locking the door behind me. A few seconds later, a woman rushes over, but stops a few feet away from me, her eyes wide.
“D-Dawn Anderson is in my house. Raineee!” she calls out, her eyes still on me. “Raine, come here!”
Not long after, I hear footsteps again, but this time more frantically, and then Raine appears from down the hall with agirl who looked around Devin’s age. I smiled softly as my eyes landed on Raine in a gorgeous summer dress with matching sandals. Her hair was pulled up into a bun with a few loose locs hanging in front of her face. She sighed upon noticing me, her hand resting on her chest.
“Ginger! You almost gave me a heart attack,” she fusses. “Why are you yelling like someone broke in?”
“Someonedidbreak in!” she argued before lowering her voice. “Raine, why is Dawn Anderson standing in our hallway right now? And she dressed like y’all are going…BITCH! ARE YOU ABOUT TO GO ON A DATE?!”
“Surprise?” She chuckled nervously.
“Surprise, my ass! I’m bouta beat you up. Why didn’t you tell me?” the other woman questioned.
“It-It’s not a date,” Raine whispered. “We’re just going out to eat…as friends. I meant to tell you, but you’ve been busy, and I’ve been busy. It genuinely slipped my mind. I’m so sorry, bestie.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she replied before crossing her arms, pouting. Raine hugs her tightly, asking for forgiveness, which she eventually gives. She laughs, pushing her away gently. “Okay, okay. Let me go, hoe.”
“So, can I officially introduce y’all now, or?”
“Oh, Dawn Anderson needs no introduction, friend,” she replies and walks over to where I’m standing. She smiles softly. “Hi, Dawn. I’m Ginger, Raine’s best friend. Sorry if I freaked you out, but I’m not used to my girl bringing anyone by, and especially not a celebrity. Although I’m not surprised she bagged you. She’s constantly going on and on about how sweet and attentive you are. I swear, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were trying to wife her up already.”
“Ginger, please!” she shrieked, pulling her friend away from me.
I chuckled at her shyness before stepping closer to her. She looked up at me, her breath hitching as I lightly cupped her chin in my hand. Her eyes are glued to mine, and I can’t help but smile at the way her cheeks flush. I lean in to kiss her on the cheek softly before pulling away. Ginger and the other girl, whose name I didn’t know yet, gasped.
“You look beautiful, love,” I whispered. “And you already know how I feel about you. You already know that I don’t do anything halfway, so when Idoask you to be mine, you’re not gonna have any doubts that I mean it.”
“Damn, Auntie Raine,” the other girl replied. “You really pulled one of the hottest singers in the country. Plus, y’all look good together? Ugh, I can’t wait to have that one day.”
“If I’m moving too fast, let me know,” I state, and she nods. “Want me to slow down?”
“No,” she replied, shaking her head. “This pace is good.”
“Okay,” I smile. “Are you ready to head out?”
“Uh, sure, but let me finish the introductions first,” she says, and I nod. She takes hold of my hand and guides me back over to where the others are. “So, you’ve already met my best friend, Ginger, but this is her daughter, Emelia, and my niece, Makenzie.”
“Well, I’ve also met this cutie. She’s the one who let me in,” I replied, winking at Emelia. She giggled. I then extend my hand to Makenzie. “Nice to officially meet you, Makenzie. Your aunt talks about you a lot. Congrats on making the swim team, by the way.”
Her face lit up, and she genuinely looked excited to hear me mention it, but suddenly her eyes glossed over, and she quickly came to hug Raine. They shared a few whispered words before she turned to me and hugged me as well. I was caught off guard, yes, but I returned the gesture, mainly because it seemed like she needed it the way she relaxed in my arms.
She thanked me for congratulating her and then told Raine to have a good time. With that, she said goodbye and headed back down the hall, followed by Emelia. I was a bit confused at the interaction, but I didn’t have time to ask before Ginger was ushering us out the door to enjoy our date. She promised Raine that she’d take good care of Makenzie, and Raine thanked her.
The car ride to the restaurant was fairly quiet, aside from the soft jazz music playing through the speakers. Every so often, I’d steal glances at Raine, and she seemed to be deep in thought as she stared out of the window. At one point, I placed my free hand on top of hers, and she didn’t hesitate to take it, interlocking her fingers with mine. She needed a moment of silence, and I respected that.
“Thank you,” she finally said once we’d parked at the restaurant. I glanced over at her. “I know it may seem small, but you congratulating Kenzie was something she needed to hear right now.”
“Want to talk about it?” I asked softly. She pondered a bit before nodding.
“My sister, her mom, is… A LOT,” she sighed. “I don’t want to go too into detail, because I'm afraid I will end up ruining my own mood, and in turn, ruining this night, so I’ll summarize by saying she’s a very practical person. And she can be quite overbearing, not only to me, but to her kids as well. She doesn’t believe that ‘hobbies’ should be made into careers because it’s always so unpredictable.”
