Free giggled and flipped me off with her tongue out. We fell into a comfortable silence after that. Free vibed to the music while working on her bouquet, while I had to get Niylah to help me out with placement. It was nearly two dozen roses, so I needed help holding them up too. Free was in her own world, so she never looked to see how mine was going.
When it was finished, Niylah walked out, giving us the room for privacy. “Baby? Come here.” Her head popped up. She set the rose in her hand down and walked around the table. “So, I feel like things have been going really great between us, and I wanted to officially ask you something.” I picked the bouquet up and turned it so that she could see theGF?monogram on it. The biggest grin lit up her beautiful face.
Tears came to her eyes, and she pouted. “Wow. I thought I was going to be too old to experience a girlfriend proposal.”
I shook my head. “Nah, I don’t think we’re too old for this. I see it as like the prequel for the engagement.”
“Oh, so you plan to marry me, Stanley?” she asked while closing the distance between us. I gripped her chin and tilted her head up. I couldn’t help but smirk as I admired her. She thought this shit was a game, but I’d never been good at playing.
“Free, I plan to spend my life with you, so yes. You gonna have my last name, baby.”
She squealed while fanning her eyes. “You about to turn me into Shirley Brown.” She started shaking her head. “I can just hear me now . . . Barbara, this is Shirley.”
I chortled so loud it hurt my chest a little bit. “Your ass is too damn silly, girl.”
“That man you’re in love with. He’s mine. From the top of his head to the bottom of his feet,” she continued, reciting the “Woman to Woman” lyrics to me.
I closed the distance between us and placed the softest kiss on her lips. “You’re never going to have to worry about that, because there’s only one woman for me, and I’m staring at her.” She blushed and tried to bury her face in my chest, but I wouldn’t allow her. “Nah, look at me ’cause I ain’t heard you give me an answer yet.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh my God, is it not obvious? I would love to be your girlfriend, Stanley.”
I nodded before beating on my chest. “That’s what the fuck I like to hear. Bring them sexy ass lips here, girl. You’re officially mine now.”
“Iwant kettle corn,” Free said from behind me. I glanced all over the shelf before finding it near the top. I grabbed the box and tossed it in the buggy.
Free wrapped her arm around mine as we made our way down the aisle. “What else, baby?”
“I was wondering if we could do some s’mores too.”
I chuckled. “We can get whatever you want. Just hurry up. I hate grocery shopping, and I’m ready to get back to the crib and cuddle up underneath you.”
She bumped me with her hip. “That’s all you care about, cuddling with me.”
I nodded. “Pretty much.”
She tickled me gently. “That’s what I like to hear. Let’s grab the s’mores stuff, and then we can go.”
As promised, we grabbed the ingredients for s’mores, along with everything else we’d piled in the buggy for our movie night. Free wanted to have aStep-Upmarathon, and I never turned down anything she wanted to do. We went through the self-checkout line, so Free handed me everything while I rang it up and then bagged it. When it was all accounted for, I used my phone to pay for it all.
I pushed the buggy with Free on my side as we made our way to the truck. Miles hopped out when he saw us coming. While he went to put the groceries in the trunk, I opened the door for Free, then hopped in behind her.
She lay down on the seat with her head in my lap. I traced her face while staring lovingly at her beautiful features. Free could’ve been a model if she had the desire. Well, I guess she was on her social media. She tapped away on her phone before turning it so I could see that the food would arrive by the time we made it to my house. She was adamant about ordering sushi from Sushi King, and it was her world, so if she wanted it, she got it.
“I still can’t believe you got us a driver,” Free said once Miles finished loading all the bags and then climbed in the driver’s seat. She said that all the time. Katana had said I was a goner once I told her what I did. She said Free wasn’t coming up off me, and shit, as far as I was concerned, the feeling was mutual. This woman was mine.
“Yeah, I couldn’t handle anymore of you hitting curbs and speeding through red lights like shit is all good.”
She rolled her eyes. “Says the man who has to go to court in the morning for another speeding ticket.”
“Touché. I guess the road is a safer place without either one of us behind the wheel.” I chuckled before placing a kiss on her lips.
She shook her head as I released her lips. “No, just you. I’m a great driver.”
“Okay, baby,” I said in a sympathetic tone because she didn’t have a clue that she was a terrible driver. By definition, at that.
My fingers found their way into her hair, and I began to massage her scalp. That was how we made the drive back to my crib—her scrolling on social media, showing me whatever videos she came across that she thought were funny or cute. I was always paying attention to the things she said, even when she thought I wasn’t. I was obsessed with her voice and would start a conversation about the most random shit just to get her talking.
“Okay, time to get this party started,” Free said excitedly. She had all the food, snacks, and drinks set up the way she wanted them.
