“I know yo’ ass ain’t that depressed that you’re out here smoking a joe! Nigga, where did you get that shit from?” I laughed.
As I walked up closer to him, I heard blues music coming from inside his house. My damn stomach was hurting from all the laughing I did. I couldn’t understand what had him acting like this. I knew he was feeling Ciara, but he acted like he had just lost his best friend. Hell, this was how I expected him to act if I passed away. His ass was really going through it.
“I’m not in the mood for the games. A nigga really down bad right now. I wanted to play like Ciara ain’t mean shit to me, but now that she’s gone, I really don’t know how to feel. Even with her gun to my head, I could still see how bad I had hurt her by fucking that bitch Mya. The pussy wasn’t even hitting on shit, and it damn sure wasn’t worth losing my girl.”
Although we both knew that he and Ciara were never together, I just allowed him to vent. I wasn’t about to disregard his feelings, and I could tell he was fucked up about the situation. I was on the fence about what he had done. On one hand, I understood him wanting to keep the peace and not have Mya press charges on him and Ciara. At the same time, if he was locked in with Ciara, he shouldn’t have fucked off with another female at all. All I could tell him was that shit happens and to get the fuck over it. He was lucky his brains were still in his head. That was a blessing in itself that he was overlooking.
I sat and chopped it up with him for a while as I explained that he needed to get back focused. Being knocked off their game is what left a lot of niggas dead. He pretended to be listening, but I couldn’t tell a gown man shit. As long as my money didn’t come up short, we wouldn’t have any problems. I headed home to my woman; I knew that lying under her would relieve all my stress.
Saturday came around sooner than expected. I had just left the barbershop and was headed home to get dressed. I tipped my barber well because he had a nigga looking like a brand new man. I really didn’t trust anybody other than myself to cut my hair, but I was in a rush today. This young nigga named Drew had just cut my hair so damn good, I would probably never cut my own shit again. I asked him for a business card, and he gave me his cell member and told me that starting tonight, he would no longer be in the mall but at a new location. He said he had to get new cards made, but he gave me the address of his new location. When he ran off the address, it sounded like it was near Harmoni’s salon, but I didn’t know of any barbershops on that side. I locked his number in and promised to book in another week or two.
When I made it home, Harmoni was at her vanity, doing her makeup. Her hair was flawless, and she was naturally glowing. I had paid Carmen to come over earlier and hook her up, so that would be one less thing she had to worry about. I walked up behind her and kissed the back of her neck before going into the bathroom and jumping in the shower.
Once I was out of the shower, I walked back into the bedroom with nothing on other than the towel that I was drying off with. When Harmoni saw me, she gave me a mischievous smile and motioned for me to come over to where she was sitting.
I walked over beside her vanity, and she had just finished her makeup. When I was within arms reach, she reached over,grabbed my dick, and started massaging it. Without hesitation, she put it in her mouth and started sucking it.
I threw my head back and closed my eyes. As soon as it was getting good, she stopped.
“That’s all. Now, let’s get dressed, so we won’t be late for dinner!” she said as she stood from her seat.
I couldn’t believe Harmoni had teased me like that, but as soon as we got home, her ass was going to get it. I wore a black YSL blazer with matching slacks and loafers. They all had hints of gold in them. The pants were tailored to perfection, so they fit me good as hell. I wore a cream colored fitted shirt under the blazer. Moni wore a snug fitting black dress that had only one shoulder. It fit her like a glove and had her looking so beautiful with her belly on full display. Once we were dressed, I rubbed her belly and kissed all over her face.
This morning, she took me to brunch and bought me roses. I was a hood nigga, so I really didn’t know how to feel about the roses. Moni said I had to be more open minded and allow her to show her appreciation. The gesture alone let me know she was the woman I needed to be with. Nobody had ever treated me as well as she did. For the last month, I had been going back and forth on when would be a good time to pop the question. I decided that tonight would be the best time to do it. I told Dimeo to get the family together, and I texted all my people and let them know to get into town. After dinner, I was going to take her to her favorite park and pop the question with all our family and friends there. When I invited Carmen and Ciara, they were acting weird as hell, almost as if they knew something I didn’t. That had me paranoid. Now I wondered if maybe they thought she would say no.
I jumped into the passenger side of Harmoni’s car and let her take me to my surprise dinner. I didn’t know where she had made our reservations, but I knew she had to have gone all outfor it to be such a big secret. We hit the highway, and about ten minutes later, Moni told me she had to make a quick stop at her salon. She just didn’t know I was in no rush. I was nervous as hell, anticipating her reaction and response tonight.
When we made it near her salon, the entire street was full of cars. Harmoni made it through the traffic and parked on the side of her street in her designated spot. The building right beside Harmoni’s had a line around the corner of people waiting to get in. I told Moni to run in and come on out, so we wouldn’t be late for dinner.
“Come with me, baby. I wanna see what’s going on next door, then I can grab what I need,” Moni said.
Without even letting me respond, she jumped out of the car and headed toward the building. I grabbed her hand, slowing her down. Her ass was the definition of a black woman, just nosey. I couldn’t blame her for wanting to know what was going on next door to her salon, though. Once we were near the line, she took my hand and dragged me to the front. Ready to get to my destination, I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings until someone flicked the breaker, and the whole outside of the building lit up with a blinding bright light.
Once my eyes focused, I realized that my people from back home, my family, and my best friend, along with Harmoni’s friends and clients, were standing outside the building. I was confused about what was going on because this was not where I was planning to meet everyone tonight. Harmoni let go of my hand and stood near the front of the building that had a big gold bow on the door, and then Ciara passed her a microphone.
“Thank you, everybody, for coming. Baby, you know I love you with everything in me, and I want you to know that I’ve heard everything you said. You are so passionate about your five-year plan, and I just want to help you cut that time in half. The way that you treat me is unreal at times, and I wantto forever match your thoughtfulness. This is a token of my appreciation and to let you know that I believe in you and I will forever be your biggest cheerleader. With that said, welcome toBlack Tie Luxury Fadez.Meet the owner, Stephan Thomas. Some of you may know him as Rowdy, or if you’re from Texas, you may even call him Black. Baby, come cut your ribbon,” Moni said as she smiled from ear to ear.
My mouth was open, and I was in a state of shock. I couldn’t move. My family and friends were all standing around clapping. I saw them, but it was as if time had stopped, and I was frozen in place. I had a tight feeling in my chest, and my eyes were about to water.
Trell came behind me and patted my back hard, then he told me to pull myself together. Never had I felt so seen or heard in my life. Jokingly, I had told Harmoni that when I was older, I wanted a shop called Black Tie Fadez, and I would run that when I was no longer in the streets. That would be how I occupied my time when I was no longer hustling.
Once I made it to the door, Dimeo and my aunt Tanka were standing front and center, waiting for me to cut the ribbon. There was a cameraman taking pictures, and I posed with my woman, family, and friends before cutting the ribbon. Inside, I saw that the place was nice as hell. Trell seemed to be just as excited as I was; he kept dapping me up. My booth was the biggest, and it had my name on the wall above the mirror in gold letters. Moni told me that she had hired barbers and for me to introduce myself to them as the owner. She said that I could hire the rest of my crew myself, and I smiled. I kissed her lips and held her face.
I could honestly say that this is one of the biggest days of my life. Moni was really about to get this ring tonight. As I walked over to the other barber stations to introduce myself, I saw that they had on their business shirts with my company name onthem. As I got to the second barber, I laughed and gave him a hug. It was Drew who had cut my hair earlier.
“This yo’ shit, bro? That’s huge! Congratulations. When Harmoni interviewed me and told me her vision for her man’s barbershop, I knew I wanted to be part of this. May God bless your business, and I’m grateful to be part of it,” he said as we shook hands before I continued to make my rounds.
I told him that he was my new permanent barber for sure now. The vibe was everything, and I was beyond thankful for this moment. Moni had a fire ass DJ and catering. She made an announcement that we would be doing ten free haircuts, and my barbers were already on it. I mingled with family and friends, then I went over to look at my barber’s work. My girl had really done her thang. All those niggas seemed to be talented. I nodded my head in approval.
Dimeo was going live and telling her followers to pull up. She also gave them my IG and told them to follow me. My cousin had made me an IG for my business as soon as I cut the ribbon. She knew how to market and bring the city out, so I listened to her on the business end. I knew she and Moni wouldn’t steer me wrong when it came to building clientele. Everything in my shop was perfect and well set up. My girl had even bought all the barbers the best clippers on the market right now. I couldn’t lie; she had done her big one on this.
I grabbed Harmoni’s hand and pulled her to the center of the floor with me.
“Thank you all for being here. I know that I had spoken to most of you all over the phone with plans of seeing y’all tonight anyway, but nobody told me about this surprise. I’m beyond thankful to have this beautiful lady as my woman. She went above and beyond. There is no way I can thank you enough, Harmoni. If you allow me, I want to spend every day for the rest of my life showing you how much you mean to me. You andmy son are the best things to have ever happened to me, and I don’t want to go another day without knowing if you will be my forever. I’m going to always protect, love, and do right by you. You motivate me to do better, and you make a nigga see life on a whole different spectrum. I want to give you the world. Harmoni, will you marry me?” I said as I got down on one knee and pulled the box out of my pocket.
Harmoni grabbed her cheek in shock.
Ciara walked up behind her and nudged her forward toward me. Tears were flowing down Harmoni’s face as everyone clapped and awaited her answer. She left me hanging for so long that I started getting nervous.
