“I’m taking you away for the weekend. We’re going to Pleasant Springs.”
“Are you serious? How are we leaving for the weekend and I don’t have any clothes? What about my mother?” She threw out question after question.
“Jade has your mother. I took care of everything else. I don’t want you to worry about anything outside of relaxing this weekend.”
“Is this a joke, Shane?”
“Hell nah. I’m dead ass serious. You’ve been working constantly since that bitch ass nigga made his move. Taking a couple days off won’t hurt. What good are you to anyone if you don’t have anything in your cup? You haven’t done anything for yourself since I’ve been with you. That shit ends now. It’s coolto be a hard worker because it’ll eventually pay off, but don’t overwork yourself. Now, sit your ass back and enjoy the ride.”
Turning the music up, I merged onto the expressway and prepared to fight the evening traffic. Thankfully, the snow had stopped and the roads weren’t bad at all. Halfway through the drive, I saw Celeste had fallen asleep. I hated that I’d damn near had to trick her into leaving for the weekend, but that was the only way she’d come. An hour and fifteen minutes later, I was pulling into the parking lot of Sybaris. I checked us in and rolled our things inside as Celeste walked ahead of me, in awe of the place. When I unlocked our room door, the two of us looked around the room and took everything in. There was a king sized bed in the middle of the room with a mirror above it.
A small round table with two chairs sat to the left with a mini fridge about a foot away. On the other side was the glass door entrance to the bathroom that came with two showers side-by-side. Straight ahead was the full-sized private pool with a jacuzzi off to the side. When I booked the room, I’d made sure to get the room with the biggest pool. Sybaris was meant for intimacy and that was exactly what I wanted out the weekend. Celeste and I hadn’t been able to fully connect with so much going on. Being here would help that.
“Damn. I’ve never been to Sybaris before. This is crazy. Do you see the size of this pool? It looks like it belongs in someone’s backyard.”
“I know. That’s why I got it. It’s all ours until we leave Sunday. Hell, we don’t have to step foot out of this room if you don’t want to,” I stated.
Putting the suitcases next to the front door, I walked over to Celeste and unzipped her coat. Once it was off, I took her boots off before giving her the kiss I’d been wanting to give her since I laid eyes on her a couple hours ago.
“Thank you for this. It’s really nice,” she said as she looked around.
“Anything for you, baby.”
While I continued to get both of us undressed, Celeste took a call from her mother and let her know where we were. I was sure by now Jade had already informed Cora, but at least she’d know we made it safely. The only other call I’d be expecting was from my dad, but that wouldn’t be until later tonight. Right now, I wanted to be close to my lady.
Before getting into the pool, we stood under the shower and let warm water run over us for a few moments. Celeste gave me no pushback about getting in the water since her hair was in individual twists she had pulled into a ponytail.
“You don’t think we should have swimming suits on?”
“Swimming suits for what? No one is in here but you and me. Hell, the swimsuit wouldn’t do shit but be in the way.”
When we stepped inside, the warmness of the water felt better than any pool. The temperature was comfortable and the lights made the water glow a light blue color. We walked deeper into the pool until the water came up to Celeste’s neck. Picking her up, I walked us over to the edge and leaned against it. Just holding her in my arms with no barrier between our bodies calmed my heart rate. I could stay in this position forever and it still wouldn’t be long enough.
“Hey,” I said as I looked down at her.
“Hey.”
“You wanna know something?”
“You can tell me anything.”
“I love yo’ ass. I know this my first time sayin’ it, but I hope you felt it long before tonight. You had my heart in your hands the first time I laid eyes on you. I had no problem with Spinna until I found out he had something so precious that he didn’t deserve. Even if me and you don’t make it, just know you deservethe world. Don’t ever settle for shit when it comes to a man. Even when it comes to me. Don’t ever accept anything less than what you’re worth.”
“I swear it feels like we’re always in sync. I’ve been wanting to tell you I loved you for a little while now. I didn’t because I know men take longer to fall. I didn’t know if you were there yet, so I never said it.”
“I was there before you, love. You came into my life and had my attention ever since. Before you came along, I told myself I would never trust or love another woman the way I once did. I no longer trusted my judgement when it came to women. Women are quick to say all niggas are the same, but at times it feels like all women are the same as well. You made me believe otherwise. You’re different in every way. You got a nigga thinkin’ about marriage,” I said before kissing her lips.
“Marriage? You wanna marry me?”
“Hell yeah. Marrying you gives me the right to live in your skin. Once a nigga is your husband, there won’t be shit you can do to get rid of me.”
“I would never want to get rid of you. You’ll get tired of me before I get tired of you,” she said, running a hand down my face.
“Even if I got tired of you, there’s no turning back after you have my last name. You have from now until we walk down the aisle to change your mind about us. Once you say ‘I do’, it’s over. If you wake up one day and decide I’m no longer what you want, then you gon’ have to take that up with the good Lord. I got one marriage in me. I’ll give you a hundred and ten percent of myself. If you think I won’t be enough, let me know now.”
“On your worst day you’d still be more than enough.”
“Marry me,” I whispered.
