What the hell was I even looking for?
The sound of Akeem entering the condo jars her from her absentminded thoughts and she puts on a manufactured smile in preparation of him coming into the kitchen. However, when he walks in, her manufactured smile automatically transforms into the natural, beautiful smile he loves.
“Good morning,” she says as she walks toward him. The need to be in his arms outweighs lingering thoughts of her sister and the upcoming visit. She needs and wants him.
“Hey,” he says the minute she wraps her arms around his neck. “You missed me? I only been gone an hour.”
“Sixty minutes too long.”
“Bae, I’m sweaty though. Let me shower first then you can get back on me,” he says before kissing her forehead and breaking their embrace. “It’s warm out there.”
“Okay. You hungry?” she asks, even though she knows he’s usually ravenous after a run.
“Yeah. Starving.”
“I was looking for something to fix but I?—”
“Just order something. You don’t need to cook.”
He kisses her lips this time then heads down the hall to their bathroom. When he walks off, she steps back to the island. After popping ice into her mouth, she picks her phone up. Her sister’s messages are still on the screen, so she deletes them then opens the Munchies app to order breakfast… well, brunch. It’s after eleven.
She decides on Whip My Soul because she still can’t get over how good her food was on Thursday. She places an order for cheesy mac-n-shrimp soul rolls, shrimp and grits, and six wings and waffles.
When he emerges, fresh and dressed in a pair of sweats and a T-shirt, she’s lounging on her favorite corner of the sectional with her legs up, bent at the knee. She drops her legs when she sees him, inviting him to join her. After getting comfortable, he grabs the bottle of Gatorade on the table, takes a huge swig, then grabs her legs and drapes them over his lap.
“Did you order?” he asks.
“Yeah. I got chicken and waffles for you, from the soul food spot we had Thursday,” she responds. “It’ll be here in about forty.”
“Good, we can call my family while we wait,” he says and she sits up.
“Why, what’s wrong?” she asks, concerned.
“Shit, nothing’s wrong. It’s right and we gotta tell my parents and Axton about this,” he says while grabbing her hand. “I didn’t know if you wanted to tell them a certain way but I slipped up and told Quise this morning.”
“And what did he say?” she asks pensively.
While she believes Quise genuinely likes her, at the end of the day, he’s a child and most children want or even dream about their divorced parents reuniting. Akeem marrying her destroys that possibility for him and he might feel a way about it.
“He’s happy. He’s claiming best man, saying I get two, him and his uncle,” he says and she relaxes into an amused smile.
“Are we having a ceremony?”
“We didn’t talk about that, but after Christmas, I figured you liked big, decorated celebrations,” he admits.
“Big? No, but beautiful, themed, and decorated? Absolutely. I just need us and your family.”
“If you want big, you can have it.”
“Trust me, small and intimate is all I want and need.”
“And when do you want to do it? I’m cool with tomorrow,” he says.
“Vegas in the morning?” she teases but he’s deadass.
“Yeah, let’s do that,” he says seriously.
“For your mother to disown me as a daughter-in-law? No thank you. We’re having a ceremony but I don’t want to wait too long. I’m so ready to be your wife. We can do it after my class is over, so this summer.”
