By the time my shift was over and I made it back to the locker room, I was exhausted mentally and physically. My girls tried to get me to go out with them, and I declined, making them look at me crazy.
“I want to go home, cook, and lay up under my man. It’s been a long day.”
They each rolled their eyes in sync.
“Friday, bitch,” Kenya yelled out. “We are going out! Tell ya man to go out with his niggas…and meet us wherever we go so I can get one!”
I laughed as I changed my clothes and grabbed my things. “I got you, I love y’all ladies.”
As I headed out of the hospital, saying goodnight to other nurses in passing and picking up my big ass flower arrangement, I called Love to see what he was up to and didn’t get a response.
I tried not to think the worst, but my mind went there instantly.
“Hey, baby,” I said, leaving a voicemail. “I’m just getting off and heading to the store to pick up some things to cook. See you at home, I love you.”
I hung up, slid my phone into my back pocket, and hopped on the elevator. Once I made it to the parking garage, a big gust of wind came through, making me shiver a little bit. I didn’t know if it was the weather changing or a sign of something coming.
Once I got in my car, I let out a deep breath before pulling out, turning on some music to help calm my never-ending nerves. I drove around the corner to a grocery store, checked my surroundings before hopping out of the car, and walked into the store with a little pep in my step. The store was a little crowded; we were all just getting off work and trying to figure out what to cook for dinner. I grabbed what I needed without taking too long. Steak, rice, fresh vegetables, wine, and a few snacks Love liked to keep around the penthouse.
By the time I got home, the city lights were glowing through the windows, making the house look soft and expensive.
But it was empty.
I set the bags and my flowers on the counter and looked around for a second before shaking it off.
I marinated my steaks as I cut up onions. My eyes kept drifting up toward the door every time I heard movement out in the hallway, expecting Love to walk through the door, but he didn’t.
I sucked my teeth softly and went back to seasoning my food, placed the meat to the side, washed my hands, leaned against the counter, and called him again.
The phone rang and rang, then the voicemail picked up again.
My stomach tightened a little. I knew Love was a busy nigga. He had a few stores around the city, not to mention fixing what Gio fucked up at his store. He could be busy making business moves, meeting with Keith and his staff, working on a custom piece for some rappers, but the slight chance that he wasn’t made the hair on my arms stand up.
Once all my prep was done, I walked up the hall to our room. A hot shower was more than needed before I drove myself crazy.
The steam filled the bathroom quickly while I stood under the water, letting it hit my shoulders and beat the tension outta them. I got out, lotioned up, changed into my milkmaid dress, and sprayed on the Burberry perfume he bought me.
When I walked outta the room, I was hoping to hear the living room TV on or smell his weed smoke in the air, but I didn’t. It was still silent, and just me. I turned on some music to combat the silence and poured myself some wine before starting to cook.
I got my veggies steaming with some seasoning, my rice water boiling, while I seared my steak before popping them in the oven. The house smelled amazing. I started to set the table when I heard the door open, and I felt like I could actually breathe.
I walked over toward the hall, arms folded, watching him walk toward me with a grin on his face and somebody behind him.
I had every intention of giving him the business for not answering my calls until I saw that the person behind him was his son, Amir.
My whole expression softened immediately.
This was my first time seeing Amir in person, and he looked just like his daddy, same eyes, same nose, and the way he walked was just like him, too.
“Hey, baby,” he said.
“Hey…” I responded slowly, still staring.
Love smirked slightly at my reaction before resting his hand on Amir’s shoulders.
“I know you’ve seen pictures, but this is my baby boy, Amir.”
Amir smiled at me, and my heart melted a little. I couldn’t even fully process that I was meeting my stepson when he walked over to me and pulled some flowers from behind his back.
