“I’m in the backyard, bae.”
I repositioned a few things and then turned around to face the patio door just as he swung it open.
“What’s this? Dulzura—for real? Aww, dulzura, you da shit, girl!” he exclaimed, swooping me up in his arms and spinning me around before he kissed me long and slow.
I felt my nipples pebbling underneath my shirt as his tongue enticed mine into a lazy, slow grind. Harlem’s hands dropped to my ass and cupped it. “You know you deserve to be fucked long and strong for this, right?”
I grinned up at him and giggled. “That’s what I was hoping you would say. You like it, bae?”
“You know I do, girl,” he replied, releasing me and walking to the grill that he had been fawning over at the store. “When did you do this?”
“The minute that I saw you loved it. Remember when I walked to the bathroom?”
“Yeah.”
“I walked around to the customer service center and paid for it and arranged to pick it up later. While you were working out front, I was back here setting this up,” I explained, waving my hand at the covered picnic table with the candles and a bouquet of blue orchids. I walked to the table, picked them up, and handed them to him.
“These are for you.”
“Flowers, bae?”
“Yes. You deserve your flowers for all that you do for me and others. I’m not going to let stereotypes prevent me from giving you all the recognition that you deserve and celebrating you the way you deserve to be celebrated. These are yours.”
The smile that lit up his face sent sunlight straight to my heart. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me closer. “Thank you, sweetness. Nobody has ever given me flowers before.”
“Well, this is just the beginning, because I’m a firm believer that everyone should receive flowers at least once in their life.”
I kissed him again before I released him to check out his true surprise. His eyes beamed, and his lips crooked up into abig cheesy grin as he stroked the red and black gas grill that I purchased for him.
He removed the ribbon and lifted the lid as he checked out all the knobs, spaces for cooking, and the accessories. “Man, I’m ready to use this now.”
“Good,” I replied, running back into the house and opening the refrigerator.
I removed the steaks, corn, shrimp kebobs, peppers, and onions and loaded them all on a large tray. When I carried them back outside, he chuckled. “Okay. I see. This a set up?”
“Not really. I just knew you would be ready to try it out. Since you were talking about going to a steakhouse, I figured this was the perfect meal to have you cook tonight.”
“Shiid, sweetness, you ain’t said nothing but a word.”
I smirked. “Good. I’m glad you like it.”
He walked to me and rested his forehead against mine. “I love it, and I love you. You’re not the only one who knows how to give good gifts, you know?”
“Baby, you give the best gifts,” I countered.
“Nah, the greatest gift is one that keeps on giving. The greatest gift that I have ever received is your heart. You keep on loving me, and that’s why I’m honored to continue finding ways to bless you.”
Harlem went inside and washed his hands so that he could start cooking. I turned on the outdoor speakers so that we could listen to music while we cooked.
We enjoyed each other, singing, dancing, and cooking together for the next hour. We ate our meal at the picnic table and talked about the community we worked in, our families and friends, and our future.
After we had eaten and cleaned up, Harlem told me that he wanted me to run a quick errand with him to see about one of his projects. I gladly changed and hopped in the truck with him.I enjoyed riding around with my husband as he tended to his various projects.
Twenty minutes after we left home, he pulled into a subdivision that appeared to be under construction. There were bulldozers and other heavy equipment, freshly paved roads, and new saplings planted. One house was completely constructed and about one hundred yards away, and the foundation of another house was being laid.
“You know that house that you’ve been working on with me, . . . the designs that I asked your input on?”
“Yeah.”
