“She is. What’s that?” I asked.
“This . . . is for you, beautiful.” He grabbed my hand and placed a bracelet, made of beautiful seashells in iridescent colors, around my wrist and fastened it.
“You made this yourself?”
“Yeah.”
“Baby, it’s beautiful.” I turned my arm in different directions to catch the gleam of the waning sun on the seashells.
“I just thought you might want something to remember our time here.” He tugged me down onto his lap and wrapped me in his arms. This was where I felt the safest at, and I loved being here with him like this. Whenever I thought about either of us leaving this place, it saddened me. I wished that we could remain like this forever.
“Thank you. It’s beautiful, and I’m sure that I will cherish it for a lifetime.”
“Why are you looking so sad?”
“I don’t look forward to us leaving.”
“We’ll be in the same city.”
“I know, but here, we’re in our own little cocoon where I feel safe and protected.”
“Li’l bit, I don’t know if you know this, but it doesn’t matter where we go. As long as I’m there with you, you’ll always be safe and protected. I’m on that ‘I wish a nigga would’ shit when you’re around.”
I giggled. “Seriously though, Reigh. You’ve had a great reputation. Your comeback is going to be even greater. Everyone all over social media and the news outlets are talking about it. That’s why you shut your phone off.”
“Shit gets overwhelming.”
“I know. I don’t want that for you, but I also don’t want to be the reason that it all goes away.”
“What are you talking about, Dove?” he asked, scrubbing his hand back and forth over his head in a repeated, fast motion.
“I’m talking about all the stuff surrounding my affair with Neal, the rumors about me breaking you and Danielle up, and the lies about my shop struggling. I don’t want my problems to pervade your life.”
“All things go away in time, Dove, and the same will happen with this bullshit they’re on about your life.”
“Yeah, but what if in time, the issues that are in my life causes you to lose sponsorships and the support of your fans?”
“Baby, trust me. You could never hurt me that way,” he reassured me and kissed the side of my neck.
“I think we should address the rumors then. Let’s put it all to rest once and for all.”
“How?”
“I’ve been in hiding for a year, and I want to tell my story. I want to protect you at the same time. Will you let me?”
“Baby, in this place that we’re in, you’re already protecting me. You give me a safe space to escape the world, Dove.”
“I want to go on social media and tell the truth about what happened between Neal and me. I want to let the people know that I care about you deeply, and it doesn’t matter what everyone else feels; it’s only about how we feel about each other.”
“You know what you’re gonna say?” he asked.
“I just want to speak from the heart.”
He pulled out his phone and went to the Sociogram app on his phone, and I did the same.
He went live and allowed me to join his live since he had the most followers.
“Hey, y’all. I guess you all have heard the news by now about the decision and my reinstatement.” People were sending comments like crazy. Reighvyn took his time responding to those before he switched gears.
