Page 32 of Love’s Decree

This was exactly what I wanted. A lot had changed for her since our first meeting. I wasn’t sure if she could go back to her job. If she didn’t, that would be fine with me. Whatever she did, I just wanted her to be happy with her decision. We stayed until it was time to close the center. Rory looked tired, but our night was just getting started.

Rory stood beside the bike while Mr. Jacob and I locked up. When we were alone, he said, “She’s the one, son.”

“How do you know that, old man?” I asked.

“The way you look at her.”

“And how is that?”

“Like you’ll kill a man for even thinking about looking her way,” Mr. Jacob said. We shared a knowing look, then laughed. Mr. Jacob knew what I was capable of. It never needed to be discussed. “Now that you’ve got her, don’t let her go. When you meet the person you’re meant to share this life with, it’s a pivotal time. You two can change lives. That much I’m sure of,” Mr. Jacob expressed.

“Thanks, old man… for everything… I mean it,” I said sincerely.

We hugged each other before going our separate ways. I made sure he was safely in his car before I walked to my bike. Rory and I hopped onto the bike, then headed to our next destination. Instead of going back to the clubhouse, I took her to my brownstone.

When we pulled up and hopped off the bike, she finally asked, “What are we doing here?”

I wanted to show her instead of telling her, so I waited until we were inside. The minute I opened the door, I knew she would love it. Jaxx knew a chick that did party planning. I paid her to come over and decorate the living room. There were beach chairs with towels with our names on them laid against the chairs. They filled the living room with beach balls, balloons, inflatable palm trees, and buckets of sand.

“Oh my God, Aasim. What is all of this?” Rory asked in a high-pitched tone.

“You asked me for a trip to a white, sandy beach. I chartered a private plane and rented a private villa in Aruba. We leave tomorrow afternoon,” I explained.

Rory jumped up and down in excitement. Eventually, she landed in my arms. She bombarded me with kisses all over my face. When she kissed my lips, I kissed her back, matching her passion.

“This is too much. All of this is too much. I’m just so happy,” she said in between her cries.

“Shhh. It’s okay, sweetheart. All I want is to make you happy, to see you smile. If you want to go to the beach, that’s what we’ll do. This is nothing compared to what our life is going to look like. I promise.”

“Thank you,” she said.

I looked down at my watch and realized the time. “I’ve got one more surprise for you. Come on. I think you’ll love this one too.”

“I don’t think I can take any more surprises for today. Today has been a lot, in a good way, of course.”

I kissed her lips and smacked her ass. “We’re going to have some fun. I think we both need it.”

An hour later, we were standing around with the rest of the crew. Tonight, Rory would experience her first drag race. She stood beside me, taking in the crowd. Two of the best racers were getting ready to ride. There was twenty thousand dollars on the line tonight. Bubbs was our current reigning champ. Torque was up and coming, but he’d given Bubbs and a few others a run for their money in the past.

There were hundreds of people lined up to watch. The crowd was live. Our deejay made sure the music was loud. It was so loud that it vibrated in my chest. Alexis came over and grabbed Rory. I watched as they stood off to the side, talking and laughing. Their budding friendship was great to see.

A little while later, some chick made her way into the middle of the road in a bikini and high heels. She carried a flag. Once she swung it, the race would start. Bubbs and Torque lined up in their respective spaces.

I took the time to walk over to Rory. “The race is about to start. Who do you think is going to win?”

“You wanna bet me? I’ve got my money on Torque. I love a good underdog story,” she said.

“I say Bubbs is going to take it. If I win, I don’t want your money. I think a nice back massage would work.”

“I’ll be massaging something, but it won’t be your back.” Rory winked at me and diverted her attention to the race.

The chick in the bikini waved her flag as the crowd went wild. Rory jumped up and down full of excitement. She was enjoying this a lot more than I expected her to. Rory embraced this life a lot better than I initially thought she would. It felt good having her be so open to everything, especially after her initial reservations because of her uncle.

As Bubbs and Torque sped around the last corner, the race was too close to call. Torque pulled ahead at the last second to get ahead of Bubbs.

“I won! I won the bet!” Rory said, jumping up and down.

“You never told me what you wanted,” I said.