by Zi'ere
“I understand what you’re saying. I think that’s a good idea. I wasn’t thinking about the space aspect of the situation at all. I am only focused on being with you. Wherever you are is where I want to be.”
“Wow, really?”
My lungs need to get enough air to function again. I don’t want to lose him but I’m not going to be taken for a ride either.
“When do you think that you will be able to look at some spaces?”
“Well . . . It’s the end of May now, so school will be out in just a few weeks and then my evenings will be free again and so will the weekends. Do you have an area that you prefer over another?”
“Uh, that would be a hell yes! I don’t want to be anywhere near the city. I want people to need a brand new GPS system to find us…..it has to be at least five bedrooms as well.”
“Five bedrooms? For what and for who?”
“I say at least five. If we are going to do the house thing, then we need to get into something that we can grow in as a couple. I mean, didn’t you just say that?”
“I did but five bedrooms is really huge. That’s a big commitment, you’re that serious about me already?”
“See you think that when I use this smooth ass sexy voice of mines that I’m just trying to put the moves on you. I told you Kamille . . . I’m tired of the bullshit that comes with basic females. I want something solid that I know is built on a concrete foundation and that no one can crack . . . No matter what kind of stunts they try to pull.
I want for everyone who knows Gavin to know that Kamille is the one. She is the one that I was waiting for. I’ve never done anything like this before either, so it’s new to me too. But I really can’t see myself doing this with any other woman.”
“I feel your fear, Babe. We both have it, so I know that we both will work hard to keep things solid between us.”
“Do it then Mrs. Brown, we are just waiting on you now.”
“I’ve got to house hunt all by myself?”
“Hah!” He explodes into laughter.
“How about I find it then and you pay for it? Is that what you want to do or nah?”
“I’ll find it, no problem!” It’s my turn to laugh now.
The thought of the costs per square footage on an ‘at least five bedroom home’ in Chandler County, inside of the suburbs makes my head spin.
“Yeah, use that calculator in your brain! Got your ass quiet over there in the passenger seat….hah! Done got quiet as a church mouse, just thinking about it! Multiply that, then carry the one…..” Gavin continues to brag and laugh.
“Stop trying to act like you know me!”
“I know you better than you think I do, Ms. Lady.” He winks at me. I told you that I’ve got you Kamille. Please believe me when I say that I won’t hurt you.”
25
We’ve made it back to my house. In the driveway, shining ever so radiantly up under a big red ribbon is a brand new Mercedes Benz.
“Why is this car in my driveway?”
I get out of my seatbelt and am out of the truck before it even comes to a complete stop.
My apartment is more of a duplex than anything, so I know my neighbors quite well. And none of them would do something like this without telling me first. I am at a loss for words because someone is going to be an excited spirit. Especially to receive such a clean, yet nasty white exterior with a peanut butter leather interior.
“It’s pretty but it’s blocking my car. I can’t even get my car out!”
“It is in your driveway because it’s yours.”
“What? Why in the hell did you buy me a car?”
“Because you are my woman and she deserves the best. I know what you are going to say but I’m telling you now that it will be wasted breath and time. It’s done, it’s here, and it’s yours.”
Gavin stands in the plush grass with his hands inside the pockets of his linen pants.
He stands tall with his chest puffed out. The man is unshakeable. Every minute I spend with him, I realize why he had that aura about him when we’d first met. Gavin runs shit. He is uninterested in my protests, so I begin to go ahead and celebrate.
I jump into his arms and kiss him with plenty of tongue. It is mandatory that we make love, just as soon as the front door is locked. My man’s sexual appetite is mind blowing and since I’ve been in a dry spell before him, I’m not going to turn that stick down ever.
Gavin: I’ve been waiting all day for you to tell me that it is your birthday.
Me: How did you know that it’s my birthday?
Gavin: I’m always on top of everything. But, what’s up with that?
Me: It’s just another day that the Lord has blessed me to see, nothing special.
Instead of replying to my message, Gavin calls me.
“What do you mean it’s just another day?”
“Babe, I haven’t really celebrated my birthday in a long time. That’s not the way I was raised.”
“So your mom is like a Jehovah’s Witness or something?” Gavin wants answers to some tough questions.
“Something like that.”
I can’t give a straight answer because I really don’t know what my parents’ problem is.
I can’t put all of the blame on Clara either. Her baby’s daddy has some responsibility in it as well.
“Damn Baby Girl.”
Gavin is at a loss for words, I can tell.
“I tell you what: you promise to celebrate your birthday big for the rest of your life and I will make your first celebration something you will never forget?”
His gift of gab is on point.
“I don’t need a celebration, Gavin. You have been more than generous. I’m a very happy woman, I promise you that. Just the fact that you even brought up my birthday is a big enough gift in itself to me.”
I honestly mean everything that I say.
“Nah, that ain’t gone work for me.”
“Why won’t it work for you? What’s going on?”
“Come on Ma, you should know me by now. Look . . . I need for you to wear that blue and white bandage dress, along with the matching Saint Laurent strappy sandals. The open toed ones, which means that you also need a pedicure.”
“Gavin seriously, I don’t even feel like going anywhere right now. Why can’t we just chill at the house tonight?”
“We will just chill at the house tomorrow night, recuperating from tonight. How about that?”
“Babe….”
“Be ready at eight, Kam.”
“Okay.”
I don’t even wait for him to end the conversation because I’m pissed. Going twenty years not celebrating your birthday, only for your new man to change it in a matter of minutes is too much to deal with at once.
The dress he demands for me to wear is one of the most expensive items that he’s bought for me thus far. The shoes alone were eight hundred dollars. I have lived off less than that in a month’s time. And now I have the liberty to actually walk around with it on my feet.
The darn shoes don’t have anything on them besides an ankle strap, the soles, and a piece of leather that fits across my toes. What the eight hundred big faces are about, I have no idea. I could have found something even better and a whole lot cheaper in Shoe Station. But of course Gavin isn’t even trying to entertain the notion of shopping in such a store.
I look down at my watch. I need to stop pouting and get to it. I have a birthday surprise to get ready for and my man does not intend to be late, for whatever it is that he has planned. I have to admit though, I’m excited. The man definitely knows how to put a smile on my face if nothing else. Those type of men don’t come around very often.
26
As usual my man is on time. I am having a glass of champagne and trying to calm my nerves, as my brain runs in circles just thinking about what he has planned. He’s only had a few hours to prepare something. So I’m almost sure that it probably isn’t anything too expensive or big.
W
hen I open up the door and see my man, I can swear that I’m beginning to drool. He is standing in the doorway wearing a matching navy linen two piece suit and wing tipped dress shoes to match. I am positive that I have seen the very same shoes on Steve Harvey’s feet in an episode of his new day time talk show.
Gavin is gorgeous and not in a girly way but in an important and wealthy man kind of way. I take notice that his low top fade has been trimmed and that he has a fresh line up. His goatee is etched to perfection. The small patch of hair that sits just under his bottom lip makes my panties wet. Especially when he sucks in his lips and he drools because of how I look in my outfit.
“Oh lawd, we finna kill ‘em tonight!”
“You look good, Babe.”
“Come here Birthday Girl!”
He pulls me into his arms.
I can hear him talking but I have no idea what he is saying. His cologne has me mesmerized and under a trance. My common sense is paralyzed every time that I catch a whiff of his magnificent scent.
“You can’t compliment me before I can complement you now! You are absolutely beautiful. You look amazing, turn around for me…..yeah, that ass sitting nice in that dress. Damn!”
“Boy, stop playing!”
“I’m really considering staying in tonight like you suggested! I want to eat you up right here, right now.”
“Is that right?” I lean in and bite his earlobe.
“Whoa, there will be none of that right now. You’ve got lil G acting a fool!”
I giggle.
“I’m gone lay in that all night, so I ain’t worried about this fool down there, he knows that we’ve got shit to do!”
“You are insane.”
I can’t stop smiling, as I pick up my brand new Brahmin bag.
I leave a lamp on in the living room and then I set the alarm. My man holds me around my small waist, as he walks me to a car that I’ve never seen before. A gray sporty Audi and it is brand new, no doubt. It is a four door stretch model and I am positive that it set him back a grip.
“Nice car.”
I enjoy the feel of the cool black leather, as it cools off the bare skin of my back.
“Thanks Babe, I just got it too. It’s a family car, at least that’s what I was thinking when I got it. But, don’t let these four doors fool you, this piece can get you a speeding ticket.”
“I don’t drive reckless and fast like most women.”
I smile at him.
“Yeah . . . Right! Women be speeding their asses off, like you’ve got sirens and blue lights!”
We both share a laugh at the truth.
“How many cars do you have?”
“I knew that was coming next!”
“That should mean that you are prepared to tell the truth.”
“Right now I have five cars.”
“Why five?”
“Before you, I didn’t have purpose for my money, time, or attention. That’s why I put that money into my hobbies.”
“What kind of hobbies? Don’t tell me that you have an action figure obsession?”
“What? Hell naw- you got the jokey-jokes tonight!”
He flashes me a smile.
“For real though, me and my homeboys are notorious at betting each other. I have remote control helicopters, racing cars, and street racing cars.”
“Grown men and their toys.”
“You’re saying all of that now because you don’t know how we do it. I bet you when you get to hang and witness a race though, that you’ll become addicted too.”
27
Gavin comes to a stop in the valet lane of a high rise hotel. I am relieved at the thought of having an intimate candle lit dinner with my man. That’s all a girl really wants on her birthday is to spend time with her man, while they are both looking and smelling good. I am completely content.
As we walk through the lobby of the hotel, Gavin stops short and ties his pocket square over my eyes. I am then led a good ways blindfolded. With every step I take, my nerves are pushing me out of my comfort zone. I hear a door open and then cool air hits me in the face. The blindfold is slipped off, as a room full of people scream, “SURPRISE!”
In all honesty they scare the shit out of me. I punch Gavin on the arm for doing exactly what I asked him not to do. A few minutes pass by before Jai can finally bow guard her way over to me. NaNa and Neka are both here as well.
That man of mines is sneaky.
I quickly make a mental note to keep a closer eye on him. I get hugs from all of my girls but all Neka has for me is a head nod and a look of disgust on her face. The rat doesn’t even have the class or home training to even say happy birthday. I am set to let her have it at this moment. As soon as I raise an eyebrow and open my mouth, NaNa and Jai are walking me away from her.
Ole green-eyed, jealous tramp! I thought that you were supposed to hate on the low? Can’t be mad at me because you’ve been a pro at trapping men with money, yet none of them ever cared enough for you to treat you this way! I really can’t stand an envious female! To me that’s the equivalent of being a serial killer!
“Before you act a fool on your birthday AND at your birthday party, look at this!” NaNa is actually speaking in a normal tone of voice.
This makes me hella suspicious. Jai points to the banner that hangs over the banquet tables, which is filled with all kinds of food and two different birthday cakes.
The banner reads: ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAMILLE & PAIN’.
Now how did my whole name get up there but only his street name? Poor us….I would love to know who was in charge of that decision. They could have at least abbreviated my shit or something!
I look around for the birthday boy, who hasn’t even told me that it’s his birthday either. There is no way that I’m going to believe that our birthdays are on the same day. He has some serious explaining to do. He always seems to leave out important pieces to the story that I need to know. Yet he never sees the point in mentioning certain things to me.
“And if that isn’t enough to keep you in the classy woman lane…your man’s mother and father are here. There are also several other older people that I am sure are here to celebrate and want to make sure that their beloved Pain is cuffing a classy woman.”
Jai pointes the out to me. They are sitting over at one of the linen covered tables and it has an amazing centerpiece. The entire table is full of older adults who have to be his parents and perhaps his aunts, uncles, and grandparents. My cousin is right, I can’t kick Neka’s ass, not tonight.
She continues to point out different things that are taking place in the huge reception hall. There is a DJ, dance floor, and an overly stocked bar that has three bartenders. In one corner sits a table filled with gifts in manly colors of wrapping paper. There are even some large bottles of expensive tequila and champagne.
In the other corner, there is another table filled with boxes and bags appropriate for a woman. I smile thinking of all the planning and money that it took to pull off something like this. There is no way in hell that he just found out about my birthday. I smell his scent, before he even said a word.
“Happy birthday, Pretty Lady.”
Gavin speaks softly into my ear.
“What about you, Birthday Boy?”
I turn around to face him.
“Oh yeah, we were born on the same day. Imagine that.”
“Stop lying!”
“Ask my mama.”
“I believe you, Baby.”
“Funny how things turn out, huh?”
“Out of all the men in the world….”
“That’s the same thing that Mom Dukes just said. Oh, I was instructed to get you over there and I’m holding up progress. And I don’t disappoint Gwen Brown!”
He gently guides my body towards the direction of his parents.
“Had you told me that I would be meeting your mother for the first time, then I would not have worn this tight fitted dress! How could you do that to me? What is she going to
think of me?” I pinch his arm.
“Ssshhhhiiiiiddd, she’s going to want to know where you got your dress from! Wait until you see what she has on! Pops lets her do whatever she wants to, so she thinks she grown!”
When the two of us arrive at the table, every person who is able to stand does so and I am welcomed with open arms. I receive birthday wishes from them all and they complement me on my beauty. Then everyone explains which gifts come from whom, since they won’t be partying with us all night.
Gavin is absolutely right. His mother is a small woman but she has a figure that won’t quit. Her pencil skirt, beautiful blouse, and high heels are giving me life right now. She is a diva in every sense of the word.
Gavin is his dad’s twin and I can see that the elder Mr. Brown is also in pretty good shape himself. All things considered, I think we are all impressed with each other. I certainly don’t feel any negative vibes, so that in itself is a relief. Gavin falls back and watches, as his parents interact with me.
28
“Baby, thank you so much for putting all this together for us. This is the first party that I’ve ever had.” I consider myself to be blessed.
“This is nothing. We are going to do it bigger and better every year. Believe that, Boo!” Gavin’s words are slurred.
“No more shots for you tonight, Sir!”
“Yes ma’am!”
“I’m for real, Babe. I haven’t seen you eat anything.”
“I can’t eat anything because I’m nervous as hell!”
“What’s wrong? Everything is beautiful…..Gavi……”
My words get stuck in my throat, as I watch him.
His face gets serious and he looks as if he is going to vomit all over the place. Instead though, he gets down on one knee. He holds on to my hands, while looking me directly in my eyes. As if we are in the middle of some Lifetime shit that I’ve seen on a Saturday afternoon, everyone crowds all around us in a circle. I am stuck with no words, no sounds, and no idea of what in the world is going on in his head.