Page 29 of Mister Fireman

“Now that type of treatment I’ll never turn down.”

Kisses led to touches that led to him being inside of me again. I felt like the connection we had was real, but the timing was slightly off. If Dejvi and I were able to take care of our personal issues, I was sure we’d be able to get into a healthy, flourishing relationship that would have no end.

15

Dejvi

The Next Day

Since she didn’t want to take money directly from my hand, I figured out another way to make sure Enjell would be good. She said she would accept me sending her some business, and that’s exactly what I did. I had my crew to pull up to the commercial kitchen which included: Kahlil, Elite, Hosea, Saint, Tyreek, Antonne, and Supreme. Aspen pulled up with Asylum, Merc, Karrington, and Bully. My parents came through, too, inviting some of their friends and coworkers as well. Leave it up to my mama to tell some family members too.

Enjell was unable to cook anything for quite a while. She spent several hours getting everyone set up for different services. Me and Mama helped as much as we could, but so many people showed up that she called Malaysia and Dallas in to help as well, which was crazy because Dallas was Asylum’s sister-in-law. I had no idea his wife, Dauterive, was so closely connected to my future wife.

With everyone being here, it turned into a little set once she had everyone set up in her portal and did the preordered plates she needed to do for the day. I ended up doing a Kroger order, and Aspen did a liquor store run. With Malaysia’s and Dallas’s help, my love produced a spread of party food for us all to enjoy. The liquor and weed flowed, and with everyone going live and posting about it on social media, her website and email was flooded with even more inquires.

Because it was only her, she told everyone she’d have to get a small team in place before she could accept any more clients. Her girls offered to help with no hesitation, and that was when the tears started. I allowed them to get her together, so I was glad when she made her way over to me.

“Baby,” she cooed, wrapping her arms around me with a wide smile.

“Wassup?”

“You know how much money I made today?”

Chuckling, I took a puff from my blunt and handed it to Aspen. Well, I tried to hand it to Aspen. He was so busy looking at Malaysia and Dallas he didn’t even notice my extended hand. I couldn’t tell which one he was looking at, but they both were beautiful.

Malaysia looked a lot like her sister naturally. They both had the same petite frame, slanted eyes, and cocoa brown skin.

“Here, little one.” I grazed his arm with mine.

“My fault, big brother.” After accepting the blunt, he headed in their direction.

“How much?” I asked, giving Enjell my attention.

“Twelve thousand dollars!” She squealed and hopped from one foot to another. “That’s a little bit more than what I made as a traveling nurse. If I can keep up with this clientele, I can easily get back on track. Well, this one day will help put me back on track. The only thing I’m a little concerned with is the car, but I’ll handle that when and if I need to. All of my bills will officially be paid by day’s end. I’m so happy! Thank you so, so much!” Her chin trembled and eyes watered. She was probably the most emotional woman I’d ever dealt with, but for some reason, I loved that shit. I loved how expressive she was. How she wasn’t afraid to show how she felt—good or bad. “This is what I needed. A partner. You honored that. You gave me the space to do this on my own, but you showed up for me exactly how I needed. I can’t explain the boost to my confidence this has given me. Thank you so much, Dejvi.”

“You know I’ll do… absolutely anything for you, right, Enjell?”

When she tried to lower her head, I kept her eyes on me with my hand under her chin.

“I’m starting to see that now.”

“Good. Because this is what you have to look forward to.” I turned her around and pulled her into my chest. After kissing her neck and wrapping my arms around her, I told her, “These my people… and now… they’re your people too.”

The First Round

The summer carnival would end around the first day of fall. This was the first time in years they were going to end the carnival with a chili competition. It seemed like divine timing because this was one of the things on my bucket list. I really wanted to win for Grandma Odella, but I didn’t mind losing if it was to Enjell. This meant a lot to her too. I could only imagine the things she’d be able to do with the money if she won.

We’d known each other for a little over a month now. Even without titles, Enjell was mine. I’d been learning her and finding subtle ways to show up for her, and she was doing the same for me. We were very intentional about loving each other with our love languages, which led to a funny encounter last night. With the competition starting today, we decided to sleep alone.

“I want some love before I go,” she’d said, and I knew that meant dick. Enjell had stopped by to drop my clothes off and do a little cleaning for me. Since I hadn’t been at the firehouse and was spending more time at home, it was a bit more lived in.

Instead of immediately busting her down, I gave her a massage, focusing on her lower back, feet, and hands, then ate her pussy until she was on the verge of going to sleep. Then, we made love for hours. I sent her home with a huge box of essential oils she could use for her perfume oils and candles. One thing I could say about my woman was that she smelled as good as she looked, and when I found out it was because she made her own perfume oils, I became slightly more obsessed with her.

Sometimes she smelled citrusy or fruity and sweet, others, warm and like a forbidden dessert. When she saw what I’d gotten her, she cried and said it was the most thoughtful gift she’d ever gotten. I wanted to make sure we ended our day together on good terms because I was competitive, and I felt like she would be too.

Whatever happened at this competition today, I needed her to remember the love I showed and gave her yesterday. Even though hundreds of people registered, today’s challenge was to cook a signature dish in forty-five minutes or less to advance to the next round. I was confident previously that we’d both advance, but with there being so many people here, I wasn’t sure. When our numbers were called, I cleaned up my station and headed over to hers.

“Congratulations, love,” I said. “You’re one step closer to losing to me in the finals.”

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