Page 41 of Dali: The Demolisher

Mona sighed and leaned against the table. We definitely looked related. The only difference was her hair was darker than mine and she was petite. Other than that, we had the same honey brown skin tone and almond-shaped eyes.

“We’re not having sex. We’re just friends. I felt really bad for him after everything went down. I know he’s a cheater and shit but some hurts no one deserves, and finding out your best friend did that, especially in front of everyone, was a lot.”

“Agreed.”

“He did mention Twila. She’s getting a DNA test done in six weeks. I know he’s hurt over Vincent, but I can tell he’s really down about the baby too. That was something he’d been excited about and now there’s a chance it’s not his. I’ve been trying to keep his mind off it, so he won’t become destructive like Dali and Dynasty think he’s going to be.”

“Has it been working?”

She shrugged. “Sometimes. He’ll go missing for a day or two and I’ll have no idea what his ass is doing.”

“He said he was coming today, right?”

“Of course. He should be on his way. He asked me if I was already here, and I told him yeah.”

“Cool. Well, keep me posted about that. I’m honestly hoping that ain’t his baby, but I know that would probably hurt him more.”

We continued to talk until Dynasty texted me and told me they were pulling up. Dali had no idea why his brother was bringing him to our old high school on his birthday. It was hard as hell keeping this secret from him, but I was sure his reaction would be worth it. I’d hired a photographer and videographer, so I found them and told them to follow me up front so they could record his reaction.

My heart raced as I headed to the gate. Since things became official between us, Dali had been spoiling me. I’d been returning the same energy as much as he would allow, and this was like the icing on the cake. Dali spoiled me because he wanted to and didn’t expect much in return. That made me want to do more for him.

Take yesterday for instance. We’d gone to Memphis since that was the closest city that had a William Sanoma. They had a rose gold and copper cookware set that I saw once and showed him. I told him if I had that, I’d cook for him even more because it was so pretty. The shit was three thousand dollars and Irefused to buy it myself. Without telling me of his plans, he took me there to get it and told me to get whatever I wanted for myself since that technically was for him.

I instantly fell in love with the Baccarat wine glasses, old-fashioned glasses, and highball glasses they had. He bought me a set of all three, spending a little over what he’d paid for the cookware set. Dali seemed more excited about the purchase than I was, and that was confirmed when he said to me,“I’m happy I was able to get you something you really wanted. That makes me so happy and proud.”

At that moment, my heart melted. I realized I was with a giver. A man who had money and didn’t mind using it to take care of me and make me happy. It wasn’t a means to control me; it was a way to make my life better. He genuinely liked serving me and getting me things… doing things for me. I still wasn’t sure what I’d done to be blessed with him, but I thanked God for him daily.

“Bae, what’s going on?” Dali asked, palming my waist.

“It’s your birthday party. We’re having a field day.”

“Happy birthday, little brother,” Dynasty said before giving Dali a side hug and leaving us alone.

“Huh? We’re having a what?”

Laughing, I used his hand to tug him forward. “Come on. I’ll show you.”

We walked onto the field, and he released a low, “Oh shit,” before covering his opened mouth with his fist. As I looked on, pride filled me. The photographer snapped several pictures, which I was grateful for. The surprise and happiness that covered his face was something I’d want to treasure.

“Is this real?” he asked looking down at me.

“Yep! Food and drinks are to the left, the DJ is on the right. Arcade games are in the back, and we’ll be doing the races and competitions in the center of the field.”

“Baby…” Dali stepped in front of me and took my hands into his. “You did all this for me?”

“I did. Do you like it?”

“Hell yeah! I love it. No one’s ever done anything like this for me before.” The little shuffle he did made me laugh. “This is going to be so much fun. You’re the best, Kas. Thank you!”

He picked me up and covered my face with kisses before thanking me again and running to meet up with his crew. I was sure I probably wouldn’t spend much time with him unless it was during a game, and I was more than okay with that. I wanted Dali to truly enjoy himself today, and as he wasted no time getting set up for a three-legged race, I was sure that would be the case.

The Next Weekend

This wasthe first time in a long time that I did not want to clock in. Dali had treated me to a spa day, and I was so relaxed all I wanted to do was go to sleep. It didn’t help that it was our busiest night of the week, but the good thing about that was Mona would be working with me and Siri said she was going to stop by. Andy had hired two more bartenders, Tate and Jackie, and things were going well with them. We’d gotten into a groove with them, which I was grateful for, since we had an influx in customers because of the events we started hosting over the summer.

After clocking in and getting set up behind the bar, I did what I always did when me and Mona worked the same shift—poured us a shot of vodka in preparation for what was to come. She appeared to be in good spirits, and I was curious about why,but the sight of a large, and I do mean large, bouquet of flowers caught my attention.

“Wow,” I muttered as the delivery man walked over to the bar. “Those are beautiful.”

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