Page 21 of Beautiful Harmonies

She giggled as we pulled up to a quaint house-looking building. I assumed it was the bed and breakfast. It seemed really quiet, and I liked that. When the car came to a complete stop, we got out and stretched. It wasn’t a long drive, so I wasn’t sure why I was stretching. I supposed I hadn’t gotten out all my stretching from the flight.

I walked around the car with our luggage and made my way to Kamari’s side. “Please tell me you’re gonna stay here with us, baby.”

“Yeah. I don’t think I would be okay not staying with y’all with you being this close.”

Mi rolled her eyes playfully as we made our way to the door. After walking inside, the girl at the desk looked like she wanted to pass out. I knew it was probably because of Kamari. I was thoroughly surprised when she said, “Oh my goodness. Deontray and Kamari! Hi! I mean, I’m sorry. Your suite is ready.”

Kamari chuckled as I smiled. I glanced at her name tag and said, “Thank you, Alexis.”

That lil white girl nearly passed out. Mi’Junae rolled her eyes as she processed our information and gave the key to the room to Kamari. When Kamari smiled at her, she asked, “Is there a concert going on that I’m not aware of?”

Kamari glanced at me, and I shrugged. I didn’t care who knew my business when it came to positivity. Being with Kamari was absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. If anything, she should have been ashamed to admit that she was with me. “No, ma’am. Just trying to give them a sense of peace here. I hope I can count on you to keep this to yourself.”

“Yes, ma’am. Absolutely.” She glanced at Mi and smiled. “Welcome to Lafayette. I hope you enjoy your stay.”

“I’m sure we will,” I responded.

Following behind Kamari, I said, “I thought you were going to tell her that we were a couple at first.”

“I was, but then I thought better of it. The two of you are here for peace and quiet. I’m going to do my best to keep things quiet.”

“Wait. So y’all are official official?” Mi asked. “When I asked if y’all were serious, I meant exploring what was between the two of you. But y’all are an actual couple?”

I slid my arms around Kamari’s waist and pulled her to me then slowly kissed her beautiful lips. “What that tell you?” I asked when I pulled away.

“That you finna be doing the most. Word of caution, Kamari. The man is possessive as hell. If a nigga look at you too long, he gon’ be in his face.”

I rolled my eyes and lowered my head to kiss Kamari again. “I know how things work in the industry. I’m not that bad, baby. If you’re my woman, though, I should have way more access to you than anyone else. I know I don’t have that to worry about with you though.”

She smiled slightly and kissed my lips again. “No, you don’t. I’m actually pretty surprised with how fast you won me over.”

I kissed her forehead, then we continued to our suite. When Kamari opened it, I had to smile at how it looked. It reminded me of how the house we grew up in looked. It was like my mama had come here and decorated this shit herself. I glanced over at Mi to see she was just as stunned.

Kamari turned around to see both of us frozen in time. A slight frown made its way to her face. “Is something wrong? We can get another suite,” she said as she looked around, clearly trying to find whatever she thought was bothering us.

“Actually, baby, this is perfect,” I said softly.

Mi’Junae came over to me and hugged me around the waist, laying her head on my chest. “It feels like she’s here, Tray. Wow. I’m never gonna want to leave.”

“I know. I can feel the peace already.”

After kissing her head, I pulled away and set our luggage down. When I walked over to Kamari, I could see the confusion on her face. There was something soft about it though. It was like she knew that it was something sentimental for us. She grabbed my hand and led me to the couch. Mi joined us and sat in the chair across from us as she continued to scan the room.

“It feels like our mother is here. This is her style to the T, from the drapes to the area rug. You did great by picking this place. It’s like God worked through you to provide the ultimate experience for us.”

I kissed her hand as she blushed. It was hard as hell keeping my hands and lips off her. I just hoped when I met her parents, I would be able to restrain myself. She lay against me for a moment, then said, “Well, if y’all wanna take a nap, you have time. Mama texted and said dinner won’t be ready for another two hours.”

“I just wanna lay here and hold you. Can I do that, baby?”

She sat up and looked at me. After licking her lips and looking away for a moment, she stood and grabbed my hand while Mi’Junae rolled her eyes. She was such a hater. When we got to the room, Kamari kicked off her shoes and got in bed, prompting me to follow suit. Sliding in behind her felt like a dream, and I couldn’t wait until she felt comfortable enough to give me all of her.

I already knew it would be a battle trying to be faithful because of how I’d been operating for the past few years. I was deep in the streets, sticking and moving. I was so far removed from celibacy I’d forgotten what the hell it meant. However, Iknew I couldn’t fuck up in that way. My fuck up would crush this beautiful flower. She didn’t deserve that. She deserved the best I had to offer, and I planned to give her just that.

“So, since you’ll be at my show in two weeks, I think we ought to go public then. What do you think?”

“I think it’ll probably get out before then, but we can definitely confirm it then. What did you have in mind?”

“I want you to sing with me,” she said as she turned to face me.

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