Page 41 of Made to Love Ya

“Can you just hold off on it a little longer?”

I wanted to tell her we were in a high place right now, and that could change. But I didn’t want to ruin our little bubble, so instead, I agreed. “Okay. I can hold off on the house hunt for a while.”

“Thank you. I love you.”

“I love you more, baby girl.”

We knew we needed to shower, and we planned to hit it soon. But before we both knew it, we had fallen asleep. Talia was in my arms with my front pressed against her back. All was right in our world.

TALIA

The music was loud,and people were everywhere. All week between Tahini, Pepper & Spice, The Ebony Candle, and his other investments that kept him busy, Izael had been MIA.

With renovations at one of his restaurants, some issues with one of his Airbnb homes, and trying to track down his mom, who he claimed had been moving strange lately, he had little time for me.

I was thankful that we lived together, because otherwise, I might not have seen him at all this week. He usually rolled into bed long after I’d fallen asleep. Our routine had become four AM wake-up sex, shower together, and I would cook and make coffee while he dressed.

Although Izael insisted that I not worry about him, it was my pleasure to do those things for him. He would head out about six in the morning with a kiss on my lips, and I wouldn’t see him until he was holding me in the wee hours of the night.

I would fall back asleep after he left and get up again around nine. My true mornings would start with prayer, half an hour on the treadmill, and a cup of coffee while I read other blogs before I began to transcribe my notes from my restaurant visits.

I had been repeatedly checking my email for a follow up from the second interview that I had with theBold Beautiful Black Girlmagazine. I desperately wanted to be either a full-time staff or a freelance writer for their magazine. They were a cultural magazine that discussed everything from finances to fashion and education to social life, but they didn’t have a culinary section, and they wanted to start one.

An extensive campaign had been launched a year prior, and there were numerous applicants from around the Southeast region. I was excited to be chosen out of hundreds as one of the top ten final candidates to interview.

Although I hadn’t been running all around the city like Izael, my week had been stressful. I was thankful when my mom called last night and invited me over for a family cookout. They told me to extend the invitation to Izael too. That meant I had a night off from cooking, and I could socialize with family and friends I hadn’t seen in a while. I was excited, but also nervous because we would finally tell my family about us.

“Zae knows his ass is still as fine as he always was,” my cousin Paulette stated, eying my man over the rim of her beer mug.

I sucked my teeth but kept quiet because although we would tell my family the truth tonight, we did know that we weren’t going to tell them in front of the rest of the family. My parents and my brother deserved more respect than that.

“Pauley, someone needs to snatch his ass up,” my friend Kedra replied to Paulette. “I would if I wasn’t already locked down.”

“Girl, that man don’t want your pregnant ass,” Sharmise, Kedra’s sister, commented.

“If it wasn’t for my man, I wouldn’t have this baby. So, yes, ma’am, Shar, I would definitely be on the list,” Kedra snapped back and rolled her eyes at her sister.

“Isn’t he in a relationship anyway?” Sharmise asked.

“I heard they broke up,” Paulette replied.

“Yeah, he broke up with Cee-Cee a while back. Didn’t he, Chè?” Eve answered, urging me to get involved in the conversation.

I waved my hand and muttered, “I guess.”

“Who’s that bougie bitch?” Paulette asked, forcing all of us to turn away from our conversation and look to where Izael was standing again.

Tahj had arrived late as usual. He had his fiancée Dahlia with him along with another girl I didn’t recognize. She was looking down her nose at everyone else and clutched her purse tightly to her side. She was short, brown-skinned with long, curly hair that stopped at her waist, and had an ass on her for days. Men all over the yard turned to stare at her.

“More than likely, she’s a friend of Ms. D’s,” Eve commented and sucked her teeth.

It was no secret that she wasn’t a fan of my brother’s fiancée because Eve had a crush on Tahj, who didn’t even know she existed. I had known that feeling for years, and while I felt for my bestie, that sympathy only went so far. She would have another man in her face and her bed in the blink of an eye.

The girls continued to chat about the woman who was a new arrival at the party, but I watched her closely. I saw my future sister-in-law introduce the woman to my man. I saw Tahj hype the situation up, and I saw Izael take the woman’s hand, shake it, and smile that sexy-ass smile at her.

Jealousy was a bitch who had my ass in a headlock, and she wasn’t letting go either. I literally felt sick to my stomach, like I would throw up at any moment. I was drinking a lemonade, and I chewed the straw in my cup as I watched closely.

Tahj and Dahlia walked away and left Izael with the woman. Not once had he looked up at me, but I was patient enough to see how he would handle the situation. The last thing that my family needed was to find out about Izael and me because I showed my ass.

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