Page 60 of If I Gave You My Heart
Finally,I thought once the corners of Adonis' mouth turned upward. Something had finally made him smile. I showed Lou to the living room, where he could set up. When Adonis and I first started dating, we would stay up late or wake up in the middle of the night and have deep conversations. He always talked about wanting to finish his back tattoo or getting a leg one.
"Do you already know what you want, bruh?" Lou asked Adonis.
Adonis pulled his phone out and showed him an Anime character.
"Bet," Lou said as he finished setting up.
From the kitchen, I had a clear view of the tattoo session that was happening in the living room. Occasionally, Adonis would look over at me and offer a smile. I had taken a pack of lamb chops out of the freezer because I intended to cook for my man and spoil him for the day. He was recording while Lou worked, and I cringed a bit. Social media had been a problem in our relationship, and I tried my hardest not to nag about what he gained enjoyment from. Still, there was a line between having fun and disrespecting your relationship. I shook the thought of wondering what he could have been doing on his phone off and just finished cooking.
Within three hours, his tattoo was finished, and dinner was done.
"Look, babe, you like?" Adonis twisted his leg to show off the new ink on his calf.
"Yeah, it's fire," I responded.
"What you getting?"
I didn't plan on getting anything. I had booked Lou for a five-hour session because I didn't know what Adonis may have wanted, but I didn't even factor in myself getting any work done.
"I don't know. I did all of this for you."
"You said you wanted something little and cute behind ya ear, right?"
I did tell him that months ago. I loved that Adonis didn't have selective memory. Whatever you told him, his ass would remember. He had flashed his phone in my face.
"How about this?"
"It's cute," I admitted.
I looked at Lou and he was seated waiting on me. My tattoo didn't take long at all. Adonis was on FaceTime with Joy while I got mine. He seemed to be in better spirits, and I loved that for him. Even if this little moment only lasted for the day, I felt happy knowing that I was able to pull him from his funk, even if only for a few hours.
Adonis
It was the small gestures and the fact that Nyoka broke her neck to please me that made me love the shit out of her. I had been in a rut, and I couldn't shake the shit, but I appreciated her efforts at trying to sway my mood. So much so that I had sent her and Talia away to the spa while I painted her closet the Tiffany blue she had been talking about wanting since I slid her a house key. The movers she had gotten to bring her things down from New York were bringing her stuff inside off of the truck.
I thanked God that there was no furniture because I had the place fixed up to my liking. I wanted her to feel comfortable and know that this was her home too, so I allowed her to toss fur pillows on the sofa and a bunch of other girly shit that I would have never looked twice at in a store. She had paintings hung and plugins all throughout filled with Island Nectar scent.
"Hey buddy, where do you want these?"
I was in the middle of the stairs with one of her boxes in my hands when one of the movers called out to me.
"Leave it there."
"Alright, dude, that's the last box," he informed me before closing the front door behind him on the way out.
I was going to offer him and his guys a tip, but he had left too quickly. I guess he had already been paid to his standard. One thing about movers is if they weren't pleased with that base bill, they would stand around and look at you for a bit, hoping that you will add an extra tip. I had finished carrying the box in my arms up the stairs and headed straight to her closet. Nyoka told me that most of the shit coming was clothes anyway, so that's exactly where all of that shit needed to be.
Nyoka had been gone for hours, and I knew women in the spa could take forever, especially since I sent her with enough money to get their nails and toes done too, but I wanted to fuck something crazy. I busied myself with unpacking her things since I knew I wouldn't see her ass until the sun was down. The stack of boxes dwindled down in size as I knocked each of them out. Her clothes were neatly on hangers, and I had her shoes on the shelves. I even took the initiative to have the heels separate from her sneakers. Nyoka was a neat freak, and I loved that about her. I rushed downstairs and grabbed the last box to unpack that.
When taps started to hit against the window in her closet, I looked out and saw that it was storming pretty badly outside. I reached into the pocket of my sweats and shot Ny a text to check on her. I knew how badly she hated driving in the rain.
Pretty Lady:Aw, babe, I'll be home in a bit. I just dropped Talia off.
I read the text from her and then finished unpacking her things. I stood back and smiled at how I had put her shit together. I knew she would be pleased when she saw it. I turned around, and on the way out of the closet, I realized I had forgotten one box in the corner.Damn, just when I thought I was done.I walked over to the box and then picked it up. Like the others, it had some weight to it. I sat it on the chaise she had in the middle of the floor. This girl had so many fucking shoes it was ridiculous. I was glad that I had the ceiling-to-floor shelving installed in both closets. I picked up one of the weirdest-looking shoes I had ever seen. I couldn't even pronounce the damn brand that was on the sole.
Now I occasionally dripped in designer but on a hood niggas' level. Meanwhile, Ny had brands that were reserved for New York Fashion Week.
As I got to the bottom of the box, I noticed some papers and photos in there. I was about to close the box up because I didn't want to go through her things, but one photo caught my attention. My hands were literally shaking as I picked it up and held it close to my face. I could tell that the young girl in the photo was Nyoka because she had the same face. The person standing beside her confused the fuck out of me. Now, this was the mother that I had a clear memory of.
