Obsessed

| Thirteen

I woke up that Monday morning already exhausted. The past weekend was horrible, focused on gathering more evidence to use against Jonothan in this case. Not only that, trying to catch up with school work and business was proving to be a pain in the ass, but I would complain not. It felt good to be back again.

There was a patterned knock on my room door.

“ Come on, ‘lil daddy, we got things to do. “ Vinny cooed, planting soft kisses on my ear. I groaned and he chuckled. “ Foreal, we gotta’ schedule. “ he patted me on the butt.

“ What schedule? “

“ Boy, get up. “

I angrily tossed the covers off me, grabbing some underwear and heading to the shower. Once I was fresh and awake, I walked into the closet, picking out a pair of Levi jeans, my high-top vans, and a striped sweater from H&M. I brushed my teeth, then pulled on my clothes. I walked downstairs as Vinny sat on the couch, talking on the phone. I proceeded to the kitchen, where my mother was cooking breakfast.

“ Hey, my baby. “ I kissed her cheek as she flipped the French toast. “ How are you feeling? “

“ Pretty good. Ready for today to be over. “

“ You and me both. Your father was called into the office, but we will meet you and Vinny at the house around three, okay? “ she smiled, excited. There was something she wasn’t telling me.

“ Whatchu’ you know that I don’t? “ I asked her. She started humming a song, swaying her hips and ignoring the question I had just asked her.

Vinny walked into the kitchen.

“ We gonna’ be late, ‘lil daddy. “ he told me, reaching into the fridge for water.

“ Late for what? “ I reached for a plate, piling the food onto it.

“ You can eat in the car, let’s go. “

Vinny pulled me away from the house and outside into the chilly air. We jumped into his car, heading towards the city.

“ So you not gonna’ tell me anything? “ I smacked on the dressed bread. He hated it when I did that.

“ It’s too early for that pettiness. “ he chuckled.

“ Is it? “ I popped the eggs into my mouth, looking at him. He blushed, rolling his eyes and facing the road again. “ You look nice. “

“ Mhm. “ he shrugged me off.

“ Is that what we doin’? “

“ Babe, just relax, okay? “ he reached over, rubbing my chin as I snatched away from him.

“ Forget you. “

Once we drove past Ebenezer, we took a left into one of the housing complexes over this way. These were out of my price range. Way out of my price range. I was wondering what we were even doing over this way, but decided to keep my mouth shut. We drove past the houses and their spacious yards, pulling up into the driveway of a Ranch style home. The red brick was a color I always admired. That’s why I was so in love with my parents' house. He got out of the car without saying anything to me. I followed suit, walking up to the large door, and walking inside behind him. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. There was way too much space, but I loved it. The kitchen was ridiculously large, set with natural rosewood-colored floors against modern white fixtures and countertops. The rest of the house was lined with thick, off-white carpeting that felt like walking on pillows. I fawned over the staircase that led to the upstairs portion of the house, leading into an east and west wing. I walked past the stairs, stepping down into a large entertainment area for the house that stretched back to the front.

“ You like it? “

“ I love it, Vinny, but why are we here? “

” This our new home. “ he smiled, walking closer to me.

“ That’s not funny, Vinny. “ I rolled my eyes, turning around to marvel at the place. I heard a pair of keys sing against each other. I turned around to him as he held out the gold devices. He dropped them in my hand.

“ This our new home. “ he spoke more slowly.

“ But how? “ I tried to hold back my tears. “ And why did you do this alone, I could’ve.... “

“ I don’t wanna’ hear any backtalk, ‘lil daddy. “

I embraced him tightly, still starstruck this was happening. I pulled away from him, staring at the keys and then staring at the house. I went back to staring at the keys, then adored the house again.

“ That’s not all. “ he clapped twice.

“ Congratulations! “ I flinched a little as their voices echoed through the empty house. Jaylin, my mother, and my father along with my family came out of hiding. My co-workers from Ebenezer were all smiles, along with the people we knew from school. And then there stood a man that looked just like Vinny. He was holding a black box in his hand as he walked through everyone else to us. He handed it to Vinny, patting him on the back.

“ I couldn’t be more proud of you, boy. “ he smiled before walking away, dapping up my father.

“ This is really why everyone is here. “ he tapped the black box against the palm of his hand. The room fell silent. “ I had a talk with your pops not too long ago. He asked me how much I loved you. I told him I loved you more than life itself ‘cause that’s what you are to me. Every time you smile, my heart skips a beat. Every time you laugh, I get butterflies. “ a stray tear fell down his cheek and I wiped it away. “ ‘Lil daddy, you are everything to me. You bring out the best in me. You are a classic, David. That’s why I bought this home for us, straight cash. “ he knelt down on one knee and my heart dropped. The collective gasps in the room sucked up all air that was left. He opened up the black box revealing the gold ring with the large diamond glistening against the light beaming through the house. “ I can’t live without you, lil’ daddy. So, will you complete me by becoming Mr. Yeldon? “

I was doing everything but saying yes. I was thinking about how lucky I was. Not just for having Vinny, but to have such great family and friends. I was thankful I still had my life. I was the manager at a job I loved, doing something I loved even more. And now I am standing here in my beautiful new home about to marry the most amazing man I have ever met.

“ Only a fool would say no. “

Our lips collided as everyone clapped and cheered. He pulled back to slide the ring on my finger. A perfect fit. He kissed my forehead, wiping the tears from my eyes. Jaylin walked back inside the room, telling Vinny that the movers were here.

“ Okay, I hate to tell ya’ll get out, but meet us here this weekend at about six so we can properly celebrate, aight? “ they all laughed and everyone started leaving the house. My mother and father walked over to us, giving hugs and kisses before rushing off to explore the house. Jaylin and Mr. Yeldon went to handle business with the movers. I inhaled and exhaled deeply, looking up at Vinny.

“ I owe you everything. “

“ You owe me nothin’. I still got more than enough left over to handle business. “ he picked me up, repeatedly kissing my lips.

____________________

As we left the movers with the plans, we headed back to my old house to get everything packed. Today we would just be focusing on packing clothing and stuff from the kitchen. The furniture would wait. We had plenty of time before we had to return the keys. I walked into my old room, grabbing clothes and tossing them in the bags.

“ This where the real work is. “ Jaylin laughed as she walked inside the closet with me.

“ Tell me about it. “

She grabbed the clothes, placing them in the bags as we laughed and reminisced on old memories.

“ My baby is ‘bout to be married now. “ she sniffled.

“ Oh, please don’t cry, I still got a headache. “ I hugged her as she hugged me back. “ You my sister, you know that? “

“ Mhm. “

“ I would kill for you, girl. “

“ Mhm. “

I nudged her away for her dry answers.

“ I already know whatchu’ want. Do I really have to ask you? “ I placed my hands on my hips.

” Formality. “ she sang.

“ Fine. Jaylin Denise Carter, will you be my best man? “

“ Uh uh, bridesmaid. “

“ Uh uh, best man. “

She pouted, shuffling the clothes in her hand before she placed them into one of the duffle bags.

“ Fine. “

Once we finished getting everything packed up for that day, we put everything in my father's trunk and headed back to the new house. We walked inside seeing everything in place. The couches sat unbothered in the entertainment area, which Vinny also had filled with a pool table, about three classic arcade machines along the wall, and a separate TV and set up for his gaming and entertainment. We grabbed the boxes from the truck, placing them where they were supposed to be. I had walked my million duffle bags up the stairs, making a left and walking into the master bedroom. There was a custom-sized, wooden bed layered with royal blue and white sheets that accented the white walls. They had also placed a love seat along with two chairs strategically surrounding a white, black, and royal blue designer rug on the lower level of the room. I walked by the furniture and into the large walk-in closet.

“ Jesus, Vinny, what are we gonna’ do with all this space? “ I chuckled to myself.

“ You know damn well yo’ clothes gonna’ take up half the closet. “ he grunted, easing his duffle bags onto the floor. “ Damn. “

“ Oh come on, old man, I know you ain’t tired. “ I walked over to him, poking his stomach.

“ You wanna’ see how old I’m not? “

“ Daddy, I will tear you up. “ I teased him.

“ Really? “ he turned around, closing the French doors and walking back over to me. He pecked my lips twice before he kissed me passionately. I started to unbutton his jeans but there was a knock on the door interrupting us.

“ If you don’t want me comin’ in there, get downstairs and help with this kitchen. “ my father yelled before walking away.

I finished looking through the upstairs of the house before I walked downstairs to help unpack everything in the kitchen. Once we were done, we ordered some pizza and sat down on the comfortable couch, and watched some TV. I cuddled up to Vinny as I continued to admire how the ring looked on my finger. How it felt.

“ The guest rooms are good to go, so feel free to spend the night. “ Vinny offered.

“ I was planning on doing that anyway. “ my mother smiled, getting up from the couch. My father followed behind her.

“ It was nice to finally meet your sexy daddy. “ I teased him.

“ And that’s goodnight. “ he chuckled, getting up from the couch and leaving.

“ What I say? “