Prince: Love Always Wins

Prince

“Now I can’t lie, P, you a madman but I never seen someone do it better. You turned this around in three days,” Remy said

“I told you what I was on,” I boasted. How could I not when I looked at the truck? The difference between now and a few days ago was astonishing. This was different from anything else I was doing. It was giving me a different type of feeling just thinking of her face. I was a madman, for sure. When Le spoke about her new opportunity I knew gifting her with a truck would be a perfect and mindful gift. She was a force and it was my job to support her in every way I could. So, on top of everything else I was doing, I added this to the list.

Purpose.

“Don’t let my wife get ahold of this shit . ” Remy laughed.

“Y’all are twenty years in. Shit, I’m trying to get there plus she had to know you were cheap before you married her.”

“Damn right, she did. She stuck with me through thick and thin but even an old dog can learn something. Here I am in my sixties with a full bank account and not too many memories. It’s time we put the focus back on each other. I’m going to take this weekend and fly her to see her family back home.”

“Like Jamaica back home?” I stood on my feet not believing what I was hearing. “I haven’t seen anybody pinch a penny tighter and you are taking her on a trip without planning it first. Say it ain’t so.” I laughed, but all the humor was gone from his face. I knew when Remy looked like that he was getting ready to hit me with some shit. I tuned my ears in ready to receive the jewels he dropped.

“She deserves more than what I have given her. Yes, the security of it all was important. I busted my ass to make sure my kid had everything they needed, and she didn’t have to work for anything, but I forgot about us at times. I didn’t invest in the time we needed to spend together to keep us close. Money is made to be spent. They ain’t printing no more time. I wish we would’ve done more in our younger days but I can’t get that back. All I can do is start now.”

“You good, Remy? Something you need to tell me?”

“Look at yo’ soft ass getting all sentimental. I’m telling you if you just listen. You remind me a lot of myself. You are driven and you want to accomplish everything you set out to do. What man wouldn’t? Just don’t forget the most precious commodity is time. They ain’t printing up no more of that. When that woman loves you, that’s all she really wants. That woman looked a little starved the last time I saw her. Fix that.”

“I hear you.” I nodded.

“You did good, . I’m proud of you son. She’s the best decision you ever made.” Remy put his hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze before he ambled out of the truck to his car. I sat with his words for a moment, hearing that he was proud of me always did something to me. He was more of a father to me than he knew, and I valued every word he spoke. My head had been in all my projects and I was still chasing ghosts. My mind could be so tunneled and I had to work on turning that shit off. No, not turning it off, but focusing on what was important. I pulled the ring box out of my pocket and sat it on the counter of the makeshift kitchen. Diamonds were a girl's best friend, but my woman? She was different, and when I saw her favorite jewel, a yellow sapphire surrounded by a cluster of diamonds, I knew that was the one that would make her smile the widest. I was sure of exactly what I wanted to do.

My phone buzzed, and I fished it from my pocket.

“What’s up, baby?”

“I guess we're rescheduling for tonight, too?” Le’s attitude was fully stated. Ever since Pria left a few days ago she had been distant.

“No, actually, I'm on my way home now. Are you ready?” I asked as I locked the truck doors.

“What’s that sound?”

“Just something I am working on. I plan to show you real soon.”

“Mmm hmm.” She mumbled, and I knew she had rolled her eyes.

“I’m on my way to you, Le Monroe. Are you ready for our date?”

“I am. Are you?” She was holding on to that attitude for dear life.

“Once I get back I can be. It will only take me about thirty minutes and we will still make our reservation.”

“Okay.”

“Give me a few, and I’ll be there.”

“I hear you.” She disconnected the call before I could say more. While part of me wanted to call back I knew there wasn’t much I could do over the phone. She missed my presence, and I counted that a blessing, as she truly wanted my attention. I was going to get better at the balancing act. I had to believe in this love we had. I had to believe in my capability to maintain it. Self-doubt presenting itself in multiple facets was what drug me down those rabbit holes, and I couldn’t afford to lose myself again. I wouldn’t. I had a family to lead and protect, and dropping the ball again would never happen.

I gripped the wheel all the way home as I rode in silence. The anticipation of connecting with my woman in every way excited me. When I placed my first foot inside the door, I called her name. When she turned the corner I wanted to walk back out of the house and come in again so that I could see her for the first time once more in that blue dress. My Le Monroe was curvy as hell, but the way the fabric cut and brought out the melanin of her mocha chocolate skin made me want to have a taste. So damn rich and delicious.

“.” She blushed before I said a word.

“Bring those lips to me,” I spoke the command but I was the only one who moved as I pulled her into my arms. When our lips connected, she vibrated in my arms the same way she would when she was letting her rain drown my dick. Our connection didn’t break as quickly as I planned. In fact, she pulled me in, showing me just how starved she was. We were multiple times a week most times multiple times a day. The last few days I hadn’t been inside of her felt like a drought.

“We, we aren’t going to make it out if you keep kissing me like that.” She spoke against my lips breathlessly.

“I miss you, Le.”

“I miss you too. We don’t have to go out if you don’t want.”

“We should. As good as you look I want to show everyone my prize. But trust me, as soon as we crack this muthafuckin’ door again, it’s gone be every fuckin nasty thing you are thinking in your head. Let me go get in the shower and get dressed.” She let go of my shirt and stepped back. That wasn’t as smooth as I thought it would because her face completely changed.

“What’s that about?” I stepped forward.

“Nothing, go get dressed. We wouldn’t want to be late right?”

“Aye, Le.”

Her phone rang, and she took that opportunity to run her ass out of there like she was on fire. “I’ll go get that. It may be my sister, and I haven’t talked to her in a few days.” She hurried away. I took a few steps in her direction and stopped. I had to give her space to process. I knew what pressing her too hard would lead to. I would give her a few more hours with her emotions but it was no way we were going to sleep with what was on her mind. When I was sinking inside of her, which was a definite to the way we were ending our night, I needed to know that her mind and heart were connected.

I stepped back a few paces and jogged up our marble staircase. When I got to our room, my phone started ringing with notifications of the final supplies being delivered to the new home, which was going through its final stages. I pulled the ring from my pocket and tucked it away in my safe in the back closet. When I came out, Le was in the room with the phone to her ear.

“Your phone,” she spoke, not even hiding her annoyance.

“Check it. I have nothing to hide from you, baby. You know that.” Even after seeing the supplies being delivered, she still wouldn’t know what I was doing for her. She wasn’t savvy with what was used for flooring or roofing.

“No, it's okay.” She pressed on a fake smile. She sat on the bed, and I walked past my phone and straight into the shower, letting her check it in peace. She could say what she wanted, but I knew she was going to go through that shit. I was moving differently, and when shit like that happens, a woman like Le, who had been through some of the worst shit, was bound to have feelings rise about that. I had to find a way to shelf that because I damn sure felt like I had done enough for her not to feel that way, but at the same time, I had to take inventory of myself.

“Small shit to a giant,” I mumbled as I took care of my hygiene. When I came back into the room, she was gone. I saw she was wearing blue, so I had to ensure I matched her. I pulled on a pair of deep blue tailored slacks and a blue collared shirt to match. I reached for my diamond cuff links. I debated on wearing my diamonds in my mouth, but I left them on the nightstand. I hated eating with my shit in, and my teeth were impeccably maintained. I splashed on her favorite cologne and walked down the stairs to see her waiting at the bottom.

“You look nice,” she said honestly. It was nothing extra in the shit either. I knew when I heard diplomatic Le, she was halfway pissed.

“You gone tell me what’s bothering you? I apologize for how busy I been lately. Look at me.” I pulled her to face me, and her arms crossed her chest.

“, I’m not—I don’t want to talk about it right now,” her correction brought a smile to my face. It bought her a few more minutes.

“I love the truth on your lips. Let’s go baby.” I pecked her lips, and we walked to the car. I was okay with leaving it alone as long as she was vibing with me for the moment. Like always she grabbed my phone and put on the music for our ride. The restaurant I chose was only a twenty-minute drive, and we pulled up in the nick of time. Rios didn’t play that CP time shit. Fifteen minutes late, and your reservation was canceled. We got there with eight minutes to spare.

“This is nice. How do you always find the best lil’ hideaways?”

“I like to think I stay connected to the right people.”

Our conversation fell flat as the waiter came and took our drink orders.

“Are you excited about the catering event?” I asked.

“I guess.” She said, and silence fell again. I couldn’t be around her another second unless I fixed what was happening between us. I could tell her exactly what I thought she needed to hear, but I knew she just needed to express herself more than she needed the answer to what she already felt was true. There would never be another comparable to her in my eyes.

“Are you going to talk to me?” I asked her.

“I just don’t want to hear lies, . I want the truth.”

“I’m trying to respect the fact that you don’t want to talk about what’s bothering you, Le. Tell me what’s on your mind so that we can be clear. Let me put it to bed.”