Chapter 15

15

D ejvi

The Next Day

Since she didn't want to take money directly from my hand, I figured out another way to make sure Enjell would be good. She said she would accept me sending her some business, and that's exactly what I did. I had my crew to pull up to the commercial kitchen which included: Kahlil, Elite, Hosea, Saint, Tyreek, Antonne, and Supreme . Aspen pulled up with Asylum, Merc, Karrington, and Bully . My parents came through, too, inviting some of their friends and coworkers as well. Leave it up to my mama to tell some family members too.

Enjell was unable to cook anything for quite a while. She spent several hours getting everyone set up for different services. Me and Mama helped as much as we could, but so many people showed up that she called Malaysia and Dallas in to help as well, which was crazy because Dallas was Asylum's sister-in-law. I had no idea his wife, Dauterive, was so closely connected to my future wife.

With everyone being here, it turned into a little set once she had everyone set up in her portal and did the preordered plates she needed to do for the day. I ended up doing a Kroger order, and Aspen did a liquor store run. With Malaysia's and Dallas's help, my love produced a spread of party food for us all to enjoy. The liquor and weed flowed, and with everyone going live and posting about it on social media, her website and email was flooded with even more inquires.

Because it was only her, she told everyone she'd have to get a small team in place before she could accept any more clients. Her girls offered to help with no hesitation, and that was when the tears started. I allowed them to get her together, so I was glad when she made her way over to me.

"Baby," she cooed, wrapping her arms around me with a wide smile.

"Wassup?"

"You know how much money I made today?"

Chuckling, I took a puff from my blunt and handed it to Aspen. Well, I tried to hand it to Aspen. He was so busy looking at Malaysia and Dallas he didn't even notice my extended hand. I couldn't tell which one he was looking at, but they both were beautiful.

Malaysia looked a lot like her sister naturally. They both had the same petite frame, slanted eyes, and cocoa brown skin.

"Here, little one." I grazed his arm with mine.

"My fault, big brother." After accepting the blunt, he headed in their direction.

"How much?" I asked, giving Enjell my attention.

"Twelve thousand dollars!" She squealed and hopped from one foot to another. "That's a little bit more than what I made as a traveling nurse. If I can keep up with this clientele, I can easily get back on track. Well, this one day will help put me back on track. The only thing I'm a little concerned with is the car, but I'll handle that when and if I need to. All of my bills will officially be paid by day's end. I'm so happy! Thank you so, so much!" Her chin trembled and eyes watered. She was probably the most emotional woman I'd ever dealt with, but for some reason, I loved that shit. I loved how expressive she was. How she wasn't afraid to show how she felt—good or bad. "This is what I needed. A partner. You honored that. You gave me the space to do this on my own, but you showed up for me exactly how I needed. I can't explain the boost to my confidence this has given me. Thank you so much, Dejvi."

"You know I'll do… absolutely anything for you, right, Enjell?"

When she tried to lower her head, I kept her eyes on me with my hand under her chin.

"I'm starting to see that now."

"Good. Because this is what you have to look forward to." I turned her around and pulled her into my chest. After kissing her neck and wrapping my arms around her, I told her, "These my people… and now… they're your people too."

The First Round

The summer carnival would end around the first day of fall. This was the first time in years they were going to end the carnival with a chili competition. It seemed like divine timing because this was one of the things on my bucket list. I really wanted to win for Grandma Odella, but I didn't mind losing if it was to Enjell. This meant a lot to her too. I could only imagine the things she'd be able to do with the money if she won.

We'd known each other for a little over a month now. Even without titles, Enjell was mine. I'd been learning her and finding subtle ways to show up for her, and she was doing the same for me. We were very intentional about loving each other with our love languages, which led to a funny encounter last night. With the competition starting today, we decided to sleep alone.

"I want some love before I go," she'd said, and I knew that meant dick. Enjell had stopped by to drop my clothes off and do a little cleaning for me. Since I hadn't been at the firehouse and was spending more time at home, it was a bit more lived in.

Instead of immediately busting her down, I gave her a massage, focusing on her lower back, feet, and hands, then ate her pussy until she was on the verge of going to sleep. Then, we made love for hours. I sent her home with a huge box of essential oils she could use for her perfume oils and candles. One thing I could say about my woman was that she smelled as good as she looked, and when I found out it was because she made her own perfume oils, I became slightly more obsessed with her.

Sometimes she smelled citrusy or fruity and sweet, others, warm and like a forbidden dessert. When she saw what I'd gotten her, she cried and said it was the most thoughtful gift she'd ever gotten. I wanted to make sure we ended our day together on good terms because I was competitive, and I felt like she would be too.

Whatever happened at this competition today, I needed her to remember the love I showed and gave her yesterday. Even though hundreds of people registered, today's challenge was to cook a signature dish in forty-five minutes or less to advance to the next round. I was confident previously that we'd both advance, but with there being so many people here, I wasn't sure. When our numbers were called, I cleaned up my station and headed over to hers.

"Congratulations, love," I said. "You're one step closer to losing to me in the finals."

Her eyes rolled as she laughed. "Boy, stop. I just hope you don't hold losing to me over our heads for the rest of our lives."

"As long as this is your way of saying you'll be in my life no matter what, I'm okay with taking that risk if you are."

My arms wrapped around her, and she stood on the tips of her toes to give me a kiss.

"What are you doing after this?" I asked.

"Going to see my grandma."

"Has she taken another turn?"

Her head shook. "No, it's still the same stuff, thankfully. The attitudes and mood swings. The forgetfulness. If she gets overwhelmed, she freezes and can't remember what she was doing or how to do certain things."

"And they still haven't decided what they're going to do for her living arrangements?"

"Nope. Daddy is trying to honor her wishes but knows she needs someone there with her. Auntie really don't give a fuck. She is okay with her being there by herself. Somehow, she got Grandma to make her power of attorney, so Daddy can't really go against what she's saying right now. He's trying to get her to see things from his perspective."

"How in the hell did she get POA?"

Enjell's head shook as she sighed. "Honestly, bae, I feel like she had Grandma sign it without knowing what it was."

"Was it notarized? Y'all can challenge that. If she signed while she wasn't fully in her right mind, it can be reversed, but it'll have to be done legally."

"I'll tell Daddy so we can prepare, but hopefully, it won't come down to that."

We talked for a little while longer before heading to the parking lot.

"Are you sure you parked over here?" I asked, not seeing her car.

Her purse dropped as she stomped. "You have got to be kidding me! They wait until I pay the balance down to come get my shit?"

Gripping her shoulders, I turned her to face me. "What are you talking about, love?"

"My loan company," she whined with watery eyes. "He was three months behind on the car note too. I was trying to work with them, but they said because he was so behind, they couldn't make any promises. It would have been different if he'd been communicating with them and trying to work something out. Apparently, they'd already started the repo process, and my payments didn't matter." Sniffling, she pushed my hands away from her and began to pace. "Had I known they were going to do this, I wouldn't have even made the payment yesterday. That was eleven hundred dollars that I could have saved or put toward something else."

Every time something happened because of her ex, I wanted to do more than knock his ass out. If he was still in Memphis, I would pay his ass a visit. Though, with my connections, I could have Antonne or Merc find him regardless of where he was.

I took her into my arms, and her body immediately relaxed as she sniffled.

"Don't worry about this, aight?" She nodded. "Let's go out to dinner to celebrate advancing to the next round. Let me handle this." … And him . Enjell looked up at me. "I'm not going to buy you a car, but I am going to be a partner and support you and make sure you have transportation, okay?"

Her eyes shifted as she considered my words. Watching the battle of choosing my help and trusting me versus trying to handle this herself was different compared to just hearing her say what was going on. I could see the effects of his actions play out in real time, and regardless of how she would feel about it, her ex was going to have to see me. The way he'd abandoned her gnawed at her ability to feel safe and secure with me, and that was some shit I simply wouldn't tolerate. Even if she never said she loved me, I needed to know she trusted me, respected me, and felt safe with me. Knowing that would take some time, if it happened at all, because of his bitch ass…

"Okay," she agreed softly.

I picked up her purse and handed it to her. We left that parking lot hand in hand, and I knew my next set of moves would either pull us closer together or cause her to push me further away.

Later that Evening

It didn't take much work to find Gino. I reached out to Asylum, and he gave me Dallas's number. Between her and Malaysia, I was able to get Gino's number. Merc tracked his location, and I knew exactly where he was.

I ended up taking Enjell to the movies so we wouldn't have to actually talk until she was in a better mood, then we went skating. After that, we met up with her girls and a few of my guys to go bowling. At that point, the second part of my plan was ready to go.

When we pulled into her driveway, my Charger was already there. I'd asked Aspen to bring it over since his crooked ass knew how to break into my apartment to get the spare key.

"Baby," she said, sitting up in her seat.

Cutting off the Challenger, I bit back my smile. "Hmm?"

"Is Aspen here?"

"Nah, not no more. I did have him drop the car off though."

"For what?"

"I'm signing the title over to you," I got out quickly before she could respond. Before I could even make it over to her side, she was swinging the door open. "Enjell…"

"What do you mean?"

"I said I wasn't buying you a car. I'm giving you this one."

"Dejvi…" With a pout, she crossed her arms over her chest and lowered her head. "I can't take your car."

"I can't drive two at one time. Plus, I want the Hornet GT that just came out. I only have two parking spaces at the apartment complex, so you'd actually be helping me out if you took this one off my hands."

"I would?" she asked softly, wiping away a tear.

My heart grew in size as I pulled her into my arms and kissed her forehead. "Yeah, you would. So can I sign this one over to you, so I can get that one?"

Her eyes blinked as she sniffled and fought her tears. "Are you being honest? We know from our first meeting that you'll lie in a minute."

I laughed and held her tighter. "I'm telling the truth, love. I want to do this for you, but it will really help me too." That was the truth. I'd been looking at the Hornet and trying to decide between it and a pickup truck. I didn't plan on getting either until my lease was up. I could get it now and help her, too, since she wouldn't let me buy her a car, which I would have done with no hesitation.

"Okay, I'll take it. Thank you, Dejvi." Her hands lifted and cupped my cheeks. Pulling me down to her lips, she pecked them twice before wrapping her arms around my neck. "I know you're really doing this to help me. Thank you."

"Anything for you." I kissed her temple then leaned back slightly to look into her eyes. "We've had a long day, and you have to get some rest so you can be ready to work tomorrow. I'm going to sign it over to you then head out, okay?"

"Okay." She agreed but didn't release the hold she had on me.

I wouldn't rush her. This was probably a lot for her emotionally. We stood there for a while, holding each other. I smothered her face, neck, and lips with kisses until she felt full enough to let me go. When she did, I got the title out of the glove compartment and signed it over before leaving. I had an ulterior motive for leaving so early in the evening, but she didn't have to know what else I was up to just yet—or ever.