Chapter 21

21

D ejvi

Today was a day of transition. I put in my two weeks' notice at the firehouse and felt instant relief. The crew wasn't surprised about my decision, because I hadn't been back. Me being off for the rest of the week turned into Captain trying to exercise his authority over me. It probably would have worked if that was my only source of income, but I felt like I'd completed that part of my purpose and was ready to move forward.

He told me I needed to sign some shit that basically said I agreed to follow his rules and that I wouldn't be able to come back until I signed. Since I felt like his rules would lead to him trying to make me not give my all if it meant saving someone's life, even if it meant risking mine, I decided to quit instead. I could have transferred to another station, but I was at peace with the decision I made.

I did tell my guys about the chili competition and told them to come through, and they agreed to as long as they didn't have to work. After that, I went to Enjell's parents' house to meet them since we made our relationship official last night. It wasn't the most romantic way to make her mine, but it seemed fitting and was authentic. I planned to take her to Rose Valley Hills this weekend, but for now, I was going to take her to dinner and remind her that I appreciated her not giving up on me when she found out about Robin.

As I pulled out of the driveway, I asked Enjell, "Do you have a taste for anything specific?"

"Not really. Anything works. Have you heard of any new restaurant openings lately?"

Before I could answer her, my phone vibrated. When I saw it was a text from Robin, I told her to open it just so she'd know I wasn't trying to hide anything from her.

"Oohwee." Laughter erupted from the pit of her belly as she covered her mouth with her fist and shook her head.

"What is it?"

"So… she is planning to sue you, bae."

"What?" I pulled the phone toward my face to look at what it was, but I didn't have to because Robin called me.

Chucking my phone into the cupholder, I answered the call on Bluetooth. "What's that bullshit you sent me?" was how I answered.

"I'm going to sue you. That write up is from my attorney. He advised I give you one last chance to do the right thing."

"Ain't no judge in this city going to force me to give you a baby, Binny."

"It's not just about the baby, V. We had a contract, an agreement. You made me a promise. Because of that promise, I left my job and home in Chicago to collect. There's something called promissory estoppel that makes a promise enforceable by law, regardless of what the promise is. All I have to do is prove how much I was banking on you being my only chance to have this baby, and you will not be able to renege. Now… unless you're married by your birthday, you're going to keep your promise to me. Bye bye!"

I didn't realize I'd zoned out until Enjell took my hand into hers. She gave it a gentle squeeze, forcing me to focus on her. I pulled over, realizing I'd been driving on autopilot.

"You don't deserve to go through this," I mumbled.

She kissed my hand. " You don't deserve to go through this."

"Maybe not, but she's my friend… my old friend. You? This has nothing to do with you. I get it if…"

"No." Enjell removed her hand from mine and sat up, then turned slightly in my direction. "You're not going to end us because of her."

"I can't ask you to deal with this shit, love. A crazy ex best friend trying to sue me for a baby?" I scoffed, but it turned into a laugh. "If this wasn't happening to me, I wouldn't believe it was possible."

"We just… have to find a way to get her to back off. I'm not going to let her bully you into this. If I felt like getting her ass beat would make her back down, I'd do it, but I don't think that's going to work."

My head shook as I tossed options around in my head. "The only way I'll get out of this is if I'm married. The only woman I'd marry is you. I'm not asking you to do that." I unbuckled my seat belt to turn and face her as I corrected myself. "I'm going to ask you, but not like this. When we get married, I want it to be for the right reason… not because I'm being blackmailed for a baby."

Enjell giggled, and I had to admit I admired how calm she was. "Well… all things considered… it could be worse. I don't think being married to you would be so bad."

The confusion that covered my face made her laugh harder. "Are you serious right now?"

"Yeah. If you couldn't come up with another way out and we needed to get married so you wouldn't have to give in to that crazy ass bitch… I'd say yes."

As quickly as I considered it was as quickly as I shook my head. "Nah, I couldn't. But if I asked you… it would only be until after my birthday. At that point, the contract would be null and void. Then what? We'd just divorce and go back to dating?"

Enjell shrugged and laughed. "I mean, yeah, I guess. We don't have to make a big deal out of it, Dejvi."

"Nah, we would. The marriage would have to be legal because I know her and her attorney would check for the license. If you were willing to do this for me, I'd make sure you had the wedding and ring you desired. Hell, whatever else you wanted, you could have."

"I don't need anything but you."

The weight of what she was offering settled on my chest, in my heart. "C'mere," I requested, pulling her over to my side of the car by her arm.

Once she was settled on my lap, I cupped her cheeks and kissed her. When her moans began to pour, I slid my fingers over her pussy. The warmth and her whimper made me groan. I pulled her dress up and pushed her panties to the side as she unzipped my pants.

"What is it with us and cars?" she asked as she slid down on my dick with a laugh.

"I don't know, but I hope it never stops."

Her smile was small before she kissed my lips and said, "I think we can make sure it never will."

The Final Round

"I'ma be honest witcha, bruh," Aspen said, rubbing his belly. "I tasted sis chili, and she got you beat."

I wasn't surprised by his statement because Enjell was a damn good cook. That didn't stop me from wanting to tease him with, "No loyalty, little one."

"Aye, I'm withchu all the way, but she got it."

"How you taste her chili anyway?"

"Ya boy from the station wanted to know who she was, so I walked him to her table while she was setting up her display."

I nodded as I finally stepped from behind my table. We had a few minutes left before the buzzer to end the round, and thankfully, I had time to spare. From the looks of it, Enjell did too. She was engrossed in whatever Ian was saying to her as he animatedly waved his hands.

"Let me go save my girl, or Ian gon' talk her ears off."

"Man, say. That's why I gladly took him over to her."

We laughed as we headed in that direction. I took in our competition. While some were done and looking relieved, quite a few people were still scrambling behind their tables. When we made it over to her table, Ian and I shook hands.

"Glad you could make it," I told him.

"Yeah, me and most of the crew over there. Your brother told me Enjell is your only competition."

"I'd say so, but there's really no competition."

Sucking his teeth, Aspen wrapped his arm over her shoulder and pulled her away. Ian and I talked until the buzzer sounded, then I made my way over to the bench where our family and friends sat. I kept holding my breath as the three judges took a bite of each of the different bowls of chili.

One judge was stoic and expressionless.

One judge was overly dramatic and unnecessarily descriptive.

The last judge was a fair mix of the two.

When they got to my chili, they raved about it but said something was missing. They couldn't quite figure out what it was.

At that point, I knew Enjell was going to win. I think our entire section was surprised when they tasted her chili and coughed and spit it out. The second judge said it was extremely salty, which didn't make sense. She didn't even use salt in her chili; she used Accent. I think we all were in disbelief as Enjell and I headed to her table. We tasted the chili, and sure enough, it was salty.

"Okay, someone definitely poured salt in my pot," she said.

I looked around, and when Ian shot me a wink, there was no doubt it was him. "I think I know who it was. Give me a second."

Zoning the judges deliberating out, I headed in Ian's direction. Hemming him up by his collar, I lifted him off his feet.

"What the hell did you do, Ian?"

"I-I thought I was helping. You told me how much it meant to win this in your grandmother's honor. Plus, I wanted you to win for the station. You know we had bets going for this. When your brother told me her chili was better than yours, I waited until she was distracted and poured the salt from the other table in her pot."

Shoving him back down, I had to keep myself from punching him in his fucking mouth. Though I appreciated the gesture, it was a bit extreme.

"I'd rather lose than win unfairly," I told him as Malay and their parents headed in Enjell's direction. "I appreciate you looking out for me, but I have too much integrity to ever be okay with something like this. That was foul, Ian. This was the final round, and she has no way to fix what you messed up. Enjell was going to win this fair and square, and I was completely okay with that."

"Damn, I didn't realize…" Ian groaned. "I'm sorry!" he yelled as I walked away.

By the time I made it back to Enjell, the judges were announcing the top three.

"I'm so sorry about this, baby," I said, pulling her into my arms. "He thought he was helping me win. I swear I didn't ask him to do this."

She gave me a bitter smile. "I know you wouldn't do something so low."

"Ah!" Mama bear hugged me from behind. "You won, baby!"

I was so focused on Enjell I hadn't bothered to pay attention to the results. Everything happened in a blur. One minute I was holding Enjell while Mama held me, and the next, I was being handed a check and trophy while a crown was put on my head. I looked around for Enjell, and she and her family were gone. It seemed the picture taking process took forever, but as soon as it was done, I told my family and friends thanks for coming, then headed to my girl.