Chapter 30

30

Ahmad

" M ommy, look! It's castles!" Rabbit yelled from the back seat while we cruised through Prado De Las Fresas where my real home was located. Bunny wasn't paying much attention since she was engrossed in her kindle reading a book. However, hearing Rabbit's excitement caused her to look up and gasp.

"Oh my!" she said, looking around. "I know you're lying, Ahmad!"

"About what?"

"You do not stay out here."

I chuckled as I pulled up to my gate and swiped the keypad with my card reader. After driving through the gate, I pulled into the driveway.

"You ready to go on an adventure, Rabbit?"

"Yes!" she yelled in excitement.

I laughed as I got out and opened their doors. Picking Rabbit up, I took Bunny's hand and led them to the front door. The computer I installed for the doorbell scanned my face then the double doors opened.

"Welcome home, Mr. Pryor," the AI system said as soon as I stepped inside.

"Thanks, OG," I replied.

"Oh, hell no," Nala said, standing next to me as I pushed the button for the doors to close. "Ahmad, really?"

"What? What's wrong?"

"This place. During our many conversations, you've only mentioned you had a loft."

"I know, and when we talked about it, I knew I needed to show you my actual home. The loft is just a space I use to be closer to my brother… and I guess now my moms and pops too."

"This place is gorgeous. It's giving ‘lifestyles of the rich and famous'. I'm thinking we need to talk about your net worth at this point."

I chuckled again as I placed Rabbit on her feet. "Well, let's check the place out, shall we?"

"Wait… Let me talk to you for a sec."

"Mommyyy, I want to see the castleee!"

"Makari." Bunny sighed. "Do you see what you're creating? She's never whined."

"She's not whining… you are." I countered. "Come on, Rabbit. Let's go explore the castle."

I smirked at Bunny while she stood with her arms folded, looking pissed. I took them to explore my five-bedroom, seven bathroom home. Anything you could think to have in the home, I had it. This place had become my haven after leaving the streets alone and getting away from my family.

It was where I found solace and room to meditate after I left the game. It was where I allowed my desire to kill to be diminished. I never had to go outside when I was here because whatever I wanted, was right here in the home. Movie theater, tennis court, basketball court, swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna room, and a gym. If I wanted a certain meal, I hired a chef to prepare it, and had housekeeping come out three times a week to clean.

Since we'd been back in California, I had been plotting on when to bring them out here. I even had my interior decorator come out and turn one of the rooms into a playroom for Rabbit. I didn't want to take them away from their norm, but I needed them to be home with me—in the Calabasas.

During my retirement, I did have thoughts of starting a family of my own, and filling this place up, but those thoughts quickly vanished because I didn't like any woman enough to bring them into my place of peace. However, this woman who was walking in front of me with an attitude, made me rethink a lot of shit. Like funding her business, marrying her, and having three babies back-to-back. She may not be receptive to the shit that I had planned, but I had faith that she would at least consider it all.

After showing them around, I introduced Rabbit to her playroom and she fell completely in love. Since her favorite color was purple, I made sure she had purple everything with splashes of gold here and there. There was a playscape in the corner of the room, a drawing board, life-size dolls, a doll house, a projector, a bean bag, and a host of other shit I could think of to entertain a six-year-old.

"This is so neat! Thank you, Papa Ahmad!" Rabbit yelled, running into the room and sliding down the slide.

"You're welcome, baby girl. Me and Mommy about to step out for a second. Can you chill here for me?"

"I'm staying right here, Papa. No worries." I chuckled. Rabbit's inquisitiveness and vocabulary blew me every time.

"Okay." Bunny and I stepped out as I took her by the hand and led her into the open kitchen.

"What's wrong, bun?"

"Nothing," she said, sitting at the island in the middle of the kitchen.

"Not Miss ‘We need to communicate' not communicating."

"Don't even. It took you almost a month to articulate your feelings for me after being pressured into doing so."

"Okay, so now that I am, you want to shut down?"

"No… I just want you to be aware that I don't condone spoiled behavior. I love that you spoil her, but when she begins acting entitled and whining because she wants something, that becomes a problem for me. I don't raise her that way."

I nodded as I waited a moment to let her words digest. "Okay. I realize that I'm coming in at the eleventh hour, moving a way that you all aren't used to. I do apologize for that, but I don't apologize for opening my heart and being open to the possibilities of having such an amazing woman and her equally amazing kid to spoil and love on. The way I see it, neither one of you ever had that from someone who wants to start a life with you. So you'll have to excuse me if I want to show you and baby girl that the world is y'all's, and everything in it."

Nala sighed as she played with her fingers.

"You're right. I guess I am being a little over the top. My baby deserves everything good in this world, so I don't mind you accommodating and showing up for her in a way her asshole father never would have. I just don't want her to think just because she cries for it, that she can get it or rush anyone to do anything. That's not how this works."

"That's true, baby. I don't have children, so I don't know how this works. School ya man on some shit, and I'll school you on how being your own boss works." I walked around the counter and turned her seat toward me. Running my fingers through her natural hair, I pulled her face to mine and kissed her lips. "I promise to stand behind you when she starts being demanding. We'll tell her the rules and if she doesn't follow them, I'll try to refrain from giving it to her anyway." I smiled in amusement as she laughed.

"You think you're so cute."

"I'm not?"

"You are, and I don't think you're beautiful, I think you're beyond it." This fucking girl, man. I chuckled at her trying to finesse me with Wayne lyrics. "But I'll still kick your cute ass if you go against me."

"We got all the space and opportunity to fuck it out."

"You're such a freak. Do you have a secret sex den in this place or somethin'? Do I get my own personal Christian Grey?" I wiggled my eyebrows at her as I took her by the hand. "Wait. Do you, really? You kind of remind me of him in a sense."

I laughed. "Bunny, carry ya ass. The only reason I know who that nigga is, is because I actually read the book. Now, come on. I want to show you the wine cellar."

"As if this place could be any fancier. What is your net worth?"

I laughed again. "My net worth? Really?"

"I mean, is it a dumb question or something?"

"Nah, I've just never had anyone ask me that before."

"Well, you don't really talk to anyone like that either, but I'd like to know."

"Shit, I don't know. The last time I checked my bank statement, it was a little over seventy million."

"Sev—Ahmad! No way!"

"You love saying my name, don't you?" I bit my lip as I smiled at her.

"Don't be cute! What the hell did you do to make all of that? Assassinate presidents?"

I laughed hard at that.

"It ain't really shit, baby. It's just money to me. The shit can't replace my desire to feel authentic love."

I didn't mean for that to slip out, but I wasn't going to cower behind it. Bunny gave me that sense of peace to where I could be transparent with her and not feel judged.

"But nah, most of my money went into investments and stocks. I told myself once I left the game, that I'd do something with the money I'd obtained. So, I started investing… Bitcoin, airlines, and some restaurant chains. It's been five years, so yeah, that's how much I've made over that course of time."

"Wow… I'm dating an actual millionaire. This is crazy," she said, shaking her head. I knew it wasn't the money she cared about. She was genuinely surprised.

"From a bum to a millionaire, imagine that." I laughed. "I thought ya boy was working with something."

"Please. Compared to you, that nigga was a thousandaire." We both laughed as I took her hand and led her to the cellar.

The night had fallen upon us as we sat in the movie theater watching Moana for the fiftieth time. We had any snack we could think of sprawled on the table. When I tried to put the snacks in order, Bunny mixed it all up and shooed me away. I felt a small urge to fight her on it, but I allowed her to take control. She told me it was about having balance. If she could deal with my slight OCD then I could deal with her being unorganized.

After that, Rabbit and I got into our karaoke mode and enjoyed our movie night.

"It's so crazy to me how you know the songs already," Bunny said, laughing as me and Rabbit rapped along to Maui's part.

" I killed an eel, I buried his guts, sprouted a tree, now we got coconuts. What's the lesson? What is the takeaway, don't mess with Maui when he's on the breakaway… " Rabbit and I rapped in unison as Bunny laughed and shook her head.

"Okay, little miss Moana and Mr. Maui. It's time for bed."

"Ooh, can I sleep in my playroom?" Rabbit asked me.

"Not tonight, rab. There's no bed in there. Besides, princesses belong in big beds, right?" I asked her.

"They do! Do we live here now?"

"Not yet… in due time I hope."

"Mommy, can we live here with Papa Ahmad? This house is so big and cool!"

"Uh, we'll think about it, baby. Right now, you need to be in bed."

"Okay, but tomorrow you'll have an answer?"

Bunny sighed. "Sure, my love. Now let's hit it."

We both followed her up the stairs and into one of the spare rooms. I was already thinking about "Purple-izing" everything in there.

"Goodnight, my sweet baby."

"Wait, you didn't read my bedtime story, Mommy."

"Your books are back at the house, babe."

"Then make-pretend one. Papa Ahmad tells the best stories!"

I laughed. "I got you, Rabbit." I sat on the bed as Bunny sat on the other side of her.

"Once upon a time, there was this diva drama queen—"

"Oh, my goodness. This is going to be a long night."

"Mommy, shhh. You're ruining the image in my brain."

"Ut! Fine. Continue, Mr. Dope Storyteller."

"Hater. Anyway…"

I continued until Makari was knocked out. Once we made it safely out of the room, I scooped Bunny up as she laughed and wrapped her legs around me. I took her down to the main floor, then traveled down to the basement.

"OG, turn the lights on in the basement."

" Initiating lights ." I placed Bunny on her feet as she looked around.

"It's the robot talking for me. You and your gadgets." She laughed. "This place is like a vacation home. I've always dreamed of me and Kari living in a huge home with a Pomeranian named Poppy."

"Your dream could always be your reality. You have access to that now, but I don't want to pressure you."

"What are you saying?"

"Rabbit wants a home… I'm not even talking about in a physical sense. She wants us to live here and be a family. I had this house built for that reason alone. Granted, I didn't think you would be the one, hell, I didn't think anybody would be the one. I guess I just liked the idea of it because I felt like I never really had it. And since you are here, there's no one I would want to share this life with more than you and Rabbit." She stepped into my space and placed her hand on my cheek.

"I absolutely love this place. I love you, and there is nothing I wouldn't want more than to live out my dreams with you…"

"But?"

"My job, my friends, and Makari's school is all back in Hashtown. There's no way I can uproot us so quickly—"

"Bunny, all of those things are easy fixes. Are you afraid that we're moving too fast?"

"Oh, we're past moving fast, sir. We're on roadrunner speed at this point." She giggled.

"Then tell me why you're telling me all of this. We're only two hours away from Hashtown. Your people can always come visit you. I just want to make your dreams come true."

She sighed as she smiled at me. "I'll think about it."

"That's cool. You just better have an answer for my Rabbit tomorrow."

"Forget you and your little friend."

"What?" I asked as she laughed. I swooped her up and walked her further into the basement until I came upon a door and opened it. Bunny's eyes ballooned.

"Welcome to my sex room."

"Oh… my God."