I only had two days left before I fly to Michigan, but today was Devin's birthday. He made it clear to me that he didn't want to do anything big, so I decided to just spend the day with him. He was coming to my dad's house, for the first time, to pick me up.
I was in my bathroom, fixing my hair. He's seen me in a bonnet and sweatpants when I was sick, but it's his birthday so I want to look nice. Jenelle had her stylist friend to silk press my hair for me since I wanted it. I decided to do my regular everyday makeup; eyebrows, mascara, concealer.
I heard a knock at my door, and Jenelle walked in at my command.
"Hi" she dragged out, with a smile. I smiled back at her. "Are you nervous?"
I laughed. "We've been on dates before and you guys already met him, so no. I'm excited though. I miss him."
She cooed. We talked about her first college boyfriend until Siena woke up, crying. Having these conversations with Jenelle was good for me. I didn't have this relationship with my mom, so having a motherly figure was nice.
I began watching B. Simone's podcast until I got a text saying Devin was here. I excitedly sprayed perfume on and grabbed my purse that was already ready to go. I started to run down the stairs, until I heard his voice talking to my parents.
He was complimenting the house as I walked into the kitchen. "Hi" I smiled, hugging him.
"Wassup" he smiled back.
"Wanna take Siena" my dad joked.
"Daddy, no."
"Steven, leave them alone" Jenelle said slapping his shoulder. Devin just laughed.
"Alright, you kids have fun. Be careful. 12:00, no later."
"Goodbye" I sang leaving out of the door. Once we got into Devin's car and he drove away, I leaned over to give him a kiss. "Happy birthday, baby."
"Thank you, mama" he smiled, focusing back on the road. "You got the directions?"
I nodded as Siri guided us to the Hopscotch museum. It was in San Antonio, so we had a little over an hour to drive. I already bought the tickets, but I didn't tell him where to.
"You can have the aux" he said pressing the Apple CarPlay button.
I shook my head. "No, you can. I won't complain today, I swear."
He laughed and began to play Chief Keef.
We drove through all of the small towns. We had to pass our college town to get where we were going and most of the traffic was there, since we had a shopping mall and it was Christmas time.
"Devin, you still never told me what you want for Christmas and we're almost out of time."
"I already told you, mama. I just want you to come to New York. Hell, I'll come to Michigan if I have to."
"Um, I meant something materialistic."
He shook his head. "Nah, all I want is to spend time with you."
I looked at him in pure admiration. I loved him. So much. The thought of him made me jittery.
"We'll see" I said turning to look out of the window, rubbing his hand that he had resting on my thigh. I've never actually been to New York, but I wouldn't mind going. I just don't think my mom would think very highly of that idea.
We finally made it to San Antonio and found parking near the exhibit. I was personally excited. I saw this place on Tiktok, so I thought it would be fun. He opened the door for me and we were greeted by the host. I looked around at everything. It was nice. The exhibit was downstairs, but on our floor, there was food. Since we still had about 15 minutes before our time started, we sat down to get a drink. Being that this was his 21st birthday, I decided to pay for his drink.
"This place is nice, mama. Where did you find this?"
"You know, the tok. That's where I find everything."
The host let us know that it was time for us to go, so Devin finished off the drink, and I had to sneak a few sips.
He grabbed my hand and we walked down the stairs into the neon space. It was really pretty and picturesque. There was a huge glowing ball pit that I really wanted to jump in, but we decided to explore the rooms first. We first entered a plain room, but the walls lit different colors.
Then, we walked across the hall and explored all of those rooms. There was one for spray painting and another with photo illusions. He seemed to be enjoying himself, so we took a lot of photos.
After about an hour, we finished everything, including the ball pit. The museum had food trucks outside but we decided to head downtown to the Riverwalk to eat at the restaurants.
We ate Mexican food and walked a little, before deciding to head back to his house. The ride back was pretty quiet since we were both tired. It was only 7:30 when we got back to his house and I lived just 20 minutes away, so I didn't mind sitting here for a few hours. I just wanted to spend time with him.
He unlocked the door and it was pretty quiet.
"Where is everyone" I asked as we reached his room. He closed the door behind us as I sat in his gaming chair.
"You know Colin is always in Dallas. I think his girl stay out there or something, and CJ at some girl house. He said he ain't coming back if you coming over."
"Fuck I do to him" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.
"Nah, he just don't wanna hear you screaming."
I glared at him. "That's why we not doing none of that."
He laughed and went to the restroom, before coming out and sprawling across his bed with his hands behind his head. "Come here, mama."
"Nope. I was serious."
"Kiari, I'm not even on that right now. I just wanna hold you, for real."
I could feel my heartbeat in other places. His voice, his face, his haircut. Everything about him was so special to me. I got up and walked to lay on top of him, kicking my shoes off in the process. I put my ear to his chest, listening to his heartbeat. He rubbed the small of my back.
"I know I tell you this all the time, Kiari, but I want you to know that I actually do mean it" he started, rubbing down my flyaways. "I love you, Kiari. So much, man."
I smiled. "I love you, Devin" I said as he kissed my forehead. Shortly after, I heard his light snores. I looked at his face, just admiring him, before kissing his lips and laying back on his chest, dozing off.
