A Work of Art (a Chris Brown Love Story)

08: Soulmate

     I'd always wondered when the moment would be when Luna and my daughter would meet. Would they like one another? Would they mesh well? Luna was great with kids, even though that's hard to believe, given how she skips shifts at Tumbling Tots. She'd been great at her CBE job though. She really knew how to make me shine in any situation, and I wanted that light in my life. Luna really did light me up. Besides Royalty and my mom, she was the only one I cared to be around. It was so much more than sex, so much more than compassion, I loved her on a whole different level. I truly felt as if Luna Livingston was my soulmate. 

About 30 minutes passed and I finally heard a knock on the door. "I'll get it, you start the movie back over, Daddy." She said sweetly. I hesitated at first, but let her go to the door. I headed over to the end table and grabbed the remote, rewinding the movie. "Hi! I'm Ro!" I heard her say over my shoulder. "Hi, pretty girl, I'm Luna. It's nice to meet you."

"Have I met you before?" Ro asked, leading her to the couch. Luna nodded. "Yes. You're in the Butterfly room at Tumbling Tots. I work there sometimes with Ms. Lisa and Mr. Kendall." I looked up and met her eyes. She gave me a small smile. "Hey." I waved. "We're watching Frozen, if that's okay." 

"It better be okay!" Royalty laughed. "I love this movie." Luna smiled at her. "Me too. There's a new one coming out at this end of a year, if you want, I can bribe your dad to take you!"

"Or you take me. A girls night out, no boys allowed!" She cheered. She knew Luna all of 3 seconds, and already was trying to replace me. And what the hell did she know about a girls night out at 3 and a half? 

Luna nodded. "Sounds like a plan, little lady." I smiled to myself and got up to scoop some ice cream into bowls. I turned around when I saw Luna following me. "Hey, need some help?" She asked. She was wearing a simple white t-shirt, jean shorts, and Chuck Taylor's, but ever so flawless. I shook my head. "No, thanks."

She shrugged, but stayed with me at the kitchen island. She rested her big head on her hands. "I can't believe your leaving for a whole month." She sighed. I cocked an eyebrow at her, as I finished scooping ice cream in a pink bowl for Ro. "So, you're gonna miss me?" 

She waved me off with her hand. "The jokes and adventures, yeah. You're just never going to tell me what you did that day, huh?" 

I smiled to myself. "After the movie, if you stay that long." She smirked back. "Okay, then." She grabbed Ro's bowl and took it to her back on the couch.

       Frozen went off for the second time tonight and my daughter was fast asleep. Luna and her had really bonded tonight, and it warmed my heart. If Luna decided to give me another chance to be a romantic part of her life, then this was a great start. She was so worried that she wouldn't mesh with Ro, but here she was, fitting right in. I know it had to be hard for her, but she seemed to doing it effortlessly. 

"I'm gonna carry her upstairs, I'll be back." Luna shook her head. "I got it. You find us something else to watch." I sat back down as she carried her upstairs. "Which room is it?" "Last door on the left." I replied, flipping through the channels. I looked up a couple minutes later as she trotted back down the stairs. 

"So, I'm guessing I never told you that Mrs. Winston has numerous aliases in different states, huh?" She gasped and looked at me. "No! No way! You're joking right?" I shook my head. "The folder is in my bedroom. I was gonna look some of them up online and stuff, but I got distracted. I can't believe it either. I knew it was more to her." She nodded. "Yeah, but what? She could very well just be running from an abusive ex or something." 

"But crack fell out of her closet. Like the kind you sniff to get high." Luna began to hysterically laugh. "I can't believe this! This is going to be the best story I've ever written, if only I could get more facts." She appeared to be thinking. "Come show me the aliases." I led her upstairs to my room, but left the door open in case Royalty woke up and needed me for something. I walked over to my nightstand and pulled the folder out. I handed it to Luna. "Did you bring your portfolio?" She smirked at me and opened her bag. "Did I? You know I did." She giggled and handed me the folder in exchange for the one I stole from Mrs. Winston. 

I opened it and was amazed. She really wasn't limited to just one genre. There was a poem about her favorite season, which was Spring, even though she had the worst allergies in the world. There was a small fiction story about a crime, something I guess she'd been inspired to write after watching Criminal Minds, and lastly some depressing journal entries from when her father died up to her mother's diagnoses. My eyes grew wide when I got to the last page.

DRUG RING OR PRAYER CIRCLE? 

"Hey, what's this?" She looked over at me as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "Oh, a dumb headline I came up with at work one day. Some of my coworkers were talking about going to this prayer circle after work one day, but one of them I know for sure, is a crackhead so..." She cut herself off when she met my gaze.

"Oh my God, This all makes sense now."

I nodded. I knew she was talented and could be a phenomenal journalist, all she needed was the correct inspiration and I was glad I could be that for her. She smiled at me, but this time, it was different. "Thanks, Chris. I really mean it. I'm always my best when I'm.... When I'm with you. I could have never landed this story had I not been around you. You're always there. Thanks for that." I nodded. "Anytime." 

"I bet there really isn't even a Penguin Publishing. Just a crack ring. I don't know, I'll have to do some investigating of my own." 

"Okay."

She began to pace back and forth across the room. "I'm so excited and running on so much adrenaline I could kiss you!" She cheered. I looked up at her, looking so beautiful with her curls running wild and plain white t-shirt. "So, do it."

She looked over at me. "I'm serious. I'm tired of hiding how I feel. You were my first love, I'll never be able to be just friends with you. And I'm sick of you shutting it down! I see the way you look at me, I know for a fact that if you didn't still care about me somewhat, you wouldn't be here right now."

I know I was jeopardizing my newfound friendship with her, but I couldn't help it. Even if she didn't feel the same way, I felt as if she was my soulmate and I'd never meet another woman like her, so why try? Yes, I'm happy with my daughter and career but when I'm with Luna, everything just comes together. Family, Happiness, Peace. I feel it when I look in her eyes. 

Her eyes watered up as she looked at me. "You may not feel the same, but I can't hide how I feel." She sighed and walked over to me. My heart sunk as I realized she was going to grab her portfolio and leave, but she surprised me. 

She pulled me in by my face and kissed me right on the lips. I tried to pull away to gather my thoughts, but she just pulled me closer, forcing her tongue in my mouth. She'd gotten aggressive, much more than I remember, but I was just enjoying kissing her. I'd missed kissing her soft lips.

My hands moved from her waist to her ass as she tried to back away. I pulled back and looked at her. "Tell me not to go tomorrow. Tell me to stay."

"Stay." She whispered against my lips. "Stay here with me, please. I've missed you and I don't know what I was thinking." 

"You don't?" She shook her head. "I'm serious. I always break up with you to give you time to process my depression and anxiety, but you help me with it. I feel that you don't deserve to go through that, but if you want to, who am I stop you?" She linked her fingers with mine as we laughed. 

"I missed you so much, girl. You have no idea."

She looked up at me before kissing me again. "No. You have no idea how much I miss you." I wrapped her in another hug and kissed her forehead.

This was exactly what I'd prayed for.