Darrell's phone rings continuously as he hugs Veronica.
"Maybe you should get that."
Darrell releases his embrace before silencing his phone, returning his attention back to Veronica.
"I want to do something with you that my grandmother did that helped me a lot."
"What's that?"
Darrell grabs both of her hands. "Close your eyes."
"For what? "
"Just do it."
She closes her eyes.
"Dear God..."
Veronica quickly opens her eyes in shock. She watches him as he prays with his eyes closed.
"...I don't know if it's right for me to ask you for anything, since I don't really talk to you. But I know how this worked for me when G-Ma used to pray for me when I was always in trouble. So here I am doing the same thing for this beautiful woman I can't get enough of. I hope that's all right with you."
Veronica smiles before closing her eyes again.
"Heal her heart and show me how I can assist with that. Also... show me how I can learn everything about her, so I can love on her. I want the best for her and I want her to trust that I have her best interest. I understand that she's been through a lot of pain, and because I don't know what else to do for her, I figured the best thing to do is to come to you. Her craziness is testing my patience, but I also know I am crazy about her. So God help us both. She deserves love and I want to give her that. So yeah...Amen."
Darrell slowly opens his eyes to Veronica staring at him. "So you didn't keep your eyes closed while I was praying for you?"
"I did close them, but then I kept opening them, because you're full of surprises. The only people who have prayed for me are my mom, my cousins' abuela, and Yemi. Never a man. Oh, and I don't appreciate you calling me crazy," she says, laughing.
"Was I lying though?"
"If I'm crazy, then you're crazier for wanting to be with me."
"I'll take that," he replies with a smirk.
Darrell feels his phone vibrate. He glances at it before putting it back in his pocket.
"By any chance, is that call about the cops that put Mike in the hospital? Are you gonna handle that? Or is that asking too much, since we haven't built that trust, yet?"
Darrell stares at her for a moment before responding. "I trust you enough to tell you that I am going to take care of it."
She nods.
"I'm going to go. But after I'm done with handling some business, I'm gonna come back to you. I know you have your cousin and your friend visiting, so whenever you want to finish this conversation let me know."
"I don't mind finishing this conversation tonight. I can come to you when you're done?"
"That sounds good."
"Okay."
"I'll text you my address, when I'm on my way home."
Veronica nods before turning to walk away.
"Veronica..."
She turns back around.
"Happy Birthday."
"Yes! It is my birthday," Veronica exclaims in her Prince Akeem voice.
Darrell chuckles. "Crazy ass."
__
Yemi spots Veronica walking towards the dance floor. "There you are!" She runs from Sam to Veronica. "Happy birthday, best friend!" She hugs her, and Veronica gives her a slight smile.
"Thank you."
"You okay? Kayveon said he saw you on the way to the bathroom, and you went out front for some air. I called your phone, too."
"It's on silent. But, yeah I'm good. I was talking to Darrell out front."
"Wait, wait, wait. He was hereee? What?!"
Veronica chuckles. "Long story. I'll tell you when we get home. You ready to go?"
"Only if you're ready."
"Yeah. Lemme just say goodbye to Kayveon."
"Okay." Yemi goes back to Sam while Veronica approaches Kayveon, embarrassment written all over his face.
"Hey," Veronica says to him.
"What's up? You good?"
"Yeah. We're gonna go, though."
"Alright."
"Do you think we can meet up later this week to talk?" Veronica asks him.
The look of embarrassment suddenly leaves Kayveon's face. "Yeah. I would love that."
"Cool. Umm... I'll DM you."
"Alright. Happy birthday, by the way."
"Thanks." Veronica turns to leave.
Kayveon looks out at Veronica's guest, and they all wave to him. He nods.
___
LATER
Veronica is making a TikTok with Yemi when she gets the text from Darrell.
"That's him."
"Okay. Text me as soon as you get there," Yemi tells Veronica.
"I will."
_____
20 MINUTES LATER
Veronica pulls up to Darrell's brownstone, and Darrell is outside waiting for her.
He walks to her door and opens it for her. Veronica chuckles at the gesture.
"Get used to it," he tells her with a smirk on his face.
"I'll try." Veronica gets out before he leads her to his front door. They go inside, and Veronica is surprised at the decor. "This is nice."
"Thanks. My grandma decorated it when I first moved in."
"You must be close with your grandma."
"I was."
"Was? Did she pass away?"
"Yeah."
"My condolences."
"Thanks. Go ahead and make yourself comfortable. The remote is by the TV and the fridge is stocked. I need to take a quick shower and then I'm all yours."
"Okay."
Darrell stares at her as he walks backwards up the stairs towards his bedroom.
___
15 MINUTES LATER
Darrell comes back downstairs, wearing just sweatpants. He finds Veronica asleep on the couch with the TV on and sits next to her.
"Veronica..."
She slowly opens her eyes and does a double take at his pants. "Why are you wearing those sweatpants in front of me?"
Darrell laughs. "Stop. You ready to talk?"
"I will be, when you change your pants."
"Are you being serious?"
"Yes, I am. I can see how big your dick is."
"No you can't."
"Yes, the fuck I can."
"Alright. Well, have some willpower and ignore it."
"You're asking for a lot."
"You can do it. Come on, sit up."
Veronica sucks her teeth before slowly sitting up. She looks the other way, avoiding looking down at his pants.
"Stop playing," Darrell tells her, chuckling.
Veronica smirks before looking into his eyes. "Alright. Let's talk."
"Do you still think I would hurt you?"
"Not intentionally. But one day, you may want to leave me."
"I definitely don't know what's in the future, but I do know that I have never wanted to be with anyone as much as I want to be with you. So with that feeling, I can tell you that I don't ever want you out of my life."
"What if you end up not wanting me anymore?"
"Veronica, you have tried to push me away several times, and I am still here. If I wanted to leave you, it'll be because you either cheated or betrayed me. So it's up to you."
"I would never cheat or betray anyone. That's not in my character."
"I know that. That's why I wouldn't worry about us not lasting forever."
Veronica blushes.
"Are you blushing?" Darrell asks, teasing her.
"Whatever."
"So what do you say? You wanna give us a try?"
"...Can we do a trial?"
Darrell laughs. "What does that even mean?"
"Like us doing a test run. Dating for a certain amount of time.... Then if we pass, we can subscribe to each other."
Darrell laughs again. "Subscribe as in us being in a relationship?"
"Yep."
He smirks. "We can do that."
"Then can we have sex?"
Darrell shakes his head, smirking. "Once we are in a relationship, we can have all the sex you want."
"Sounds like a plan to me."
Darrell pulls her closer to him, laughing, before kissing her on the cheek.
"I have a question."
"What's up?"
"For my birthday... can you strip for me?"
"You got some ones?"
"You can put it on my 'I owe you' tab."
He chuckles. "I don't do those. But I got you when we're in a committed relationship."
Veronica sucks her teeth. "Fine."
"Don't be sucking your teeth." He lifts her up and sits her on his lap before kissing on her neck.
"Alright... don't be surprised when I have your dick springing out of those sweats."
Darrell laughs. "So... what's one thing you would like for your birthday that seems hard for you to get right now?"
"Hmm..." She takes a deep breath. "I want to be able to visit my mom everyday but live with my cousin's abuela at the same time. But I know that's not possible."
"What is an abuela?"
"Grandmother."
"Oh. You're close to her?"
"I was, when I was younger."
"I'll see what I can do."
"She lives in DR."
"Okay. That doesn't stop anything. I got you."
Veronica tilts her head in confusion, but decides to leave it alone, trusting his words. "Whatever you say."
___
Veronica gets back home around noon, and notices Yemi on the couch watching the news.
"Two officers were found around 1am this morning, lying in front of the hospital suffering from severe blood loss. When taken inside of the hospital, carved letters were found near their rib area. Once the hospital staff cleaned them, the letters were visible and what they read was disturbing. Someone carved the words: I attack black kids on both officers," the newscaster reports.
Veronica's eyes and mouth are wide open and Yemi is covering her mouth in shock.
"The officers were asked to describe the suspects, but they declined. Instead, they told officials that what was written was false, and then they immediately resigned from their positions as officers," the newscaster concludes.
"First that kid gets his rib broken, now this. The cops out here are worse than the ones in LA," Yemi states.
"Wow," is all Veronica can say, while staring at the television.
"Anyway... how was it?" Yemi asks her.
Veronica is in a daze, still staring at the TV. Yemi waves at her, attempting to get her attention.
"...Veronica!"
"Huh?"
"Are you okay? Did it not go well with Darrell?"
"With Darrell?"
"Girl...". Yemi chuckles. "The news got you spook like that?"
"Me, spook? No- Umm. I just- I was thinking about something else. But umm... everything is good with us. I told him I would give him a chance."
Yemi gasps in complete shock. "You did?! Oh my gosh!" She jumps up from the couch and attacks Veronica with a hug. "I am so proud of you! Yesssss!"
Veronica laughs. "Slow your roll. We're not in a committed relationship, yet."
"Keyword is yet." Yemi releases her embrace, grinning hard at her.
"I fuckin' love you, I swear," Veronica responds, always in awe of her friend's enthusiasm.
"I love you, too! And I love that you are opening up more and more. I'm so excited for you. You deserve so much love."
Veronica smirks, turning around to leave towards her bedroom. "Anyway. What time did y'all want to leave for lunch?"
"As soon as you get ready, birthday queen. We're just waiting for you."
"Okay, give me like 20-25 minutes."
"No problem... Ms. future Darrell."
"Oh my gosh, stop."
Yemi giggles as Veronica leaves out the room, smiling. Her smile immediately drops at the thought of what she saw on the news. More than ever before, she is eager to know about Darrell's double life.
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