Veronica and Darrell are awaken by Darrell's cell phone ringing from a distance. He reluctantly gets up from Veronica's embrace and pecks her lips before quickly sliding on his underwear and leaving the bathroom towards the sound of the phone.
He looks through his clothes on the floor until he sees the phone. He grabs it just as it stops ringing. On the locked screen is a missed call from Stephen.
"Going back to work?" Veronica appears around the corner, with her underwear on.
Darrell turns to look at her. "It's your cousin."
She rolls her eyes.
Darrell steps up to her, gently grabbing her hand. "When are you gonna tell him how you feel?"
"I'm not. When I say I'm done, I'm done."
"So you're no longer mad about the things he said?"
"Oh, I'm still mad."
"Well if you're mad, I suggest you tell him how you feel so you can stop letting him have that much power over you."
"Power? His ass don't have any power over me."
"Then why are you still mad at him, then?"
"Are you seriously asking me that?" She asks incredulously.
"Baby, hear me out. I agree that how he and his father treated you a couple of months ago was trash. However, I care about your peace. Even though I feel y'all can fix this problem and start all over, if you really want to cut them off, it'll benefit you to be able to love them from a distance. Meaning, whenever you hear their names, it doesn't bring out any negative emotions out of you. That's what I mean by having power over you. But if you tell them how you feel, I bet you, you'll feel better and the mention of their names won't faze you."
"I wanna know every detail on what you've gone through in life, because I swear the advice you give is like you've experienced a past life. Like, you have an old soul or something."
Darrell chuckles. "That's what happens when you've been raised by an old woman."
"So, what happened to your mom? If you don't mind me asking?"
"You can ask me whatever you want. After my father died, my mom couldn't take care of me financially, so I moved with my grandmother."
"I'm sorry to hear your father died."
"I'm not."
Veronica looks at him in shock. "Why don't you care?"
"He put his hands on my momma." He releases her hand and starts to put on his clothes.
"Oh." Veronica watches him get dressed, not sure on what to say next.
Darrell glances at her and notices the concern in her eyes. "Don't be afraid to ask me anything."
Veronica smirks. "If you don't get out of my head."
He leans down to her height and pecks her lips a couple of times. Veronica pulls his body close to her and kisses him passionately.
Darrell reluctantly pulls away. "I gotta go. But, you wanna go out for dinner tonight?"
Veronica grins and nods like a shy school girl.
Darrell chuckles. He kisses her one last time before turning to leave.
"Darrell?"
"What's up, baby?"
Veronica blushes. "...I really like how that sounds."
"How what sounds?"
"Baby."
He flirtatiously taps her chin. "Well, you are my baby, right?"
"Damn right I am. But umm... can you make me a promise?"
"What's that?"
"Can you promise me you won't ghost on me?"
"I-"
"And if you get tired of me, just let me know, okay?"
He exhales, sympathetically. "... Veronica, you are my number one priority, right now, and you come second to none. I promise you that."
"Well, that's not true. What about Aurora? I'm sure she comes before me."
"I have a lot of love for her and the rest of the family. But like I said... you are my priority, right now. This relationship means everything to me, and I plan to do whatever it takes to make sure we grow into a forever thing. So you come first."
They lock eyes. "...Boy, you gon' make me love you."
Darrell chuckles. "I'll call you when I leave from practice tonight." He hugs her and then takes her hand before leading her to the door.
"Lock this door as soon as I leave. If you see your ex, make sure you tell me ASAP. But when I get in the car, Imma make a call to ensure he doesn't bother you anymore."
"Yes, zaddy."
Darrell chuckles. "Is that what you're gonna call me, now?"
"Well, I mean... You got my mind and my body right. So, it's only right to call you that. Shit, I'm having a hard time walking, right now. You just can't tell 'cause I'm trying to play this shit off in front of you."
Darrell smirks. "Crazy ass."
They hug and kiss one last time before Darrell walks away from the shop. Veronica closes and quickly locks the door as she watches him walk to his car. Once Darrell is inside, she does a little celebratory dance which is cut short due to the soreness between her legs.
She looks up to the ceiling.
"Thank you, God, for this breath of fresh air! Please don't let anything break up this relationship. 'Cause to be honest with you, I might have to put my hands on someone this time. I'm just saying."
___
TWO WEEKS LATER
Today is the first day of Veronica's Nail Academy Program. She decided last week, that since her nail shop was finished sooner than she originally planned, she should just go ahead and look for nail techs to start soon.
So she created a website and announced her two day program on Instagram, directing people to sign up for it on her website. Out of the 40-something people that applied to the program, she chose 10 to participate, based on their personalities and cover letters.
Currently... the program participants are in the middle of 'model time' when Darrell walks into the shop, pulling his key out from the lock on the door.
Veronica smiles, happy to see him, but furrows her eyebrows in confusion. "Well hello there. Did you forget I was starting the Academy, today?"
"I didn't forget. I'm here because you forgot something when you left the house."
"I did?"
"Yep. My kiss."
All the ladies smirk, admiringly, as they look back and forth between Darrell and an embarrassed Veronica.
"Darrell, I'm at work."
"And? Come give me my kiss."
"That's not professional."
"Ms. Carter, you know you're wrong for leaving that man without a kiss," one of the participants expresses before giving Veronica an encouraging wink.
All the other ladies chime in, agreeing with the participant's statement. Darrell grins and Veronica shakes her head at him.
"Excuse me, ladies. I'll be back in two minutes. I promise this won't happen again."
Veronica walks over to Darrell at the door, and leads him outside. She chuckles before playfully smacking him on the arm. "I cannot believe you just did that."
"I bet you won't forget my kiss again."
"And you say I'm crazy."
"Woman, gimme my kiss, so I can head to work."
Veronica pulls him away from the glass, so the ladies won't see them. She steps up on her toes and wraps her arms around his neck before kissing him deeply.
Veronica eventually pulls away and Darrell smacks her butt. "I'll see you, tonight, beautiful."
"Okay, zaddy. Have a great day at work."
"You, too, baby. Imma watch you go back inside before I leave."
Veronica pecks his lips before sashaying back into the shop. Darrell watches her hips and ass the whole time.
As soon as Darrell turns to leave, his phone rings. He answers it. "He pulled off?"
He listens to the person speak and then, "alright, let me know where he goes next, and I'll pull up on him."
Darrell ends the call and crosses the street to his car. He shakes his head at the thought of what he's about to do, and then hops inside.