Nick came home from the studio on Friday afternoon to see Asia sitting on the couch cuddling with Rocket. Her bags were packed and arranged neatly by the elevator doors.
"Hey, how'd it go?" She smiled.
"It was straight. Where you going?" He frowned looking in the direction of her bags.
"Home. I ran out of clothes." She laughed. "But, I stopped at Whole Foods after work today and stocked your kitchen, so at least you won't starve while I'm gone." She joked.
"Thank you." He said.
Nick walked over to the couch, leaned his head over Asia's face and softly kissed her lips.
"Stay." He said in his deep raspy voice.
"Don't worry, I won't be gone too long, but the auto shop is delivering Benny tomorrow. I have to be there when he arrives." she smiled, looking up at him.
"Ugh, that nigga Benny." Nick rolled his eyes playfully.
"Jealously does not look cute on you." Asia joked.
"Aight, just let me know if you wanna come back. Here's the elevator key in case I'm not here." Nick said longingly.
"Aww, it's like that? I get a key now?" She said in a flirty tone.
"Shit, it been like dat." Nick flirted as he stole another kiss. Nick liked the feeling of Asia being there at the penthouse. He enjoyed quietly watching her do her yoga in the morning, eating dinner with her at night, cuddling and watching cartoons in their pajamas. Even little Rocket had grown an attachment to her.
Nick made his way to his mother's house after church on Sunday afternoon. She made his favorite dinner of cube steak, mashed potatoes and broccoli. After eating, he laid on the couch with his head in her lap like a child. Mama Treet caressed the top of her son's head.
"How's Asia doing since the ordeal?" She asked.
"She holdin' up aight. Ma, I'm thinkin' bout proposing to her." he announced.
Mama Treet took his face in both of her hands and looked him in the eyes.
"Kirsnick, are you sure you're ready for that type of commitment? You're young, and with the lifestyle you live, can you handle being a husband? Marriage is serious." She asked.
"Ma, I'm almost 30 years old. I'ma grown ass man." Nick laughed. "Tha lifestyle I already live is protectin' and providin' for you and the fam, I jus wanna make Asia part of the family too. I ain't never been more sure." He confessed.
Mama Treet kissed his forehead and smiled.
"Well then, I think she's perfect for you Kirsnick. Yes, ask her! You have to make it special though." She said excitedly.
"Nigga, you gone do what? Get married?!" Quavo yelled into the phone. "See, there you go wit dat crack talk again!" He complained.
"I'm serious Unc. I need ya help with a few things, but ya loud ass gotta keep quiet so that it don't get back to Asia." He threatened.
"Wow. My nephew, walkin' down the aisle. I remember walkin' ya lil ass to class on ya first day of kindergarten." Quavo reminisced.
"Mannn, C'mon!" Nick laughed.
"I'm happy for you doe bruh. Asia genuine, she got real love for you." Quavo admitted.
"Thanks Unc, so listen. Her birthday comin' up in September. I'm takin' her to Paris and I'ma pop tha question on her when we get there." Nick revealed.
"Ah shit! Ok den. So, how you gonna ask her? You should train some turtle doves to fly in formation an spell out 'marry me Asia' in da sky or sum shit. You done got tha ring already?" Quavo questioned.
"Nigga, I ain't releasin' no got damn doves!" Nick laughed. "I gotta meet with the jeweler this week about tha ring. She don't have no family really, so I wanna bring all y'all to Paris with us for her birthday party, except hopefully it's gone turn into an engagement party at tha end." He explained.
"Ooooh wee! You bout smooth as a mutha fucka Take! I taught you well." Quavo joked. "Jus tell me what you need from me and I got cha." His uncle promised.
"I need you to pair up wit Deja to plan the party. She should be able to tell you alla Asia's favorite things and make the decorations look girly and shit." Nick instructed.
"Aight. I see Deja's lil list really worked out foe you huh?" Quavo asked jealously.
"Don't forget, we all on tha same team, 'member?" Nick reminded his uncle.
"There you go with dat 'one band, one sound' shit. I gotcha back on dis doe. Love you nephew."
"Love you too Unc." Nick said.
The next day, Nick went to visit Deja at the hospital where she worked.
"Oh my God, that's Takeoff!" the receptionist whispered as he walked to the front counter.
"Yes Sir, how can we help you today?" She asked nervously.
"Yes Ma'am, I'm here to see nurse Deja Howard. Is she available?" Nick questioned.
"Let me go and check for you, just one moment." she said while smiling from ear to ear. About 5 minutes later, Deja came to the front with her hand on her hip and her usual sassy attitude at play. "Boy, what are you doing here? Is Asia ok?" She questioned.
"Yeah, she good. You gotta few minutes to take a break?" Nick asked.
"Only a few." she warned.
Deja grabbed her water bottle and they made their way outside to the entrance of the building and Deja took a seat on a bench to rest her legs.
"So, what's up Nick?" She inquired.
"Well, I'm plannin' on taking Asia to Paris for her birthday in September and asking her to marry me." He said in a serious tone.
Deja quickly sprang up from the bench and squealed, "Oh my God! Really?! I'm so excited!" She jumped up and down like a caffeinated rabbit for what seemed like a whole 5 minutes. Nick waited for her to stop jumping before he continued. "Now Deja, I'm trustin' you not to ruin it for her. Don't tell her anything. No hints, nothin'. You got it?" He pleaded.
"Yeah, I got it. Of course I won't!" she said.
"I need you and Qua to work on plannin' the party for her and picking out her wardrobe. You know Asia's style. She need 'bout two outfits in the color emerald green and one white dress for tha party." He directed.
"Aww, and emerald is her favorite color. Yes, I'll help you Nick." She said with tears in her eyes.
"Oh, and I'ma need you to take some time off from work that week, you going too." He stated.
"Oh my God!" She squealed again. "Nick, you're a real one! Thank you...brother in law."she said dramatically while making a pouty face.
"Aight, but remember, don't say shit to Asia." He reminded her. Nick laughed to himself at Deja's theatrical performance as he walked back to his car.
On Thursday morning the guys met up at The Waffle House on Druid Hills Road to eat before meeting with the jeweler to pick out a ring for Asia.
"Take, bruh, is you sure you tryna get married mane?" Offset asked.
"Take done shot off fingers and laid niggas low foe dis girl. Even yo ass ended up catchin' a bullet over her. I think he 'bout ready." Quavo responded to Offset's question. They all laughed while scarfing down their breakfast.
"Just don't take no marriage advice from dis nigga Set though." Quavo warned jokingly.
"C'mon bruh. I gotta lotta good advice. Advice on all tha shit you shouldn't do to ya wife!" Offset laughed. "But, for real, I'm proud of you Take. You gotta real special girl. She all foe you, jus don't take her for granted." He advised.
"Y'all niggas makin' me emotional. Man, C'mon let's get to the shop to see 'bout this ring." Nick spoke as he pulled money from dis stash and paid for everyone's breakfast.
"Le'go!" Quavo said after taking one last bite of bacon. They arrived at the jewelry shop of Solomon Gutierrez and were immediately escorted to the private viewing room in the back of the store. Mr. Gutierrez came out to greet each one of them. He was an elderly Columbian man that wore thick wire framed glasses. He sported a big stomach and an even bigger laugh.
"My dear boys, what brings you here on today? What can I show for you?" He asked brightly.
Quavo slapped Nick's shoulder, "Takeoff gettin' married! He needa see the biggest rings you got in the store!" Quavo announced proudly.
"Ah yes! Congratulations, my son!" He exclaimed while hugging Nick. "This is such a joyous occasion, yes?"
"Amilia!" He called out to his daughter, "Bring three glasses of the Moët, please my dear." He requested. The guys all laughed at Mr. Gutierrez's dramatic reaction.
"So, tell me about this woman. What kind of ring do we look at for her?" Mr. Gutierrez asked in a serious tone this time.
"She's stunnin'. Tall and elegant with a heart of gold. Matter of fact, she really only like to wear gold and I think she really gone like emeralds over diamonds." Nick explained.
"Oh, a rare beauty, I can already tell for you, my friend." he smiled. The young lady served them glasses of champagne on a silver platter as Mr. Gutierrez whispered very specific instructions to her on what rings to bring out for them to view. Amilia came back with a velvet display box containing twelve beautiful Columbian emerald rings set in 18k yellow gold. The rings ranged from 6 to 10 carats in weight and each one showcased a different cut. Nick stood quietly over the rings. He immediately disqualified the humble looking rings and focused on the three that looked the most prominent. One was a classic pear cut design framed in white diamonds, the other was a heart shaped cut trimmed in white diamonds, and the last ring was a huge cushion cut with a white diamond halo. Quavo and Offset lifted their eyebrows and shook their heads in approval of the rings.
"They all beautiful, I can't even decide." Nick said, thinking out loud.
"Fuck it, I want all three!" He announced after a long deliberation with himself.
"Whoa whoa, hold up now Take!" Offset interjected. "What chu mean all three?" He questioned.
"She deserves to pick which one she wanna wear or wear 'em all if she wanna." Nick explained.
"Well, you heard da man!" Quavo shouted loud and proud as turned toward the jeweler.
"Perfect choices my son. Your new wife will love you for infinity, I'm sure of it." Mr. Gutierrez said excitedly.
"I'm paying in cash. Unc, pass me my other bag!" Nick signaled to Quavo. Nick laid out $80,000 in cash on the table in front of Mr. Gutierrez.
"We will have the rings cleaned up for you. What size should we make them to?" He asked.
"She wears a size 6, and can you have each ring engraved with the initials AMB?" Nick asked.
"Of course we can Mr. Ball." Mr. Gutierrez promised.
"We'll have the rings sized, engraved, and ready for you by next Monday"
" 'Preciate cha." Nick said.
It felt good to have Offset and Quavo at his back while making such an important decision. Everything felt like it was aligned, the trio of brothers and the trinity of rings.