𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐎𝐧𝐞
"Girl, every time I see you you always have a bouquet of roses," Trinity said as she walked up to me holding yet another bouquet from Dwayne.
I smiled at her as I placed the vase down on the table to hug her. "And you still won't tell me who's been sending you roses," Trinity said as we hugged.
"Because I'm not ready to be public with my boo yet," I told her as we pulled away from each other. "Hell, he's already pissing me off so no one may ever meet him," I said.
"Oh no. What happened?" Trinity asked me.
I sighed. "I just feel like we are not on the same page with things, that's all," I answered.
While I appreciate the gifts from Dwayne, I wish he would spend more quality time with me instead of just giving me material things; our relationship feels more transactional than romantic at times.
"Did you try talking to him about it?" Trinity asked.
I shrugged. "I did and then he will make promises to do better and nothing changes," I replied.
"Hey," A cheerful voice said from behind me.
"Hey, DJ," Trinity said, giving Dwayne a fist bump before Dwayne placed an arm on my shoulder.
"What's up with you ladies?" Dwayne asked before he planted himself down on the metal folding chair next to me.
I tucked my bottom lip in my mouth, eyeing him.
"Just talking about Ayra's boo," Trinity said, smiling.
Dwayne raised an eyebrow. "What about Ayra's boo?" He asked.
"He's stressing our girl out," Trinity answered.
"How is he stressing her out?" He asked.
"Let's not talk about my boo," I said.
Trinity gave me a look but ignored my request. "She said they're not on the same page for some reason," Trinity told him.
"Well, I'm sure he's trying his best to make her happy," He said.
"I'm sure he could be doing better than trying his best," I said.
Dwayne and I stare at each other until Trinity clears her throat. "Is there something going on with you two? The energy is off," Trinity said.
I roll my eyes, flipping my hair over my shoulder. A quiet moment passed. "Okay, I'm just gonna go and let y'all figure out this little tense situation y'all got going on," Trinity said, walking away.
"What's the problem now?" He asked once Trinity was out of earshot to hear our conversation.
He turned his chair toward me, trapping my legs between his as he rubbed the back of my thighs. "Why are you mad at me?" He asked.
"Should you be touching like this while we're out in the open?" I asked.
"I'll touch my woman whenever and however I want, no matter where I am," He answered.
I bit my lip. "Stop it before someone sees us," I told him.
"It's been a year, Ayra, how long are we going to keep this up?" He asked.
"Until you finally do what I've been asking you to do, we will not go public," I replied.
He sighed. "I feel like I've been doing everything you've asked of me," He said.
"Not really, I feel like you treat me like a sugar baby instead of your woman," I said.
"You are my woman, I simply spoil you too much," He said. "I don't see the problem," He added.
"The issue is that I value your time, not material things, so when you dismiss my feelings by purchasing gifts instead of working on our issues, it makes me feel unimportant, as though I'm not a priority to you," I said.
"I'm sorry, baby, I promise you I will do better," He said.
I roll my eyes. "I'm tired of hearing that, Mahal," I said.
"I know but I'm serious, Giliw," He said.
"I'll believe you when I see the changes," I said.
I turned, hearing a familiar voice call my name. Jade. I quickly moved away from Dwayne. Jade has a smirk on her face.
"I knew it," Jade said as she looked between Dwyane and me with a sly grin. "You two are so busted," She continued.
"Please don't tell anyone, Jade, we're not ready to go public yet," I told her.
"I won't tell anyone but you two are so cute together," She said.
He smiled. "Thank you," He said.
I exit Dwayne's SUV and walk up to the front door of the home. "What are we doing here? Who's house is this?" I asked him.
"This is our home," Dwayne answered as he opened the large doors of the home.
My jaw drops. "Ahhh! Are you serious?" I asked him as I stepped into the home, looking around at the decor. "When did you do this?" I asked.
Dwayne's fingers weaved their way through my hair as he smiled. "I've been working on this for months," He answered.
"It's gorgeous, you did an amazing job," I said as he guided me toward the living room.
"I'm glad you love it, baby because I want us to live here," He said as he hugged me.
I was shocked. Dwayne wanted us to live together. "Are you serious? What about keeping a low-profile? Our families," I said.
"I think it's time, we let everyone know about us," He said.
Nodding, I erased the words spoken the other night from my mind. This shift in our relationship represented a major milestone for him, so I resolved to be open as he took this significant step forward.
Dwayne's arm draped across my shoulder, pulling me away from my thoughts. "This is our forever home where we will raise our family together," He said.
Turning my head toward his, I smiled. "Oh, you have babies on the brain," I said.
"Lots of babies on the brain," He said, smiling,
"Come on, give me a tour," I told him.
Dwayne takes me on a tour of our custom-built ten bedroom masterpiece, a true testament to artistry and luxury. With 200 feet of tranquil waterfrontage, embrace peaceful vistas and gentle ocean breezes. The outdoor space is a realm of its own - featuring a sculptural garden, a 60' infinity pool, and a deluxe summer kitchen.
"Okay, this place is architectural elegance meets waterfront serenity," I said at the end of the tour.
"Come on, let's go pack up your house," He said.
I nodded. "Yeah, let's do it," I said.
Liked by jadecargill and 1,807,040 others
ayraicy Qu'est-ce que je vais te nommer?
Je vais te nommer, "L'amour"
"L'amour tendre"
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I'm sitting at a table in a restaurant, waiting for Jade to arrive. I am having brunch with Jade at one of my favorite restaurants.
She asked me to meet her. I know she wants to talk about Dwayne and me. And honestly, I don't mind answering her questions. It's nice to finally have someone know about us. Plus it's always good to catch up with a friend.
"Hello, hello my darling," Jade said, walking up to the table.
I stand up and greet her with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Hey, dollface! How are you?" I greeted her.
Jade has been a good friend of mine for a few years now. We bonded immediately over our love of fashion, and we've remained close. Plus she ended up marrying into the family. She's my sister-in-law.
"I'm good. How are you?" Jade said.
"I'm good. Busy but good," I told her.
"Busy being under Dwayne motherfucking The Rock Johnson, I can't believe he's the one you've been dating for over a year," Jade said.
I rubbed my head and chuckled. "Oh my gosh, you don't know how good it feels to have someone know about us," I said.
"I don't know why you don't want anyone to know about y'all. Y'all are cute together even with that age gap," Jade said.
I fake a smile. Dwayne and I's age gap is something that very insecure about. It's an eighteen-year age gap and honestly, it's the real reason why I don't want to go public. I don't want people to attack Dwayne for being in a relationship with me because I know they will bring it up to tear him down.
"You know why, Jade, it's bad enough he gets a lot of hate for almost everything he does. Imagine when people find out about us," I said.
"I can only imagine how bad it will be for you both," She said, frowned, and placed a strand of hair behind her ear.
A waiter walks up to the table and we order our meals and drinks before continuing our conversation.
"But it will be fine I'm sure," She said.
"I don't know if I'll ever go public with our relationship," I said.
"Girl don't do that," She said.
"What it's the truth plus we're having issues," I said.
"I'm sure y'all will get through it. The way I saw you two on Friday, y'all are so in love," She said.
"We are in love ," I said.
Jade nodded. "So, y'all should be able to work out your issues," She said.
"Yeah," I said as our food and drinks arrived at the table. "Thank you," I told the waiter.
"Thank you," She said to the waiter.
"Enjoy your meals lady and by the way, the bill has been paid by a man named DJ," The waiter informed us before walking away.
Jade smiled as she bounced in her seat. "Oh girl, that man spoils you like he paid for our meals without being present," She said.
"Yeah, he does things like that all the time, and that's one of the issues I have with him," I said.
Jade frowned and raised her eyebrows at me. "You have a problem with him paying for things. Are you crazy, what's wrong with that?" She asked me.
I groaned. "It makes me feel like I'm some type of possession for him. I can pay for things. He doesn't always need to pay or buy me things," I answered.
Jade rolled her eyes. "It's okay to let a man take care of you but I want to know why it bothers you so much that he spend his money on you," She said.
"I just feel like he treats me like a sugar baby, you know, like I'm not his equal," I said, taking a sip of my drink. "I bring up issues with him and he buys me gifts to shut me up and says are you not satisfied with what I give you and I'm like sir, I want you, not your gifts. I don't know I feel like I'm being annoying at this point," I told her.
"No, I get it. The problem is I think you guys have different opinions on how your relationship should work and it's an imbalanced power dynamic to you, isn't it? You probably feel subconsciously that he is exploiting, manipulating, or take advantaging of you due to age-related vulnerabilities," She said.
"Yes, Jade put use of that social science degree and help me figure out when I'm going wrong with this relationship or am I overreacting," I said.
Jade chuckled, then said seriously, "It is important that both you and Dwayne have equal respect, agency, and say to prevent imbalance. Dwayne constantly spend money on you because of that you feel Dwayne doesn't see you as an equal who can be self-supporting." Jade said as she ate her meal.
I nodded. "Maybe it's my daddy issues that makes me feel some type of way," I said.
"Yeah, your dad wasn't emotionally available to you. I remember you told me that he always sent you money but never stuck around to have a relationship with you. That can definitely play a part in your relationship with Dwayne," She said.
"Yeah," I said.
"I think you should just sit him down and tell him about your relationship with your father and maybe he'll understand why you're feeling that way about him since he's a father too," She said.
"Hopefully he understands or else this will be messy because we just moved in together," I said.
Jade gasped. "You moved in with him while feeling like this, Ayra," She said.
"I know, I know, I just got happy that he wanted to live together that I pushed our issues to the back of my mind," I said.
"You can't be doing that," She said.
"I know but I can't help it," I said.