The next morning I woke up sore as hell. It was still really early and I could hear Marissa in the other room still snoring. I grabbed a fresh pair of pajamas and dragged myself to the shower. When I got in, I turned on the hot water and let it run over my body for a few minutes. At first it stung due to the cuts I sustained last night but other than that it was relaxing and that's exactly what I needed. After what seemed like an hour, I stepped out the shower, dried off and put on my warm PJ's. I was towel drying my hair when I looked in the mirror and noticed there was a large bruise under my left eye and my cuts weren't as small as I thought. There was a good sized one right above my right eyebrow and another on my bottom lip. The one above my eye had started bleeding again so I quickly grabbed a cotton ball and pressed it against the wound. I grabbed the peroxide from under the cabinet and dabbed some on the cut and it immediately stopped bleeding. I sighed in relief and examined the one on my lip. It wasn't too bad but I'm surprised Michael didn't say anything about it. I began thinking about him and the nights mishaps. Besides the fight scene I caused, we really did have a good time. I learned so much about him and I was attracted to not only his looks but who he was on the inside.
I walked back to room still thinking about last night. I wondered what would have happened if we didn't have to leave. I'm usually not one to have sex on the first date but something about him made me want to break a few of my own rules. Part of me wishes the night wouldn't have ended but it did and now I'm here replaying it all in my head. I soon drifted back to sleep.
I woke up and looked over at the clock which read 12:35pm. Today was going to be a chill day. I was tired and still sore. All I wanted to do was lay in bed and relax. As I was getting dressed I heard voices in the living room. They were mumbled so I couldn't hear who was talking or what was being said, so I cracked open my door and listened.
"We're not moving in with you." Marissa stated.
"Why not?" It was Michael.
"Because I don't trust you," there was a pause before Marissa continued her sentence, "Or your friends."
"Listen, I really like her and I want to see her happy. It'll be until you guys can find your own place, I promise." Michael pleaded.
"No!"
"So you'd rather be homeless??? Because you're NOT gonna find a place to live by tomorrow!" He said, with a little bass in his voice.
"It's not your problem to worry about, now is it?!" Marissa shot back.
"Alright, what if I rented out an apartment to you guys, you cou-"
"I SAID NO NOW LEAVE!!" Marissa nearly shouted, cutting him off.
I quickly ran out the room just as Michael was getting up to leave.
"Hey!" I said giving him a hug.
"Good morning, sleepyhead!!" He said in his soft voice. "Sleep well?"
"Yeah, you?" I asked.
"Of course!"
"Kennedy!!!!!" Marissa ran over to me grabbed hold of my face turning it back and forth to examine. "What the hell happened to your face?!"
"Nothing, it's nothing really." I responded pulling back from her grip. I pulled out a chair and sat down at the kitchen table.
"Nothing?!" She glared at Michael. "See, this is exactly why we're not moving in with you. You're dangerous and untrustworthy. You couldn't even take her out and bring her back the way she left."
I listened to them go back and forth about how he shouldn't have taken me out in the first place and how she should mind her own business and stop jumping to conclusions. This went on for a couple more minutes until I finally had enough.
"HEY!" I shouted slamming my hand on the table. "Can y'all shut the fuck up for two seconds? TWO. SECONDS!! Please and thanks!!"
"Excuse me?!" Marissa gasped. I rolled my eyes at how dramatic she was being right now. "I'm not sure what he did to you last night but don't ever come at me like that again."
Occasionally Marissa and I bumped heads due to the fact that we were both hot headed and didn't take no shit. Today was one of those days. Neither one of us was prepared to back down.
"Or what?" I whispered. I stood up getting in her face. "I'm a grown ass women. I'm gonna go out with whoever I want and I'm going to do whatever I want. There's not a damn thing you can do about it. I didn't tell you to stop bringing men up in here every other night and you're not gonna tell me who I can and can't go out with. Capisce?!"
She remained silent. I went on to explain what happened and how my face got messed up. She sat down and rolled her eyes.
"I still don't trust him." She shot back.
"As for living with you," I now turned to Michael. "If we decide to do that, you and her need to find a way to workout whatever issues y'all are having. Got it?!"
"Yes, ma'am." Michael answered.
"I'm not going to put up with this bullshit. Not now, not tomorrow, not ever. So figure it out!!" I demanded.
"Alright, fine. We can stay with him but as soon as we find our own spot, we're leaving." Marissa stood up, brushed past Michael and went to her room. She slammed the door so hard it shook the pictures on the wall. I sighed. I hate when she's mad but she'll be fine.
I sat back down and Michael sat across from me. "I'm sorry if I caused any issues between you and your friend. After what you told me last night, I just wanted to make sure y'all were going to be alright, you know?"
"Well thank you," I gave a half smile. "We just hit a rough patch but we'll be okay. We always are."
He took my hands in his and kissed them. "I'll get out of y'all's hair now and we'll talk later."
"Okay," I said walking him to the door. Before walking out, he turned around and kissed me. There was a short pause before he smiled and said, "I should go now."
I nodded my head in agreement and he left. I was falling for this man and I've only know him a few days. What the fuck.
•••
The next couple weeks went by pretty smooth. Marissa and I packed up and moved in with Michael. It was hard leaving the house that I grew up in and I felt like because I couldn't keep up with rent, I let my grandfather down. I also know he wouldn't approve of us moving in with a man we had just met a few days prior to us getting kicked out. We had to do what we had to though and the move wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. Marissa and Michael was getting along just fine and she even started dating one of his brothers.
About a week ago Michael introduced us to his brothers and sister. Randy, Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon, Tito and Janet. The boys was fun to be around but I fell in love with Janet. When I first saw her at the club, I thought she was Michael's girlfriend which was the dumbest thing I could've ever thought. They looked so much alike it was ridiculous. Only a fool would think they were dating. Along with her looks, her personality matched his and I absolutely loved it.
A few days after meeting the family, Marissa and Tito started dating. They were constantly around each other and you never saw one without the other. They were inseparable and it was kinda cute.
Michael and I were moving at a fast pace too. Shortly after the move in, he asked me to be his girl and of course I said yes. He made me happy and all tingly inside. Something I've never felt with anyone else before. We were always going out on dates and sometimes he would set up a romantic date here at the house.
The house was HUGE!! I see why he didn't have a problem letting us stay with him. He surely had the space. It was two stories, 5 bed and 4½ bath. Everything was like a dark cherry wood. Wood flooring all over except the bedrooms. The kitchen was to the left when you walked in and it was made of red brick and a large island on the middle. If you walked all the way through the kitchen, there was another door that lead to the dining room. It contained one long table and a China cabinet that almost touched the ceiling. On the right side of the house, there was a spacious library holding what looked to be hundreds, maybe even thousands, of books. The shelves stood soo high there was a staircase that lead halfway to a balcony where you could walk along the higher shelves. Further back in the house was a study with another tall bookcase and a large wooden desk in the middle. In the center of the house was the living room of course. Upon walking in the house, you walk through the foyer, up a few steps and then you'll walk straight into the living room. The back wall was lined with tall windows overlooking the barbeque and pool area. On the left of the living room there was a spiral staircase that led to the upstairs and all the rooms.
Marissa and I had our own rooms since Michael's family didn't stay with him. His room was on the opposite side of the house. I knew it was his room because the handles were his initials, MJ, but the J was placed in the center of the M. The lettering was gold and it didn't really surprise me that he designed it like that. It seemed like something extra he would do.
It was a dream living in a house this luxurious and I didn't really want to leave. Marissa was still dead set on getting a place to call our own. As much as I know we need to, I also know I'm going to dread leaving. Not because of the house but mostly because I'm going to miss Michael's presence.
We had grown so close, I wasn't ready to part ways just yet.