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March 3, 1995
"Tag, you're it!" Dalvin yelled while slapping Jojo in the arm. He casually rolled his eyes at his tom foolery. "I told you, I'm not even playing."
"Well fu-, forget you too then." Dalvin yelled, almost slipping out the F-word. Lord, help this man.
While the grown children played, I looked over to see Quincy and Diane playing with chalk on the ground. In the span of an hour, they were becoming best friends. It's just too cute. And thank goodness, because Lisa didn't arrive yet to bring Snow along. But it's not a big deal, Lisa's always late.
"Yo, Carmen, when can we eat? I'm slowly dying over here. And if Dalvin tag me one more time, I'm driving that nigga to the local dog pound." Jojo ran over to me out of breath.
"Firstly, watch your language. And secondly, you could have eaten when you first arrived. I literally had the food out for a reason." I giggled. He's always been unaware of his surroundings and it shows. "Thank you, and by the way, DeVanté wants to talk to you. I think he went inside with Ro and Tionne."
"Why? And when did you start calling Rozonda by her nickname?"
"Beats me, and I just call her that because you guys do. So yeah, see you later." Jojo sped away from me. See, now I'm suspicious...
I walked inside and there was no sign of DeVanté anywhere. I figured that Tionne must have seen him around somewhere. Or not, because she was busy having a stare down with Donald. "T, have you seen DeVanté anywhere?"
"Upstairs." She said not taking her eyes off of Donald. "Um, thank you, I guess." I slowly walked away from her and jogged up the stairs. I wonder what DeVanté could be doing upstairs. He's not even allowed to be up there.
As I was walking through the hallway, I got an eerie feeling that I was being watched. Suddenly, a random door opened and someone pulled me into a dark room.
The person closed and locked the door of the room, which I figured was the closet considering how small it was. They held me tight and turned on the light and revealed who they were. Yep, you guessed it.
"DeVanté, what the fuck is wrong with yo-" He shut me up mid sentence with a kiss. I melted in the kissed and wrapped my arms around his neck. His lips felt gentle and sweet, almost like cotton candy. Just as he was about to lift my shirt, I caught myself and realized what was happening.
"Why did you do that?" I quickly pushed him away from me and wiped my lips. "I missed you." He grabbed my hands and held onto them tightly.
Is he for real?
"You should have thought about that shit when you cheated on me the same night you got me pregnant again." I rolled my eyes.
"I know you're still angry about that, but I've changed. I stopped smoking, and I haven't gotten drunk in almost two months."
"Aw, you want a cookie?" I cooed sarcastically.
"Very funny, but I'm being serious. I really want to prove to you that the bullshit I did before was stupid, but it'll never happen again. Believe it or not, you're the last woman I've had sex with. I want the best for our babies, our little family, and our future. Do you still have the small box I gave you?"
I checked in my back pocket to find the box. I honestly forgot that I had it. "Yes, what about it?" He took it from my hands and unwrapped it himself.
"When I open the box, it doesn't mean you have to take me back, it's your choice if you want to though." When he opened the box, I was in awe. It held a beautiful diamond necklace with both of our initials, a curved ring that looked oddly familiar, and diamond studs to match. "De, I don't know what to say."
"Like I said, you don't have to say anything. Here, I'll put the necklace on your neck for you." He took the necklace out of the box, turned me around and hooked it on. I wish there was a mirror in here so I could see how it looked. "You like it?"
"I-, I love it. Where did you get the ring? It looks oddly familiar."
"From your cousin. I called Rozonda so she could get me in contact with her, even though she cursed me out for about an hour. Then I met up with your cousin, she passed out, then I asked her what would be a good present for you when she became conscious. And she gave me the ring and said that it was your grandmother's. I bought the necklace and earrings myself." He explained thoroughly.
"I knew I seen this before. Thank you, so much." I said while holding back tears. I haven't seen my grandmother since I was around seventeen or eighteen years old. And I hate myself for not at least saying goodbye before I left.
"Anytime, babygirl."
"Mommy, where are you?" Diane called for me outside the door. "I gotta go. Come out after me so she doesn't get suspicious, that girl is too smart." I laugh. "She gets it from you." He shared a laugh with me.
"Mommy, where'd you go? Quincy trying to eat dirt." She yelled.
"I'll see you in a bit. I love you." He kissed me again but this time, on the forehead. "Love you too." I choked out. Give me a break, I didn't say 'I love you' to him, I said 'Love you'. There's a huge difference in that.
"Yes, Annie?" I slowly came out the closet. "Quincy ate dirt ." She pointed downstairs. I ran to see what she was talking about. When I got down there, he wasn't even eating dirt, it was a Hershey's kiss.
"Diane, thats chocolate, not dirt."
"I know, I just wanted to see what you were doing when you got pulled into the closet." She giggled. This girl is something else. "And aunty Lisa came. She was hitting uncle Dalvin with a branch 'cause he kept tagging her."
"Okay, well get ready because we're about to sing happy birthday to you."
"Okay!" She ran outside, full of joy as Quincy struggled to follow behind her with a mouth full of sweets. I bet all my money that they're going to date when they get older.
"You and Tionne need to get rid of that terrible mentality you guys have." DeVanté said appearing out of nowhere. "How did you know what I was thinking?"
"Doesn't matter, all you should know is that she's not getting a boyfriend as long as I'm alive."
"Give it up De, you'll be saying this until the girl grows and gets married, then when she has bab-"
"Nope, don't even say it because it's never gonna happen on my watch." He said covering my mouth before I could finish speaking. DeVanté then walked outside and picked Diane up when she ran to him.
Aw, he's delusional. Cute.
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Diane, happy birthday to you!" Everyone shouted off-key while Diane blew out her candles. "What did you wish for, Annie?" Kim asked her.
"Sorry, but I'll only tell mommy." She signaled for me to come over to her and whispered in my ear. After she told me what she wish for, I started laughing. What she said is so futuristic, but cute.
Back to present
'"What did she say?"
"Can't tell you yet. Don't worry, it'll make sense in a few..."
March 3, 1995
After everyone helped clean up, and by everyone, I mean me, Kim, Lisa, Rozonda, Tionne, Jojo, and DeVanté. The rest of them just played tag, and I know you know who. All the guests left except for De, Diane wanted him to stay a little longer. And from what she said, she wanted us to answer some personal questions.
"Daddy, why don't you live with us?"
DeVanté and I looked between her and each other, hesitant to answer her. "Well, you see." He spoke up. "Mommy and I aren't on good terms right now."
"Is it because of me?" She said with a tear falling from her eye. "No, not at all. It's just, until we get on good terms, we can't really live together."
"Oh, okay." She frowned and looked down at her lap.
I really feel sorry for Diane. She is too young to understand the real reason why her parents aren't together. The twins of course wouldn't care because they can't even crawl yet.
"I'm going upstairs." She got up and slowly walked. She made it to her room and shut the door quietly. "I think I should go talk to her." DeVanté suggested. I nodded, giving him the okay to go. What would he even tell her?
After about twenty minutes of what I assume was talking, he came out of her room. "What happened?"
"She asks way too many questions, but I tried my best to explain some stuff to her."
"Like?"
"How life isn't going to always go the way you want it to. Sometimes you have to be patient in order for you or anyone else to be happy." He said and sat down next to me. "Speaking of which, I wanted to ask you something."
"Yes?"
"I know you might not want to, but I would appreciate it if you would allow me to take you to dinner and a movie, on me." I looked into his eyes and they had the color of a very light green. I haven't studied his eyes much, but that must mean a good thing. "Um, sure. When?"
"Friday, if you're not busy."
"It's a date." I happily agreed. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I might consider us getting back together. He actually looks like he's trying to change his player ways, so why not?
"Alright. Well, good night." He sprung up happily and kissed me on the cheek. "Good night." I whispered and with that, he was out the door. I'm going on a date, I'd never thought I'd hear those words again.
March 8, 1995
"Carmen, are you sure you want this? Because this seems like he just wants whats between your legs." Tionne complained. I called them over here to watch the kids since I didn't want them outside this late. It was on short notice, but I'm happy they pulled through.
"Don't worry T, I'll be fine. And I feel like DeVanté is actually changing for the better."
"Okay, if you say so. But just don't get pregnant again, cause it seems like he's good at doing that to you." Tionne said, mumbling the last part. "Oh hush!" I laughed.
A car horn beeped from outside, which I could tell was DeVanté's. "Okay, I left a list of things for the twins and Diane's bedtime. And if you can't handle Donald, just get Rozonda to do it." I said while opening the door. "Don't worry, we'll be fine. Just go get some dick." Lisa waved me off from the couch.
"Bye." I shut the door and walked to his car.
"Don't you dare touch that door handle." DeVanté stopped me and opened it for me. "I can do it myself, but thank you."
"You're welcome, now let's get to dinner." He drove for miles for what seemed like hours to this fancy restaurant. It was called Bistrot La Minette. The establishment was elegant and expensive. They had live music, fancy chairs and tables, and a fish tank. Even the fish just called me a broke bitch.
"Shall we?" He held his hand out and I grabbed it joyfully. "Merci, Monsieur."
"Huh?" He looked at me dumbfounded. "I said thank you."
"Oh, okay." He led me into the restaurant, and we waited in the short line for a reservation he must have made. We got to the man who was looking at the large book of the name or reservoirs. Damn.
"Donald DeGrate."
"Let's see. Aha! Right this way, Mr and Mrs. DeGrate." The man led up to an open table. We didn't even sit down yet and he already got people thinking we're married...
We got to our seats and he took our orders for drinks. The only drinks I knew here was water, cranberry juice, and iced tea. We both went with water to play it safe. "This place is amazing. Thank you for taking me here."
"No problem, you look stunning tonight." He held my hand from across the table. "Same to you."
I looked at the menu for a minute to see what was there, and once again, the only thing I knew here was Fromage and Soupe à I'Oignon Gratinee, which were my favorites as a kid. "Are you two ready to order?" A waitress popped up at our table."Yes, I'll have the Soupe à I'Oignon Gratinee."
"And what will you be having sir?"
"Same as her." He put down his menu as quick as he picked it up. "Alright, it won't take much longer. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the scenery." She smiled, took our menus, and traveled into the kitchen.
"I have a question, what the hell did you just get?" DeVanté whisper shouted. "Don't worry, it's onion soup. It's the fucking best." I laughed. "Oh, okay."
"Here are your dishes, I hope you enjoy your meals." the waitress came out with our soups. "Je vous remercie." I thanked the woman. "De rien, madamoiselle." She responded back. DeVanté once again sat there confused as hell.
"You need to teach me someone of that shit because I need to know if you be talking shit about me."
"Never." I giggled.
Dinner was amazing, we chatted about some things that went on in our time apart, and I even agreed to take him back. He showed me that he really has thrown his old ways out the window. We got to the movie theater and he took me to watch 'Rumble in the Bronx'. I've never seen the trailer for it so I don't know what to expect.
"I wonder how many times Jackie Chan hurt himself filming all of these movies." I said randomly while munching on popcorn. "Why would you want to know that?" DeVanté looked down at me.
"Why not?" I looked back up at him and smiled. "You're lucky I love you." He said, cuddling me close. As the movie finished and we were about to leave, I threw my jacket over his head.
"What in the he-"
"Shh, it's for your own protection." I shushed him. He didn't argue back and must have figured out what I was talking about. I guided him out the theater and took him to his car. He uncovered himself and started the car engine. "Thank you, Carmen, for agreeing to this date."
"I should be thanking you, I had a really great time tonight. So thank you." I leaned over to him and planted a kiss on his soft, pink lips. DeVanté grabbed the back of my head to deepen the kiss. He grabbed me by my waist and pulled me on top of him, not breaking the kiss even once. I moved my lips from his jawline, all the way to around his collarbone, making sure to make my presence know.
He returned the favor, leaving the same marks on my neck. I was lost in the pure build of ecstasy running through my body, that I didn't even realize that I was near the car horn.
*beep* I jumped at the sudden noise. I removed myself from on top of him and went back to my seat. "I'll drive you home. It's like two in the morning, and I'm sure you're tired by now." DeVanté said.
"Yeah..." I trailed on. We really almost had sex in a car. Wow.