Said I wanna be fluent in your love language
Learning your love language
I know I don't speak your language
But I wanna know more, baby
| Kehlani - Love Language
Remi was hunched over the trashcan outside of her sister's school, throwing up whatever contents sat in her stomach.
"I know you said you were fucking Omari," Royce raised an eyebrow, as Remi wiped at the corners of her mouth, "And I hope you were doing it safely because I've never seen you like this."
Remi quickly shook her head, digging through her bag for the travel-sized mouthwash she had always carried with her, "I'm not. We always use condoms, one. Two, I'm on birth control."
"You sure?" Royce questioned as Remi swigged around the mouthwash and spit it out, "Because those methods aren't always effective."
"I got my period this morning. I'm sure I'm not pregnant," Remi laughed, shaking her head. Despite her and Omari always using protection and being safe about the way they had sex, Remi was actually excited for her period. The moment she got it, she looked up to the sky and thanked God for what seemed like an eternity. If it was one thing she didn't need, it was a child.
Remi was just throwing up because she felt on edge about seeing Crystal. Her anxiety was starting to get the best of her, and she wanted to rid any trace of it from her body before she came face-to-face with her little sister. The last thing she needed was her anxiety tipping Crystal off that something was up. She planned on talking to her after the meet, during dinner, because she didn't want something throwing Crystal off her game and costing her a win.
"Whew," Royce pretended to wipe imaginary sweat off of her forehead, "My heart dropped for you right there. Y'all would make some pretty babies though."
Remi gave her a straight face, "What Nicki say? Ain't pushin' out his babies 'til he by the rock? Hell, even if I got the rock, I'm not pushin' out any child until I'm secure in my career. I didn't shake my ass all these years to get pregnant and have to put my nursing plans on hold."
Royce snapped her fingers dramatically which made the pair of best friends laugh, "Okay, I know that's right."
Remi just laughed again, shaking her head. A family of her own was always in her plans, but recently, she made the decision that she wanted a big one. Since getting kicked out of her home when she was eighteen, Remi wanted to make sure she was marrying into a big family. Part of her wanted to fill the void of not having much family of her own, while the other wanted to make sure her future children would have an abundance of family members to be around. Remi wanted to make sure she could give her kids something she didn't have, that was important to her.
"Come on before I lost out on a good seat," Remi looped her arm around Royce's, "I wanna take some pictures of her."
They both walked into the indoor track arena where plenty of families were already filing in. Remi's eyes scanned the room to try and find Crystal, and when she could see her stretching in a corner by herself a smile spread across her face. From a far, she couldn't see anything physically different about Crystal and it made her let out a small breath of relief.
Crystal's curly hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, and she was clad in the school's bright blue, gold, and white colors. LHS, the school's initials, were spread right across her chest with the number three on a paper pinned underneath of them. A combined look of determination and confidence was written all over her face, but if Remi knew her younger sister, she knew she was a bit nervous. It was her first race of the season and she always had jitters.
As Remi and Royce began to approach Crystal, they froze in their tracks when a grown man had approached her. He was a tall, caucasian man who was dressed in a white polo shirt that was tucked into his khaki's. He had long, blonde hair that was pulled back into a low man-bun and a bushy blonde beard that covered up most of his face. He didn't seem old at all, and in fact was pretty good-looking.
Remi stood back a little, watching to see what exactly was about to go down. She sort of took Omari's advice to take a breather and not assume because she didn't want to drag the situation and end up blowing it out of proportion. The last thing she needed was to start letting Nyla's words get to her head and have her doubting her sister's every move.
The man handed something over towards Crystal, and Remi couldn't really make out what it was. Crystal had just flashed the man a tight-lipped smile and shook her head at him, which made him stick up both his thumbs and back away before he turned around to walk away from her. Remi took a deep breath before continuing to make their way over to her.
"Hey girl," Royce pushed at Crystal's shoulder making her turn around.
Crystal had immediately ripped out her earphones and looked up at both of them with a wide grin. Before she could say anything, Remi had just pulled her in for a tight hug. Regardless of anything, she wanted her younger sister to know that she was there for her.
"Let me go grab us some seats," Royce chuckled, walking away and letting the sisters have a private moment.
"Rem, I cannot breath," Crystal laughed, hitting at Remi's shoulder which made her pull away, "What was that for?"
"I can't give my little sister a hug?" Remi frowned, not trying to be too obvious that there was another underlying for the tight hug.
"I guess," Crystal chuckled, "Weirdo."
Remi shoved her hands in the back of her jeans, getting a bit of a closer look at her sister, "Who was that guy that was talking to you?"
"Mr. Hayes, one of the athletic trainers," Crystal told her, before flashing the small roll of athletic tape that he had handed over to her, "He was giving me some tape to wrap up my ankle because it feels a little weird."
Remi wanted to let out the biggest sigh of relief ever recorded in history, but decided against it. Instead she just nodded, "Did you roll it or something?"
Crystal nodded before taking a seat and began wrapping up her ankle herself, "I landed funny when I was doing a hurdle and rolled it a little. It doesn't hurt, but like I said, it feels weird. I just want to be cautious."
"Okay," Remi smiled at her softly, "Was mom able to make it with the baby, or?"
Crystal had a bit of a disappointed look on her face, but just shrugged, "She said she'd try to make it, but my dad put Sammy in those swim classes for toddlers or whatever. No big deal though, you're here, right?"
Remi just gave her a small smile and nodded because she understood how she felt. Remi could remember vividly when she twelve and had a showcase at her school for Christmas. She got the role of reading the entire "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" poem all by herself and was beyond excited for her mom to come see her. But, Samuel had put Crystal in dance classes and the class happened to start at the same time as the showcase. Her mother decided to go along with what Samuel wanted and take Crystal to dance class, ultimately missing out on Remi's showcase. Remi was disappointed when she looked out into the crowd and didn't see her mother but luckily enough her grandfather was there to support her.
"I'll always be here," Remi stuck out her fist, "Give me some."
Crystal laughed with a playful roll of her eyes, "Gosh, you're so corny."
"First I'm weird, now I'm corny?" Remi scrunched up her face before nodding, "Bet. I can't wait to show you how embarrassing I am when I'm screaming for you in them stands."
"Oh my gosh," Crystal put her hand over her face, knowing just how loud Remi could get, "Please don't."
Remi stuck out her tongue and began to walk over towards where Royce was seated, "Can't make any promises! Kill 'em out there Crys!"
Remi had sat down next to Royce who was already picking out Sour Patches from a bag, placing some in her mouth, "Anything?"
"The guy was the athletic trainer, so there's that," Remi let out a little sigh of relief, "She seems fine though, nothing seems suspicious. I don't even want to think about that right now. I just wanna support her before we get to that conversation."
"Gotcha," Royce nodded, handing over the bag of Sour Patches to Remi, "Want some?"
Remi grabbed a few and tossed them back, letting out a bit of a shaky breath as she chewed, "I can't wait to clear this up."
After two and a half hours of Crystal competing and Remi screaming her head off, all three girls were grabbing a bite to eat at a local Mexican restaurant. Crystal had got first in all of the events she participated in, but still it wasn't enough for her. She was like Remi in a sense that she could be better, than better. It was a bit of a bad habit because she found herself stressing over little things that she couldn't control. She spent a lot of time at battle with herself.
"How's school?" Remi questioned before taking a bite into her chicken and cheese quesadilla.
The excitement of seeing her sister go so hard and do so great at the meet had quickly faded when Remi was met with the reality of having to talk to her about what was said. She was nervous, disgusted, and praying to every God in existence that what was said was nothing more than a lie.
"School is school," Crystal shrugged, taking a sip of the watermelon juice she had, "Boring, stressful, and filled with drama but I've been doing good. Passing all of my classes and acing all of my tests. Not much I can complain about."
"That's good," Remi smiled, "How's Sammy and everything at home?"
"Sammy's a character," Crystal grinned lightly, "When I tell him I got an A he says 'Good job dude!' and puts his little thumbs up. It's the funniest thing in the world. I think I have a video in my phone, but I'll show you later."
"I can only imagine," Remi smiled at the thought of him. Deep down, she was a bit jealous that she couldn't see her younger brother grow up but shrugged it off.
"But home," Crystal quickly finished up, "Home is how it always is. Mom stays there, cleans and cooks. My dad goes to work, comes home, and orders everyone around like he's the damn King."
"Ordering you around too?" Remi scrunched up her face slightly.
Crystal shrugged, "There's always something I have to do. It's feels like he just says Crys, can you get me that remote? Even though it's literally right on the coffee table in front of him. And then it's like God forbid I speak my mind, because when I do he throws the fact that he pays for everything in the house and I should do whatever he asks of me. He's like, Oh, if it wasn't for me you wouldn't have this or that. I do everything for everyone in this house, the least you could do is hand me the remote. And a whole bunch of other bull. I don't even want to ask him for money or anything to do stuff with my friends because he just throws it in my face."
Remi immediately frowned, "You know if you need it, you can ask me right? I can like CashApp you some or drop cash off to you at your school."
"No, it's cool," Crystal waved her off which made Remi's stomach sort of flip. If she needed money, but wouldn't ask her dad for it and wouldn't let Remi give her some, how was she getting it?
It had got quiet as Remi was trying to find the right way for her to bring up Nyla. She didn't want to blatantly bring it up and throw off the whole vibe but she also didn't want to keep quiet about it any longer. Royce had noticed, and with ease put her own plan into action.
"Oh wow," Royce had stared down her phone before flashing it towards Remi, "Look at this old picture someone sent me of us."
Remi had stared at the picture and there was Royce and her, along with Nyla and Jayda at the bar. It was during Remi's first week working at the club, and that was when she thought she could be cool with Nyla and Jayda. Remi had squinted her eyes before she had finally caught on to what Royce was trying to do.
"Oh! Let me see!" Crystal laughed.
"The girl next to me, with the long, black hair actually said she knows you," Royce slyly added with a little chuckle, referring to Nyla, "I know she used to work at some store in the mall, so that's probably how."
When Royce flashed the screen in her direction, Crystal looked as if her heart had dropped. Crystal noticed Nyla immediately because she definitely knew who she was.
"Her name's Nyla, you know her right?" Royce continued, locking her phone.
Immediately, the goofy smile that was spread across Crystal's face had vanished and it was as if she had seen a ghost when she locked eyes with Remi. Remi had just stared at Crystal, confused and now getting worried as her sister's silence and facial expression was speaking volumes. That same urge to throw up was brewing in her stomach because all she could imagine was Andre, and numerous other grown men who could have been buying her sister's body.
"What's wrong?" Remi asked, "Do you know her?"
Crystal knew her facial expression had gave her away so there was no need to lie to Remi, "Y-Yes, I do."
"How?" Remi questioned. She couldn't help but let the aggression slip out of her mouth.
"If I tell you, you're going to be mad at me," Crystal mumbled, biting down on her lip.
"Crys," Remi was trying to not let her voice crack, but truth be told she wanted to burst out into tears right at the table, "Just tell me."
"Please don't be mad," Crystal had spoke hesitantly.
"Crystal," Remi spoke sternly, her leg now bouncing up and down. Remi was just about ready to bust open at the seams.
"I'm dating her brother, Dom. He's seventeen and plays basketball," Crystal blurted out, nervously. While having a boyfriend didn't necessarily seem like a big deal, Crystal didn't want Remi to be disappointed in her and think that she was putting a boy before school, which is why she had kept it hidden.
"Do you know how stupid and dangerous—Wait, what did you just say?" Remi paused, pinching the bridge of her nose with a confused look on her face. She was so ready to explode, what Crystal said didn't even resonate until a few seconds later.
Crystal had shifted in her seat, "Dom is Nyla's little brother, and we've been dating since school started. He was the one who had asked me if I was okay at that party you picked me up from and we kept in touch since. I didn't say anything to you because I didn't want you thinking I was focused on a boy instead of school and doing stuff you wouldn't want me to be doing."
Remi could feel the weight of the world being lifted off of her shoulders as her sister had confirmed that she wasn't involved in what Nyla was doing, rather dating her younger brother. Every negative thought that was in her had, had vanished.
That sigh of relief that Remi had been holding in her chest finally escaped her lips as she turned to Royce with a laugh, "You hear that? She has a boyfriend!"
Crystal had just scrunched up her eyebrows as Remi continued to laugh, followed by a smile on Royce's face. Remi had got up from around her chair and gave Crystal a hug and a big kiss on the cheek. Crystal was beyond confused because she was expecting Remi to lecture her about how boys were the devil.
"Oh my God, it's just a boyfriend. Thank you Jesus," Remi stared up at the ceiling, letting out another sigh of relief, "A boyfriend!"
When Remi had finally returned to her seat, she wiped away the tears of laughter and happiness that managed to slip out of her eyes. Quickly though, she adjusted herself and got into a bit of mommy mode, "This boy is how old?"
Crystal cleared her throat, rubbing her hands together, "He just turned seventeen on Monday. He's a really nice boy Rem, I promise. All we do is study and talk sports because he's really big into those type of things."
Crystal was being honest too. She had told Dom that she had zero intentions of having sex before they got into a relationship and he was understanding about that. Dom was the type of boy who wasn't focused on sex, especially when there was someone as intelligent and determined as Crystal supporting him. Dom knew he could find sex anywhere, but finding a girl who would pick him up and help build him wouldn't be as easy. Although they were both young, Dom was convinced Crystal was that girl. He enjoyed her vibe so much, he didn't even think about sex when he was with her.
"You guys just hang out with Nyla?" Remi cleared her throat, shifting in her chair. She could tell her sister seemed happy just by the way she was talking about the boy, but something about Dom being Nyla's younger brother rubbed her the wrong way. Knowing Nyla would be around her sister and potentially being an influence, didn't sit well with her.
"No," Crystal shook her head quickly, "Her and Dom aren't like you and me. Dom can't stand her because he says she's always in his business and focused on the wrong things. I don't know, they're opposites. I only talked to her once because Dom tries to keep me away from her whenever she's around."
Dom's a smart fucking kid, Remi thought to herself.
"And how did she know you were my little sister?" Remi questioned, still not figuring that part out.
"The first, and only time I've spoken to her she mentioned to me that she worked at ACE and I just asked if she knew you," Crystal bunched up her eyebrows a bit, "She said you two were best friends."
Both Royce and Remi smacked their teeth as they looked at one another, before shaking their heads. That was definitely a Nyla thing to do—play the fence to get information about someone to try and throw in their face. She had now made a mental note to give Nyla two ass whoopings: one for speaking on Crystal like that in club in the first place, and the second for lying on her and Crystal's name.
"I guess y'all aren't cool then?" Crystal raised a brow.
"Hell to the no," Remi frowned, "I'm not cool with her, and I don't want you around her either. If that means you have to hang out with Dom at my house, then so be it."
"Like I said, Dom keeps me away from her enough," Crystal smiled small, "But I'll make sure I stay away from her whenever I'm around him. I promise."
"Good," Remi took another bite of her food which made Crystal stare over at her a bit more.
"You aren't upset that I'm dating someone?" Crystal wondered, knowing her sister could be a bit overprotective.
"You're a teenager whose growing up, it was going to happen one day. As long as you're being safe about it, and not stupid, I can't say much," Remi slightly shrugged, "But the second those grades start to slip or you start getting involved in things you know you shouldn't, I say end it. I don't want you putting any boy—"
"Over school," Crystal finished with a laugh, "Trust me, if I did that, Dom would probably break up with me beforehand."
Remi raised an eyebrow, "Hm, he definitely does sound like a good kid. I want to meet him."
Crystal's smile had slightly faded and she squinted her eyes in Remi's direction, "I can set something up but only if you promise not to go into mommy mode and grill him with one thousand questions."
Remi stuck out her pinky, "Promise."
Crystal grinned slightly, and wrapped her pinky around Remi's, "Okay, I'll text him now."
Crystal pulled out her phone and sent a text to Dom about meeting her older sister, before placing her phone right on top of the table. Remi stared at her with a playful grin, and from underneath the table she lifted up her hand to reveal she had her fingers crossed—immediately making Crystal screw up her face.
"Gotcha," Remi chuckled, "Of course I'm going into mommy mode. Are you dumb? I can't have anyone trying to hurt my baby."
Crystal gave her sister a straight face, but a thankful smile had followed. She didn't really talk to her mother much because truth be told, Kimberly rarely listened. She was so wrapped up with Samuel and Samuel Jr., Crystal was just there. It wasn't like she had a relationship with her mother where she could sit down and tell her anything, or discuss how she was feeling because nine times out of ten, Kimberly would blow it out of proportion and end up telling her dad. So, she was grateful that Remi was there to always have her back.
"And Crys?" Remi raised an eyebrow towards her younger sister which made her look up.
"Yeah?" Crystal replied.
"You can tell me anything. You don't have to hide secrets from me," Remi informed her with sincerity in her voice, "I'm your sister, okay? It's not my job to judge you or yell at you for the stupid things that teenagers do, but it is my job to love and protect you through all of your problems. I can't do that if you don't talk to me though."
Crystal smiled softly with a nod, "I love you Rem."
"I love you more."
‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵
Sunday night had rolled around and Remi found herself approaching Omari's door with those butterflies beating against her stomach. She was a bit nervous mainly because she wasn't coming over for sex like she usually did. This time she was coming over for a date, and a date entailed them getting into a real conversation.
It wasn't that Remi was nervous to hold a conversation with him, but she was nervous she'd say the wrong thing and it would completely turn Omari off from her. The last thing she wanted to do was mention a deal-breaker and make him realize she isn't what he wanted because truthfully, she did like him.
Since they were only going to have dinner in his home, she didn't take it upon herself to get too dressy. Instead, she sported all black distressed jeans, and a black body suit that was tucked into them. For warmth, she opted on an oversized denim jacket that was slightly cuffed at the wrists. On her feet, she had on a pair of red heels—not only for a pop of color, but to not let herself seem too casual.
Her hair was straightened down her back, and she had on a face of light makeup, focusing on extending her long lashes with mascara and making her lips pout just a bit more with bright red lipstick. Her entire look was brought together with some gold accessories. It was simple enough, but had just enough pizazz to show she made some effort in getting dressed.
Shaking off any negative thoughts, Remi knocked against his door and waited for him to answer.
"Just a date Rem," Remi coached herself as she could hear him shout that he was coming, "Just a simple date."
Omari swung open the door with a smile before immediately licking over his lips at the sight of Remi. She looked beautiful, there was no doubt about it.
When Remi got a good look at him, she also had to do a bit of a double take because he was cleaned up pretty nice too. He wasn't overdressed either, especially since he was in the comfort of his own home but he wanted to at least look a bit presentable. Omari was dressed in nothing more than a long sleeved white shirt and some dark-washed jeans with gold chains around his neck, but still he looked great. He could make the simplest of outfits look sexy as they slightly showcased his strong build and tattoos.
Fuck you mother nature, was the only thing going through Remi's head as she took another look at him.
"You comin' in?" he questioned, stepping to the side. Hit-Boy and SOB X RBE's WYO was playing through his home speakers and the aroma of garlic had filled up Remi's nose which made her want to melt. Many people may have not been fond of it, but Remi loved it.
Remi had walked in and took another look around the room. Something about it was different and she couldn't exactly put her finger on it. It was like Omari had rearranged the living room just a bit and cleaned up some, which was nice.
"I need you to come taste this for me real quick, see if it's too spicy," Omari directed Remi into the kitchen.
Remi had walked behind him with her mouth slightly watering at the smell and sight of food that was on the stove, "You cooked this?"
There was a simple spread, nothing too crazy. One pot was filled with pasta, and the other had shrimp in some type of red sauce, next to that was an array of garlic bread. Although it was a meal a lot of people probably could be able to cook, the fact that he took his time to make it for her had her feeling giddy inside.
Omari had gave her a look with slightly bunched eyebrows, followed by a slight chuckle, "You expected me to just grab some Olive Garden to go?"
Remi laughed, "No. I mean I know you know how to cook breakfast but I wasn't expecting all of this."
"I know a little something," Omari laughed, scooping up a spoonful of the sauce and blowing it lightly, "Here, taste this for me."
Remi ate what was on the spoon and fell in love with what had hit her tastebuds. It was like a marinara sauce but a little thinner, and had a slight kick to it. All in all, it was delicious.
"Too spicy?" Omari raised an eyebrow.
Remi tilted her head slightly, "Not spicy enough."
"See," Omari grinned, grabbing the crushed red pepper flakes and adding some more into the sauce, "I knew I liked you for a reason. There's wine on that counter if you want some, or if you'd prefer water or juice it's in the fridge."
"I'll take a glass of wine," Remi didn't think twice about her answer, heading towards the bottle of wine, "Are you having a glass?"
"Please," Omari nodded, dishing their food onto a set of plates.
Remi poured two glasses of the wine and met up with Omari at the table. He put their plates down and then pulled out her seat for her, a bit of a goofy smile on his face. His smile was definitely contagious because she had the same one spread across her face as she sat down.
"You're quite the gentleman, huh?" Remi joked, making Omari tilt his hand back and forth with a sly grin.
"What can I say?" Omari sat across from her, "I don't know if you do it or not, but I usually pray over my food before I eat. You don't mind, right?"
Unbeknownst to Omari, it was something that Remi had noticed from the countless hours she spent in his office. Whether it be a sandwich she bought him or a donut he had in his hand, she'd see Omari bend his head down for a few seconds with his eyes closed before he devoured his meal.
"Of course not," Remi quickly shook her head, "I'll do it with you."
Omari smiled softly and grabbed Remi's hand, bowing his head down lowly and closing his eyes, "Thank you God for blessing us with this meal we're about to eat, and the beautiful woman I'm about to enjoy it with. Amen."
Remi could feel her cheeks heat up a bit with the compliment he had slid into the prayer. She opened up her eyes as he let go of her hand and picked up his fork.
"First things first," Omari cleared his throat as he twirled some of his noodles onto his fork, "How's everything with your sister?"
"Good," Remi repeated with a huge smile, "Everything that was said was a lie and that was the most relieving part about it all. She just has her first little boyfriend."
Omari chuckled, "First relationship? Hope it goes well because Lord knows that first heart break is something serious."
Remi laughed as she swallowed the bit of her food she popped into her mouth, "She'll have her big sister to help her through it, she'll be fine."
"Y'all are really close, that's nice," Omari noted.
"You wanna know something?" Remi let out a little laugh, "I used to hate her when we were both growing up. Like to the point where one year for Christmas, I wrote a letter to Santa asking if he could take her to the North Pole with him."
Omari laughed, slightly scrunching up brows, "Really? The North Pole Remi?"
"Yes," Remi nodded with a laugh, "I was so used to being the only one, so when she came and got all the attention, I was pissed."
Omari wiped the corners of his mouth, "See, you would think I could feel that being the oldest of three, but nope. Maybe because I was around thirteen when my brother got here, then fifteen when my little sister was born."
"Wow, that's a gap," Remi laughed, "So just two younger siblings?"
Omari nodded, "Xavier is fourteen, and Imani is twelve. My dad was trying to persuade my mom to pop out another one when Imani turned seven, but my momma was done."
Remi snickered, "Hell, I would be too. She only had seven more years until you were eighteen, and then she would have had some freedom, but bam. She had to do it all over again and with two more kids. That's the exact reason why I want to have my kids a little close together in age."
"So you want kids?" Omari questioned casually before taking a bite of his food.
Remi nodded as she covered up her mouth, "Yeah, I want at least three."
"With how focused you are with school and everything, I assumed you were the type to only want one kid if any," Omari blurted out which made Remi laugh and shake her head.
"I definitely want to make sure I'm secure in my career, as well as my relationship before I go popping out babies," Remi told him before she took a sip of her wine, "It's important to me I bring my kids into the world with some structure and foundation. I want them to have a good sense of family too. Family is really important to me."
"I respect that," Omari nodded, "I've always wanted two daughters. Only because I wanted to have that whole Daddy's girl relationship with my kids."
Remi smiled, "That's cute. I never really thought much about genders, but I do know one thing for sure I'm gonna be an extra ass mom."
"And what does being an extra ass mom entail?" Omari chuckled, an eyebrow raised.
"Leaving the little notes in the lunch boxes for one," Remi laughed, "If they play any sports or stuff? I'm gonna be the mom with custom jerseys, and cut-outs of my baby's face, shouting as loud as I can."
"Oh, you gonna be one of those 'That's my baby!' ass moms, huh?" Omari chuckled as he ate his food.
"Sure am," Remi smiled proudly, "I won't have any problem embarrassing the hell out of my kid. I'ma be the 'Come give your mom a kiss! Tell mommy you love her!' ass mom too."
Omari laughed, shaking his head, "You sound like my momma. She wouldn't let me get out of the car until I gave her a kiss, and she always parked right in front of my friends too."
"Yup, that's gonna be me," Remi grinned, "The loud and proud mom, who will always have that open communication and love with her children."
"Yeah, that's my momma." Omari smiled at the thought of his mother. She was the type of parent who was easy to talk to and love, and he was so appreciative to have that growing up. It was one of the reasons he was so mature himself. "My momma a church lady too. Make sure she's there every Sunday, front and center."
I wonder if she knows she raised a demon, was what immediately popped into Remi's head as those words escaped his lips.
"What?" Omari questioned as he seen Remi stare down at her plate with a goofy smirk.
"Nothing," Remi quickly shook it off, "She seems like a nice lady."
The two ate most of their food as they continued their conversation about Omari's parents. They had ate almost all of the food Omari had cooked for them, and were now just enjoying a brand new conversation over the rest of their wine. Conversation had flowed between them effortlessly and they both enjoyed that. There was no awkward pauses or anything, they just kept it going.
"I gotta question for you," Omari looked over at Remi, "And it seems weird, but it's a fun conversation to have."
"Ask," Remi smiled, sort of excited.
"If you had to have the job you wanted at ten, what would you be?" Omari asked. It was something he asked almost everyone who was in his life because it allowed him to dive just a bit deeper into their childhood without outwardly asking.
"Oh, that's hard," Remi laughed, "When I was ten, my career choice changed every other day."
"Well tell me one of them," Omari smiled at her, very intrigued.
"Okay, so as you know my grandfather put me on to watching baseball, which is why it's one of my favorites," Remi began to explain, "So you know in baseball, there's the ball boys and ball girls who just catch the foul balls? That's what I wanted to do. I just wanted to catch foul balls, especially from the star players but not toss them into the crowd. I was gonna keep them for myself."
Omari scrunched up his face and laughed, "You would have been fired as soon as you started."
"My grandfather told me the same thing," Remi chuckled, "Which is why the next week I decided I wanted to be a police officer because my grandfather was a retired police chief."
"So you went through all of these careers, when did you decide nursing was for you?" Omari snickered.
Remi had cleared her throat, and Omari wasn't sure if he struck a nerve with the way she had shifted in her seat, "When I was sixteen and my grandfather got sick. He was diagnosed with stage three lung cancer and spent a lot of time in the hospital and I was always with him after school and I would just see how attentive and nice the nurses were. They made him feel like he was still with his family and gave him so much comfort while taking care of him, and I loved that. So, I decided that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to help people get better, while making them feel special."
Remi didn't even realize a tear had slipped out of her eye until Omari had reached over and swiped it away. Remi had let out an awkward laugh and shook her head, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. My grandfather—"
"Hey, it's cool," Omari quickly cut her off, "Don't ever apologize for that. I'm sorry for making you upset."
"I'm not upset," Remi assured him, "I can be a bit of a cry baby sometimes."
Omari had just leaned back in his seat as he stared over at Remi. She could tell from his low eyes and tucked bottom lip that he was studying her. It was something he often did when he was observing people and making reservations about them in his head.
"You're studying me," Remi blurted out, making Omari snap out of his daze.
"Huh?" he scrunched up his eyebrows to try and imitate a confused face.
"That face," Remi pointed at him, "You make that face when you're thinking about something and want to ask a question. I call it the psychology professor face."
Omari had paused for a moment before he smiled wide and covered up his face, knowing he had been caught.
"You got me," he tossed his hands up in the air, "I'm sorry, that's just my job. It's what I'm trained to do, it's how I operate."
Remi had nodded before biting down on her lip, "So, ask what you're thinking about. Don't say no either, because if you don't get it out now it'll be on your mind forever."
Omari paused before letting out a low breath, "It's just....I know you've told me you don't have a relationship with your dad that first time we held a conversation, but the whole time we've been talking about families, you haven't mentioned your mother. Every time you talk about someone being some type of parental figure, or a major decision you've made in your life, it comes back to your grandfather. The way you talk about wanting to be that mother—that loud, embarrassing, loving mother—it's sort of like you want to give your child what your mother never gave to you. Are you really not that close with your parents?"
Remi had just stopped for a little bit because this was that part of Omari that she probably would never get used to. It was the part of him that sat back, observed, and was able to read her like an open book. It was like him taking note of everything was sort of forcing them to go a bit deep. He wasn't necessarily pushing it and making her speak on it, but the whole aura he gave off was just comforting. Almost like a 'talk to me and I won't judge you' vibe.
"Well," Remi had took a long sip of her wine before clearing her throat, "I've never met my dad. When I was first born, he got a lifetime sentence. For what? I don't know but it had to be some shit to be locked away for life. He never reached out to me, and I never reached out to him. As far as my mother, we were close, but like I said when Crystal came, things changed."
Omari had tapped on the table some, chewing at his bottom lip, "They changed that bad?"
Remi had let out a bitter laugh, "Although my mother should have had a bit more will power, the man she married is sort of the driving force behind every thing in that home. He loved me at first, until he got a child that was his own blood and I became nothing. My mother's like his lap dog, so if he said she had to be there for Crystal instead of being their for me, then she did. Favoritism ran rampant in that home, which is why my grandfather made sure he took me under his wing and showed me the love I wasn't getting at there."
"Damn," Omari had mumbled, "And when it was time to leave to college you packed up and never looked back?"
"Well," Remi downed the rest of her glass, "I was kicked out of the home for wanting to actually make something of myself. They wanted me to be some type of house wife, but I wasn't going for that. I promised my grandfather before he died I was going to go to college and graduate, make something of myself."
"Seriously?" Omari jerked his head back some, "I would think they would kick you out for not wanting to make something of yourself."
"When your step-father lives his life like it's still the fifties and believes women should only cook and clean then it's a bit of the opposite," Remi shrugged, "But, I'm doing it my own way and nobody is stopping me."
"Gotta do what you gotta do, and again, I respect it," Omari nodded his head, "You have a plan to make something of yourself and it seems like it's working."
"I make it work," Remi shrugged with a little smile.
"So what do you do for the holidays?" Omari questioned, "With Thanksgiving and stuff being next week."
Remi had paused and let out a deep breath, "There's this diner my grandfather always used to take me to, up until he passed. We used to sit in a booth that was right by the window and eat. So every Thanksgiving, I go sit in the booth, order some food, and stare out the window. Then, I head to work. Working in the environment that I do, you learn you aren't the only lonely person drowning in sorrow during the holidays."
"You don't go hang with Royce?" Omari asked. Honestly, he hurt for her because he couldn't imagine a life without having his family, especially during the holidays. For a moment he contemplated telling her to come down to Louisiana with him and his family, but he figured that would be moving just a little too quickly.
"Nope," Remi shook her head, "I don't need anyone feeling pity for me. I hate that."
For a second, the constant mentioning of her grandfather was starting to get to her and Omari noticed. He could see the pool of tears in her eyes, and moved closer to her to grab on to her hand. It was quiet for a few seconds before Remi spoke up again, "Well, I thought this was a date and I done turned it into a damn therapy session."
Omari laughed, "Well if that's the case, you mind if I get all therapist on you?"
"Go for it," Remi waved her hand at him, "It can't do any harm."
"I'm a firm believer that love, or the lack there of, is the root of everything," Omari rested his hand on her thigh, "Every decision you make is based off of love, or like I said the lack there of. Some people get the love and they turn out to do some good things. Some people don't get the love and they turn out to do some bad things. But you, Rem, you're one of those people who didn't get the love but still want to do the good things. You want to take that lack of love and make sure you don't put that type of energy into the world. You're using it as an example for what you don't want to be in the future. You want to love harder and smarter, instead of being cold and shut off. Despite being let down by those who were supposed to protect you, you still want to feel, and I think that's very honorable of you."
Remi had a smile spread across her face when he had said those last words, "You think so?"
"I know so," Omari pushed a piece of her straightened her behind her ear before placing a soft kiss on her lips.
Those butterflies were beating against Remi's stomach, and Omari had them too. He knew exactly why too—He liked her. Getting to see her open up to him with no fear and get to know her a bit more beyond the sex made everything more clearer to him. He could see Remi was a go-getter with a hard exterior but on the inside she was soft woman who was extremely caring. The way she had talked about her future, and how she didn't let her downfalls define her was admirable to him.
"And I like you," Omari stared over at her, a bit nervous for her reply.
"You like me?" Remi repeated. Truth be told she was surprised because she felt as though her ranting about her sad ass life would have definitely turned him off.
"Yeah," Omari repeated with a soft laugh, "I like you. I like you a lot."
Remi couldn't help but let another wide smile spread across her face before she placed a kiss on Omari's lips, "I like you too."
________________
Crystal wasn't selling her body...She just got her a boo! Are y'all relieved? Do you think Dom seems to be okay? Is Remi meeting him a good idea?
Omari and Remi had their "date" and had a real conversation. How do you think it went? Do you think Remi opened up too quickly? Are you happy to see Omari admit he likes he beyond sex?
Thanksgiving is coming up, and Omari is going back down to Louisiana. Are y'all excited to get a look into his life/past some more?
Don't forget to vote/comment. Songs mentions in the chapter have been added to the playlist. ❤️
Also—If you haven't, add this book to your library! You can find it in my works. The first recommendation was made early today.