Smitten

by Nicole Falls

  “Boss man,” Shep said, stepping through the threshold of my office door, “Some suits here for you. Want me to escort ‘em back here? They wouldn’t say what they wanted. Said it was a personal matter.”

  I was really going to have to hire a receptionist soon. Poor Shep had been my reluctant greeter as I worked with a temp agency to get someone in here. He was my first choice because unlike the other men, he actually knew how to talk to people about more than their cars. His demeanor was a bit gruff, but he was typically polite.

  “You can send ‘em on back,” I replied, “Thanks, man.”

  A few minutes after Shep went back up front, two guys who looked to be around my age dressed in very expensive suits stepped into my office. The shorter of the two looked vaguely familiar to me, but I chalked that up to possibly seeing him around town. I stood from behind the desk, extending a hand.

  “Karim Holt, how can I help you gentlemen today?”

  I was a little early to meet Karim at his garage. I was excited for tonight’s lesson because the customized coveralls I had ordered had finally arrived. The borrowed coveralls from the garage always made me feel like I was drowning in material, so I finally did some research and found a cute little Etsy shop, La Femme Mécanique, that made the most adorable, custom fitted coveralls for women. I sent over my measurements and after six weeks I was now the proud owner of a set of midnight blue coveralls that fit me like a glove…and I couldn’t wait to see Karim’s reaction to how I looked in them.

  I greeted some of the guys that were leaving as I walked in and heading straight to Karim’s office. On the way, I ran into Karim’s right hand man, Prentiss Shepherd. Shep hemmed me up for a few minutes, talking about his wife’s hair salon and their need for an advertising consultant. I gave him one of my business cards and told him to have her contact me. Even if we weren’t able to help her at Urban Current, I had some friends in the industry at a couple of smaller firms that may be a better fit for her needs. Shep also warned me that I’d probably be in for a bit of a wait as Karim had some potential customers in his office. So I detoured to the restroom to change from my work clothes into the coveralls and then headed to the small waiting area outside of Karim’s office to hang out until he was done with his customers.

  After a few seconds of waiting, my ears perked up as I heard a very familiar voice say, “Like Rob said, Dad doesn’t even know we are here and would probably lose his shit, but the man can’t drop a long lost brother in our lap and not think we weren’t going to check you out.”

  “Man, let’s get one thing straight. We ain’t brothers. I don’t know y’all. We just happen to allegedly share DNA. I don’t want nothing from him or y’all…so rest assured your trust funds are safe and sound.”

  I felt bad eavesdropping, but after I heard Jacob’s voice I couldn’t help myself…brothers? Of all of the men I could have fallen for, I find the one dude that’s possibly my ex’s estranged brother? I didn’t want to stick around to hear any more or run into Jacob. I quickly made my way out of the garage, back into my car, and headed to Devorah’s. I needed…actually, I didn’t know what I needed, but I knew my homegirl could help me sort through this mess.

  When I pulled up to Dev’s house, so was she. It looked like she was coming from the grocery store as she exited her car with a few bags in tow.

  “Hey chick…what’s with the outfit?” she laughed.

  I looked down, completely having forgotten that I was wearing my custom coveralls.

  “Girl, I’ll explain inside. Please tell me there’s wine in one of those bags.”

  “Now, beloved. You know there is always wine in this house,” she said, unlocking the door, “Come on in.”

  I followed her inside and dramatically flopped across the love seat in her living room. After putting her purchases away, she returned with an opened bottle of Shiraz and two glasses. I grabbed a glass as soon as she sat everything on the table, pouring myself a very generous glass of wine. I handed her the bottle and then raised my glass for a long gulp of wine.

  “You will never believe what I just found out about Karim?”

  “He once killed a man in Reno just to watch him die?”

  “What? No!”

  “He’s got a secret family on the West Side?”

  “I don’t like you right now. I’m being serious.”

  “Okay…sorry. What did you find out?”

  “Jacob and Karim are related.”

  “What are they like cousins or something?”

  “Or something…” I started and just as I was about to tell her about everything I overheard before I hightailed it out of Karim’s garage, my phone rang.

  It was Karim. I looked at the phone dumbly, not sure if I wanted to answer it or not.

  “Are you gonna get that?”

  “It’s him…”

  “Okay…so answer it. I mean you should probably be having this conversation with him and not me anyway.”

  “I just…I need some time to process this,” I said, before filling her in on everything I had overheard.

  The phone stopped ringing and immediately chimed with a text.

  Everything all good, beautiful? Waiting for you at the garage. – Karim

  “I’m gonna ask a question that might seem a bit dumb, but I want an honest answer. Granted I’m the girl who’s engaged to her ex’s big brother so my POV may be a bit skewed, but what is there to process? From what it sounds like, there’s no danger of awkward family dinners with the Parkers on the horizon? Shouldn’t you be less worried about how you feel right now and more worried about how your man must feel after being ambushed by the Parker brothers?”

  Devorah had a point. It wasn’t the one I wanted to hear right now, but it was the one I needed to hear. I needed to get out of my own head about a potential disaster and talk to Karim about the situation.

  “I mean…I guess you have a point or whateva.”

  “You know I’m right. Now text that man back and make a plan to meet up so this doesn’t turn into some stupid bullshit to derail ya lil budding relationship…or whateva,” she said before dissolving into giggles.

  I rolled my eyes at her before sighing. I didn’t even know where to begin to broach this conversation with Karim. I couldn’t lead with, “Oh hey one of your estranged brothers is the man who decimated my heart and made it super hard for me to let you get close to me”. Not to mention it would be hella awkward to reveal that I’d sat outside his office ear hustling on what was clearly a personal matter. I mean, sure we were boyfriend/girlfriend, but beyond using those words, our roles in each other’s lives weren’t well defined in my opinion. I wasn’t sure what would be overstepping boundaries because while we did talk about some personal things, we’d never discussed anything this deeply personal. I knew his father wasn’t around when he was a kid, but I didn’t know the particulars. Maybe this situation cropping up was the universe’s way of adding a layer of depth to our relationship, taking it to the next level.

  “Fine,” I said, texting Karim that something had come up and I’d meet him at his place instead of the garage, “I’m gonna go talk to him. But you’re gonna have to come up off of one of those extra bottles of wine I know you have in the kitchen coz I’ma need it.”

  I stood outside Karim’s door clutching the neck of the bottle of wine Dev gave me tightly. I’d been here for about five minutes, trying to work up the nerve to ring the doorbell. I wasn’t quite sure what would await me on the other side of that door, but I knew I needed to woman up and face it head on. As soon as I pressed the doorbell, Karim opened the door with a huge grin on his face.

  “There’s my girl,” he said, pulling me into a hug and closing the door behind me, “God, I needed to see this face today.” He tilted my chin up and lowered his head for a kiss. I sank further into his embrace as he deepened the kiss, finally pulling away slowly after he’d had his fill.

  We walked into the living room and settled into our usual spot on his couch. I
was still clutching the bottle of wine for dear life in one hand. Karim noticed and laughed.

  “Rough day, babe?” he asked and placed the bottle of wine I’d pilfered from Dev on the table and went to grab glasses and a wine opener.

  “You don’t know the half,” I muttered to his retreating back.

  As soon as he opened the bottle, I made quick work of pouring and handing him a glass before filling one for myself. I quickly took a sip and sighed. We sat sipping a few minutes in silence before I placed my half full glass on the table and snuggled up to Karim. I settled in, one arm around his waist; the other resting on his abdomen.

  “How was your day, baby?”

  “It was…interesting to say the least. Mostly good, but it took a weird turn late this afternoon. Remember how I told you my mom has been trying to pressure me to meet up with my sperm donor?”

  “Mmmhmmm,” I murmured.

  “I stopped by the house the other day and she was laying it on super thick. She really wants me to connect with dude, but I…I just don’t see the point, babe. I don’t think I’m lacking anything without him in my life. Especially if his other offspring are any indication. These niggas…his two legitimate sons…their words; not mine…they just showed up at my place of business on some bullshit earlier. I don’t know what kinda game ol’ boy is running, but…I don’t want any parts of it.”

  “A part of you isn’t curious though? To get to know your dad and brothers? I mean technically they are your family.”

  “Nah, I’m good, man. I know I told my mother I’d think about it, but after today? Not ever. Hell, Shep had to pull me off of one of the niggas.”

  “Wait…what? What happened?”

  “Mmmhmmm. Saw this pic of you on my phone’s screensaver, said something slick and before I knew it, I had the nigga hemmed up against a wall in my office. His weak ass brother was off to the side, yelling like a lil punk for me to unhand his brother,” Karim held up his phone to show me his screensaver—a picture of me I’d never seen. We were at Cadence’s and I was holding one of the twins. I had a look of complete bliss on my face as I snuggled the baby, likely breathing in that new baby smell.

  “That’s a good picture,” I said slowly.

  “It’s a gorgeous picture. You looked fine as hell with that baby in your arms. It’s why I took it. So are you gonna ignore everything else I said or are we gonna talk about the elephant in the room?”

  I looked up and Karim had an earnest look on his face.

  “Oh. That wasn’t rhetorical…”

  “Nah, babe—you’re not weaseling out the story this time. This guy…he’s the one that was at your house the day we first went out?”

  “You saw that? Oh God…”

  “I just saw him leaving as I pulled up. I had no idea who he was or why he was there, but I quickly surmised from your state of being that he wasn’t just coming to preach the gospel of Jehovah to you.”

  “No, he definitely was not bringing the Good News,” I replied, giggling, “Jacob was…he…we dated. For a nice chunk of time. Then he just disappeared. Disconnected the number I had for him, wouldn’t answer the door when I popped up at his place. Later found out I was what Monica would call the sideline ho. I…put a lot into that relationship, Karim. and he just…”

  I sighed and continued, “This is a very awkward situation for me. Of all the long lost brothers for you to have…”

  “Chill on that brother shit. That’s my sperm donor’s kid. He’s no brother of mine.”

  “Can I…can I say something? And I need for you to listen to me with an open mind, okay?”

  “This sounds like a set up, but okay. I’m listening.”

  “I know you’re not feeling the Parkers right now. But I think your mother is right. You should give your dad the chance to build a relationship with you. I’ve never really gone into it with you, but we lost our parents very suddenly. A careless mistake made by my father cost them both their lives. I was fairly young and relied on Pat a lot to make it through. Our parents didn’t have siblings and lost their parents at young ages, so we had no aunts and uncles, grandparents nor cousins to fill the void. Our family was just us…and now PJ. I know your family is pretty small too…but—and hear me out before you protest—maybe you should give the Parkers the benefit of the doubt. At least Robert Senior. I don’t know the specifics of how everything went down with your mom, but he must be reaching out for a reason, baby. At least give the man a conversation.”

  As much as it pained me to convince him to give in, I knew it was the right thing to say. Karim had a pretty charmed childhood existence with the combined forces of his mom and grandparents making sure his every whim was catered to, but something told me that deep down he likely still craved to get to know his father. He hid his curiosity behind an unbothered façade, but there had to be a reason he retrieved the business card Mr. Parker gave him from the trash.

  “So I give him a conversation and then what? What if that’s not enough?”

  “You don’t know until you cross that bridge, baby. But what I do know is that if something were to happen to him, God forbid, and you chose to stay upset with him about everything from the past instead of using this opportunity for a clean slate…I just don’t want you to have any regrets.”

  Karim sighed, “You sound like my mom with this regrets shit.”

  “Like I said, look at this as an opportunity for a fresh start rather than digging into old wounds.”

  “And you’re okay with the possibility of family dinners and cruises and shit with the Parkers? Our kids growing up side by side with their likely snooty and spoiled ass kids? I gotta be okay asking a nigga who’s seen you in all your glory to pass the peas?”

  “I didn’t say all th…wait, back the train up. Our who doing what now?”

  “You heard me, woman. I said what I said. So what you got to say now?”

  I sat there pondering what a future for he and I looked like. It would be awkward as hell if he did decide to give the Parkers a chance, that’s for sure. But beyond that? I felt like it would be a good thing. A very good thing. Karim made me feel unlike any other man had ever made me feel. He was solid, a safe place to land and he also set my entire mind, body, and spirit on fire. There was never a dull moment with him around and I could definitely see us building and only getting better as time marched on.

  I sat back, waiting for Celena to say something. It was the first time we’d ever broached the subject of anything long term or permanent between us. I’d been hedging for a few weeks, but now seemed like the perfect time to put it all on the table. Fuck it. I was in this for the long haul and she needed to understand that. We sat in silence for a good three minutes before she gave me any indication that she was going to answer my question.

  Slowly, Celena’s mouth curved into a smile before she opened her mouth to speak.

  “So you’ve been thinking about our kids, huh?”

  “Mmmhmmm,” I said, drawing her a bit closer to me to settle in my lap, “Been thinking about the process of making ‘em, too.”

  “Is that so?” she asked, tilting her head back slightly to give me better access to her neck which I’d begun peppering with soft, lingering kisses. I kissed my way up to her mouth, snagging her lower lip between my teeth and biting down softly before soothing the sting of my teeth meeting her flesh with my tongue. At first swipe, Celena opened her mouth—darting her tongue out to meet mine, drawing me into her kiss. She was in total possession of my mouth and I was in no rush to take over. Once she got her fill, she pulled back and stared at me for a long while before lowering her head and chuckling.

  “What’s so funny?” I asked.

  “You…us…this. I wasn’t expecting you, Karim. And I damn sure wasn’t expecting to fall for you as hard as I have and…I gotta admit, I’m a little scared. But when I look at you, I see how you feel about me reflected in your eyes so clearly…I just…I don’t know, man. It’s crazy. I’m so used to wondering when the o
ther shoe is gonna drop at this point. But right here? Right now…this feeling? I just wanna feel like this forever.”

  “Well I can’t promise forever, gorgeous, but I can tell you I don’t plan on going anywhere unless you ask me to,” I said, pulling back making sure I could look her in the eye before I uttered the next words, “And let me be clear—I am wholly, irrevocably, undeniably in love with you Celena Marie Payne.”

  She sucked in a quick breath and her eyes widened. She opened her mouth to speak, but I placed a finger over her lips before she could utter a word.

  “If you’re going to say it back because you feel obligated, don’t. This is a lot to taken in right now with the shit with the Parkers going on but I just…”

  Celena moved forward and attacked my mouth with a ferocity she’d never shown before. She held my face between her hands and kissed me like she was trying to make a point, aggressively maneuvering and manipulating her tongue and lips and teeth in a slow, yet determined manner. She kept on, until the necessity of breathing reared its head.

  As she pulled back and rested her forehead against mine she softly whispered, “I love you too, Karim. And because I love you, I’m gonna be on your ass to at least hear Mr. Parker out. One conversation, love. That’s all.”

  I rubbed the back of my head and sighed once again. Between her and moms I knew I was already gonna be giving in. I mean, they were right. I had to at least give the old man a chance to speak his peace before I completely dismissed him.

  “Fine,” I said, pulling Celena back into my embrace, “Now back to making these children…”

  We were meeting at my garage, at my insistence, as it was the place that I felt the most comfortable. I sat behind my desk a little nervous because I honestly had no idea what to expect. I only extended the invitation for a conversation, but had no agenda so I hoped the old man knew what he wanted to say because I had nothing.

  Shep’s customary knock sounded before he stepped in.

  “Hey man, that rich old dude you cussed out last time is back. Said you invited him here?”