At this point, it wasn’t even something I did on purpose. It came naturally because it was never known what kind of snake ass person was lurking around the corner, waiting for a slip and let the wrong information out.
I wasn’t suggesting Gina was one of those people. I wanted to keep things from Gina for a different reason. I liked her, andI knew if she found out about the engagement, I would lose any chance I possibly had. I wasn’t ready for that yet. I also hated how fast I made her mood change. I needed to fix that shit fast. Luckily, I had just the thing.
“I got something for you.”
I walked around to my desk and pulled out the black jewelry box. I’d found the perfect necklace for Gina while I was in the mall the other day, and I couldn’t leave without it. It was a simple gold chain with a microphone charm on it, and as soon as I saw it, I knew it was for her.
“What’s this?” She grabbed the box from my hand, smiling from ear to ear. Making up with gifts wasn’t my thing, because it usually didn’t mean I was going to change shit about what I’d just done, but that wasn’t the case with Gina. I wasn’t above doing whatever I had to do to see a smile on her face. I hated how disappointed she was after I squashed the whole family conversation.
“Nothing big. I saw this in the store the other day, and I thought it was perfect for you. Go ahead and open it.”
“Oh my God. Ramel, this is gorgeous. You just randomly bought me a gift? What’s the occasion?”
“Not that there needs to be an occasion for me to get you something, but honestly, you been killing it in this studio. This just reminded me of you, and I wanted you to know your hard work is not going unnoticed.”
“Awe, you about to make me cry. Can you put it on?”
Gina hurried up and turned her back to me so I couldn’t see her tearing up. That little sad face she made was sexy as hell, so I was happy for the relief. Just looking at her face had me bricking up in my pants. She held her hair up as I snapped the jewelry onto her neck.
Once the necklace was on, she turned and pulled me into a hug. Her tiny arms wrapped around me tightly as she lay herhead on my chest. Gina had grown up with everything she ever wanted in life, so I wasn’t expecting a small gift to make her tear up. I was happy she liked it, though.
“I think we’re cool to wrap up for the day. What you think?”
“Ramel, you have been working me into the ground on this same song. I think we’re good to wrap for the week.”
“Since it’s only two more days in this week, I may let that slide. We can’t take too much time off, especially since you told me you want to go ahead and get the tape out to labels. We got to keep the momentum going.”
Gina walked over to the chair and sat down opposite of me. She pulled her legs Indian style underneath her before looking at me. I could tell by the way she stared into my eyes that whatever was about to come out of her mouth was serious.
“You know what I think?”
“What do you think, Ms. Gina May?”
“First, using my whole name is crazy. Second, I think you fill your calendar taking care of me and everyone else so you don’t have to acknowledge what’s going on in your life. You make sure we spend every moment of our time together talking about me and what I need, so the conversation never shifts to you.”
“So you have figured it all out, huh?”
“I have. And whether you want to acknowledge it or not, that’s exactly what’s happening right now.”
“That’s not it at all.”
“Let’s see then. What do your parents do? Do they live close? Do you have siblings? How many?”
“My parents are doctors. Yes, they live close, and I am an only child.”
“You know those were simple questions.”
Gina stood from her seat and started gathering her things. She was pissed, and she couldn’t even try to hide it like she’dtried to hide the tears. Seeing her little balled lips tugged at my heart. I hated that shit.
“Those are the questions you asked, Gina. Now you mad at me for what you asked?”
I knew those surface-level questions were just her way of pointing out the obvious. She thought I didn’t trust her enough to tell her my problems like she’d trusted me, but the truth was, I was scared. I couldn’t lose her. Not now, not ever.
“Just forget it. It’s late, and my Uber is almost here.”
“Why do you call an Uber every time? I can come pick you up and take you back home.”
“Ramel, you can’t even be honest with yourself about being honest with me. I think I can manage my own ride. Thanks for the necklace.” Gina gave me a church hug before walking out the room and the front door.
