“Let me worry about the family that comes from me. I promise you, they won’t have to worry about a thing.”
“Do you want to be the person responsible for single-handedly destroying our family legacy? TheMethodway?”
“Honestly, Dad, this family’s legacy should have never rested on my shoulders. It should have never depended on me marrying somebody I don’t even like, let alone love. Lacy’s a coolgirl, and I’m sure she would make a beautiful bride one day. Just not mine. She is not the type of girl that I would choose to marry. I can’t let you change my mind about that, even if I wanted to. Not only would I be doing myself a disservice, but also to her. It’s clear that Lacy is in love with someone else, and if her parents had taken more than two seconds to get to know her, they would know that. They wouldn’t be forcing this on her, just like you shouldn’t be forcing it on me.”
“Look, son, I’m not asking you and Lacy to fall in love overnight. I’m not even asking y’all to fall in love in a week. What I’m asking is that you two go out on a few dates, explore what could be between y’all, and after you’ve done that, and only after, you give me your answer. I honestly feel like you have not even given this thing a try because you have it in your head that you just want to go against what your mother and I ask of you. All I’m asking is that you see it through. Take Lacy on a few dates, get to know her, let her get to know you, and then we can see where we are after that. Can you do that for me?”
I wasn’t agreeing with shit my father had just said, but I knew that if I didn’t at least give him a nod, he would never let me out of his office. My dad would go on and on about how much I owed him and my mom. I owed them my life.
My parents had been the best parents since the moment I got on this earth. They’d given me everything I wanted and everything I needed, but they also felt like they could control every aspect of my life. I had to get away from that. I had to break free from that because if I was ever going to be a man, I had to stand on my own two feet. No man was dependent on another man to run his life.
“I’ma holla at you, Pops. I’m telling you before I even walk out of this office, it’s not going to work, and I’m putting you on notice that you need to be finding a way around this because I’m not marrying Lacy. My mind is made up.”
I stood from my seat and turned to walk away because I couldn’t stand there and listen to him go back and forth with me about something that I had already decided on. There was nothing he could say, honestly. There was no way we could get around what I had already decided. Like I said, Lacy was a great girl. She just wasn’t my girl.
Chapter
Fifteen
Gina
“Your voice is truly magical. You know that, right?” Ramel asked as I took my headphones off, came out of the booth, and rounded the corner to meet him.
We’d just put the finishing touches on the piece we’d been working on for a couple of days. I was now ready to listen to it from start to finish to see if we should move on to the next song or keep trying to perfect this one.
“You think so?”
I had never shared my gift with anyone, nor had I been praised the way Ramel had been praising me since the moment we first met. I knew he meant what he said, but my need for validation and confirmation was a natural reflex at this point.
“I do. We haven’t even made it to the last song, and I already know this is going to be hot, just listening to the music you’ve already done, plus what we’ve worked on together. Labels would be fools not to sign you.”
“Thank you so much for saying that.”
“Nah, I ain’t just saying it. It’s the truth. You deserve every word.”
“I really appreciate that. I just hope everybody loves my music as much as you do.”
“You just got to put yourself out there. I already know you’re going to get the recognition that you deserve.”
“Thank you,” I said, playfully kissing him on the cheek.
We both paused as our skin met. I could see the smile threatening to appear at the corner of his cheeks, which made an even bigger smile form on my face. This moment was as close to perfect as I could get for me. Not only was I doing something I loved, but I was doing it with him.
“Come on. We gotta celebrate this moment. You want a drink? I got a bottle of wine downstairs just for this.”
“Just for this? Now I feel special.”
“You should always feel special because you are.”
The words rolled off his tongue so naturally. It was like, not only did he mean to say it, but he believed what he was saying. Ramel Method thought I was special. That statement, coupled with him holding my hand tightly as he led me down the stairs, served as the reassurance my brain was always searching for.
Ramel’s love language had to be physical touch because, any chance he got, he was always touching me in some kind of way. It could be as simple as just grabbing my hand, touching my shoulder, or finding some reason to bump into me. He loved for our skin to connect, and I didn’t mind it either.
Before long, we were settling in on Ramel’s plush, all-black sectional sofa. His home was decorated beautifully in dark, calming colors that matched his personality. Ramel was the strong, silent type, but there was definitely an undertone that let you know he wasn’t to be played with. The good girl in me was automatically drawn to that undertone.
Ramel’s jaw clenched slightly as he used a corkscrew to open the bottle of wine before pouring both of us a glass. I wasn’t a big drinker, but I could always go for a good glass of wine, especiallyif that glass of wine was in celebration of one of my greatest accomplishments. I hadn’t had much to celebrate in my life. If I were being honest, my life felt like it was just beginning, in a way.
“To more success.” Ramel raised his glass and flashed that sexy ass grin in my direction.
