“Yes, I am feeling much better. I think you were right. I think I just needed some time to come around.”
Gio stepped back and looked me up and down.
“Are you for real?” he asked. “Did anybody come here?”
I looked at him strangely. “I’m good, and no. Was somebody supposed to come here?”
He shook his head. “Nah, nah, nobody was supposed to come by here,” he said, looking over his shoulder, then smiled big as hell.
“Hell yeah, girl, I would love that.”
We went downstairs, and I cooked dinner while he watched TV in the living room.
I put together a quick dinner: some baked smothered chicken, yellow rice, and green beans.
I fixed our plates, set them on the table, and called him into the kitchen to eat.
When Gio walked in and saw the plates, he rubbed his hands together as he sat down.
“Iight, Islah, I see you feeling yourself tonight.”
I gave a half smile. “Just thought I’d make something you like as an apology for how I have been acting.”
Gio looked up from his food.
“Oh, really?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I did a lot of thinking, and throwing away seven years is crazy work.”
Gio nodded. “I am glad that you are starting to see things the right way.”
I nodded with a smile, but on the inside, I was throwing up.
“I am glad you worked so hard to open my eyes. I appreciate you for not giving up on us.”
His face was telling me I was saying all the right things to get him to drop his guard.
After dinner, Gio helped me clean up, trying to touch me slightly as he did, but I didn’t say anything. Once everything was clean and the dishwasher was going, we went into the living room to watch a movie.
I sat a lil’ way away from him, and he kept moving closer.
I let him.
By the time the movie ended, we were up under a blanket together, and I had my head laying on his shoulder, selling it even more.
When I got up, Gio looked at me with a smile on his face.
“You tryna sleep with me tonight?”
I smiled back. “Not yet, luv, give me a lil’ more time, but I would like to go to the beach early tomorrow and spend the day out there.”
He nodded. “I will take that. As soon as you are up and ready, we can go.”
I nodded and leaned in for a kiss on his cheek.
He didn’t even know that would be the last kiss he would ever have.
I went up to my room, took a shower, laid some clothes out, and went to bed with a smile on my face, dreaming about seeing Love for the first time in weeks. Jumping in his arms and feeling them wrap around me was more than just a dream now.
