Extraordinary Love

Chapter 14

Song: Just Friends (Sunny) by Musiq Soulchild

Aaliyah

Raven gets that secretiveness from her mother, I swear. Why not share the good news with your loved ones? My aunt Tanya was the same way. She once got a great new job promotion and my grandmother Estella threw her a party a whole six months later because no one knew about it. I just wonder how exactly does one just forget to mention meeting the love of their life? I was beyond happy for Raven and I knew Trey would make her happy too. There was no doubt about it. He was a great guy. But damn, a whole year of a relationship that she kept from me? Not including meeting him and the talking stage before they even thought about making it official. It hurt that she kept this from me, though I wouldn't let her know that. I know that she tries to watch after me but I also had her back no matter what. But just because things in my life hadn't gone the way I necessarily wanted them to, didn't mean that I couldn't partake in her joy. It wouldn't break me.

After their engagement announcement, Trey helped Chris load up the car with the rest of his few remaining things. Then we left the couple alone to do whatever they do. They were all lovey-dovey and heart eyes. Chris and I didn't know how we could have missed it. It was obvious.

We were now deep into Manhattan, traveling down into the nicer sections of the borough. If only I could afford to find a place like this in Harlem. I would be in love.

"Which one's yours?" I asked as Chris stopped the car minutes later in front of a row of brownstones.

"All of them." He said.

I gawked as he got out of the car. The weathered bricks, big open windows, and somehow managed to look traditional and modern at the same time. His new place could literally fit several of my apartments in it. He walked down to the farthest one on the right, the corner one and unlocked the door. It leads into a cozy little hallway in what seemed to be a sort of basement. I peeped my head up the stairs trying to be nosy.

"Do you mind waiting here for a moment?" He asked, setting the suitcase in his hand on the bottom stair.

"No, not at all," I waved him on, a little disappointed that I couldn't go explore his new home like it was Disneyland right away.

"I'll be back, you can take a seat in there," he pointed towards the door next to me. I walked into the dark room, trailing my fingertips along the wall looking for the light when they gradually brightened themselves.

Of course, this man had his own home theater equipped with even a concession stand that held a slushie machine and a popcorn maker. There were three rows of couches all on platforms that were placed at varying levels resembling the sears at an actual theater. I took a seat on one of the couches and reclined back. I ran my fingers over the cool leather. It even had that new leather smell, like it was fresh off of the delivery truck.

I didn't know where to find the remote, assuming that he had one and all of this shit wasn't just voice activated. It's definitely possible that he didn't even have one. I rarely saw houses like this growing up, except for when I was with Tanya. She was a real estate agent and every once in a while, she would get a nice three bedroom out in Scarsdale to sell instead of lofts. They were the kind of places that my mom promised that we would move into one day. A place that we could call our own, instead of a box that we had overgrown.

Maybe ten minutes passed before he returned.

"You ready?"

I nodded.

The place was even more amazing than I had imagined. There were four floors and it seemed like some of the rooms spanned all of the buildings. It was massive, with big floor length windows that made it feel like I was in a penthouse. It decorated just so there was enough furniture to help fill the rooms but not so much that it felt cluttered. Pieces of his art were in every room, whether it was a canvas painting on the wall or a lampshade he had decorated on a whim. It was just so him.

The kitchen had white marble counters and the farmhouse sink my mother dreamed about. The dining room had a long table I was sure could sit twenty people. He had a sitting room like the one my grandmother Estella would never let us in, filled with the most expensive decor. He had a living room and a den, in addition to the movie theater. Multiple bedrooms and bathrooms, a sunroom up on the roof, an arcade, a workout room, a recording studio, a fully stocked bar, an office, an art studio, a library and an eight-car garage. I was lucky that he had elevators so we didn't have to take the stairs.

Finally, he stopped in front of two oversized double doors.

"And here's the master suite," he pushed opened the doors.

"So none of the other gigantic bedrooms were the master?" I asked incredulously.

He laughed.

The master suite really was its own wing. He leads me through the master bathroom with a jacuzzi bathtub, his and her sinks and a waterfall walk-in shower. He had a California King that looked big enough to fit a family. I imagined Chris and a handful of kids all collapsing it like the title sequence of TI & Tiny: Family Hustle.

Last but not least, was the master walk-in closets. Christopher had enough clothes to rival Raven, and maybe even Sequoia. His clothes had taken over every closet in the place but these must have been his favorites and it was filled to the brim. I walked across the hallway to open the doors to the second closet, expecting to see it stuffed to the brim like the other one.

"It's empty," I wasn't sure if it was a statement or a question.

"You haven't put anything in it yet," he shrugged.

"Me?" I was confused.

"Yes, you."

I didn't know what to say. Instead of waiting for me to reply, he continued.

"I know you may need more time, but I want you to know that I really like being around you and I've liked getting to know you as a person and a friend and... I have feelings for you. I don't want to rush anything and scare you away but I'd like to make things official, in time."

"Chris, I--"

"Just, before you say anything else, do you... have feelings for me?"

His big brown eyes were looking down at me, reminding me of that first day sitting in that booth and how the same butterflies I had then were still there.

I took a deep breath.

"Yes, I do."

He let out a breath that he'd been holding in.

"But there are things you should know about me. Things that could change your mind about how you feel right now. And I don't want you to resent me later because you feel like you signed up for more than you can handle."

His eyebrows scrunched up.

"Aaliyah, you don't think that I have baggage too? There's shit about me that I don't even know how to begin to tell you about. I'm scared, Aaliyah. I'm scared that my past will be too much for you," he took my hand in his. "But I'm also excited for what could be. And I hope that in time we'll be able to conquer that stuff when we get to it."

"So what are you asking me?"

"I'm asking you... to think...about becoming my girlfriend?"

I closed my eyes.

I thought about how Chris made me feel. How the warm and safety and happiness I felt around him outweighed the fear and doubt I had. How he had come into my life and I couldn't imagine things going back to the way they were.

Opening my eyes once again, I replied, "Yes."

"Yes, you'll think about it?"

"Yes, I'll be your girlfriend."

"Really?"

"Really."