A Million Reasons

A Version of The Truth

 It took one hour of coaxing and two shots of Tequila before Aaliyah could convince Kaitlyn that going away with Nathaniel, this weekend, was a good idea. Yes. It was a big step, and he probably had certain expectations, but she was a big girl and it had been years. Hell—she probably needed it more than he did.

When Kaitlyn finally left, Aaliyah raided her closet for something suitable for their romantic getaway. Coming up empty-handed, she decided she needed to go shopping. Dressing quickly, she headed for her favorite boutique. If this weekend turned out the way she hoped it would, she was going to need something provocative.

Finding her way to a trendy consignment store, not far from her apartment, she spent an hour trying on outfits until she found the right ones. She ended up dropping over $200 on the essentials, even springing for a black lace bra and panty set with a matching sheer robe.

As she made her way home, toting more bags then she knew what to do with, her mind drifted off to Nathaniel. Everything about the man had her sprung. Just the thought of his smile made her smile. And the thought of his touch—hell—the weekend couldn't get here fast enough.

As she reached the top of her stairs, her phone rang. Balancing her items, she managed to answer on the third ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey, baby. I didn't catch you at a bad time, did I?" The familiar voice of her mother called to her.

"No. I'm fine. I was just out doing a little shopping. Did you get the wire transfer?"

"Yes, but are you sure it's not too much of a burden? I'm back to work now and I rented the apartment downstairs, so...."

"I want to help, mama. It's nothing, really."

"You're too good to me, Liya."

"I'm just glad I can do it."

"I'm glad to see you're enjoying your money. Shopping?"

Aaliyah smiled as she thought of Nathaniel. "Yeah, I...I met someone."

"Liya, that's wonderful. Tell me about him."

"Uh..." she hesitated unsure if she should omit some of the details. The last thing she wanted to do was have her mother worry.

"His name is Nathaniel..." she began to give her mother the watered-down version as she stepped into her apartment and unloaded her bags.

"He's a businessman. We met a couple of days ago. He's a really nice man, mama."

"When do I get to meet him?"

"We barely know each other. I don't think..."

"I'm just teasing baby. I know you two just met. Believe it or not, your mama isn't new to the whole dating scene and proper protocol."

Just her use of the words, 'dating scene' and 'proper protocol', were dead giveaways that it had been a while since she dated.

"Listen, honey, I've got to go. Thank you again for the money. I love you."

"I love you too mama."