"I proposed, like an idiot, when we got home last night. And she declined." He wasn't one to mince words when he was hurt, but Julia seemed inclined to poke into the wound.
"Proposed? How? What did she say?" She looked genuinely confused, and he was glad he wasn't the only one who felt that way.
"Well, she came out of the bathroom, I kissed her, and then I asked her to marry me. She told me she wasn't sure about getting engaged because she knows my mother doesn't like her. I'm sick of people walking around my family on egg shells because I make money. If Jonathan's idea is crap, then you tell me it's crap. I'll break it to him easy."
"We're not talking about Jonathan, but nice attempt at deflecting. So you didn't tell her you knew?" Julia sounded accusing and he felt his defenses rising.
"No, of course not. I didn't want her to know because-" He stopped when he realized what he was about to say would sound asinine. But then he continued. "Because I didn't want this to happen. I didn't want her to leave because of my mother. But Julia, I love them both. What am I supposed to do?"
"Like I said before, this isn't going to diminish the love between you and Aiyana, so you're just going to have to have a sit down with your mother and explain your intentions. If she has any kind of heart, and I believe she does, she'll accept it."
"And if she doesn't?" Blake knew what he was going to hear, but he needed to hear it.
"She will," Julia said firmly before she moved on to the topic of Jonathan. "So, I do think the commercial would be a good idea, but I think we should take a look at the game first. I want to make sure it's something that's not going to cause us trouble in the future."
"I agree, we should take a look at the game."
"Good, because Jonathan's coming out with his wife to meet up with us at the Carlton tonight at seven." Blake agreed, reluctantly, as he wondered if Aiyana would go with him. He knew he'd been brisk this morning, but he hadn't wanted to wake her. He hadn't wanted to see the sadness in her eyes again, and he worked until late that afternoon in order to avoid it.
~
"So he just went to bed, without saying anything?" Briana drank another gulp of her black coffee and tried not to stare at the appliances that most likely cost as much as her monthly rent did.
"Well, he said goodnight, and left me this note this morning." Aiyana tapped on it for the third time. Briana didn't seem concerned with the note, but she just didn't understand. It was unlike Blake to leave without saying goodbye.
"I think you're overreacting. I mean, I know it's upsetting that his mother doesn't like you, for whatever reason, and I don't completely believe it's because you're black." Briana raised her eyebrows and waited for Aiyana to object, but she'd learned to keep her mouth shut the first time she objected this morning. "So here's what I think we should do. We're going to go back into that amazing, awesome, expansive room and I'm going to map out where my cot will be going in the closet, because I'm pretty sure it's bigger than my apartment right now."
Aiyana felt a ghost of a smile on her lips until she looked up to see that Briana looked half serious. She chuckled as she emptied out her coffee mug in the sink and placed their dishes in the dishwasher. "Okay, let's go."
When she opened the door to the bedroom, Briana's remarks were almost identical to her unladylike comments when she'd walked through the front door. "I'm seeing this, right?"
"You are." Aiyana was still a little flabbergasted that she got to live in a place like this, but that wasn't what drew her to Blake. There were so many things about him that she loved, and as Briana walked around the room exclaiming over the duvet made of silk, and the nightstands that were made of gleaming, dark wood, she realized that she didn't want to give up her place in this room because she didn't want to give up Blake.
She'd do whatever it took to get his mother to see that she was a fine woman, a woman who loved Blake with all her heart.
When Briana turned to her, she smiled and motioned her into the closet. "It really is as big as my apartment," Briana said with some awe.
"No it's not," Aiyana rolled her eyes and chuckled as she turned on the light and took a look at her sparse belongings. There were more items than what she'd moved in with, but she wasn't sure if she'd ever fill up the closet at her disposal.
"We're going to need more clothes," Briana stated as she put her hands on her hips. "I think we need to go shopping after this. Next weekend you're going to get more shoes, and maybe also some dresses. Do you still buy your own stuff?"
"Of course I do!" Aiyana bristled but Briana didn't seem to notice or didn't care.
"Well, that's silly. The man has more money than I do heartbeats left in my lifetime. Wait, maybe, I think." She pulled out her phone and proceeded to look on the search engine app. "Yep, way more considering I'm not an infant."
"How many times does it beat in the average lifetime?" Aiyana asked as she sat down on the cushioned bench in the middle of her closet.
"Two and a half billion times in an average lifetime," Briana told her as she idly put her phone away and started sifting through the hanging shirts. "Oh my god," she said a she shook her head.
"What?" Aiyana asked as she raised her eyebrows.
"You didn't even sort them by season! Who are you and what did you do with Aiyana?" Briana began to pull the shirts down with their hangers and haphazardly dropped them onto the bench.
"That's why I have you," Aiyana said as she smiled and felt her chest beginning to unwind and loosen. She'd talk to Blake tonight and let him know she was sorry. If he'd have her, she'd wear the ring he bought for her because she thought it was beautiful, and because she wanted that symbol of everlasting love on her finger. She wanted him.
"I know you're thinking sappy thoughts right now, but snap out of it and help me put these back, color-coded and by season."
By the time they were finished, Briana was exhausted and needed more coffee. It was past three in the afternoon, and Blake still wasn't home. Aiyana was starting to lose her resolve, but she figured that by having Briana there when he came home, she'd get to solidify their relationship by introducing him to her friend. The more connections they had, supporting their union , the better chance they had.
Besides, she'd need someone there if she had to take all those clothes out of the closet and pack them away in an evening. The thought made her throat constrict and she tried to tame it by taking a sip of her ice water. "Stop sweating about it. It was just a fight that wasn't really a fight. Wasn't it worse the time you found out he lied to you about who he was?"
Aiyana thought about and determined it wasn't. This was worse. She'd denied him the opportunity of a joyful proposal, and she wasn't sure she could fix that.
"He's home," she said when she heard the door open, and her panic kicked up four more notches. Briana put a bracing hand on her shoulder and then let it slide away before Blake came into the kitchen where both women sat at the breakfast bar
"Oh, good. You're here," he seemed genuinely pleased to see her, and she felt relief flood her when he kissed her sweetly, not on the cheek, but on the lips. "Briana, it's nice to see you." He held out his hand and Briana took it cordially.
"And you."
Chapter Six
"Well, I think it's about time I got a move on," Briana said as she picked up the piece of cheesecake she'd brought home from the café they'd visited at lunch. Blake saw her to the door after she said goodbye to Aiyana, but stopped her just before she left.
"Briana, I know you know, and I was just wondering-"
"Nope, don't even ask me. I make it a point not to get involved in problems that are between a man and a woman. If you need to clarify something or get it off your chest, you talk to your girl in there. Now, I like you Blake." She smiled and leaned in a little bit lowering her voice. "So make it a point not to hurt her. She's had plenty of hurt before you came along."
She took a look at the confused look on his face and shook her head as she pursed her lips. "I've said too much already by the looks of it. Go on, go back to her and sit down and have a pow-wow. I'm going to eat my cake with a glass of wine at home and dream about living in your closet." She chuckled as she patted his face before she left.
Blake, a little shell-shocked, stood in the doorway a moment too long. Aiyana found him standing there with a confused and disoriented look on his face and closed the door for him. "She can be a handful, I know."