Page 24 of Tell Me You Love Me Again

“Gabe, what are you up to? Why did you have to cover my eyes?” she questioned, with her small hands on top of mine.

“It’s a surprise, that’s why.” Taking the few extra steps through the kitchen, we finally ended up at the garage door. Once I opened it, I helped her down the steps carefully before I took my hands off of her eyes.

“Surprise!” With a huge smile on my face, I watched as her eyes bucked out of her head and she started jumping up and down like a kid on Christmas morning.

“Gabe! You didn’t!” she shrieked.

“I did.” I ended up getting another one of her Christmas gifts early. She was now looking over her new rose gold 2024 Range Rover Sport. She mentioned this was another car that she loved and when we started a family, this would be her mom car. Since she totaled her other one, I thought it was only right that I upgrade her before the kids.

“I love it, and I love you,” she said, catching me off guard. That was the first time she told me she loved me since the accident.

“What did you just say?” I squinted at her.

“I said, I love you, Gabe. I know it has to be hard waiting for me to remember what we shared, but you’re doing an excellent job of creating new memories with me and, for that, I love you.” She was now crying, and I would be a lying fool to say that the shit didn’t have me choked up, too.

“I love you, too, Snook. I swear I do,” I countered, kissing her deeply and passionately. We didn’t even make it back into the house. I made love to my wife right there on the hood of her new vehicle. I’ll just have the shit detailed later on.

After we finished our love-making session in the garage, we headed inside and had another round in the shower. Now wewere both getting dressed for the day. I had a few errands to run, and she decided to go show off her new ride. I didn’t have a problem with that because the things I had to do, I really couldn’t have her with me, so it worked out perfectly. While we were getting dressed, an idea came to me.

“Aye, Snook,” I called out to her. She came out of the bathroom in just her bra and panties, and I lost my train of thought for a second. Shaking the lustful thoughts from my head, I remembered why I called her in the first place.

“What you say we take a trip after Thanksgiving?” I saw her eyes light up when I mentioned taking a trip, so I knew I was on the right track.

“For real?” she asked.

“Yeah. Why not? We can either go where it’s snow or sunshine. It’s completely up to you.”

“It’s always cold and snowy here. Let’s go somewhere warm,” she suggested.

“You got, Snook. Don’t worry about the details. I’ll handle that. You just make sure you’re ready and in place.” I got up from the bed and pulled her sexy ass body into mine before I kissed her lips. “I got a few moves to make but I’ll be back a little later,” I informed her.

We parted ways, and I got into my truck and headed to the office to holla at Gary. When I got there, he was on a conference call, so I sat in front of his desk until he was done.

“Why every time I look up, you got your ass in here like you don’t need to be home with your wife?” he asked as soon as he hung up the phone.

“I need to make sure yo’ ass ain’t in here fuckin’ off.”

“Picture that shit. Wassup, though?”

“Ain’t shit. Just came through to give you an update on things.” I told my brother what I was planning for Chiara because I needed his help to pull the shit off.

“So, I take it sis liked her surprise?”

“She did. I didn’t get to show her until this morning, but she was still elated.” I smirked.

“Oh, shit. I guess y’all out that awkward stranger phase, huh?”

“I hope so. After she saw the truck this morning, she told me she loved me and appreciated me being patient with her. I’m not gon’ lie. I wanted to ask her what took her so long to realize the shit, but I let it go. As long as she can see my efforts now and appreciate them, I’m good.” I couldn’t lie and said that I wasn’t affected earlier because if she could just feel that way in the first place, we wouldn’t be where we’re at now. But then again, I feel like something like this needed to happen in order to bring us back together.

“I get it. Just look at it as you’re finally getting your wife back, regardless of how it happened. This is what you’ve wanted, so I say take the time to enjoy the shit.” I nodded in agreement because he was right. I was so used to Chi nagging me that when she wasn’t, the shit felt abnormal. I had to laugh at that shit because how the fuck did that make any sense.

“Yeah, you’re right. I just got to get used to this type of shit again. I suggested a trip, and she got all happy and shit. I felt bad about her going on one by herself, so I can make something shake. I need to go check on things at the house again so I can start getting the furniture and shit delivered. I wasn’t expecting all of this to happen, so it feels like I’m spending money like crazy.”

I got a call from the contractor letting me know that things with the house were coming together and I could come and check things out. Hopefully, I will be able to look over things and start having the furniture delivered. Speaking of, I was going to need help with that, so I was going to hit up Chiquita to see if she could meet up with me and help me get it decorated. I just hoped she could do the shit without telling Chiara.

Once I wrapped things up with my brother, I dapped him up and headed toward my next destination, which was the house of my baby’s dream. On the ride over there, I took the time to reflect on my life and how I ended up where I am now. I went from one of the biggest drug dealers in New Grove to a fuckin’ felon, to a husband. I was far from broke, but I grinded the way that I did so that I wouldn’t ever worry about going broke. I feared that more than dying. I thought Chiara understood that, but I guess she didn’t. After her accident, I realized that I could have made a few adjustments, but I thought we were good. I didn’t think things were so bad to the point where she basically decided to up and leave me. Whether it was just supposed to be a small getaway or not. My wife made the executive decision to leave the house and go on a trip without me to teach me a lesson. What she didn’t realize, though, was that I probably would’ve sent her on the trip but not alone, just so she could get out of the house. I felt myself getting angry all over again about the situation, so I had to switch gears quickly before my entire mood was shifted.

I noticed I was coming to the neighborhood that the house was in and turned into the subdivision and made my way to what I would soon be calling home. It was on the outskirts of town, not far from Gary, so I wouldn’t be completely alone. When I pulled up, couldn’t believe the sight that was before me. What was once an empty lot was now filled with a granite and black two-story family home. The circular driveway ended in front of the attached garage. Parking and shutting my engine off, I got out and headed inside to find the foreman. As I walked through the house, I was impressed. They’ve been working on this house for the past ten months and I honestly didn’t think he would be able to pull it off. I admired every detail I came across and knew that Chiara would love it, especially after it was fully furnished. I listened to her give me every detail of her dream home, fromthe granite countertops to the black porcelain tile flooring. He even got the cabinet knobs that she wanted. I was thoroughly impressed by the details and work. As I continued my walk through, I finally ran into him coming from upstairs.

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