Page 22 of Shooting his Shot

"So, when did you gettogether?" Antonio asked the question.

"It's been over a year now. We were trying to find the perfect time to tell you all, but no time seemed to be the right time. Still, I apologize to him for not believing in his love for me. Even when I asked for the divorce, this man had been by my side. So, we decided just to be together and see where it took us. Neither of us had been in a relationship since we broke up. All we had was each other."

"Aww. That's so sweet," Aisha expressed with tears in her eyes. "As much as I want to be mad at both of you, I can't. I'm just happy you found your way back to one another. I'm happy for y'all."

Antonio and Akari hadn't said anything, only staring at their parents. I wondered if they were happy for them as well. They needed to be, but it was none of my business. No wonder Akari's father welcomed me into the family. Hell, he had never left it himself.

Later that night,Akari and I were on our way to his house for the night. Once the shock of his parents being back together wore off, Akari and Antonio congratulated their parents on getting back together. It was a joyous reunion, and I was glad to be there to witness it. The close-knit relationship Akari and his family had was goals.

"Are you okay?" I asked him.

He glanced over at me. "Yeah, I'm straight. I'm happy to be with you."

I beamed. "I'm happy to be with you, too. Although I thought it would be foolish of me, I'm happy I gave you a chance."

"Foolish to be with me?"

I nodded and explained. "Akari, you know how famous you are. Everywhere we go, people want your autograph, and women push up on you like I’m not even around. I have ignored it because I know you are for me."

He reached out and squeezed my thigh. "Yeah, always remember I am for you and nobody else. You're the only one who matters in my life besides my family."

"I believe you. You matter to me as well. Since we've reconnected, I have enjoyed being with you and around you. I l..." I dropped my head to my chest. There was no way in hell I was about to tell this man I love him. Hell no.How in the hell did I get out of this situation?Hopefully, he didn't pay attention to what I was about to say.

Akari squeezed my thigh again. "The feeling is mutual, Avani." That was all he said, and the conversation ended.

Man,it had been a while since I went to Skyeville Mall, but here I was in there with Avani. She kept saying I was always buying her something, and she never got me anything.

"I might not have all the money in the world like you do, but I can buy you something," she insisted.

I had to shake my head to let go of the thought. It had pissed me off then, and it was pissing me off now. I was trying not to let it get to me. I knew I always got Avani things, but as her man, I felt like I needed to do that. She hadn't understood that, but in time, she would.

She squeezed my hand, causing me to look down at her. Avani looked good as hell in a yellow and white sundress with amatching purse. Her hair was styled in a loose ponytail on top of her head, causing her dark skin to glow.

"Wassup?"

"I want to go into the jewelry store first," she stated.

I arched a brow, knowing damn well she wasn't about to buy me jewelry. I pressed my lips together, not saying anything. "Okay. What's in there?"

She smiled happily. "You'll see."

When we left the jewelry store, I was still in awe. Avani had gotten me a custom-made watch with my initials, number, and a saying engraved:the Star that dwells within. When that lady brought it out to her and took it out of the box to examine it, I was in awe at what I was looking at. The watch was gold, too.

"Damn, I wasn't at all expecting that. Thank you."

Avani dramatically sighed. "Finally, I got a thank you. And you're welcome. Now, can you stop being mad?"

I glanced down at her, seeing the scowl on her face. Before I could lean down and kiss her lips, a woman walked up to me with a smile. She greeted me and walked away. It didn't stop there. We couldn't even finish shopping before many women came up to greet me, and I ignored them. Some even asked for my autograph and wanted me to sign different parts of their bodies. I couldn't or wouldn't do that, especially not when I was in a relationship.

"Wow! You have a lot of groupies," Avani bitterly commented. We were back in the car, about to head out of the parking lot. I had the watch on my wrist. I loved it already.

I glanced down at her. "I wouldn't call them groupies but fans." I was trying to downplay it when they were, indeed, groupies.

She snorted. "Yeah, right. Fans. Is it always like that?"

I lifted an eyebrow, wondering what she meant by that. "Like what?"

"Like that? Them coming up to you, touching on you, plus wanting you to sign their body parts. They were acting like I wasn't even there." Avani sounded hurt, and I felt bad about it.

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