Page 28 of This: Blake & Emon

“Over here, bruh,” Emon called out from behind a stack of boxes he was sorting. He wasn’t going to stop working just because Brooks was there. That wasn’t his style.

Brooks made his way through the aisles, taking in how organized everything was. He was ashamed to admit that he hadn’t been in, nor had he supported, but he would change that.

“So, this what you do with your time?” Brooks asked, watching an elderly woman thank Emon as she left with her groceries.

“One of many things.” Emon straightened up, wiping his hands on his jeans. “But yeah, this matters to me. The same way your sister matters to me.”

“That’s why I’m here?”

“Nah. You here because I respect what you mean to Blake. But let’s be clear, I ain’t asking permission. I’m letting you know my intentions.”

Brooks nodded slowly, appreciating the directness. “And those are?”

“To love her right. To build something with her. To make sure she never regrets choosing me.” Emon started moving boxes again as he talked. “I know what people say about me. I know what you probably heard. But that ain’t who I am to her.”

“Niggas ain’t getting shot for no reason though.”

“Maybe not but that’s been handled. Ain’t nothing to worry about.” Emon said it with the kind of confidence that came from knowing dead men told no tales. Brooks knew the code. That was why Emon’s certainty made sense, even if he didn’t say it outright. But he remembered Taylor’s words.Your sister’s happy. Let her be happy.

“You ain’t asking permission, and I ain’t ever going to play about my sister, so let’s be clear and one hundred with one another. Blake is to be treated like a queen. No hands will be placed on her, and no harm is to come to her. There’s just a certain way Bishop women should be handled, and I need to be sure you can do that.” Brooks didn’t have a real problem with Emon. If he said he was legit, then he’d let that truth stand until it became a lie. Brooks understood the life. He was body out but pinky toe still in if called upon.

“I hear you.” Emon stopped what he was doing and faced Brooks fully. “But you need to hear me too. I love your sister. The type of love that makes a man change his whole life around. She ain’t just some girl I’m trying to impress. We past that. I asked her to move in with me. She’s it for me.”

“That’s big talk.”

“Nah, that’s real talk. I also respect her enough to let her move at her own pace.”

Brooks studied him for a moment. “You know she got a big heart. Once she love, she love hard.”

“Good thing I ain’t planning on giving her a reason not to. Bruh, I ain’t no big brother or anything but all that I don’t need. We wouldn’t be having this conversation if I didn’t know Blake’s worth. I wanted you to hear what we had going on from the horse’s mouth.”

“I respect the call and you doing that.” Brooks didn’t have a choice but to respect it. He’d have to wrestle with his feelings of worry and replacement in private. Brooks needed to understandthat this wasn’t about placement or ownership. Emon and Blake just were, and they were doing whateverthiswas on their terms. If he didn’t understand that when he found the love of his life, he would.

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a truck backing up outside. Emon looked out to see Blake directing a delivery driver. She was dressed casually, in distressed jean shorts that showed off her thick thighs, a simple graphic tee with THAT GIRL sprawled across the front, and cute sandals that showed off her fresh pedicure. Her hair was in a high ponytail, and designer shades were perched on her nose. Even on her off days, his woman stayed ready.

“What you doing here?” Emon called out, unable to hide his smile. He’d never tire of seeing her.

“I was up last night thinking about how to return all the ways you show me you care. What do you give a man who has everything?” She pushed her sunglasses up, her brown eyes twinkling as they met his. “Then it hit me. You give him support. I know this place is your baby, so it’s my baby too.”

“And here I was thinking you didn’t love me,” he joked. “How you pull this off?” Emon pulled her by the arm to him and held her so tenderly that a shiver went down her spine.

She pointed to the boxes being unloaded. “Called in some favors at the hospital. They were about to trash perfectly good supplies: bandages, first aid kits, basic medicine. Figured your community could use it more than a dumpster.”

Watching her take charge of the delivery, Emon felt that familiar tightness in his chest. Everything about her turned him on. Her mind, her heart, the way she matched his energy without even trying. Plus, them pretty toes were doing something to him.

“Oh, and I made you lunch,” Blake added, pulling out a small cooler from her car, “since I know you forget to eat when you get busy here.” Blake just wanted to be sure he knewshe loved him just as much as he loved her. She hadn’t been completely sure she’d shown it. This was all new to her in a sense. Emon was a rare breed, and he couldn’t be handled the way she handled others. He deserved king treatment as well. He needed to know that someone trusted him and believed in his path. She wanted to be that for him.

Emon shook his head, that smile still playing on his lips. “See what I’m talking about?” he said to Brooks. “Your sister is just different.”

“Hey Brooksie, what you doing here?” She had hardly noticed him standing there. He’d been silently watching them interact, thinking maybe, just maybe, he was starting to understand what this was all about. Blake looked refreshed and content, and so did Emon. He believed there was nothing in this life that Emon would allow to take him away from Blake. Nothing that he couldn’t handle, at least.

“Just handling some business,” Brooks said, glancing at Emon, who nodded and extended his hand. Emon and Brooks shared what felt like a brotherly moment before Brooks headed to his car.

“Good business?” she asked, looking between the two men she loved and moving closer to Brooks.

“Yeah, all good.”

“Thank God,” she muttered before hugging her brother.

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