Page 195 of My Only

Hassani

“Oh, wow.” Ayla exhaled beside me. “Wow.”

I snickered to myself, turning the steering wheel as I guided my car to the left.

That was all she’d been saying since we passed the Welcome to Greene Gardens sign.

“Whoa.” She sighed again. “That’s a whole park.”

I smiled, nodding. “A whole park.”

“And this is like… a real road.” She craned her neck, eyes peering through the passenger window. “And those are sidewalks.”

I grinned. “A road and sidewalks.”

She nudged me. “Shut up.”

I laughed with her. “What? I’m just saying—you’re amazed by my roads, sidewalks, and parks.”

“And houses, and businesses.” She gestured outside. “And, and, and…”

I hollered a laugh.

We’d landed only three hours ago from Saint Lucia. After dropping off our bags at home, I told Ayla I wanted to show her something.

We were still riding the high from our trip—the memories fresh, the energy light. Which made this the perfect time to drive out to Greene Gardens.

She shook her head, her cloud of defined coils shifting with the motion. “I wasn’t expecting this.”

“What were you expecting?”

“Vast land,” she replied, turning to face me. “Maybe two or three houses here and there. Dirt roads. Honestly, open spaces.”

I listened proudly, watching as her eyes shifted from one structure to the next.

“This is almost complete.” She turned back to the window, taking it all in. “My man did this.”

“Well… I helped design it, with my team.”

“No, you did this.” She laid a hand on my arm, her fingers stroking my forearm. “I feel like I’m about to cry because we are literally driving through your doodle. We’re inside your vision. We’re in another one of your dreams again. This time on wheels.”

I peeked over at her just in time to see her eyes welling up.

Taking her hand, I brought it to my lips, kissing it gently.

“Now I see why you were working so hard in that office of yours.” She sighed. “An office I’ve never seen.”

I glanced at her, surprised. “That can’t be. You’ve been to the office.”

She shook her head. “I haven’t. I didn’t bother visiting because I figured you were working so hard on this.” She gestured outside. “And it’s not like you invited me or anything…”

Damn.

I scratched the side of my head. “I’m sorry about that, A. Boogie.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, we gotta change that before you head back to school in August.”

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