Page 24 of Christmas Luvin

Igrabbed the accent chair and scooted it a little closer to the side of the bed, wanting to record her reaction.Thething is,Briawas a light ass sleeper, so for her to not stir whileIwas in there moving around,Iknew my baby was tired.

Igrabbed my phone, started the video, and placed the puppy on the bed with her.Fora few seconds, he didn’t even move.Alittle cry escaped his lips, probably scared that he was sitting so high up, but after a while, he scooted his little body closer toBriaand laid his head right on top of her, putting it right near her face.

Thatcaused her to jump.Herred eyes looked at the puppy, then at me, and she closed her eyes.Ilaughed asIrecorded her becauseIwas sure she thought she was dreaming.Hereyes opened again, but this time she looked at the puppy a little longer, and then she let out a squeal.

“Ohhhhh.Hiiiiii.Hiiiii.Oh, myGod.Baby, you got me a puppy?” her sleepy voice was raspy, butIloved that shit.Iwas a sucker for it.

Shesat up in bed, wearing a hoodie and some shorts.Shewas extra gentle with the puppy as she picked him up, looked at him, cradled him in her arms, and rubbed him.JustlikeIknew she would, she started crying.

“Youare so beautiful.Awwww.Ilove you so much.Thankyou, baby,”Briasang, using her free hand to wipe her face.

Thatwas a pure, genuine, and shocked reaction because, deep down,Ithink she felt likeIwasn’t going to get her the dog.Iturned the video off.Ina few minutes,Iwould post that shit to my page and watch how quickly that shit went viral.

“Whatyou going to name him, mama?Isaved that part for you,”Ilet her know with a smile on my face because the two of them looked adorable as hell together.

“Baby.Iwant to call himBaby,” she said, andIshook my head.

“Man, this lil’ nigga been here two minutes, and you already giving him the name you call me.That’scrazy,”Isaid, shaking my head likeIwas hurt.

“Ilove him already.Hi,Baby.Iasked your daddy for you forChristmas, and he got you,” she cooed.

Briareached her hand out for me, andIstood, pulling up my jeans that were hanging off my waist asImade my way over to her.Shestopped touching him for a second so she could place her hands on the side of my face.Thenshe kissed me multiple times and thanked me for the puppy.

“Youhappy now?”Iasked, sitting next to her on the bed.

“I’vebeen happy.I’mjust happier now.Igotta callCarmen,Duchess, and your sister.Allof them swore you weren’t going to get me the dog but look.WhatdidIdo to deserve such a perfect man?Pee-Wee, you make me so happy,” she said with a gleam in her eyes, making it clear that she was deeply in love with a nigga.

Y’alldon’t understand how good that shit feels to knowI’mmaking my girl happy.Iain’t some goofy ass nigga who brings her pain and has her crying while questioning her position in my life.WhenBriacried, it was usually happy tears from me overdoing my part, and it just brought out the tears.Iremember telling her thatIwould forever have her, even before we got together, andImade good on that promise.Mybaby wanted a fuckin’ puppy, soIgot her one.Wewere going to learn how to train his lil’ ass together so he wasn’t pissing and shitting all through the house.

No,Ijust had to bring in all the bags, so we could have it looking like we’re the owners of a puppy up in there.Onegift down that made her cry, andIknew the second one, whenIproposed, would bring her to her knees since she wasn’t expecting that.Myproposal was going to be private becauseIknewBriahated attention and a lot of extra shit.IfIhad all her family there and all of mine, her ass might just have a damn panic attack.Ijust needed her father’s blessing, and the rest would fall into place.Ihad it all planned out.

Tomorrowafternoon,Iwould leave forGeorgia, so right now,Iwas getting out of the car and about to walk into the luxury apartment building.Iwas headed to my cousinOlivia’shouse to see my little cousinTaylorand give him hisChristmasgifts sinceIwouldn’t be home for the holiday.Ididn’t have a relationship withSirenaorMercedes.Truthbe told, ifTaylorwasn’t in the picture,Iprobably wouldn’t be dealing withOliviaeither, butTaylorwas my little cousin, whoIloved so much, andIcouldn’t just walk away from him.

WithSirena, our relationship had been rocky since the two of us were kids, but what really ended things was the day she andIhad gotten into a fight back at my old apartment, and she let all that crazy stuff fly out of her mouth about my mom.Evenif she was just repeating something that her mom had lied to her about as a kid, it didn’t justify her saying it to me.WithMercedes,Ifelt like she was just as shady asSirena.She’dnever had my best interest at heart, and she’d used me the entire time we lived together, forcing me to pay the bills on my own when she knewIwas lowkey struggling at that time in my life.

Oliviakind of got caught in the crossfire, but at the same time, it wasn’t like she ever tried to stand up for me and have my back with the things she saw her sisters say or do to me.Whatreally turned me off withOlivia, though, was that timeIbabysatTaylorat her house, and she made me feel super uncomfortable that her baby daddy,Tate, was talking to me.Shemade it seem likeIwanted him.

Themoral of the story is all their asses were weird as hell, andIwas just gladIdidn’t have to deal with them anymore.Granted,Iwould still have to be aroundOliviafor the sake of seeingTaylor, but that was pretty much it.

Imade it off the elevator and walked the long hallway toOlivia’sdoor.Iwas holding four gift bags that varied in size from small to extra-large.TherewereSpidermantoys, clothes, and pajamas inside thatIknew he would love.SirenaknewIwas coming becauseI’dtexted her this morning and asked if it was okay for me to drop by, and she let me know it was cool.

I’dtexted her beforeIleft to let her knowIwas on my way, and she assured me that she was home.Ifelt like a first-time mother who had to leave my child at home for the first time whileIwent out to run an errand.IleftBabywithPee-Weeand pretty much threatened him to take care of my baby.Hewas a good puppy, andIhad him so spoiled.AllIwanted to do was hold him all day and cuddle with him.WheneverIheld him, he would have this look in his eyes like he felt so safe in my arms.

Youalready knowItried to be slick and have him sleep in the bed with us, butPee-Weewasn’t going for it, so we had to bring his doggy bed into the room.Weput it by the foot of the bed, and like a big boy, he slept there and didn’t give us any problems.Iwas so happy that my man had gotten the puppy for me because everyone had counted me out, saying he wasn’t going to budge and get it.

Iknocked on the door.Aftera few seconds, the front door opened, andOliviastood on the other side.Shelooked me up and down, giving me a small smile.Shewas dressed up like she was getting ready to head out somewhere.Ilooked past her only becauseIsawTaylorsitting on the couch, playing with some action figure toys.Whenhe saw me, his little face lit up.Hejumped down from the couch and took off in my direction.

“Hey,”Oliviasaid.

“Hey,”Iresponded, dropping the gift bags by the door, soIcould bend down and pick up my little cousin.Irained kisses all over his cute little face.

“BriBri,” he let out.

Icould have cried whenIheard his adorable voice say my name.Taylorwas speech delayed, and for the longest, he wouldn’t say anything.Hewould just cry and point to what he wanted.Hewas three now, and the last timeIsaw him, which was a month ago,Olivatold me she had him in speech therapy.Iwas overjoyed to see that it was already paying off.

“Hi, big boy.Lookat you talking.Howare you, man?Imissed you,”Isaid, coming into the house with him in my arms and squeezing him.

Hewas so happy.Iwas tickling him, and he cracked up, letting out the cutest laugh thatI’dever heard in my life.Hislong hair was in fresh braids, and he was dressed in a green and redGuccisweatsuit with whiteGuccisneakers on his feet.Offto the side,Inoticed his suitcase andOlivia’stoo.

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