Page 9 of Same Girl
“Is there something on your mind, beautiful?” I asked when she hesitated.
She bit her lip and then shook her head. There was a quiet strength about her, yet I could tell that she worked hard to practice self-discipline. But whatever was in her eyes prompted me to take a chance that I never did.
“Mya, I don’t usually do this, and I don’t mean to creep you out or make you uncomfortable, so if it does, please tell me, and I can also get another artist on your tattoos.”
“You can ask me anything, Chosen.”
The way she spoke my name as though challenging me gave me the courage to continue. “I wanted to ask you out on a date. I would love the opportunity to get to know you better.”
That beautiful, infectious smile showed its face again and snatched my heart out of my chest.
“I would love that, Chosen.”
“Oh my goodness. I have never had so much fun in my life,” Mya declared with a giggle.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. I hoped that it was something you could get into.”
“Are you kidding me? I love plays. My mama used to take my sister and me to them all of the time when we were younger.”
“What happened? Why did you stop going?”
She shrugged as we walked along the sidewalk. I reached for Mya’s hand, and she allowed me to take it as she smiled at me. “I don’t know. Life just got in the way, I guess. My business, my sister’s career, and Mama’s volunteer activities in her retirement years.”
“You should never let obligations get in the way of doing the things that make you smile, especially where family is concerned.”
“You’re right, Chosen. Life has taken a toll on me lately, and I just want to be a better version of myself. I’m trying to get to this place where what other people think no longer matters to me. I don’t want my decisions to be based on others’ opinions about how I live my life, or what I look like, or what I should wear.”
“No matter what you do or don’t do, you’re still beautiful to me, inside and out,” I declared as I took her hand and kissed her knuckles.
“How did you become so sweet, thoughtful, and romantic?”
My heart squeezed in my chest as it slowed down just a little bit. “I lost my mom several years ago. I vowed that I would be the man she wanted me to be, the man that she saw in my dad. He adored and protected her and gave her the world. She truly was his queen, and he treated her as such. I prayed that one day I would find my queen, and if I did, there wouldn’t be anything that I held back from her.”
We stopped walking down the sidewalk. We were a block away from the theater where we had seen the playWeed & Jack.We were one block away from Lady Chablis, a popular restaurant owned by hip-hop artist Chablis.
“I’m sorry for your loss, but I admire how you could turn something so heartbreaking into something so sweet. I’m sure she’s proud that you would want to honor her that way.”
“I pray that she is,” I replied, kissing my fist and holding it up to the sky. That woman was my world until she stoppedbreathing. Even after her passing, she was still my world and the reason I moved the way that I did. I knew that she was watching over me from Heaven.
Mya pressed her thumb underneath her eyelid. “Oh my gosh. You have such a beautiful spirit. Boy, you’re gonna have me falling in love with you.”
“That’s the plan.” I kneeled in front of her, and her eyebrows scrunched up as she stared in confusion at me.
“Uhm, . . . it’s only our third date, Chosen.”
I chuckled. “Don’t be afraid, gorgeous. I’m not proposing—yet. I’m simply asking if you would be my queen on this side of Heaven.”
She pressed her hands to her mouth and giggled as she looked around at the people passing by on the sidewalk. A few people stopped and pulled out their cameras, thinking that I was proposing.
“Get up, Chosen. People are watching us,” she hissed with a giggle as she reached for my hand.
“I can stay down here all night until you say that you’ll be my queen.”
She looked around at the people as she tugged at my hand. “He’s not proposing, y’all. He’s just being silly,” she announced, giggling.
“I’m waiting, gorgeous.”
“This is insane, Chosen.”
