Page 25 of Mafia Kings & Wedding Rings 2: The Finale
“I am glad I was able to help you both get moved in. I demand a movie night in the near future, and it’s looking like all our kickbacks are going to be right here.” Lola winked at Sap and pointed at the ground.
“I’ll walk you out. Sap, can you clean up the leftovers and put them in the fridge?” I instructed, padding behind Lola to the exit.
“I hope you know what you’re doing, Em. You are playing with some serious fire.”
“I know, and I do. I appreciate your concern though.”
“You know I’m with you. Right or wrong.” Lola embraced me.
“Text me when you get home!” I called out to her when she stepped out.
Closing the door, I pressed my back against it and smiled while peering around at our new home. I was looking forward to making new memories here. I decided to call Ivo instead of texting back since Sapphire was all the way in the kitchen.
“What’s up, baby?” he answered almost right away. “You get moved in OK? You need some help with anything?”
I loved that most about him. In the past, we were both so used to not expressing ourselves that this second go round had us making sure we both got it right.
“No. We’re good. Just finished eating. I left my bedroom and living room furniture, of course, but I was thinking we could just put it in storage or something.”
“Whatever you want to do, mama.” Ivo sounded like he was exhaling. “I’m about to take care of a few things and then slide over to see you for a little bit. You need anything?”
“No. I’ll just talk to you when you get here.”
“Aight.”
Our call ended, and I traipsed back toward the kitchen where Sapphire wiped the counters down. He was so tall and lanky, and I couldn’t believe he was about to be sixteen soon. There was so much I wanted for him in life, and I was determined to make sure he got it. He peered up as I lingered in the doorway watching him like a creep.
“What’s up?”
“Nothing.” I smiled and inched toward the counter. “I’m just really proud of you. I’m also grateful that you’ve been such a good sport about all this and these changes we’ve made. You were little when we left Oak Bluffs, so I know you don’t remember much about it, but we lived like this when we were here. You deserve your own room, a bed to sleep in, and I saved up a few dollars so you can go shopping and decorate it.”
“Thanks, sis. I appreciate you. You didn’t have to step up like you did for me after Daddy died and Mama left, but you did, and you been there ever since. I don’t take that for granted,” Sapphire assured me, making my eyes tear up. “I’m heading to my room.” He beamed like a big ass kid.
“Oh, shit, I forgot all about the car! Let’s go check out my new ride!” Clapping my hands together, I skipped past him to the door for the garage entry, and we both stopped dead in our tracks.
Not only was there a silver Audi Q8, but beside it was a white S5.
“Oh my God.”
“Yo, these are lit right here! Can I drive one?”
“You have to get your license first. The permit can only get you so far. So we’ll work on that.” I stepped into the garage so I could examine both rides, heart racing like a horse in my chest as my fingertips brushed against the cold metal exterior.
“Yo, Ivo is the goat! I can’t believe he did all this!” Sapphire bit his fist and circled the S5 before pulling the driver’s door open.
That new car smell immediately hit us as he examined the features and toyed with the sound system. Bobbing his head to Young Boy NBA, he grinned the whole time and dug his phone from his basketball shorts pocket so he could snap a few selfies. Shaking my head at him, I slid over to the SUV so I could check out the soft leather interior and sit in the driver’s seat. It’s been a long time since I’d been behind the wheel of a luxury car.
Gripping the steering wheel, I couldn’t contain my own grin as I imagined pulling up to this condo or my next job that I was deserving of. I was excited about all the things to come. I couldn’t wait to love on Ivo when he came by. He didn’t have to do any of this, and I wanted him to know I would fuck with him either way. It was just nice to know that he was still generous and adoring after all these years. Getting to relearn him was a privilege I wasn’t going to take lightly. He hadn’t mentioned his art or any of that since we’d been hanging with each other, but I had the perfect gift idea for him and got ahead of myself by ordering it to be delivered today.
After Sap and I finished living out our fantasies in the new cars, we headed back inside. He went down the hall to his new very spacious bedroom with a king-sized bedroom set and closed the door behind him. It was early, but I expected him to probably take a nap before linking up with Blaine so that he could practice later this afternoon. I decided to unpack myself but ended up falling asleep. Hours later, Sap told me he was leaving, and I yawned and rolled right back over.
I stirred a little later because I heard voices echoing off the walls, and confusion immediately marred my features as I sat up and looked around. Picking up my phone beside me on the bed,I saw that it was just a little after five p.m. Stretching, I slipped my feet into my slippers and started down the hall.
“Bro, that’s not even how that shit supposed to go. You putting the wrong screw in there.” An unfamiliar male voice drew my attention.
Looking over the glass-encased railing, I spotted Ivo seated on the floor in the living room and another male figure on the couch with a set of instructions in his hand. I couldn’t tell what the hell they were doing as I shook my head and started down the steps.
“Um, hello,” I greeted them, surprising Ivo as his head popped up from what he was doing.
