Page 19 of Unbreakable Bond
Sitting up, she stretched, looking around before pushing the door open and climbing out. It had been a long day, and I was ready to get inside.
Leading her inside, Solana made herself at home because it wasn’t her first time in my place.
“Come eat so you can tell me why your face is torn up,” I yelled from the kitchen.
“I just want to shower.”
“You got it, then you’re going to come eat.” My response caused her eyes to lap.
“I’m not hungry,” she sulked, crossing her arms.
I chuckled because I knew that was coming. Grabbing my food off the counter, I kissed her forehead, “Go take a shower, and I’m not waiting on your ass to eat,” then proceeded to the living room.
“I wasn’t expecting you to.”
Solana spun on her heels when I didn’t reply and headed down the hall.
I got caught up watching the game before I realized Solana hadn’t brought her ass yet. Walking to the master bedroom, Solana exited the shower when the door opened.
“You’re not big as shit. It doesn’t take that long to wash your ass,” I complained, leaning against the door frame.
Her neck whipped, and she sucked her teeth.
“I like long showers if you must know.” As much as I paid attention to Solana, it was the intimate things I didn’t know about her.
Sitting on my bed, I watched Solana rub lotion on her legs. I realized there was a lot I still didn’t know, so I tried to change that by asking, “What else do you like?”
“Being with you,” she flirted, seemingly in a better mood than when she first arrived.
“Here you go. Gassin’ a nigga.”
“I wouldn’t do that to you.”
I knew Solana’s feelings were real. There was no way she’d be here putting herself through the bullshit if they weren’t. After she finished her routine, I grabbed her hand and walked her to the kitchen because she wasn’t off the hook, no matter how hard she flirted.
“What happened, Solana?” This time, I wasn’t allowing her to avoid the conversation. Solana was mine, and anything giving her a hard time was my problem, her family included.
“My father is impossible and has to control everything. I feel like a caged bird, and I’m tired of it.” Tracing the outline of the bird she had tattooed on her thigh, I learned something else about Solana. That bird represented the freedom she wanted to live her own life.
She took a minute before she explained the basis of their argument. “He’s playing matchmaker with Pierre, pawning me off on him. It made me feel like I was some prostitute, and he’s my pimp. It’s okay if I’m with Pierre because he said so, but anything I want is off limits.”
The struggle to remain calm while listening to her explain her fucked up day was hard. Her Pops was out of his fuckin’ mind, and I’d put a bullet in Pierre and him before I ever let the two of them end up together.
“Nobody is going to give you shit, Solana. I know that’s what you’re used to. If you want to be free, be free. Nobody is standing in your way but you. Everything you want is within reach, and it isn’t with that nigga Pierre. You can cancel that shit.”
“Pierre and I have known each other our whole lives. We grew up together. He was the only boy I could ever be around without giving my parents a heart attack. Our families were really good friends and often used to joke about us getting married, but that’s not my plan. Pierre is nice, just not the man I want to be with.”
“What do you want, Solana?”
“You.” She said softly, lifting her head to lock eyes with mine.
“You’re the only one standing in the way of that.”
“Can you honestly sit here and say you’re ready to tell your family about us?” Solana asked, but I wasn’t stuck between a rock and a hard place like she was.
“I want you. Anything else doesn’t matter, but I won’t sit around and keep doing this. You need to decide if you’re ready to be with me,” I reiterated because while I was patient, I damn sure wouldn’t play the fool. If we were going to do it, it had to be me and her against the world.
Silence filled the room as she considered what I said. Solana was so stressed that she had taken a few bites of food to distract herself from my statement.