“Alright.” Kiano chuckled. “Jiselle wants to live her life how she wants. She doesn’t want to get caught up in a repetitive ass nine to five. She wants to be respected and supported, and even though she’s a little rough around the edges, she wants to be taken care of, not just financially but emotionally too,” Kiano offered.
Rene nodded and looked at Stone.
“She wants honesty,” he offered. “She wants to feel secure, like she doesn’t have to question our loyalty or how we feel about her, but also secure like she knows I’ll knock a mothafucka’s head off their shoulders if they play with her. She wants clearcommunication and understanding and to be accepted for who she is.”
“She wants to be with someone who cherishes her,” Kiano added.
Rene took a sip from his beer.
“Well at least I know y’all listen to her. That’s a good start,” he said. I snickered and Rene smiled. “As long as Jiselle is happy, I’m happy.”
“Good.” I kissed Stone’s arm where it rested around me. “So, do you want to stay for dinner?”
Rene looked between the three of us.
“Yeah. I can eat.”
“I bet you can.” I sucked my teeth and he laughed. I freed myself from Stone and took a quick inventory of what I had in the kitchen to make and settled on something. “If you want to eat, you’re going to cook,” I announced.
“That’s fine with me,” Kiano said.
“Good.” I clapped my hands. “Let’s work.”
The men let me run the kitchen with an iron fist, which I was perfectly fine with. I had a glass of wine while Stone and Rene both had another beer. Cooking went better than I thought it would. Everyone was cordial and Rene seemed interested in some of the mechanic stuff he and Stone spoke about. He and Kiano talked about their mutual friends from school and caught up on what everyone was up to.
By the time dinner finally came to fruition, I felt good about where we were. Following dinner, Stone and Kiano cleared the island and I walked Rene to his car.
I hugged him after he yanked his door open.
“I love you and I’m always going to love you,” he said quietly.
“I love you too.”
“They love you too, huh?” He nudged his head toward the building.
I smiled. “Yeah. They do and I love them too.”
“I can tell. You look happy and they look at you like you’re their whole world… and each other,” he added.
“Well, we are all together.” I gave him a little smile.
He opened his mouth then shut it.
“I’m happy for you and I’m glad you have people out here to take care of you.”
“And I promise they take real good care of me.”
“Good.” He exhaled. “If they ever stop though, I’ve got you.”
“I know.” I gave him one more quick hug.
I took a step back and watched Rene close his car door. I made my way to the front of the building and watched his car leave the parking lot. Then I headed back up to my spot where Stone and Kiano were laughing together and still cleaning the kitchen.
I smiled as I looked between them and entered the kitchen.
Fuck. I loved them and couldn’t see myself anywhere else.
This was it for me. I had no doubt.