In the center of the room were several cases filled with ties and expensive jewelry.
“This shit is insane,” I mumbled.
“Thanks? I think?” Kiano chuckled as he walked further inside and tossed Jiselle’s bag on top of a dresser. “You each have your own dresser to fill and I cleared this back space and the other side. But if I need to get the closet made bigger, I can, unless you want to store clothes in your personal bedrooms, which is an option too.”
“How much shit do you think we’re bringing here?” Jiselle asked seriously.
“He’s trying to move us in,” I said simply.
Kiano nodded. “That’s right.”
“That’s a big step,” Jiselle sang.
“Yeah, well, I already told y’all I don’t do shit in halves. We’re doing this, so I want to do it all the way.”
“That’s sweet, baby.” Jiselle grabbed his face and kissed him.
“Unpack your stuff and let's get ready for dinner.”
“Okay.” Jiselle kissed him again.
Kiano’s phone beeped and he pulled it from his pocket and answered immediately. He quickly excused himself from the room and Jiselle and I unpacked our things then headed downstairs where Kiano was still on the phone.
“You already ran through his shit?” I asked.
“Of course. I’m not an amateur.”
“You find anything?”
“If I did I wouldn’t be with him.”
“Noted.”
“Alright. We axed dinner reservations and my parents are just going to have us over if that’s cool,” Kiano said as he pocketed his phone.
“Should I change?” Selle asked.
“No. You’re good how you are. Trust me. They’ll be dressed down too. It’s nothing serious. They just want to talk, and honestly, it’s about you getting to know them just as much as it’s for them to get to know you.”
“So when do you want to head out?” I asked.
“We can go now. It’s a two-hour drive one way and they already have the chef in the kitchen.”
“They hired a chef?” I asked.
“Yeah. They probably don’t want either of you to get food poisoning."
“You saying your mama can’t cook?” Selle asked.
“She didn’t have a lot of time to learn between me, Pops, double majoring, then starting the business. She’s good on side dishes, but if you want an actual protein with your meal, I wouldn’t trust it.”
Selle and I both laughed a bit. Selle grabbed her purse and Kiano made sure he had his keys and we headed out. Selle hopped in front with Kiano and I collapsed in the back, tilted my head backwards, clasped my hands, and closed my eyes.
I wasn’t sure how I’d ended up here, with both a woman and man, meeting the family of that man. Fuck. I had a man. I didn’t know what to think about that but I wouldn’t act like I wasn’t at least somewhat excited about Kiano welcoming me into his family and his family welcoming me in return.
When we got to Kiano’s family home, I’d expected to see something even bigger than Kiano’s house. Instead I was met with a cute, one-story, middle class home with a fenced in yardthat looked like it was smaller than the bottom floor of Kiano’s spot.
Kiano’s parents were outside when he threw his car in park and his mother opened Selle’s door while his dad jogged around and opened my door. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that but I climbed out.