“Love you,” she repeated.
“There we go.” He plucked Vienna up and shook her side to side as well. “Love you.”
“Love you.” She laughed and he hugged and squeezed her before dropping her to her feet.
We took our time hugging the rest of his family and saying our goodbyes, a typical routine that took nearly fifteen minutes with everyone continuing to talk after saying goodbye. Drix’s father looked at the tattoo on his face and shook his head but didn’t say anything. He just hit him on the back.
Neither of his parents were big fans of him adding a face tattoo to his body but the fact that it was my name eased a bit of the annoyance.
They genuinely treated me like another member of their family and I loved each dinner I got to attend, especially since I’d never gotten to experience a family dynamic as healthy as theirs. It was beautiful to witness but even nicer to be a part of.
I was still thinking about how good this week’s family dinner had been when Drix reached over and put his hand on my leg.
“Where’s your head, Twin?” he asked.
“Hm?” I dragged my eyes from the window and glanced at him.
“You’re sitting over there real quiet. What are you thinking about?”
“I like your family,” I said simply.
He smiled. “They like you too. I promise.”
“Good.”
“That’s it?”
“Honestly? No. Being with your family just kind of makes me think about how different my family is from yours and I don’t know. I know my relationship with my parents and brothers is complicated but I wish it wasn’t. You know?”
“Yeah. I feel you.” He reached for my hand and twined our fingers together. He kissed the back of my hand with his eyes still on the road. “I’m sorry things are complicated with y’all.”
“Me too.” I forced a small smile onto my face and exhaled. “Do you think I should invite them to Radiant Reverie’s albumrelease party, in case they want to hear the music or support me?”
Drix looked over at me. A sympathetic smile touched his face.
“If you want to invite them, invite them, but don’t ever forget I don’t play behind you. If your family comes to one of the biggest nights of your career and upsets you, I’m gon’ act the fuck out and I promise that even you won’t be able to call me off.”
“Okay.” I grabbed his hand in both of mine. “I promise to keep that in mind.”
“Good.”
I plucked my phone up and saw I had two text messages from Charm.
Charmy: Our interview is up.
Charmy: And it’s going really well!!
I liked her message then opened Skroll to look at the snippet that had been posted and shared it. The comments were going well so far, saying I was being mature and Monica was delusional because Drix had willingly gotten my name tattooed on his face and he’d proven time and time again that he didn’t care about presenting a certain way for the public.
I didn’t read any more than the first ten before I left the app and sent a text to my brothers and father, letting them know the time and location of the release party.
When we got to Drix’s place, we immediately showered together and I collapsed in bed while Drix said he was going to head down to his studio. I didn’t know how he went to the studio nearly every day. His work ethic was unmatched.
I spent my time alone reading a book on my Kindle while music played softly from the television.
I was three chapters in when a call from Drix popped up. Although we were in the same house, I answered immediately.
“Hello?”