“I ain’t home, bro.”
“Oh.”
The disappointment and panic in his voice wakes me further. “What’s up?”
“I uh—I got a situation I need to talk to someone about.”
I clear my throat. Is this the moment I’ve been waiting for? “Then come down and meet us.”
“You’re with Dixie Rose?”
“Yeah, man,” I say, biting my tongue. I hope to God he doesn’t start in on her, ’cause I won’t be able to let shit slide after last night.
“W-will she mind?” he asks so softly I almost don’t hear him.
“Nah, man. She’ll be chill. So, you coming down? We’re in L.A. went to a concert last night.”
“Damn, sounds fun.”
“It was. So, let me give you the address.”
“All right, I got a pen and paper.”
I shoot him the information, praying to God this is the opportunity I’ve been waiting for.
“I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”
“We’ll be here,” I say.
D’Rose rolls over and groans. “Who was that? Do we have to go back now?”
“No, it was Charm. He’s coming down. He said he has something to talk about.”
Her mouth forms an O, and she opens her eyes. “Do you think this is about Mouth?”
“I fucking hope so. I want to be done with this. We got plans to put into action.”
“Oh, we do?” she asks, making a confused face.
I lift her hand up and kiss her ring. “Don’t play.”
She grins. “I thought it’s supposed to be the woman who can’t wait to get married.”
“I want all these motherfuckers out there to know you’re taken at a glance.”
“So romantic.”
“You love it, and you know it,” I say nibbling on her finger.
“I do, luckily for you,” she replies.
I roll over and place her on my chest.
“Last night was amazing, Joel. Thank you.”
“I had to outdo my last proposal. You like the ring?” I ask.
“It’s different from the last one,” she says, running her hand over the solid band of diamonds.