I've been waiting for this moment for so long I'm pretty sure my ass is red from all the sitting and shifting. I ended up having to wait outside the parking lot until Calvin showed up before deciding to risk my identity and sit back-to-back with him in the restaurant.
Luckily for me, he didn't figure out who I was there and then. Not that he could anyway with the way I'm dressed. Soft boy aesthetic is what Chester called it. I added my old money touch to it with the colors and now I look both cute and elegant. As for my face, I used my hair to cover it like an emo boy. Add sunglasses in there for a touch of mystery. A walking fashion disaster if you ask me.
Nonetheless, it helped me keep my identity hidden from Calvin, at least until Leilani arrived that is. Listening in on their conversation didn't help a bit. I almost gave away my identity after my anger at Calvin's asshole mentality got the best of me.
Now though, I don't need to hide.
Calvin fucked up the moment he thought Leilani would bow at his feet if he threatened her. Chester was right. His shitty personality was the answer to solving my problems for once in my life. Leilani is looking at me from below as though I'm some kind of hero and I'm loving every second of it. As for Calvin...
"What makes you think I'll let you have her?" He snarls at me.
"She's not a property you get to claim just because you want to asshole," I hiss back.
"Thank you," Leilani backs me up. "Finally, a man who uses their brain, not their dick." The words leave her mouth as though she's been wanting to say that but couldn't for some reason.
"You stay out of this," Calvin snaps at her.
"Why when I'm the center of attention. I mean, you two are fighting over me aren't you?" Leilani gives him a provoking smile making me groan under my breath.
This is the Leilani I know. Smart and not afraid to voice herself out...well at least to the rest of the world that is. I do remember her being silent when her Stepmom chewed her out at the school gate back in high school.
That's not important right now, Desmond. You need to get Leilani to choose you over Calvin.
Letting go of Leilani's shoulders, I sit next to her and we both face Calvin.
"Who said you can sit there?" Calvin asks coldly, raising his hand to call a waiter. One of them immediately makes their way towards us.
"I did," Leilani cuts him off and waves for the waiter to stop coming.
The relief I feel at her support is indescribable. Maybe there's hope for me after all.
"I won't have you disrespecting me during our date!"
"Then by all means leave," Leilani offers Calvin but he remains rooted to his chair. Of course, he's not going to leave, this is his only chance to ruin my love life. Maybe that's why he hasn't found a woman to marry already—he's waiting for me to find someone then snatch them away like he tried doing with Leilani back then.
Sometimes I wish I were the older brother, not him.
Leilani angles her chair such that she has a good view of both Calvin and me. The warmth that had been coming from sitting next to her immediately leaves my body. It's as if she's telling me my chances are still slim without voicing it out.
"Now, tell me, Desmond. You said you'll marry me so I'm assuming you too did a background check on me, which means you know about my current predicament, right?"
My body grows cold as I nod at her. I don't know if the look in her eyes is anger or cringing at the realization that I'm no different from my brother but it quickly vanishes before I can make assumptions.
"I like your honesty," she mumbles before leaning in closer to me.
Calvin's jaw clenches but he remains silent. I draw in a sharp breath when Leilani's perfume hits my nose. Lavender. Of course. She squints her eyes at me and I shift in my seat uncomfortably. Why is this feeling more like an interview by the second?
"Knowing what you do about my situation, what are your conditions for a marriage with me?"
Is this a green light? Should I have some hope? Fuck, I don't know what she's thinking and it's ruining me mentally.
"Like it or not, we're brothers woman and he's a man. He's bound to—"
"You shut up. You had your chance to speak and now it's over. If being around me bothers you so much please leave. I did say I'm not marrying you and I stand by what I said. The only reason I'm tolerating you is because your brother is here and your grandma seems to be a close friend of mine," Leilani gives him a pointed glare.
Sexy. She's sexy as fuck when she defends herself, especially with the dark feminine energy she's oozing right now. I can literally feel the aura coming from her.
"Back to you, Desmond. What are your conditions for marrying me?"
Being close to you. Hugging you. Touching you. Comforting you. Being excited to go home after work because someone I like is probably waiting for me. Being your husband. Calling you my wife...
Calling you my wife.
Clearing my throat, I suppress all my internal thoughts and look Leilani square in the eyes.
"As long as you agree to be my wife, I'm good with everything else."
Something twinkles in Leilani's eyes before she backs away from me and clears her throat. "That's it? You're fine with just that?"
No. God no. I want more. I want to become her one and only man. For her to call me husband with a smile on her face. I want to become her love, her heart. To be the reason she enjoys life. To be her rock—the man who'll assist her in whatever feud she has with her family. I want to shower her with so much love that she'll forget about her past and live in the present with me in it. To grow old and die with her by my side.
But telling her this will make her think I'm too much and she'll probably back away right? After all, she did tell Calvin that if he acted clingy for even a moment she'd ditch him.
"Yes. I'm in the same situation as you after all. What's the use of milking only you?"
Leilani slowly nods, smiling at me for the first time since our first meeting at the bar. Good. This is what I like. Seeing her happy because of me.
"I can offer you much more if you agree to be my wife," Calvin interrupts our moment.
I scoff. Leilani clearly told him she won't marry him and yet he's still trying so hard. All for what? Just to see me distraught?
"And what's this more that you claim you can offer me?" Leilani asks him and I freeze.
Is she having a change of heart?
"Half my shares," Calvin replies, and Leilani gasps.
"Now that's what I like to hear," she beams at him making my heart shatter to pieces. "Tell me more, baldy."