“You believe me?”
She paused for a moment, her hesitation making me feel a bit uneasy.
Poking my finger into her hip, I repeated myself. “You do believe me, right?”
“You know I do,” she replied with a giggle. “I know you love me.”
“Damn, Nova, don’t play with me like that.”
“You should’ve known that I was playing.” She turned around slowly and wrapped her arms around my neck. “If there’s one thing I’ll never question, it’s how much you love me. You tell me and show me every day, and that means a lot to me. I hope that never changes.”
“It won’t.” I lowered my lips to meet hers and allowed her to take the lead. Her kisses were soft and intentional, making it clear that she meant every word she said.
“So…” she said before turning back around to finish cutting what was left of the cheese. “Before the movie, Kendra was trying to be funny and asked me a crazy ass question.”
“Oh yeah? What did she say?”
“She asked me if we would have a small wedding or a big wedding.”
“Damn, she’s about as bad as my mama.”
“Your mama asked you about us getting married?”
“Sure did,” I replied while removing the pan of ground beef from the stove. “She also asked me when we were going to have a baby.”
Nova’s eyes widened. “Oh, wow!”
“Yeah, I know. Anyway, what did you end up telling Kendra?”
“First off, I made it clear that I couldn’t even begin to think about marriage while things were still up in the air with Jayson.”
“Understandable.”
“Then, I went ahead and told her that I wasn’t interested in a wedding at all.”
Stepping away from the stove, I turned to face her. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I’m cool with just going to the justice of the peace.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I’ve done the big hoopla wedding thing. I’m not interested in putting on a show for people that half-ass give a damn about me or don’t matter in the first place. Nine times out of ten, they’re just coming to talk about the decorations, the dresses, and the food. Oh, and just to see if the wedding is going to happen. Very few people are there to genuinely see a couple express their love for one another.”
Shocked by her revelation, I returned to what I was doing, but not without saying, “So, you’re not interested in a wedding of any kind?”
“Nope.”
Clearing my throat, I said, “Honestly, I don’t know how I feel about that?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, when I do finally get married, I definitely want to share that moment with my closest friends and family. I’m not saying that it has to be some big extravaganza, but I do want to have that moment to look back at.”
She eyed me in confusion. “Wait, I thought men didn’t care about that type of thing?”
“Some don’t, but I do. I want to see my bride walk down the aisle and know that she’s about to be mine. I want to exchange vows with her in front of a room full of people that we love.”
“See, that’s the thing…why do we have to do all of that in front of a room full of people? Why can’t it just be a private moment between the two of us? I just don’t see the point of putting on a show.”
