Page 21 of Inadmissible

Tristan

Valentine’s Day

T his was the first Valentine’s Day where a woman did for me like I did for her.

It was also the first Valentine’s Day where I didn’t go above and beyond on material shit because that’s what a woman wanted.

Instead, Taj wanted something she could feel.

She wanted me. My time. My touch. Things with sentimental value.

Her wanting that made me want to also give her the world.

We decided to avoid the crowd and keep things intimate, so we spent the day at her place.

She started the day by cooking for me, which I truly appreciated.

After that, I booked us a couples massage.

We agreed to only get each other one gift.

I kind of cheated and was hoping she wouldn’t call me out on it when I presented her with her gift.

Sucking her teeth, she giggled and rolled her eyes as I handed her the gift bags.

“Tristan.”

I lifted my hand the second she used her stern voice with me. “Hear out my logic.”

“Go ahead,” she granted with a smile.

“I know we said only one thing, but I technically got you just one brand. It’s just all the pieces from the one brand.”

“Lord. You’re such a strategist.”

I’d gotten her every piece of the Spelman collection from Ralph Lauren plus their Oak Bluffs sweatshirt.

It was perfect because not only did she attend Spelman, but her personal style was collegiate unless she was wearing a dress, which she did just as often.

Total, I’d gotten her ten pieces from the brand.

“Very clever loophole,” she reasoned as she opened the gifts. “And I love it. I’d been eyeing this collection and just hadn’t taken the time to get it for myself. Thank you, angel. This is perfect!”

“Also . . . I technically got you something else, but it’s for the both of us, so I didn’t count it as a gift.”

“Tristan! You’re gonna make me look bad because I actually followed the rule. Well, I kind of finessed it too, but the other gift was free to make so I still followed the one gift rule.”

Chuckling, I shook my head at us. “I don’t know what we were thinking agreeing to one gift.”

“Well, we tried. I definitely did better than you though. You’ll see.”

“Mhm. Here.” I handed her the card that had printed confirmations for the two concerts I’d gotten her tickets to.

As she looked them over, her mouth dropped.

“Surprisingly, Jhene and Cleo are both touring this fall. I got you two tickets to both concerts. Of course I’ll take care of your flights and hotel accommodations.

I’ll go with you if you’d like, but I also won’t be offended if you want to take Emilia instead. ”

For a few seconds, she just stared at the tickets. When I heard her shaky breath, I smiled because I knew what was coming next. Sure enough, she wiped away a quickly falling tear. Chuckling, I stood and kneeled in front of my big baby. I used my thumbs to catch two more tears as she laughed.

“I think this is probably the perfect time to not just thank you but give you my gift to you.” Her small hand wrapped around my neck as best as it could and she pulled me close for a kiss. “Thank you, angel. These are the perfect gifts. You really know me huh?”

“Definitely trying to learn everything about you, bae. For real. Thank you for opening up and sharing yourself with me.”

“Okay, let’s hurry, because now I want you inside of me.” She stood and grabbed the gift bag she had for me as I laughed and returned to my seat. When she pulled out a second smaller bag I groaned.

“See you talked all that shit, and you cheated too.”

“But hear me out! This is the gift gift, and the big thing goes with the free thing, so it’s technically free too.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at her logic as she handed me the small bag first. The first gift was a gold timepiece that I was happy to add to my collection. I was pretty easy to shop for, and watches and loafers or suits would always be easy options that would guarantee my appreciation.

When I got to the second gift, though, it brought tears to my eyes.

She’d written me a note and gotten a large canvas painting of us created.

The lyrics to “Desire” by Cleo Sol were written in a light ink over the picture of us, blending into our bodies.

In the letter, she expressed how that song described how she felt about me perfectly.

Reading the words had already put me in my feelings, but when I actually listened to the song, it left me speechless.

“I know I said it in the letter but thank you, angel,” she said as I stared at the picture of us. “Thank you for restoring my faith in love, my trust in a man, and my softness as a woman. I love you, Tristan. And trust me, I do, because I’ve tried to overthink myself out of it, but I can’t.”

She laughed quietly as I tore my eyes away from the painting to look at her as her declaration pierced my heart.

“Say that shit again,” I commanded, standing and picking her up.

“Ah!” she squealed, wrapping her arms around me. “I tried to overthink mys?—”

“No, not that. You know what I want to hear.”

Taj smiled as I carried her to her bedroom. “I love you, baby.”

I waited until we were in her room, and on her bed, to tell her, “I love you more, sweetheart. Thank you for letting me love you, and for loving me too.”