Page 104 of Taming a Menace

“This is for me?” I asked.

“Who else would it be for? I’m not driving a baby blue car.”

“I can’t believe it,” I said, nearly knocking him down as I rushed him with a hug.

Thankfully he was strong enough to support both our weight. He just laughed as he held me against his chest and kissed the top of my head.

“I take it you like it.”

“Yes, thank you so much. I don’t even know what to say.”

“Say you’ll take me for a ride in your new whip.”

“Let’s go!” I tore out of his embrace and ripped the car door open.

Suddenly I was immobilized. I literally could not move. Keywan tapped me on my side, bringing me back to reality. My heart pounded in my ears as I turned to face him. Tears welled up in my eyes when I saw that he was down on one knee.

I gasped. “Keywan.”

“I know it feels like we’re moving too fast, but who’s to say what’s too fast? I don’t want to waste time. I want to get a head start on forever with you, Iyla. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for taking a chance on me. You don’t know how much I appreciate you for helping me to realize how much pain I’ve been walking around with.

“You made me understand that I need to get this shit off me so I can be happy even when you’re not around. At the same time, I struggle a little more every time I gotta leave you. I don’twant to keep leaving you, Iyla. I want to come home to you every night. I want to cook breakfast for you every morning. I want to fall asleep next to you every night. I’m ready to do all that shit you need me to do. I’m ready to love you for the rest of my life. I’m ready to live happily ever after with you.”

“Keywan, I don’t know what to say.”

“Say you’ll give daddy a chance to be the best husband you could ever ask for. Tell me you’ll be my wife, Moon.”

“Yes!” I shouted, answering him before I had the chance to change my mind.

“Yeah?” he asked, seeming surprised by my answer.

“Yes, I’ll marry you,” I confirmed with a nod.

Jumping to his feet, Key crashed his lips into mine. I threw my arms around him to pull him closer. The thought of our future together made me nervous and excited. We only had one more week left before I was no longer his therapist. I couldn’t wait to live happily ever after with him.

“Plan our wedding as big or as small as you want, baby. The sky is the limit. I would take you to the courthouse in the morning and make it official if it were up to me. It’s up to you though. My dad had my mom spoiled. I always said I would do the same with my wife.”

“How about we plan something intimate together?”

“However you want to do it, baby. It’s your world.”

One more session. One more freaking session. That was the only thing that was on my mind as I watched Key leave my office. Fifteen weeks flew by, but at the same time it seemed as if I had known Keywan for years.

We spent our entire session talking about how he was doing in his weekly therapy sessions with the woman he was now seeing. It was good to see how excited he was about hashing out his issues with someone and actually taking it seriously.

He explained that he’d found an older woman because he wanted to feel like he was talking to his mama. Whatever worked for him worked for me. I was just proud that he was doing the work.

As usual Keywan brought me lunch, so I stood to lock my door so I could eat in peace. Some of my coworkers didn’t value privacy and space as much as I did. Before I could make it to the door, someone knocked. When I opened the door, I threw my head back in disgust. The last person in the world I wanted to see was Doctor Wyatt Lowe.

He chuckled. “Don’t look so happy to see me.”

“How can I help you, Wyatt?” I asked, folding my arms over my chest.

“I can’t stop by to see the woman I love?” he questioned, walking closer and causing me to take a step back.

“You sure can. Bye. Go see her.”

“Iyla, why are you acting like this? We had a good thing going on until you started letting outsiders influence you.”