The Sweetest Taboo: An Unconventional Romance (21 page)

I quirked My brow. Really? Hmm . . . this was going to be interesting. As we exited the car, a statuesque dark-skinned woman opened the front door and headed down the driveway to greet us. I could see where micah got her figure and impeccable skin. her mother was the personification of a “brick house.” She had curves for days, and if genetics were any indicator, My pretty girl would look like that in about twenty years. I displayed a wide grin that rivaled the Cheshire Cat’s just thinking about it. Oh, the future was looking very bright.

The woman whom I’d guessed was micah’s mom ran toward her with her arms outstretched. “My baby!” she squealed, squeezing My pretty girl mightily.

They hugged for what seemed like an eternity. When micah broke free of her mother’s embrace, her face was streaked with tears. micah mentioned that she was a mama’s girl. she had a very intense relationship with her mother; being so far away from her had occasionally taken its toll. I was pleased that she’d be able to spend Christmastime surrounded by people who loved her dearly, just as I did.

her father soon joined them for a group hug. I leaned awkwardly against the car, waiting for acknowledgement. I knew My pretty girl hadn’t forgotten her manners, she was simply caught up in emotion. I let her deviation from protocol slide.

It finally dawned on her that I was standing next to the car waiting for an introduction.

“Oh my gosh! i’m so incredibly sorry. Where are my manners?” she said, wiping away her lingering tears. she removed herself from her parents’ embrace to walk over to the car and grab My hand.

“Mama, Daddy, this is my Boyfriend, Rick. Rick, these are my parents, Pamela and Monroe Foster.”

I extended My free hand out to her father first. He was shorter than I imagined. I estimated him to be about five-foot-nine. He was stocky and reminded Me of a shorter version of Carl Weathers.

“Mr. and Mrs. Foster, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

her father harrumphed as he shook My hand. “Hmm, so you’re the latest one that’s got my daughter shacking up with you?”

“Daddy!” micah squealed.

“It’s okay, micah. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Foster. I can understand your wariness regarding your daughter living with Me, but I assure you, micah is well taken care of.”

“It’s not her being taken care of that concerns me. Micah can take care of herself. It’s what . . .”

“Daddy, can we please make it out of the driveway before you start the interrogation?” micah responded with a pleading look in her eyes.

Well shit, I guess micah’s warning had meaning after all.

“Don’t mind my husband. Hi, Rick, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” her mother said, extending her hand in My direction. “Micah has told us a lot about you. Please call me Pamela.”

I shook her hand vigorously. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Pamela. I can see where micah gets her attractiveness.”

Her father shot daggers at Me while her mother smiled when I laid on the charm. It wasn’t as if I were lying. micah’s mother was quite lovely.

“Can we help you with your things?”

“No, it’s okay. We were thinking of checking into the Westin for the next few days. We wanted to stop off here first to spend some quality time with you both,” I replied.

“You’ll do no such thing. We have plenty of guest rooms. Monroe, would you help Rick with their bags while I show Micah the improvements we’ve made to the guest rooms?”

“Sure, sweetie,” her father said before giving Me what I could only decipher as the evil eye. I was supposed to win this guy over and ask for his blessing to marry his daughter? I had My work cut out for Me.

* * *

micah and I were settling into our seats in first class, on a red eye flight back to New York City after having spent a week in California. It was the day before New Year’s Eve and we were excited to head back home to celebrate the holiday. I was going to miss the San Diego sunshine for sure. Warm weather was always a welcome change in December. My plan was to propose to micah as the clock struck midnight the following day. Hopefully, I’d make it back to New York in one piece. micah currently held a death grip on My left hand as she snuggled against My shoulder. Flying made My pretty girl anxious.

I comforted her as our fellow passengers made their way to their seats, although it didn’t matter much since she still held a tight grip on My hand. “Hey, we’ll be home before you know it, sweetheart. If you sleep the entire trip, we’ll be landing in New York by the time you wake up.”

“i know. i just get a little uptight, Sir. Obviously, i understand how gravity works, but six hours in the air? It freaks me out. i’ve flown quite a bit for work and i should be used to it by now, but it never gets much easier.”

I unlinked My hand from micah’s to pull the blanket over our bodies. she tucked her legs beneath her bottom and returned to her snuggling position against My arm.

“you’re going to sleep now?” I inquired.

“Yes, Master. Unless of course You need me for something,” she replied, awaiting a response.

“No, micah. Get your rest.”

I put My arm around her and stroked her hair as she began to drift off. We were about to take off and it was a struggle to keep My eyes open. I would soon follow micah into slumber.

On our last day in San Diego, I had told micah I’d stick around to chat with her family while she and her sister-in-law took the kids out for ice cream. During the latter part of our trip, her father had somewhat warmed up to Me. He was less hostile after Christmas. Maybe Santa Claus had something to do with it, but I assumed it had more to do with seeing micah and I interacting. After dinner on Christmas evening, her father and I played game of one-on-one in her parent’s backyard. Nothing brings men together like a game of basketball. Just before sleep completely claimed Me, a slight smirk crossed My lips as I thought back on the most nerve-wracking moment of My life.

micah’s father, Monroe, took a seat next to his wife, Pamela, on the couch. Their son, Darren, sat to her left.

“So you wanted to talk to us, Rick?” Monroe inquired.

“Uh, yeah, I did.” Crossing My hands and leaning forward in the armchair, I replied, “I want to thank you all for your hospitality and allowing Me to stay in your beautiful home these last few days. While micah and I have been here, I’ve been on the receiving end of some unfiltered thoughts. she warned Me that with so many members of her family visiting, it would be highly unlikely that people wouldn’t speak their minds. I know you all care very much about micah and her well-being, and so do I. I also know that due to her previous relationship with Brent, you’re very wary of her dating another white Guy.”

Darren coughed.

“No sense in avoiding the obvious. No one has mentioned it outright, although there have been some offhanded comments made referring to our racial differences.”

“Well, hey, I want to say that it doesn’t matter, but it does, Rick,” Darren replied. “You seem like a nice dude, a good dude, and you clearly care about my baby sister, but the last white guy she thought she would be with long-term had no interest in settling down with her. He lead her on. The time that Brent spent fucking with her head could’ve—”

“You watch your mouth, Darren,” Pamela interrupted, lightly slapping his hand.

“Sorry, Mama,” he replied, rolling his eyes. “Anyway, the time she spent waiting on Brent to get his act together was time she could’ve spent with the guy she was meant to be with, white or black. Would she have gone through the same thing if Brent had been black? Who knows, but what I do know is she sat pining over an asshole until it dawned on her that the relationship wasn’t going anywhere. Was it due to her being black? Again, I don’t know, but my sister is good enough to settle down with and I’m tired of seeing guys not do right by her.”

Fan-fucking-tastic. The new Boyfriend always
loves
being compared to the ex.

“Even before Brent, her track record with white men hadn’t been the best. Maybe that’s why I’m skeptical. Micah is a good woman with a good heart, Rick. She has one funky-ass temper, but she’s a caring soul. She balances all of it well and deserves someone who sees what a treasure she is. My sister is worthy of being treated like a queen.”

“Darren Foster, you’ve got one more time to get foul-mouthed in my home . . .” Pamela warned.

I couldn’t deny what Darren said. micah was indeed worthy of being treated like a queen. I treated her as such daily. she was My submissive, but that only made her more regal in My eyes. she was everything I thought a woman should be.

Darren looked sheepishly in his mother’s direction as he began yet another apology. “Sorry, Mama.”

He quickly turned his focus on Me, and the sheepishness disappeared in an instant. I was now the recipient of a death stare. “I agree with you, Darren. micah is quite the treasure. I see her as nothing less than a queen.”

micah’s father, Monroe, chimed in, giving Me a piece of his mind. The hits just didn’t stop coming. “You know, Rick, I want to dislike you, but I can’t find a damn thing about you not to like. You’re successful, you’re well-spoken and well-rounded, you can talk about football and never tire of my shots at your sorry-ass Cowboys. You can play one hell of a game of basketball, you get along well with my brood despite their not-so-PC thoughts, you come from a good and stable home, and most importantly, you treat my daughter like she’s the center of your universe.”

“she is the center of My universe, Sir. I’ll let the cheap shot about the Cowboys go for now,” I replied, chuckling.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, forget about those sorry-ass Cowboys, but I have to admit my son has some valid points. We want to say that race isn’t an issue but in reality it is. I like you thus far, but I need to know, are you in this for the long haul with Micah? Because if not, let her be. Let her go so that she can find the man who will love her the way she needs to be loved. Of course, I would prefer that Micah was with a man who looks like her daddy, but what I want doesn’t matter. I like you. You’re very attentive when it comes to Micah.”

Why the hell was I continuously on the receiving end of the race discussion? First My mother, and now My future father-in-law. I know I hadn’t dated many women of color prior to micah, but this wasn’t a game to Me, this was My life. I wanted to start a future with this woman—I didn’t give a fuck if she was blue. I also didn’t give a fuck about people who may disapprove of our relationship. It was 2009. 2009! And interracial relationships were still a point of discussion? Why? Better yet, who cared? I was never the type to do things to please others, and I wasn’t about to start now.

I could tell they weren’t going to make this easy. I had to sell Myself to micah’s nearest and dearest. I had to make them understand that even something so small as having her away from me for extended periods hurt. she was the missing puzzle piece in My life. I didn’t care about all of the other shit. I just wanted to be with her.

“I’m not the white Guy looking for a black-girl fix, if that’s what you’re concerned about, Darren. micah isn’t the representation of a fetish to Me. My time with her is meaningful and based on mutual attraction and respect. I’m also nothing like Brent. I’ve never asked micah much about him, because, frankly, the guy before Me is irrelevant. All I knew was that his loss and his mistakes led to Me and her. There was no comparison. We weren’t in the same league.”

I looked over to micah’s father, making sure he was able to see the sincerity in My eyes. “To address your concerns, Monroe, I value all that micah is. she’s a spectacular woman. As cliché as it sounds, her race doesn’t matter to Me. I can admit that before micah I hadn’t dated many women of color. Actually, I hadn’t dated any, if I’m going to be completely honest.”

“Then why her? Why now?” Monroe inquired.

Valid question, and I couldn’t fault him for asking. If it were My daughter, I’d probably ask the same thing.

“Because I took one look at her and I wanted to get to know her. It just so happens that Fate led Me to her in her time of need. micah’s race was never part of the equation.”

Darren once again cleared his throat. “Fate, hmph.”

Her brother took every opportunity he could to bust My balls. I had to reel in My aggression because he wasn’t just some average Joe challenging Me, he was My submissive’s brother. I had to remember that winning his approval was the end goal.

“Do you love our little girl, Rick?” Pamela asked.

“I do, ma’am, with all My heart. I’d swear on a stack of Bibles in front of every damn priest imaginable if I felt it would make a difference. I do love micah, very much.”

“And what are your intentions with her?”

Finally, My moment to shine. I was nervous but more concerned with micah’s family seeing that I was the best choice—the only choice—for her. My love and dedication was incomparable. she was Mine. Standing up to reach into the pocket of My cargo shorts . . . I took a deep breath, cupping the black velvet box I’d been hiding for the past week in My sweaty palm.

“Well, that’s why I wanted to meet with you all. micah and I have been living together for a few months. Our relationship has moved quickly, but it’s at a pace we’re both comfortable with. A love story can begin anywhere, and ours began the night I saved her life.

“My intentions, Pamela, include asking all three of you for your blessing. I’d like your permission to ask for micah’s hand in marriage. I want to spend the rest of My life with your daughter,” I replied, opening the box that held the gleaming diamond ring.

Darren whistled. “Shit, you give new meaning to go big or go home!”

“I told you to watch your mouth in my house, young man. I’m not going to say it anymore,” Pamela reprimanded Darren, slapping him on the leg.

“Dangit, Mama, sorry,” Darren replied, rubbing his leg. “That thing is huge!”

“You’ve made a beautiful choice, Rick. You have good taste,” Pamela remarked. “The ring is absolutely, positively gorgeous.”

I thought so too. It was hell trying to find the perfect ring, but it spoke to Me. There was no doubt about it, I had the best selection for My pretty girl.