My White Lottery Winner (BWWM Interracial Romance) (3 page)

“So, where to?” she asked. Taylor walked towards her, his hand behind his back. “What do you have there?” she asked, looking at him.

“
Something special for my special lady,” he said as he produced a black velvet case.

“
Okay, did I forget something? Is it our anniversary or something?” she asked.

“
No, I just wanted to treat you to something nice,” he said as he opened the case. Desiree gasped when she saw what was inside, a cute studded silver bracelet.

“
It is beautiful. I have never understood where you manage to get these costume jewelry so perfect,” she said as she watched him clasp it around her wrist. He looked into her eyes and smiled.

“
It’s not costume,” he said. Desiree’s eyes grew wide.

“
I’m sorry, what?” she asked. “This is the real thing? Ericson, what the fuck? How much did this cost?” she asked.

“
That doesn’t matter,” he said pulling her close. “All that matters is that I got something beautiful for the most beautiful lady I know,” he said before he kissed her.

“
Okay, now I feel terrible because I didn’t get you anything,” she said sadly. Taylor shook his head and lifted her chin with his finger.

“
You shouldn’t feel bad. You do sweet things for me all the time,” he said.

“
Really? Like what?” she asked as she looked at him.

“
Okay, off the top of my head, there is that time you brought a picnic lunch to me at work because I had to cancel our plans when I got called out at the last minute. Then there is that other time you got me this,” he said as he pulled out the pendant he wore on a chain. “It was a grain of rice with both our names from that Moroccan place I took you the first time we went out to a restaurant. Then there is the time you came over for a week to cater to me when I was sick. You practically moved in for an entire week, and took time off work to do it,” he said. Desiree smiled.

“
Fine. I can’t help it if I’m the ideal girlfriend,” she said. Taylor smiled at her.

“
Well, don’t get cocky,” he said.

“
Seriously Ericson, this is amazing. I don’t think I have ever owned something this beautiful in my life,” she said.

“
Well, we need to make sure you get enough beautiful things because God knows you deserve it,” he said before he pulled her closer to kiss her. She pulled away and looked into his eyes. “I love you Desiree Young,” Taylor said in a low voice, almost a whisper.

“
I love you too, Taylor Ericson,” she said looking at him.

“
And by the way, you look perfect for a day at the mall,” he said as he took her hand in his and began walking towards the front door.

“
The mall? Why do you need an entire day at the mall?” she asked.

“
Well, you will see when you get there. Good things come to those who wait,” he said as he opened the front door for her. She was about to ask what plan he had but she was sure he was not going to tell her. As they rode in the car, she could not help but marvel at the glistening stones around her wrist. She had gotten gifts from Leon in the past, gifts like these, but she had given them all back when he realized that he had been stealing them from his wife, that they were hand me downs. When they got to the mall, she got out of the car and looked at him.

“
So am guessing electronics?” she asked. Taylor shrugged.

“
Well, that was not what I had in mind but I guess we could start there,” he said as they walked towards one of the electronics store. She was in awe as she looked at the various sound systems and televisions. For months she had been saying that she needed to get a new TV to replace the small twenty-six inch TV she had at her place. “Maybe it’s time I got one of these babies,” Taylor said as he looked at a fifty-inch Insignia. Desiree rolled her eyes.

“
You have a perfectly good thirty-two inch in your living room,” she said. “If there was anyone who needs a new TV it’s me,” she added.

“
What? You can never have a big enough TV,” Taylor said.

“
Why do I have a feeling that you would have a wall sized TV if I let you?” she asked.

“
You are not wrong, my dark haired friend,” he said smiling. “But this is not where I wanted to be,” he added as he took her hand in his and walked out of the store. She shrugged and followed him to one of the high fashion stores. Her jaw nearly dropped when she saw a beautiful blue one-shoulder dress on display.

“
That is gorgeous,” she said in a whisper.

“
It is, huh?” he asked.

“
Yeah, couture,” Desiree said smiling.

“
So that is your kind of style?” Taylor asked, looking at her.

“
Well, yea,h if I could afford it, this would definitely be my kind of style,” she said. “You know, wear some Rodarte dress and Christian Louboutin shoes, a Louis Vuitton bag, or maybe a Manolo pair of heels,” she said as a faraway look displayed on her face.

“
Okay, you have just given me a whole lot of names that I think I might have heard before,” Taylor said.

“
Well, that is just wishful thinking I guess,” she said.

“
How about we go in and just see what kind of dress you would like? You know for the fun of it?” he asked. Desiree smiled. If she could not own some of the nice things she saw, she might as well just get in and wear them to post them on Facebook. She smiled and walked into the store with him.

The place was like a heaven she never wanted to leave. In just half an hour, she had tried on a Dolce and Gabbana jacket, a Carolina Herrera evening gown, a cute Versace skirt and another gown from the St. John Collection. She had paired all the clothes with every shoe designer she could: Manolo Blahnik, Christian Louboutin, Saint Laurent, Isabel Marant…she was indeed in heaven. She then took a pick of her top six dresses and had Taylor take photos of her before she finally changed back into her dress. “You know you look beautiful in all these? I can’t even pick one over the other,” he said.

“I know, right? Wouldn’t it be perfect if I could have them all?” she asked as she looked at the clothes they had left in the changing room. Taylor smiled at her and took the six dresses she had tried on in his hands.

“
Yeah it would,” he said as he walked to the counter.

“
Ericson, what are you doing?” Desiree whispered as he followed him.
“Is he going to try and walk out of the store with all those? He is going to be arrested!”
she thought as she watched him. She then felt her jaw drop as Taylor handed the cashier his card. She watched in utter surprise as the cashier began bagging the dresses. He had paid for couture dresses…that was well over three thousand dollars charged to his card.

As the cashier ran up the sale, Desiree looked at Taylor, surprised. The bill was almost at three thousand dollars. She did not know how Taylor planned to pay for all that since she had a very good idea of his finances and she was sure beyond any shadow of doubt that this purchase would set him back a significant amount.

“
Ericson, what are you doing?” she asked again. He smiled at her and draped an arm around her shoulders.

“
Relax, I got this,” he said in a whisper.

Sure enough, the bill came to three thousand dollars.

“Will that be cash or charge?” the cashier asked with a smile. Desiree looked at him as he reached for his wallet in his back pocket and pulled out his debit card.

“
Charge,” he said as he handed the cashier the card.

“
Taylor,” Desiree said again. He turned and looked at her, and the smile was still present on his face. She pulled him aside and looked into his eyes. “Look, babe. I don’t know what you are trying to prove but I am sure that you cannot afford this,” she said. Taylor’s smile grew broader.

“
What if I can?” she asked. She raised an eyebrow and looked at him.

“
What? Did you rob a bank or something?” she asked.

“
Or something,” he said. Desiree rolled her eyes. She was getting impatient.

“
What the hell is that supposed to mean?” she asked. Taylor held her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. “Okay, now you are scaring me,” she said when he pulled away. He laughed.

“
I hit the jackpot, babe,” he said finally. She shook her head and shrugged again.

“
What?” she asked.

“
See those lotto things you hate so much? I won fifty thousand dollars in one of them,” he said in a whisper.

“
What? Ericson, that’s great,” she said smiling.

“
Yeah and I thought what better way to give a special treat to the woman I love?” he said.

“
Yeah but honey, three thousand dollars is a whole lot of treats,” she said looking at him.

“
I know. Isn’t that great?” he asked.

“
It is but this is a one-time thing. This may never happen again, Ericson. You need to be wise with this win,”  she said. Taylor nodded.

“
I know, that is why I want to give you this special treat because I may never be able to again,” he said. This time she was the one who held his face in her hands and kissed him.

“
You already do so much for me,” she said in a low voice. “You don’t need to do all this,” she added.

“
But I want to take care of you, the way that you should be taken care of,” he said. She smiled and shook her head.

“
There are many ways of doing that and spending all your lucky jackpot wins is not one of them,” she said looking at him.

“
Sir?” the cashier called out. Taylor turned around and looked at her.

“
Don’t be tempted,” Desiree said giving her a warning look.

“
Fine,” Taylor said as he began walking to the cashier’s desk. She watched as they exchanged some words with the cashier before she finally walked towards the two.

Taylor turned to look at her and smiled. “Then just have one,” he said. Desiree looked at the six bags and sighed. She wanted it all. They were all so beautiful. “Go on, pick one,” he said.

“I’m trying to,” she said looking at the bags in front of her.

“
Spoiled for choice, huh?” the cashier asked.

“
Oh yeah,” Desiree said smiling.

“
Okay, then how about I pick one for you. That way you don’t have to make the hard decision all on your own,” the cashier said. Desiree looked at her and smiled.

“
You will have saved me a lot of heartache,” she said.

“
Perfect,” the cashier said as she looked in some of the bags in front of her. “How about this one?” she asked as she lifted one. Desiree looked inside and smiled. It was one of the dresses that had called out to her before she even tried it on. “It’s a cute sleeveless pencil Versace dress and honey, you have the curves to fill it,” she said. Desiree smiled.

“
Perfect,” she said.

“
And you need the perfect shoes for it. How about this beautiful pair of Christian Louboutins?” the cashier asked. Desiree was again torn. She wanted the shoes but she also didn’t want to look like a complete idiot having said one thing to Taylor and doing the exact opposite thing.

“
Come on, just take them,” Taylor said smiling. Desiree needed no second bidding.

“
Fine,” she said excitedly. The cashier smiled as she handed Taylor the two bags.

“
You are one woman in a million,” she said. Desiree raised an eyebrow.

“
What makes you say that?” she asked.

“
You just walked into a store and talked your man…I’m assuming this is your boyfriend,” the cashier said shifting her gaze from her to Taylor and then back to her. Desiree smiled and nodded. “Yeah, he comes in, gets you all these and you give it back and you are sane? Unheard of,” she said. Desiree smiled.

“
Trust me when I say I wanted to keep it all,” she said laughing.

“
Well, if there are more women like you out there, then these designers will most definitely be out of a job,” the cashier said smiling. Desiree and Taylor smiled and thanked her before they walked out. Desiree felt on top of the world as they made their way to the car. She had just gotten a taste of how the other half of the world lived.

“
I was thinking, you go home, change into that hot number and I’ll take you for dinner,” Taylor said when they got in the car. Desiree looked at him and sighed.

“
Really, we are back to spending the money again?” she asked.