My White Lottery Winner (BWWM Interracial Romance) (5 page)

“
What the hell are you talking about?” she asked.

“
Hey! Language,” Karen said with a stern look on her face. Desiree’s gaze fell to the ground. She had forgotten what a strict woman her mother used to be. “So, this boy Taylor,” she started.

“
Mommy, he is not a boy. He is a fully grown man and a former marine too,” Desiree said proudly.

“
Fine, this man Taylor. Why are you being so hard on him?” Karen asked.

“
Hard on him? He is being unreasonable about money,” Desiree said.

“
Yes, but everyone gets a bit unreasonable once in their lifetime,” Karen said. Desiree raised an eyebrow.

“
What is that supposed to mean, Mommy?” she asked.

“
Remember when you were five, you always wanted that extra cookie and because of that we had to go to the dentist three times that year instead of the usual once?” Karen asked.

“
Well, I was a child then. I cannot compare to a fully grown man,” Desiree said.

“
Yes, but maybe that was your streak and now Taylor has his streak,” Karen said. Desiree nodded.

“
So, what am I supposed to do? He won’t listen to me and I am scared for our future, Mommy,” she said.

“
I know, but you also have to see things from his perspective,” Karen said.

“
What do you mean?” Desiree asked.

“
Think about it, everything about this man’s life did not come easy but somehow, everything always came through. After he went to the army, a relative died and left him her house. Before he went to serve in the marines, he was already guaranteed that he would get in because of his sharp shooting skills. This might have been something that almost never happens for other people but for him, things like this are bound to happen. Once you understand that, you will be able to understand exactly how to talk to him,” Karen said. Desiree looked at her and smiled. Maybe her mother was right. Maybe she needed to talk to Taylor in a way she could understand his own perspective. She looked at Karen and noticed that she suddenly looked like Cynthia.

“
Mommy, what’s happening? Where did you go?” Desiree asked looking at Cynthia’s face….

Cynthia watched her cousin as her eyelids fluttered open.

“Wow, welcome back to the land of the living,” she said smiling at Desiree who was now fully awake. “Were you just dreaming about your mother?” she asked. Desiree pulled herself to a sitting position and nodded.

“
Yeah…I think it was about my mother or Ericson…I’m not very sure,” she said, still confused. “What time is it? And how exactly did I end up under the covers?” she asked looking at the duvet on top of her. Cynthia smiled.

“
I came to check up on you last night and you were already asleep. So I got your stuff on the floor and covered you up,” she said.

“
Was it last night? I slept through the afternoon and the night?” Desiree asked. Cynthia smiled at her and nodded.

“
You must have been tired,” she said. “What exactly did you do at Taylor’s?” she asked, looking at Desiree who was now smiling.

“
Believe me, you don’t want to know,” she said. Cynthia laughed.

“
Sorry I asked,” she said as she stood up. “Well, you need to get your ass out of bed. Taylor’s here,” she said. Desiree’s eyes grew wide.

“
What? Now?” she asked.

“
Yes, right now. In the living room,” Cynthia said. “You want me to tell him to come back later?” she asked. Desiree shook her head.

“
It’s okay. I think it’s time we talked. Mommy thinks I need to approach the situation from his point of view,” she said. Cynthia looked at her.

“
What?” she asked. Desiree smiled and shook her head.

“
Never mind. Just tell him I’ll be out as soon as I freshen up,” she said.

“
Fine. And leave the crazy talk in here. I don’t think any of us has enough money to set you up in some home,” Cynthia said before she left the room.

Desiree smiled and got out of bed. She walked to the bathroom and brushed her teeth and then washed her face. She then pinned her hair up and changed out of the dress she had on earlier.

“That’s what you get for sleeping in a bra,”
she thought when she saw the reddened bra line when she stripped down. She put on a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt and then walked out of her bedroom. She could feel her heart beating hard as she made her way down the hallway towards the living room. She had to pick her words carefully. The last thing she wanted was to have a repeat of what had happened the previous day.

When she got to the living room, she looked at Taylor who looked perfect as usual in a pair of blue jeans and a grey button down pin striped shirt. Cynthia excused herself and left the two standing in the middle of the room looking at each other. Taylor had the shopping bags from the store at the mall in one hand.

“I brought you your stuff,” he said softly. Desiree smiled weakly at him.

“
Thanks,” she said in a small voice, practically a whisper.

“
Please Dee…sit. We need to talk,” he said. She took a deep breath and sat down as Taylor placed the bag on the coffee table and then did the same. “About snapping yesterday, I am sorry,” he started. She looked at him and nodded.

“
It’s okay,” she said.

“
No Dee, it’s not okay. I snapped at you, I should never do that. I don’t want to be one of those men who do not appreciate their women. You mean the world to me and I need you to know that,” he said as he looked into her eyes.

“
I do, Ericson,” she said as she gave him another weak smile.

“
And about the whole….thing…it’s just that, I would like to do this for you every chance I get,” he said.

“
And I get it. I totally and absolutely get it, Ericson, but you also need to know one thing. I am in your life to stay. I am not going anywhere. You have the rest of our lives to spoil me but we need to know we have the money to spend,” she said.

“
We will,” Taylor said holding her hands in his. She shook her head and looked at him.

“
No, not if you begin spending it like this. It is okay to spend a little every so often. Maybe spoil yourself a little but not too much. That is why it is called indulging. You do it once in a long time,” she said. She looked at his hands and then back onto his eyes. “We need to make a plan, for the long haul. Because it is not only about you and me. It’s about what happens to us in the future. The home we are going to have and the kids we are going to raise together. We have to make a plan for all that,” she said. Taylor smiled.

“
You want kids with me?” he asked.

“
Of course I do. With my perfect skin and your great features, we are bound to have the most gorgeous kids ever,” she said smiling. Taylor drew little circles at the backs of her hands.

“
We definitely are,” he said looking at her.

“
Look, I know that you sometimes think that you are on a lucky streak. You know, getting a high rank in the marines because of how good of a shot you were or getting a house when you least expected it. But sometimes that luck runs out and you wonder what happened,” she said. “I just don’t want you to look back a year from now and regret it,” she added.

“
When did you get so smart?” he asked. Desiree smiled at him.

“
I have always been smart. You just seem to have forgotten everything about it,” she said. “Plus, my mother helped,” she added. Taylor raised an eyebrow.

“
What are you talking about?” he asked. Desiree smiled.

“
I sort of had a dream about my mother,” she said. “But never mind about that,” she added quickly. Maybe Cynthia was right. She should have left the crazy talk about her dead mother back in her room. He smiled and leaned forward meeting her lips in a long kiss.

“
I have to get to work but what do you say I pick you up at seven for dinner?” he asked.

“
Ericson,” Desiree said in a warning tone.

“
What is that you said about indulgence? This is our chance. We will do it now and then forget about it, maybe till your birthday or Christmas,” he said, smiling.

“
Tomorrow, we go to a financial advisor,” she said, looking at him.

“
Of course,” he said before kissing her again. He then stood up and she did the same before following him to the door. “One more thing. Wear that dress and those shoes,” he said. Desiree raised an eyebrow.

“
Really? Don’t you think they are a bit too fancy?” she asked.

“
Oh no, my lady. When we indulge once in a while, I plan to do it as God intended. We are either going big or going home,” he said.

“
Hmm, really? What do you have in mind?” she asked looking into his eyes.

“
The perfect night at
Mon Amie
,” he said. Her eyes grew wide.

“
Mon Amie
?” she asked. “The fancy French restaurant downtown? Are you serious?” she asked.

“
Hey, I agreed to everything you said. This is my only condition,” he said before kissing her once again. “Don’t forget. Seven,” he said before leaving.

Almost as soon as he left, Cynthia came out of her room and walked into the living room.

“What’s the verdict?” she asked as Desiree made her way to the couch. She smiled at her as she sat down.

“
We’re fine,” Desiree said smiling. Cynthia breathed a mock sigh of relief.

“
There is a God,” she said as she walked over to join her on the couch. Desiree smiled at her and took a long deep breath. Cynthia was right. It did feel good not having to fight with Taylor anymore. “You are the world’s biggest jerk, just for the record,” Cynthia said as she looked inside the bag.

“
Why?” Desiree asked looking at her.

“
The man bought you a Versace dress and Christian Louboutin shoes and you decided not to talk to him?” Cynthia asked.

“
Well, I was perfectly justified,” Desiree said.

“
And there were more of these perfect dresses and shoes?” Cynthia asked. Desiree nodded. “You and I are very different. I would have probably married the man,” she added. Desiree laughed. “So, what now?” Cynthia asked.

“
Now, I go back to my room and see what I can do to pass the time until seven when he takes me to
Mon Amie
for dinner,” Desiree said as she stood up.

“
Mon Amie?”
Cynthia asked as Desiree walked to the kitchen. “Seriously, if you don’t marry him, I will,” Cynthia said as she watched Desiree pour herself a bowl of cereal. Desiree walked back to the living room and picked up the bag before walking to her room, a broad smile on her face.

             
***********************************************************

When Cynthia came back from work that evening, she put the containers of food she had brought back from the café in the kitchen before she heard a knock on the door. She walked to the front door and opened it. He smiled when she saw Taylor standing there holding a bouquet of red roses.

“Look at you, aren’t you the romantic?” she said with a smile.

“
Nice to see you too, Cynthia,” Taylor said smiling.

“
So, are those for me?” she asked looking at the flowers. Taylor smiled and looked at the flowers in his hand.

“
You know what, one of them is,” he said as he pulled out one rose from the bouquet. Cynthia smiled as she took the flower from him.

“
Why thank you,” she said before stepping aside. “Would you like to come in?” she asked as she stepped aside.

“
Of course. Thanks,” he said as he walked into the living room.

“
I just got back and I don’t want you to ruin your appetite or anything but can I get you anything? Some juice or water maybe?” she asked. Taylor smiled and shook his head.

“
I’m okay. Don’t worry about it,” he said. Cynthia smiled as she walked to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of juice.

“
So, Ericson,” she said as she walked back.

“
Uh oh,” he said smiling.

“
What?” she asked.

“
You called me Ericson. You only do that when you are about to tell me something serious,” he said as he sat down.

“
Nothing serious but when I was talking to Dee yesterday I had a thought. When are you going to make an honest woman out of my cousin?” she asked. Taylor smiled.