Page 31 of Still Yours

“Yeah, me too.”

When they walked into the banquet hall, Pretti immediately spotted Dexten talking to Storm and some of his family members. She let go of Lunden's hand and ran straight to her bestie, catching him off guard and almost knocking him out of the chair he was sitting in.

“Oh, my God! I missed you so much!” She cried out with tears streaming down her face. Her makeup was smearing, but she didn't care. He had seen her at her worst. He stood up and embraced her.

“What up, ma? I missed you too. Look at your sexy ass,” Dexz said as he made her spin in her silver mini dress and matching Chanel stilettos. She was twenty-two, and her slim body, he remembered, was now thick in all the right places.

“You see me though? When you left, I was a skinny lil’ thing. I been eating good and working out,” she joked as Lunden walked behind her and kissed her on the neck, sending a confused look to Dexz’s face.

“Thanks to me tho’, I got that ass right.” He looked at Dexz with a smirk.

“Oh, word?” Dexz raised his eyebrow.

It was clear his best friends had been fucking while he was locked up, and he didn’t like it. He knew Pretti would have a boyfriend by the time he came home and would be fucking, but he didn’t think it was Lunden. He kept his cool because he was having a good night as a free man.

“Yeah, my nigga,” Lunden responded with the same hostility as Dexz. Pretti saw that look in Lunden’s eyes when he got mad, so she got between them and lightened the mood.

“Well, let's get the liquor flowing. You got both your best friends in the same room, and they held you down the whole time. Let’s celebrate that and forget everything else.” Pretti picked up a bottle of cognac and handed it to Dexz.

“Yeah, let's do that,” Storm intervened. She was standing next to Lunden and a few others.

As the night went on, everyone was showing up to welcome him home, but the biggest surprise was when Burner walked into the building. Pretti had flown him out, and they were both happy to be back connected.

“My New York homie! You still out here fly as a muthafucka, but with hair now! This nigga got a fro!” Burner joked as he checked out Dexz’s tailored Louis Vuitton suit Pretti had made for him. The party was an all-black affair, and everyone had to dress grown and sexy.

“I ain’t let nobody touch my shit while I was in that muthafucka. I grew in my beard and hair because I was waiting to get home to my best friend. You know she the only one that can get my line right.”

“Well, make sure you come to the shop in the morning. I'm definitely hooking you up, boy.” She ran her fingers through his soft, low-trimmed afro that he combed out himself.

“Excuse me, gang. Can I get y’all attention, please?” Everyone heard Lunden say over the microphone at the DJ booth. We looked at him, and he was beaming with a smile on his face.

“Tonight has been a good ass night, but now the clock is striking one in the morning. I love y’all, but I can’t pay for another hour.” He laughed, and everyone else did as well. “So, listen, before we go, I’d like to say welcome home to my nigga, Dexz! I’ma keep screaming that shit until he gets tired of me saying it.”

Dexz nodded. Something about Lunden’s energy was off, but he chalked it up to him just being mad that he was with Pretti.

Lunden continued over the mic.

“But I’d like to bring my beautiful lady to the floor for a second. Pretti, can you come here?” He smiled as everyone gazed at her.

She walked over to him with a nervous grin. She didn’t know what was going on, but she definitely wanted to know why he was putting her on the spot. She looked at him as she continued to smile.

“Babe, what are you doing?”

“We’ve been together for three years now, and I love your ass more than I love myself. If you ever left me, I’d go fuckin’ crazy. You’ve been my wifey from the beginning, but I want to make that official now. Pretti Lanae Phoenix, will you marry me?”

Lunden got down on one knee in front of everybody and pulled out a gold ring with a huge diamond, leaving Pretti in shock. She had no clue he was planning to propose, and she didn’t know what to say. She and Lunden had been getting along, but as time passed and she knew Dexz was coming home, she got nervous about even being with Lunden. She had never told Dexz, and clearly, Lunden didn’t either. She thought about how much she had grown up and knew that once Dexz laid eyes on her, he would want her, and as the night went by, she wanted him.

She pushed all her thoughts to the side when she looked at Dexz while Lunden was on one knee. He was sipping a glass of D'usse while watching the scene. He noticed Pretti gazing at him, so he nodded in approval. She was scared to say yes, but she did.

“Yes, Lunden, I will marry you.” She smiled as he took her into his arms.

“She fuckin’ said yes!” Lunden shouted through the mic and dropped it. He slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her with passion. Everyone was clapping and congratulating them.

After the commotion died down about the engagement, Pretti searched the room for Dexz, but he was gone. A hurt feeling settled in the pit of her stomach when she realized he had left. Although he gave her that head nod to say yes, she knew he was pissed. His mood had been off all night. Pretti knew when something was bothering him, even after all these years, but she figured they would talk about it later.

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Later That Night...