two...

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

"Good work again today, kid! See you Monday," Armani's boss said to him as he was clocking out. Today was Thursday, and luckily he had the entire weekend off, which just meant he was gonna lay up and be lazy with his fiancée every day.

He honestly couldn't wait for their wedding. It was only three months away, and every day that went by had him more excited that the last. He didn't mind all the planning things he had to attend, because he knew Nai had so much more to do, he was just happy to help her out.

Working instead of going to school was something he was not used to but he enjoyed thoroughly. The amount of money he made on doing something he loved was so much more satisfying than anything he could have imagined. His checks were much bigger than he thought, due to the upscale type of restaurant he cooked in.

Hence why he was able to afford Nayeli's ring.

He didn't want to give her anything less than what she deserved, and he felt like that ring was perfect for her.

Sometimes he struggled with the fact that, at the moment, he couldn't provide her with the kind of lifestyle she was used to. She was very used to a specific kind of life, and the way she lived was something he was not used to. He was of course willing to do whatever and give her everything she wanted, if he had it, and right now he didn't have it. At least not to the capacity he wanted to have.

Before he and Nai got engaged, he remembered talking to Nai about her parents wedding since she was in it. It was back in his sophomore year, but he never forgot it.

He told her about how the ceremony was extravagant. It was huge and elaborate, and beautiful, he even showed her pictures and he was completely blown away. She told him how her dad had her mom a completely new house built from the ground up, how he bought her a brand new G-Wagon off the lot, and had it completely customized for her.

He then realized just how much money his girlfriend was sitting on.

His life was almost the complete opposite. His dad and his mom worked really hard to provide him and the girls with a pretty good life. But he didn't really get what he asked for unless he had the money to pay for it. He didn't mind because he knew there were more important things his parents had to take care of.

But when you take someone out of their home and marry them, at least in his mind, you have to be prepared to maintain that person, and while Nayeli was an extremely humble girl, and the most she really ever asked for was some food, he knew. Like her father said to him a while back, she's spoiled, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, he just didn't wanna disappoint her.

Repeated disappointment in him could lead to things he didn't want, and as a man he knew she was his responsibility. He was very capable of taking care of her, he just wanted to be able to take care of her the way she deserved, and that was like a queen, nothing less.

"Hey papito!" Nai said cheerily, hopping in his car.

"Hey, mamí," he smiled slightly, leaning in to kiss her hello. After his shift today, he and Nai were going to check on the progress of their home.

Gionni wouldn't be himself if he didn't have a hand in it. He made sure to have Nai and her fiancée's name put down for a housing development that he was working on a few minutes outside of downtown Atlanta. He didn't even give them a chance to say no, he claimed it was his wedding gift to them.

All the while, Mani thought the wedding was their wedding gift.

"What's wrong, baby?" Nai looked over to him while he drove. She noticed his energy was extremely off, usually after work he'd be excited to pick her up and go anywhere, even if it was to a boring wedding appointment.

"Nothing's wrong, mamas. Just a long day," he assured her, laying his hand on her thigh. She narrowed her eyes at him a bit, before nodding. "You wanna tell me about your day? Whatchu do all day?" he immediately deflected.

"Well, I had another interview, and I needed to get some alterations done on my dress, and I had lunch with Bri and Lea, they say hi," she smiled. "Then I had my preschoolers come in and two advanced classes," she explained.

"You're such a busy body, amor," he chuckled.

"I'm not! There's just so much to do," she defended, even though she knew he was absolutely right.

"There is, but you also like being busy. I can't blame you, mamas,"

"Listen, when we're in the Dominican Republic, I'll be lazy again. I'm not getting from under them covers for nothing," she said, and his eyebrows immediately quirked upward.

"Nothing?"

"Not a damn thing—oh...well except that," she giggled.

"Oh that's what I thought. You was bout to have me real fucked up," he chuckled, pulling into what would be their street soon.

The houses around were fully constructed, there were only two at the end of the street that weren't fully done on the inside.

"That one's ours!" Nai squealed, looking at the set of townhouses on the right. "Aw look at daddy in his lil hardhat," she chuckled, taking a picture of him to send to her mom. They got out and walked hand in hand up the driveway to meet G.

"Hey daddy," Nai hugged him, and Mani dapped him up. "These look good!" she complimented. She was always fascinated by her father's line of work. She had fond memories of going to sites when she was growing up, and seeing his designs come to life, she loved to see how proud of himself he always was.

"Thank you princess," G smiled. "You aight, Mani?" G asked, eyebrows furrowed.

He used to be confused as to where Nai got her intuitiveness from, then he met her parents and completely understood.

"I'm good," he responded, and G nodded before taking them into their soon to be home. They walked the entire floor plan, and they were amazed at how much had got done.

"So if everything goes as planned, y'all are scheduled to move in early August, so if y'all wanna start doing some furniture shopping I'd suggest it now," he said as they descended the staircase. "You like it?" he asked. He didn't tell either of them, but he made sure this one had a different layout than the rest of them. The closets and bathrooms were bigger, as well as the master. The kitchen was also wider than the other houses.

"I love it," Nai gushed. "It's perfect,"

"Yeah, this is fantastic. Better than anything I could have imagined a twenty-three year old homeowner to have," Mani chuckled.

"Y'all know I got yall," G smirked. "I'm glad you two like it. Start imagining yourselves here, this is all yours soon,"

"I can't wait," they said simultaneously.

"Furniture shopping is so tiring," Nai groaned. "I think I'm just gonna call TT Rayne, because this is very ghetto," she shook her head as they walked through Z Gallerie.

"You was gonna call her anyway," Mani chuckled. He was all for her Godmom decorating, because her apartment in college was beautifully decorated.

"You're absolutely right. Let's go home," she laughed, and he agreed. His day was very long and his overthinking had put him in a mood that was not the greatest. All he wanted was to lay down.

They rode back to his apartment in silence, and Nayeli knew something was wrong, but she couldn't tell what. He usually wasn't this quiet after something big like seeing their house for the first time, and it wasn't sitting right with her.

Once they got home, they said hey to Duck and went straight for showers and to lay down. Nai was on her phone, watching Armani every now and then, seeing if his mood was improving, which it was not.

"Mani," she called, making him glance at her from the tv. "What's wrong?"

"Why something gotta be wrong, mamas? I'm just watching tv," he chuckled. She straight faced him, before moving into his personal space, straddling his lap and forcing him to look at her.

"Armani, you know how long we been together, babe?" she tilted her head, hair falling over her shoulder. He moved his hands to rest on her thighs and nodded.

"Four years in November," he smiled a bit, making her smile too.

"Exactly. So don't you think I know when something's the matter with you?"

"Nai," he sighed. "It's not that serious, I just had some stuff on my mind—"

"Stuff like what, babe? You been acting weird. And it's not just today, either. You have these random days and you just zone out, you get all quiet, and it's always right when you pick me up. Is there something going on with your family or something—"

"No, they're fine," he said.

"Then what is it, baby," she pouted. "I don't like when you get like this,"

"It's just—" he groaned, not wanting to sound insecure. "You've grown up a very specific way, you know? Your dad raised you a certain way and you lived a very specific kind of life. Your dad provided for you in ways that I have never experienced. I wanna be able to do that for you, but I can't do it, not yet. I don't wanna take you out of the life you live and just—just put you in a position to be disappointed in me. As a man I need to be able to provide for you the best way I can," he finally expressed, feeling a weight lift off his chest.

"Mani," she sighed. "I...I think I understand what you're saying. So let me just say this, okay? You could never disappoint me for not buying me things. What we have, and what we're building right now is more than material stuff. That stuff is nice, and I'm forever grateful to my daddy for what he did for us. But, I don't need you to be Gionni, babe. I need Armani, I want Armani. You don't have to work yourself to death for me, papa. I'm working too so we can take care of each other. Living lavish isn't a necessity I promise, if it happens it happens but if not, I'm just happy i get to marry the love of my life," she assured him, rubbing the side of his face.

"I want you, baby. Not your money," she spoke.

Armani just stared at her, a smile slowly creeping up on his face. All it took for his doubts to shatter were to hear those words come out of her mouth. She knew exactly what he needed to hear, always.

"I love you, Nayeli. I really can't wait till you're my wife, man," he said, rubbing his hands up and down her thighs.

"I love you too, Armani," she grinned, leaning down and placing kisses all over his face and finally on his lips. "I can't wait to be your wife either,"

"Duck, hurry your ugly ass up, if Nai see us leaving late that's my ass," he sneered, peeking in Duck's room. They were finally having their tuxes fitted today, after putting it off for months.

"I'm coming!" he whisper yelled back, hopping out the room, trying to put his shoe on. "She awake already?"

"She's tryna make sure we leave on time," he chuckled, as they walked down the hallway and into the living area, only to see her sitting cross legged on the couch, eyebrows raised with her phone in her hands. "See baby, we're on time,"

"Mhm, get on out the door, please and thank you," she smiled, leaning up for a kiss. "Be safe, have fun," she waved.

"She real serious about this wedding shit, huh?" Duck laughed as they drove to meet up with the guys.

"Hell yeah," Mani chuckled. "But that's mostly my fault, work got me late to every damn appointment we been having," he shook his head. "She's one tardy away from beating my ass,"

"I been told you, Nai scary as fuck," he laughed at his friend some more.

"Lowkey," he nodded. "She don't be playing with me, bro,"

"But you definitely love that shit," he smirked at Mani, and he almost immediately mirrored Duck's facial expression, making them both burst into laughter as they continued their drive.

armani is such a precious boy. love him.

helloooo!

i hope y'all enjoyed this chapter :)

let's chat!

how do y'all feel about armani's thoughts about providing?

and nai's response to his confession?

do y'all think the change will actually effect her at all?

and let's not forget everybody's favorite daddy gionni loo doing what gionni does 😂 gotta love g.

leave me some thoughts as usual!

till next time 💜

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net