61. More to Explore 🗺️

A.B.'s apartment was near Town Hall. The Grove Apartments were very new, and I can tell you none of the college students were living in them. A.B. gave me a tour of his two bedroom apartment. Everything was stainless steal and technologically advanced. This man used his phone to unlock his front door.

He explained, "I can either go to the app and say 'unlock door' or click on my apartment number. I'll get a code sent to my phone and the door gets unlocked. I mostly do the code one, because I can unlock it from anywhere. Like, if I was somewhere else and you were here, I could use the code to unlock the door for you so you don't have to wait for me."

"That's so cool."

The living room was very spacious along with the kitchen. The refrigerator kept a grocery list like a Stepford Wife.

"Do you remember the Disney Channel movie Smart House?" I asked him.

A.B. chuckled, "Yeah. It should've been a horror movie."

"I agree."

A.B.'s furniture was minimal and neutral in color. It was fitting for a bachelor. Then, he took me to the bathroom. There were power buttons on the mirror and on the shower door.

"It turns on the light around the mirror so I don't have to turn on the bathroom light if I don't want to. The one on the shower door fogs up the glass so it's not easy to see inside." A.B. pressed the button inside the shower. It flashed red. "That turns on the water, but when it's red it means I'm in the way." A.B. moved to where I stood and the button turned solid green. The water came out the shower head. "It keeps you from getting wet if you're just cleaning or from getting blasted with cold or hot water."

"Wow! I've gotten my hair and my clothes wet too many times not to learn my lesson. Now I just take the shower head down."

"Right." A.B. pressed the button again and the color was gone.

From there, A.B. showed me his bedroom turned office. His desk was small with two laptops on top. He had a paper shredder, a mini fridge, and an entire dry erase board on wheels.

"Can I have my meetings in here?" I asked him.

"Anytime you want," he told me.

One wall was covered with a large bookshelf. It had several books on it. "This looks expensive." I pointed at it.

"It was custom made to fit the wall."

"What kind of books do you read?" I asked as I took a closer look.

"There's some biblical and theology books, business books, music books, real estate, investments, stocks, overall financial books, autobiographies and biographies, a few dictionaries..."

As I examined the books, I spotted a poetry book. I picked it up and read the title to myself. It was written by Jace Bravos. I opened the book and the first poem was called: Too Young to Know.

My dad died before I was alive / No, I never met him / No, I never had the choice

My mom cried, because I had his eyes / No, I never saw him / No, I never heard his voice

On my 10th birthday, I wished for him to walk through the door and feel no more pain

On my 13th birthday, I just wanted one picture of him so that I could recognize his face

When I turn 18, I'll be a man and I'll do everything I ever wanted to do

I'll take pictures, record videos, and write letters, too

I don't want my son to grow up not knowing anything about me

I wrote this poem just in case he doesn't get the chance to know me

My man wrote this? Also, I didn't know A.B.'s father wasn't alive, and he never met him. That's so heartbreaking. I flipped the page to another poem called: Rappers.

Everybody I know wants to be a rapper

But none of them know how to write on paper

The skills they steal / the chain is fake / and the girls that they like call them stupid

The bars are from mars / the cadence is an offense / and at this rate, they'll still be living with their parents

But what do I know? I'm just a teenager, right?

You can't judge me by my age / Don't disrespect my mic

My skills are real / my chain is gold / and my teachers say I'm the most intelligent

My flow captures your soul / my credit exceeds the limit / and at this rate, you couldn't afford my entertainment

Don't worry about me / I don't want to be a rapper / Call me crazy, but I don't understand it

The possibilities for my future are endless

I rather study hard, and I'll bank on investments

"What are you reading?" A.B. walked towards me and looked over my shoulder.

"So, this is why I didn't have a poster of you on my wall. Don't you know you could've been my celebrity crush if you were a rapper?" I looked up at him.

A.B. replied, "I was just reading that the other day. Our school had a poetry contest. I won first place and found my new hobby. Uncle Dave let me use his computer to type on. I printed all the pages and later had each page laminated. My mom's friend worked at a copy store and showed me how to use the binding machine. I made about 10 of them, and my family bought them all except for that one."

"Did you know you had written your own book?" I asked him.

"At the time, I don't think I really took it as a big deal, but looking back, it was pretty big."

I turned around to face him.

A.B. took a step back.

"Can I buy this one from you?"

"No," he said way too fast.

"Can I burrow it, then?"

A.B. smiled, "Why?"

"For the same reason that you..." I lower my voice, "...you struggle with me."

A.B. took his book out of my hands. "The next time I see you, I'll have a copy for you." He put the poetry book back on the shelf. "Ready to go?"

I walked out the office and entered the living room. "Where's your master bedroom?"

"Under construction," A.B. replied.

There was a door on the other side of the couch. I walked over to it and turned the knob.

"Jamie," A.B. warned me.

I wiggled my brows at him before peaking inside the room. I don't know why but I was really amazed by what I saw. His bed was huge. It looked like two king sized mattresses were put together. The covers and pillows looked very expensive, too. The curtains on his window were indeed touched by the hands of a decorator. It looked like a prince lived here. A large tufted leather wingback chair was in the corner next to the window. It reminded me of my chair back at the Rivers' mansion. Without permission, I took a seat. Like I expected, it was super comfortable. I put my feet on top of the matching ottoman in front of me. I could get used to this. I closed my eyes, feeling the peaceful presence around me.

"Jamie," A.B. repeated.

"I think you just like saying my name," I teased.

A.B. said, "What time does your plane leave tomorrow?"

Back to reality. I quickly opened my eyes and got out the chair. "I still haven't seen your closet."

A.B. waved his hand in the direction of the closet.

I skipped around his bed and slid the closet door open. "You have to be paying like two grand a month. This is not just a walk-in closet. This is a third bedroom."

I walked in to see A.B.'s clothes neatly hung up, separated by type, style, and color. He had a large dresser drawer inside, too. All his shoes were in boxes on the top shelf above the clothes. This man was a living dream. I mean, technically, Zeke is the living dream, because I grew up daydreaming about him. Now, I'm living in the same house as him, but that man doesn't compare to A.B.

"Done?" He asked me.

I came out and closed the closet door. "I didn't see your bathroom."

"It looks just like the other one."

"We should have a sleepover," I smiled at him.

"Time to go." A.B. got me out of there faster than I could count to 10.

Overall, I can say that I was definitely appreciative of another day that I got to spend with A.B. How amazing would it be if it were a daily thing? I guess I just have to imagine it, considering the current circumstance. After getting the laptop from the music store, A.B. walked over to my car. I rolled down the driver's window.

He handed me the laptop with the cord and charger.

"Thank you." I put it in the passenger's seat.

"I wish I could take you to the airport tomorrow," he started.

I thought before saying, "I don't, because I'll have a hard time getting out your car."

A.B. leaned on the door, lowering his head to my level. "I guess it's a good thing, then."

We were silent for a brief moment. Then, we spoke at the same time. We both laughed.

"Go ahead," he told me.

"No. Say what you were going to say. My lips are sealed. I'm all ears," I urged him.

A.B. grinned, "Text me when you land and call me if you need anything. Okay?"

I nodded my head. "I will."

A.B. embraced me with his arms, and I wish I was standing outside to get a better hug. "Have a good night, beautiful."

Why does he keep doing this to me? This is already difficult for me. "Goodnight," I whispered before he let me go.

I started my car's engine before looking at A.B. and reversing out of the parking spot. I waved at A.B. before driving away. I looked in my rearview mirror to see him still standing there. I couldn't help but think what if I made the wrong decision.