the spot wit’ dude watchin’.
She reaches over and lightly touches my hand, bringin’ my attention back to her. She smiles. “Everything okay?”
I return the smile, then hit her wit’: “Yeah, e’erything’s perfect. I was thinkin’ how runnin’ into you at Spago musta been fate. It’s definitely a sign.”
“Oh, yeah?” she asks, lookin’ me dead in the eyes while cuppin’ her hands underneath her chin. “A sign for what?”
“It’s top secret, baby,” I tell her, grinnin’. “Just know that right at this very moment, I’m enjoyin’ e’ery minute wit’ you.”
“Awwww…how sweet. I’m enjoying the time with you as well. I have to say, you’re definitely full of surprises. I had no idea you could be romantic.”
“I told you, there’s a lot ’bout me you don’t know. I can be anything I wanna be, or whatever it is you need me to be. My only purpose today was to put a smile on ya pretty face, baby.”
“And that you did,” she says, smilin’.
I place my forearms on the table and lean in. “You don’t really wanna know,” I tell her just as the waiter returns to the table wit’ our food. He places our plates in front of us, asks if he can get us anything else, then leaves when we tell ’em we’re good. She presses the issue, puttin’ a forkful of shrimp into her mouth. I smile, watchin’ her lick her lips and moan. “Damn, it’s good like that?”
“Mmm-hmm, it’s delicious. I love seafood. Now tell me what you were thinking when you were looking at me like that.”
“I was thinkin’ ’bout makin’ love to you. Wonderin’ how it would feel to be deep inside of you.”
She grins.
I smile. “So is that a yes-you-can grin, or a no-nigga-you-done-banged-ya-muthafuckin’-head grin?”
She laughs. “Neither. It’s an if-I-were-a-ho-I’d-probably-let-you-find-out-right-here-right-now grin. But since I’m not, I guess you’re gonna have to keep wondering…”
“Damn. I guess that’s too bad for me.”
She sticks her fork into another shrimp, then stops before puttin’ it into her mouth. “Looks that way—
I smile. “Oh, aiight. I like the sound of that ‘for now.’ That’s wassup.”
She bites into her shrimp, then moans again, smilin’.
I shake my head. “Yo, you fuckin’ wit’ me. You know that, right?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she says, laughin’. “I’m just enjoying my meal.”
“Yeah, aiight. Keep it up and you’re gonna end up gettin’ a whole lot more to enjoy.”
“Hmmm. Is that a threat or a promise?”
I grin, winkin’ at her. “You take it however you want, pretty baby.”
“I just might do that.”
We spend the rest of the time laughin’ and talkin’ and flirtin’ to the point where we both lose track of time. When I finally glance down at my watch, it’s almost five o’clock.
I pay the bill, and I’m impressed when she says she’s got the tip. I smile. She gets mad props for that, word up. I can’t stand for a ho to get a paid meal, then sit with her arms wrapped tight ’round her muthafuckin’ pocketbook like she ain’t tryna come up offa no paper. Lucky for me, I don’t haveta deal wit’ that bullshit since you already know a muhfucka like me hardly ever comes outta his pocket to buy a bitch shit. Yo, hol’ up…So what if the money I spent today ain’t mine. It never is.
When Kanika says she has to use the bathroom, I tell her I’ma run out and get the car, so she doesn’t haveta take that walk back. She thinks it’s me bein’ sweet that I offer, and I don’t let her know any different. But, on some real shit, it’s me needin’ to check my phone messages wit’out her bein’ all up on my ear, if I need to make any calls.
I get to the car and immediately check my phone before pullin’ off. I have seven missed calls and five new messages. Cherry hit me up only once, which is surprisin’. The other calls are from Akina, Vita, Carla, and Maleeka. I listen to the messages. Cherry says she’s not gonna get in until after eight, which is a big relief for me. Now I don’t haveta feel rushed. Akina wants to know why I haven’t called her. Vita apologizes for goin’ off, says she’s sorry to hear ’bout my loss, and wants me to call her as soon as I can. Carla and Maleeka want dick, as usual. I delete all my messages, then hit Cherry up. When she doesn’t pick up, I leave a message:
Next I call Vita and leave a message as I’m pullin’ up in front of the restaurant. Kanika’s standin’ outside waitin’ wit’ a smile. She hops in. I wait for her to put on her seatbelt, then speed off toward the freeway.
“So when am I gonna see you again, baby?” I ask, glancin’ over at her.
“I don’t know,” she says, smirkin’. “I’ll need to check my calendar to see if I can fit you in.”
“Oh, it’s like that, hunh?”
“Yep.” She giggles. “You can’t think a meal and a boat ride is gonna make it easier for you to see me again. Oh, no, Mister. You’re gonna have to come harder than that.”
I laugh. “Baby, you ain’t said nuthin’ but a word. All you gotta say is when and where, and how hard you need it…I mean, me, to
She playfully swats at me. “You’re a mess. I guess I opened myself up for that one.”
“Yeah,” I chuckle, “you fell right into it. So you might as well open wider and say, ‘Aaaaaaah.’”
She sucks her teeth, laughin’ as she digs into her pocketbook and pulls out a pack of gum. She offers me a piece, but I’m good so I tell her, “No thanks.”
“Annnnnnyway, pervert…when’s the next time you’re gonna be in Atlanta?”
“I’m not sure. Why, you wanna see me?”
“Maybe,” she says, rollin’ a piece of Doublemint into her mouth, “maybe not.”
“Yeah, aiight. Don’t front. You know what it is.”
She laughs.
My cell vibrates and the screen lights up. I take a quick glance at it sittin’ up on the console, and see that it’s Vita callin’. It dings when she leaves a message, then starts buzzin’ again. She’s callin’ back.
“Do you need to get that?”
“Nope.”
“You sure?”
I take my right hand off the steerin’ wheel and reach over and grab her hand. “Yeah, I’m very sure. The only person I’m interested in talkin’ to at this moment is sittin’ right beside me.”
“Good answer,” she says, squeezin’ my hand.
“It’s the only answer, pretty baby,” I reply, pullin’ her hand up to my lips and gently kissin’ it. On some real shit, I wanna drag my tongue along the center of her palm, but I restrain myself. She’s been keepin’ it classy, so I’ma respect her space and keep it gentlemanly. She smiles, pulls her shades down over her eyes, then places her head back on the headrest, holdin’ my hand in hers the rest of the ride. I turn on the radio and tune into Power 106,