Chapter 5
I didn’t like the way River left my house after we kissed. Boy, what a kiss it was. I didn’t plan for that to happen, but I had to take the chance.
I wanted to make sure she was okay and sorta apologize. I was sure it caught her off guard.
Since she didn’t answer my call or text I sent her, I decided to go to her.
I knew where she would be in the morning, so after a quick workout, I left the house.
The sun hadn’t even come up yet, but that didn’t stop me from waiting for her arrival.
I pushed off the front of the building so she could see me.
I didn’t want to scare her. It bothered me that she came at the time of morning she did.
“Coye, what are you doing here?” River asked when she approached.
“I came to help you and to make sure you are good. You left pretty fast.”
She used the key to unlock the lock, and I pulled the gate up for her.
“It’s not even five in the morning,” she said as she opened the door.
“And what’s your point?” I made sure the door was locked behind me. “And by the way, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to come here alone this early.”
“I’m usually not by myself, or this early. How long have you been here? You didn’t even know when I would be coming.”
I followed her as she put her things down in her office, then went to the kitchen. She turned a couple of lights on low so it wouldn’t be too bright.
“I knew it would be early, but I wasn’t sure how early, and I didn’t want to risk missing you. I’m for real, I’m here to help you.”
She looked at me for a beat, then tossed me an apron. I caught it and put it on, tying the strings in the back.
“You look cute.” River smirked.
It was pink with ruffles and Amelia’s Cookies written in bold black letters.
“I look good in anything,” I teased with a wink, and her cheeks flushed.
Something about her reaction made my chest poke out a little.
“Anyway, since you are here, I’m putting you to work for real.”
“That’s cool. Just let me know what you want me to do.”
After she gave me the ingredients and supplies for what she wanted me to do, I washed my hands, then stood in front of my station. River gave me step-by-step directions for the batch of cookies I was tasked with making.
I watched her with hers first, then focused on mine. I made sure to mix the ingredients like she said. Every so often, I would catch her looking at me, but played it off. I knew how therapeutic baking was for her, so I wanted to give her a moment in case she was still in her head about everything.
“I think I’m done with mine,” I told her as I put my last piece of dough on the baking sheet. The only cookies I made before were prepackaged, but making them from scratch wasn’t as complicated as I thought.
River put her pan in the oven, then walked over to me.
She mirrored me with the same apron, but underneath, she had on a dark blue shirt with dark blue leggings to match.
I wore a grey shirt with black sweatpants.
The only reason my shirt wasn’t black was because I wanted River, and anyone else, to see me and not think I was lurking around while I waited for her outside.
“They look good,” River complimented as she looked at my cookies. “I’ll put them in the oven. I hope they taste good.”
“They will.” I walked over to the sink to wash my hands again. “So how are you feeling?” I asked River as she stood next to me, washing her hands.
Once she turned the water off and dried her hands, she focused on the window of the big ass commercial oven in the kitchen.
It didn’t take long for the aroma from the cookies to start filling the air.
“I feel a little better. Still scared but also optimistic.”
“Glad to hear it.” I glanced down at my watch. I knew her staff would be arriving shortly. “Do you think you’ll be down to have lunch with me?”
She bit her bottom lip and looked in my direction.
“Don’t think too hard about it. You don’t want your people catching me here, do you?”
“Yes, to lunch, and no, I don’t.”
“Okay.” I kissed her cheek. “I’ll see you for lunch. Come lock up.”
The staff usually entered the back door whenever it was closed, so if someone were out there, they wouldn’t see me since I went to the front door.
“Thanks for your help, Coye. I’ll text you when I’m ready, in case it gets too busy.”
“No problem.”
I pushed open the door and stepped outside. The sun was slowly rising in the air, and there was a slight chill. I made sure River locked the door, then jogged to my car.
I was anxious about lunch because it was time to tell her how I felt.
Hours later, River texted me letting me know what time she would be ready. She insisted on meeting me somewhere, but I insisted on picking her up. I wanted to grab a box of cookies anyway. It took some convincing, but she finally agreed.
After I left the cookie shop, I went home and got myself ready for work. I had a couple of meetings, so it worked out that River wasn’t ready until later in the day.
When it was time to go, I shut down my computer and grabbed my keys.
My store wasn’t too far from the shop, so I decided to walk since the weather was decent. It was fall, but the sun was out, making it feel warmer.
My nerves picked up the closer I got because I was about to put myself out there.
I never had to be so up front with my feelings, because I hadn’t had any real relationships.
Dick and maybe dinner was the most I was giving.
I came across multiple women who tried to get what they could from me and thought that just because I had money, I had to give it to them.
I watched my mother struggle for years, and while I would never want to see another woman struggling, I wasn’t going to just spend my money and get nothing in return.
When a woman thought all she had to offer was sex, I lost interest fast. I wanted someone to build a legacy with.
I wanted someone who had something going for themselves and where we could do things for each other.
I wanted to be able to come home to someone who asked me how my day was and genuinely cared.
I needed that support when the world was against me; I could come home and have someone on my side.
I didn’t ask for much, but it was hard to get what I looked for.
I hoped that, at some point, River could be all those things and more for me.
I stepped into the cookie shop, and the aroma of the cookies and pastries hit my nose in full force and caused my stomach to growl.
River was at the counter but froze for two seconds when she noticed me.
She tried to be discreet about it, but I noticed how she looked at me from head to toe.
“Wasn’t expecting the suit, were you?” I asked when I approached the counter.
Her hand rubbed the front of her neck, and her cheeks tinted.
“No. No, I wasn’t. Looks good though.” Her eyes traveled the length of my body again. “I thought you would have told me you were outside, not come in.” She looked around, but one of the workers was helping someone else, not paying us any mind.
“I wanted some cookies.” My gaze traveled as much of her body as I could see since the counter covered half her body.
“And you should know I don’t do that come outside shit.
If we are supposed to go somewhere together, I will come to the door like a gentleman.
We told old for that other shit, Babygirl. ”
I smirked when I noticed how flustered she got.
“What cookies do you want, Coye?” she asked when she snapped out of her quick daze.
“The soft chocolate chip ones, and the lemon and strawberry ones.”
“You sure you don’t want to wait until after lunch so they’ll be warm? It should be a fresher batch by the time we are done eating.”
I thought about it, and the cookies were better when they were warm.
“That works. Are you ready?” I asked, then put my hands in my pockets.
“Yes, give me a minute.”
I stood to the side while someone stepped up to the counter to order. There were multiple people seated at the few tables, and I noticed a couple of women giving me the eye, but I paid them no mind. My focus was on River for the moment.
A couple of minutes later, River came from around the counter and stood in front of me.
“I’m ready.”
“After you.” I gestured for her to walk in front of me. It was the gentleman thing to do, but it also gave me the perfect view of her ass in the leggings she wore. River had an ass that a lot of women paid for.
“I know you probably don’t have a lot of time, so I figured we could walk down the street to the diner.”
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
I made sure to walk closer to the curb, as a man was supposed to do. River probably didn’t realize that was something her father taught me when we were coming up. Most of the things I learned about how to treat women came from her pops.
When we got to the diner, I held the door open for her. It wasn’t too busy, so we ordered our food, then found an empty table.
“How has your day been so far?” I asked once we were seated.
“Busy. Thanks for helping me this morning. You freed up some time for me to do some other things.”
“No problem. Do you be there that early by yourself often?”
Someone dropped off two glasses of water, so River waited until they walked away. The diner didn’t have waiters or waitresses per se, but they did have someone to drop off drinks and the food.
“No. I just had a lot of energy, and that was the only way I knew to get rid of it. I didn’t expect you to be there, though, but your presence helped me not get too far in my head.”
She took a sip of her water.
“I’m glad I could be of some assistance, but I need you to do something for me.”
She placed her cup on the table. “And what’s that?”
“The next time you want to go that early, and you know you are going to be alone, call me first. It doesn’t matter the time. Day or night, call me, please.”
I could tell that she wanted to say no, but I also saw the admiration on her face. Her being out like that didn’t sit right with me.
“I can do that. Where is all this coming from, Coye?”
Our food was delivered, and while she prepared her sandwich the way she wanted, I did the same and thought about what I had to say.
“This is coming from feelings I developed for you, and I’m tired of hiding it.
I want to be there for you while you go through this thing with your dad, but it’s more than that.
I want to date you and get to know River.
Not as Jordan’s little sister, but River the woman. The bossy cookie lady,” I teased.
River covered her mouth when she giggled. “I’m not bossy at all.”
“Nah, not from what I’ve seen, but you are serious about the business. That’s one of the things I admire about you.”
Her cheeks flushed again.
She got quiet for a moment, looking around the diner, and chewed on her bottom lip. I ate my food while I waited for whatever she had to say.
A few minutes passed before she spoke again.
“So what are you saying exactly?”
“What I’m saying is I want to take you on a date and see how things go. If after that first date, you good off me, then that will be it. I have to at least try.”
“One date, Coye.” She held up her index finger. “One, and nobody can know about this date. It’s too much going on, and if my brother finds out, things could get worse.”
I understood her apprehensions, and I agreed for the moment. If things extended past the first date, then we would discuss letting everyone else know.
“I can give you that. Are you free tomorrow night?”
“I am.” She smiled.
“Good. Tomorrow it is.”
Once the date was solidified, we talked about a new recipe she wanted to try as we finished our food.
Afterward, I walked her back to the shop, then headed back to the jewelry store. I had to put a good date together for River and me. By the time I got back to the store, I had the perfect idea and prayed that it was as good as planned.