~~~Chapter 3~~~
“Good morning,” Big Baby spoke, as she stepped into the kitchen. Naked. Her hair was messy as fuck, but now I was convinced that it was all hers. Because there wasn’t a track in sight, even as she had most of it trussed up in a ponytail.
My eyes swept over all that body, before I smiled. Those titties sat up, saluting a nigga, while she stood there confidently. “You finally up, huh?”
“Yep,” she yawned and stretched, causing my dick to harden and strain against my boxers. “What are you cooking?” She asked, as she stepped closer, giving me a whiff of the fresh soap emitting off her skin.
I licked my lips, attempting to stifle back the lust coursing through my veins. “Veggie and cheese omelets, bacon, and French toast. And mimosas too.”
“Oh, wow. I didn’t take you as the cooking type,” she admitted, as she peered at the food on the stove.
I furrowed my brows. “What that mean?”
“It means that guys named Malice aren’t usually the guys you expect to cook up a good meal for you.”
I studied her. “I guess I can accept that assessment.”
“You guess, huh—” She got out, as her cell rang in her hand. “Hold up,” she told me, before answering the call. “Hey, mama.” She stared at me, while she spoke into the phone. “No, I’m not at home.”
I watched as she leaned against the island, while craning her phone between her head and shoulder. Her mama was clearly saying a lot, as Big Baby held the phone and mostly just offered one-word answers.
“Okay. Well, I’ll call you back in a little bit,” she finally said, after a couple of minutes. “Alright…love you too.”
As she was wrapping up her call, I was fixing a plate for her.
“Eat, before it gets cold,” I instructed, after stepping up and placing the plate next to her.
She smiled, as she glimpsed at the food. “Thank you.”
I looked her sexy frame up and down. “You welcome.”
Biting her lip, she grabbed my hand. For a moment, neither of us said a thing, while gazing into each other’s eyes.
Eventually, she squinted.
“There’s something about you. I can’t quite put it into words. Makes me feel like I know you…without knowing you. If that makes sense.”
I nodded. “I definitely get what chu saying.”
“Do you?” She reached up, and brushed a finger over my lips.
“For sho’.” I maintained eye contact.
“Okay.” She pulled her hand back. “Now, sit down and eat with me,” she commanded.
I nodded, before turning to grab my plate. We then both copped squats at the island. Side by side.
“Oh, damn,” she mumbled, as she took a piece of omelet into her mouth. “I wasn’t expecting this. Who taught you how to cook like this?”
“My granny,” I admitted with pride.
She cut her eyes at me. “She raised you?”
“She helped raise me. She would keep me a lot, but my mama was there too.”
“Oh, okay. That makes sense. Cause this is fucking delicious.” She randomly leaned in and kissed my lips. “You’re just full of surprises.”
I smiled. “Why is everything so surprising with me?”
“Because. Maybe I was judging the book by it’s cover. So, I honestly had… different expectations.”
“Why?”
“Because. You’re young. Handsome. And look like you’ll pop somethin’. So, I thought that you’d have a wild spirit, versus this soothing calmness. Your vibe is…peaceful.”
I lightly chuckled. “Peaceful? That’s a first.”
“Well, if that aint usually you, then that means that you’re not always in situations where you can be yourself. And you just typically rise to the occasion. Because I’m sensing a foodie with great conversation. Is that not you?”
A chill shot up my spine, as I realized that she was actually describing me.
Ironically, if you asked most of my people, they’d probably describe somebody completely different.
Because I was known as the hell raiser around my way.
And most people couldn’t see beyond that.
But when I did have time to slow my pace, which wasn’t often, I did love to indulge in fine cuisine or cook it up myself.
But the average broad never picked up on that.
“You might be onto something.”
“I knew it,” she grinned, before her cell vibrated on the counter.
While chewing her food, she lifted the phone, and stared at the screen.
“I probably should put my clothes on, so you can drop me off,” she sighed, while placing her phone back on the counter. Face down.
Something rumbled in my stomach that was throwing me off. I didn’t know anything about this girl. And her leaving the next day was natural. Should’ve been expected. But…it wasn’t what I wanted.
“Do you gotta go?” I found myself asking.
She paused, and gazed at me. “Looking at you, I know there’s somewhere you gotta be.”
“Looking at me?” I chuckled. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Her long lashes fluttered. “Nigga, you’re sitting here with two chains around your neck. Iced the fuck out. Tear drops near your eye. Tatts every fucking where. You reek of street running. And you want me to believe that you usually chill out on Sundays?”
I smirked. “You funny. And being outside aint real big in my life. Me being in the club last night was a rarity. No lie. Plus, I usually like to take it easy most Sundays. Otherwise…I’m on go. So, this is the one day reserved for me to do nothing.”
She arched a brow. “So, you wanna do nothing with me?”
“Nah. I wanna do everything with you.”
“Boy,” she giggled.
“Ion know why you laughing. I aint playing.”
“Everything like what?” She lifted her chin.
“Like take you on a real date. Wine and dine you. Some shit like that.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad…but I’m not going anywhere, looking like yesterday.”
“Okay. Then let’s run to the Galleria.”
She cracked a smile. “I don’t know if that’s what you wanna do with a girl like me.”
“And why is that?”
“Because I got expensive taste. And I won’t be watered down to meet some budget.”
I tilted my head. “You tryna call me broke?”
“No. I’m just putting it out there.”
“Okay, cool. Now, like I said, you wanna run to the galleria?”
***
Spending the day with Big Baby had been more fun than I’d experienced in a minute. After breakfast, I dicked her down, and convinced her to chill with me for the remainder of the evening.
As promised, we’d gone to the Galleria to grab some fits. All courtesy of me, of course. Just like she said, she had expensive taste, and it wasn’t missed that most of the employees at the high-end stores seemed to recognize her. That told me that she was regularly there, spending a bag.
Tastefully, she found a partially sheer Fendi bodycon dress that fit her like a glove, along with tall sandals that showcased her pretty toes with the white tips. I’d even bought everything she needed to spruce up her hair, and she’d pulled herself together quite nicely, without a stitch of makeup.
I won’t lie and say that I’d never tricked on a broad before, but it was never this soon. I’d spent a couple of racks on Big Baby and still didn’t know her fucking name. And something told me that she was used to it.
“I don’t know why you chose this restaurant of all places,” she whispered to me, as we were seated, side by side, in a black owned, recent cultural staple of a restaurant called Nostalgia Now.
“Cause, girl. They got some of the best food in the city. But what’s your issue with it?”
She sighed. “I got beef with the owners.”
“What?” I chuckled, thinking that she had to be bullshitting. If nothing else, I’d peeped that she was a real jokester, by now. “Baby, these people don’t know you.”
“Pshh,” she hissed, while holding the menu in front of her, shielding her face. Like she was in one of those spy movies.
“Hi, my name is Rachel,” a young, black waitress politely greeted us. “I’ll be your server for the evening. Are you guys familiar with our menu?”
“I want the crawfish etouffee plate with a side of potato salad,” Big Baby immediately ordered, with the menu concealing her entire face.
I gave her the side eye, as it felt like she was awfully familiar with the dishes, when I hadn’t seen her thoroughly look over the menu once, despite it being in her hand. Hell, it was actually upside down.
“O-kay.” The waitress’ eyes rolled up to the ceiling. “And you, sir?” She focused on me.
“I’ll have the same.”
“Gotcha. Will you guys be having any cocktails?”
“We’ll take the purple berry house special with an extra shot of Don.”
“Okay, got it. Those drinks will be brought to y’all shortly.” The waitress claimed, before switching off.
“Say,” I focused on Big Baby, as she still had that menu obscuring the view of her pretty face from the onlookers. “You sure do know this menu like the back of your hand…to say that you got beef with the owners.”
“I know. The food is good.”
I furrowed a brow. “So, you eat here?”
“Yeah.”
I tilted my head. “But you don’t wanna be seen here?”
“Nope.”
I shook my head. “That’s crazy. The fuck you go around doing to people? Probably be singing to their niggas, or some shit,” I mumbled.
She cut her eyes at me. “Really?”
“I’m saying,” I chuckled. “The fuck is you hiding for?”
“Okay.” Her eyes wandered around the room, before focusing on me. “Don’t be telling nobody…but I’m a secret assassin for the government.”
“What?” I laughed, enjoying her sense of humor.
Big Baby didn’t take herself seriously, and I never realized until then how much I appreciated that quality in a woman. She was silly. Goofy even. And that shit tickled something deep inside. Had me feeling like I was back in high school, as genuine joy entered my being.
When the manager of the restaurant strolled past our booth, she once again covered her face, making me give her the side eye.
All jokes aside, I could tell that she really didn’t wanna be seen by people there, and that had me wondering.
Perhaps she really had made enemies out of the owners, but I doubted it.
If anything, she just didn’t want somebody recognizing her, which made me consider that either she was a stripper or had a nigga at home. Or both.