6. Dessert, Perhaps?
Dessert, Perhaps?
MEHKI
Ice cream, nigga? Fuck I got goin’ on? I thought to myself, getting up from the couch.
I chuckled, shaking my head, because calling Key out of her house this late wasn’t the plan.
Hell, calling her at all wasn’t how I planned to end my night.
I was supposed to be balls deep inside Karima for the third time after dinner, but her intrusive thoughts fucked that up.
We’d gone from enjoying a good meal and conversation to her questioning my intentions with Key.
Although her questions weren’t argumentative in nature, having to remind her, again, that she was on a need-to-know basis blew me.
And even when I tried to stir the conversation away from the “other woman” topic, she somehow found her way back to Key.
And when she asked if I planned to see her again, I put her out of her misery and let her know that we’d linked earlier in the day.
That was a truth she wasn’t ready to hear.
My response was simple and honest. I wasn’t going to lie about it because the truth was, there wasn’t shit to lie about.
Key wasn’t a prospect for a relationship at the moment.
She was just a woman I wanted to get to know.
I wasn’t easily intrigued, but she had something I wanted to give my time to.
Karima didn’t see it that way. What she saw was another woman infringing on her time.
And when she kept throwing shots that she thought were going over my head, I decided to call it a night.
After dropping her off at home, I went to my house to shower and chill.
I couldn’t say when Key popped in my head, but she did, and here I was, grabbing my wallet to head back out the door.
I was familiar with the area around Sullivan’s Diner, so I knew there was an ice cream shop not too far from it that stayed open late.
It was just my luck that when I pulled up to the storefront, there was a woman standing at the door, flipping the open sign to closed.
That didn’t stop me from double parking and jogging up to the entrance.
Money talked, and I wasn’t deviating from the plan that I’d already set in motion.
“We’re closed,” she said from behind the door, giving me an apologetic look with her hand pressed against it.
“I see that, shorty. I just need to grab two orders real quick. I got a hunnit for ya tip if you can make it happen.”
She paused, staring at me then at the sign that now read closed. “Just two orders, right?”
“Just two,” I repeated.
“I need to see the hundred.”
“Got you,” I agreed, pulling the money from my pocket and holding the hundred-dollar bill up to the window.
She examined it through the glass before nodding. “I’m letting you know now, I’m licensed to carry, and I’m a clean shot,” she said matter-of-factly.
I held my hands out in front of me, fully understanding her need to be on guard.
She was a young woman in New York City, and it was late.
Generosity could get you killed on any given day.
I respected that she was letting me know in not so many words that she would defend herself by any means necessary.
“I ain’t on that. I just wanna get some ice cream,” I assured her.
“Okay.” Unlocking the door, she pulled it open and stepped aside to let me in.
When she gestured for me to walk ahead of her, I didn’t challenge it. She was doing me a favor, and I wanted to ease any uncertainty she may have had.
“What can I get for you?” she asked, walking behind the counter and snapping on a pair of gloves. “I can’t do any specialty flavors. You know, with us being closed and all.”
“All good. I’ll take three scoops of cookies and cream and three scoops of butter pecan. Both in a cup.”
“Butter pecan?” she repeated with the same face I gave Key when she said it to me. “Your grandmother must’ve sent you on a late-night run.” She giggled.
“You’d be surprised.” I chuckled.
Scooping a generous amount of each flavor into both cups, she wrapped them both separately and placed them in a bag. “Here you go. That’ll be $17.50.”
“$117.50,” I corrected, handing her a one-hundred-dollar bill and a twenty in exchange for the bag. “That’s all you. I appreciate this,” I said, holding the bag up.
She shot me a genuine smile and walked back around the counter as I headed for the door. “No problem. And good luck.”
“With what?” I asked with a frown, trying to figure out what she knew that I hadn’t said.
“Whoever has you out at this time of night buying ice cream. She must be special, or you’re trying to make a good impression. Either way, this is cute. It’s unique too. Not something she’ll see coming.”
I nodded in agreement. “Good looking.”
Her observation let me know that this late-night ice cream date was a good idea after all. Hopping back in my car, I secured the package in the passenger seat and pushed forward to the diner.
There were more than a few cars parked in the lot when I pulled in, but Key’s white Maserati was still easy to spot.
It was parked in the back of the lot beneath a light pole.
As I got closer to it, it didn’t appear as if she was inside.
Reversing into the spot next to her, I sent her a text to let her know that I had arrived.
Me: I’m parked next to you with my lights on. You know, in case you inside scoping the scenery out.
I hit send and flashed my headlights twice. The spot I was parked in was easy to see through the front windows of the diner.
Key: I spy wit’ my little eye. Lol. I’m just playin’. Here I come. You like apple pie?
Me: Lol. Yeah.
She gave my message a thumbs up. Seconds later, I could see the front door swing open, and she walked out with a bag in her hand.
Key was dressed down in a pair of oversized black sweats and a cropped hoodie.
Picking the bag up from the passenger seat as she approached, I unlocked the door.
However, she didn’t reach for the door handle when she got to the passenger side.
Taking my seatbelt off, I rolled down the window. “You good, fine ass girl?”
She bent down, leaning into the window. “Yep. I’m just waiting for the man who invited me out to open my door.”
“As you should, Ma,” I agreed, placing the bag on the armrest and stepping out of the car. Walking over to her side, I pulled her by her waist into a hug, like we were familiar enough with one another for me to do so.
She didn’t stop me and laughed softly when I kissed her cheek.
“You bashful now?” I spoke in her ear with my hands still planted on her waist.
“Gangsta has a g in it, Mehki,” she said with a wink.
“And Dada has a d in it. Address me as such.”
I opened the car door, and she slid into the seat, closing it behind herself. Walking back over to my side, I did the same.
“You know… I almost didn’t come,” she admitted once I was in the driver’s seat.
“Bullshit. You were too geeked to tell me that butter pecan was your favorite ice cream. Here you go.” I handed her the cup and a spoon from the bag.
“One sec,” she said, pulling a container from the plastic bag she held and sitting it on the dashboard. “So, I only brought out one slice in case you didn’t like it. But if you do, which I’m sure you will, I’ll go back in and get another one.”
“No need. We can share this.”
“Okay.”
Taking the ice cream from me, she unwrapped it. I had to admit, the butter pecan did look good, but that was as far as I could go with it. I watched as she dug in, taking the first spoonful into her mouth and closing her eyes, moaning like the taste was the best thing on Earth.
“Mmmm.”
“That shit is not that good, shorty.” I laughed, eating my cookies and cream like a regular person.
“I swear it is. Y’all be sleepin’ on this flavor forreal. Meanwhile,” she pointed her spoon at me, “you over there eatin’ that childish ass cookies and cream.”
“Oh, so you do acknowledge that you like a flavor that’s for the elderly who put they teeth in in the morning and take ‘em out at night?”
“Boy, shut up.” She laughed, hitting my shoulder.
We ate in silence for a minute, both finishing our ice cream fairly quick, before moving onto the pie.
“They make this fresh?” I asked, examining the pie once she pulled the lid off of it.
“Every morning,” she confirmed, taking a piece. “Is this your first ice cream date? Or I gotta turn it up a notch, so I can be the best one?”
“Nah, you’re the first,” I said, chewing. “Damn, this shit good.”
“That’s what they be saying,” she uttered slyly.
I licked my lips, leaning over the center console. “Oh, word?”
She grinned and reached over for another piece. “About the pie. That’s what they be sayin’ about the pie.”
“Yeah, I bet.”
Her effortless flirting was a turn on. It was like she couldn’t help that shit.
“How was the rest of your day? You get a lot done at the property? I know I took a lot off your hands by taking that wall down.”
I chuckled at her sarcasm. “Most definitely. We made some headway. I was there most of the day, then I went out for dinner with my girl.”
“Oh, which one?” She wiggled her foot out of her shoe and lifted it up. “You mind?”
I couldn’t see her full foot, but from my vantage point and the light that the light post provided, her toes were painted white and oiled up. “Nah. You good. Get comfortable.”
“Thanks. Now, which one was this?” she asked, turning to me and tucking her foot under her butt.
“Her name is Karima.”
“Is that Baby?”
I smirked and nodded. “Yeah. That’s her.”
“Okay. And what you call the other one? Baby number two?”
“Nah. I call her bae or JuJu.”
“Got it. So, they didn’t have dessert at the restaurant you went to? I mean, it likely wouldn’t have been as good as this pie, but still, I’m sure they had something sweet.”
“Shit, she was supposed to be the something sweet after, but she fucked it up.”
“You know what’s crazy? I was supposed to be someone’s something sweet tonight too, but…”
“You chose up.”
“I guess I could say the same for you, seeing as I didn’t invite myself out.”