Chapter 5
B lake sighed, staring at her half-eaten salad in the hospital cafeteria. Her morning had been a whirlwind of patients and paperwork, leaving her drained and more than a little cranky. She barely had the energy to pick at her food, let alone look forward to the rest of her day.
Her phone buzzed on the table, pulling her out of her thoughts. It was a text from Emon.
Emon: What time is lunch break today?
She frowned, her lips quirking in confusion. “Right now,” she typed back.
His reply came immediately.
Emon: Come outside.
Blake hesitated, glancing at the clock. She had twenty minutes left on her lunch break.
Curiosity got the better of her. Plus, she wanted to see him.
They’d been talking on the phone and texting nonstop over the last few weeks.
They’d spent their free time sharing the basic details of their favorite colors, favorite desserts, movies, and artists.
So far she hadn’t regretted giving him her time but it was too soon to set in stone.
Emon was funny, attentive, and very sure he’d met his soulmate.
He didn’t hesitate to let her know that.
They’d both been busy, attempting to link up but between her heavy schedule and business growing for him they hadn’t been able to.
Hearing her voice and seeing her through a phone just wasn’t cutting it for him anymore.
She grabbed her purse and headed for the front entrance, the hospital’s automatic doors whooshing open as she stepped outside.
And there he was, looking like everything she needed after her rough morning.
“What are you doing here? I thought you had meetings today,” she asked, her voice laced with surprise and a touch of amusement.
He smirked, closing the distance between them. “I figured if I wanted to see you, I’d have to bring the date to you. I know you’ve been busy, but I needed to lay eyes on you.”
Her cheeks warmed, but she arched a brow to hide it. “And this is how you fix that? By showing up unannounced and making a scene?”
“Exactly,” he said with a wink, grabbing her hand. Emon led her to the back of his truck and pulled down the tailgate. He helped Blake get on, and there laid a blanket with sandwiches and chips on it. It wasn’t much, but it was the thought that counted.
Blake took it all in, her fingers brushing his. “You’re ridiculous,” she muttered, though her smile gave her away.
“You ain’t seen ridiculous yet,” he said.
“Emon, why are you here?” Blake asked grabbing a sandwich and laying back in the truck’s bed.
“I had shitty day and something told me you could make that better.” She smiled. This was the cutest thing anyone had ever done for her. Emon leaned back beside her.
“I’m glad you did. My day hasn’t been that great either. I’m tired and running on fumes,” she said with a deep sigh.
Shoulder to shoulder, they sat in silence for a minute just basking in each other’s presence. Until he turned to look at her watching her while she ate her sandwich. She was beautiful to him and she made him feel like he had a teenage crush.
“What? You looking at me like you wanna be this sandwich,” she mentioned, turning to stare back at him with a small smile.
“Be cool,” he smiled wiping his face to hide his cheeks touching the sky. “ But nothin, I just like looking at you.” Blake blushed under his gaze and they continued to look at each other smiling until her alarm went off.
“You gotta get back?” he asked softly, not wanting the moment to end. Blake had become his favorite thing to think about.
“Yeah, unfortunately.”
“Duty calls, but first,” he said before leaning up and pulling a receipt from his pocket. He handed it to her. “Open it.”
“What have you done?” Her stomach fluttered at the look in his eyes. Her nerves were so bad she fumbled with the paper nervously.
“You work so hard, B,” he said softly, “and I didn’t know how I could pay you back for what you did for me. I told you the couch shit wasn’t gon’ cut it. So, I did the logical thing and paid off the rest of your time in school.”
Blake stared at the receipt, her heart swelling. She didn’t need it, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that she now had one less thing to worry about. “You are... entirely too much.”
“Too much is what I do best,” he said with another wink.
“Emon, you didn’t have to do that.” She clutched the paper tightly in her hands, overwhelmed by his generosity.
He tilted his head, his smirk softening into a sincere smile.
“I know you keep saying that, but I ain’t that type of man.
It’ll never be enough.” The intensity in his eyes told her he meant every word.
Emon would never stop thanking her for what she did.
He didn’t want to harp on it, but this was the unexpected part of his story.
Blake couldn’t speak past the lump in her throat. This man was showing up for her in ways that made her question what this was. She hadn’t experienced it before, but she liked it. She appreciated being thought of, and she enjoyed thinking of someone else.
“By the way, that scrub set looking real good on you today.” Emon left Blake blushing every chance he got. Her cheeks were hurting. He was dangerous.
“Thank you. Not just for this but for seeing me.”
“I see you, Blake. I been seeing you.” His hand found the small of her back, pulling her closer.
“Even when you trying to act like you don’t see me too.
” She started to protest, but he shook his head.
He’d cool off. His mama raised a gentleman.
However, the more time he spent with her, the more he wanted to explore every inch of her mind, body, and soul.
Blake scooted off the truck and now stood between his legs.
He peered down at her, lost in her eyes.
“Nah, it’s cool. I got time, and I got a feeling you worth the wait. ”
“You think so?”
“Absolutely.” His thumb brushed her cheek.
“Good, because I was planning to stop by the shop today. I made you something.”
“Word?”
“Word. Wait here.” Blake rushed to her car, which wasn’t too far away. When she returned, she was carrying a cooler with a carefully wrapped container inside. She couldn’t believe this man had her in the kitchen, but he did, and now she was glad that she had.
Emon raised a brow as she handed it to him. “What’s this?”
“Open it and find out,” she said.
Emon opened the package and grinned so wide the next town over could see it. She’d made him a Key Lime Pie.
“You got in the kitchen for me, bae?”
“Don’t act like that. Maybe I was thinking that you’d like a pie since you mentioned it, or maybe I just enjoy baking.”
“Yeah, you can play all day like you don’t want me, but I see through that shit. Fuck with me today. Skip work.”
“Skip work?” Blake asked, giving him a scandalous look that made him laugh.
“I had a shitty day. You had a shitty day. I’m saying.” He shrugged with his hands extended. “Give me a price and skip the rest of your shift. Come kick it with me.”
She should say no. She had patients waiting and responsibilities, but something in the way he was looking at her, combined with how thoughtful he’d been bringing lunch and that receipt in her hand, had her wanting to be reckless just this once.
“You know what? Yes. Fuck work.”
“For real?” His eyebrows shot up, clearly not expecting her to agree.
“For real. Let me go tell them I’m not feeling well. Give me five minutes.”
“I’ll be right here,” he called after her, that signature smirk playing on his lips.
Emon watched Blake walk inside. He didn’t think she would agree, but he was glad she did.
His day hadn’t gone as expected with his meetings.
He was tempted to resort to what he knew, but he believed spending time with her would remind him why his staying from the streets was best.
When she returned, he was already in the driver’s seat, pie secured safely in the cooler.
“Where we going?” she asked, climbing into his truck and looking around like she was breaking the law. Emon laughed, appreciating her taking a risk.
“Wherever you want, love.” He reached for her hand. “We got all day.”
As they pulled away from the hospital, Blake felt lighter than she had in weeks. Sometimes the best medicine was knowing somebody cared enough to help her catch her breath.
“Take me somewhere peaceful,” she said, settling into the leather seat. “Somewhere we can just be.”
“Bet.” Emon nodded, knowing exactly where to go. As they drove, Blake felt the stress of her day melting away. She couldn’t remember the last she’d done something spontaneous like this.
“Who messed up your day or is it a what?”
“Shit, both. I’m tryna open a third spot for the carwash, but mufuckas tryna play like I can’t buy the whole street up.” He gripped the steering wheel tighter. “Got me in meetings with people who think they know my pocket better than me. Like I ain’t been doing this.”
“That’s why you had meetings today?”
“Yeah, trying to expand, but seems like every time a young black man trying to do something legit, everybody got questions, acting like the money ain’t green.”
Blake reached over and squeezed his hand. “Their loss if they sleep on you.”
“Facts, but I ain’t worried. At the end of the day, I’m gonna own that block whether they like it or not.” He brought her hand to his lips. “Having you skip work with me is making it better though.”
They wound up in a secluded spot overlooking the city. Emon backed his truck up to the view and helped Blake into the bed where they’d eaten lunch earlier. The afternoon sun was warm but not hot, perfect for lying back, eating pie, listening to music, and watching clouds drift by.
“Do you remember your first love?” she asked, picking at the chips he’d brought.
She’d been wanting to pick his brain about previous relationships.
Emon seemed like a man that shouldn’t have been single.
Maybe she hadn’t seen the undesirable parts of him, but who he had shown her she couldn’t deny he was checking her boxes.
Kind, thoughtful, paid, and available. Not one person had called, texted, or dropped by to bring any tea about him. And she could appreciate that.
“Yeah, money,” he said without hesitation. “Had to be. Watching my mama struggle, seeing how people treated you when you ain’t have it. Figured if I loved anything, it needed to be getting to them bags first.”
Blake turned on her side to face him. “For real? No high school sweetheart? No around the way girl that got away?”
“Nah, I mean I had situations here and there but...” He paused, considering his words. “I saw too many niggas lose focus chasing ass instead of paper. My mama ain’t raise no fool.”
“And now?”
His eyes met hers. “Now I got the paper. Got the businesses. Got everything I thought I needed.” His fingers found hers. “Until you saved my ass. Now I’m questioning all that.”
“I needed this,” Blake admitted, lying back on the blanket. “More than I realized.”
“Nah, don’t do that. You don’t get away. Let me guess, you and some knucklehead boy had big dreams to get married, kiss in a tree, and have some bald headed ass babies?” He laughed. Blake shoved him because he was funny and sometimes he wasn’t even trying.
“You crazy.” she laughed.
“What I say? All babies come out bald from what I heard.”
“Emon hush,” she said doubling over in laughter.
After a few seconds she regained her composure.
“My last relationship was about a year ago. PJ and I dated for a little while, but we wanted different things,” she said, picking at a loose thread on the blanket.
“He wanted the picket fence life right away, but I wanted more. Wanted to finish school first.”
“And that was it? No fighting for you, compromising?”
“No, and I didn’t need it. I wasn’t bending and neither was he. Sometimes love just ain’t enough, you know?” She glanced at him.
“Yeah, I get it. His loss. My win,” Emon said, his voice low and certain. The way he looked at her then made her breath catch. It was like he could see straight through her.
“We should probably head back,” she said finally, though she made no move to get up.
The afternoon sun was dipping, painting the sky.
She’d enjoyed herself playing hooky. There was a small semblance of guilt she felt leaving her responsibilities to be here, in the back of his truck, with pie crumbs on the blanket and music playing softly through his back window.
But at the same time, she couldn’t bring herself to regret a single moment.
“Probably,” he agreed, but his arm stayed wrapped around her. “Or we could just stay here forever.”
Blake laughed. “You might be a bad influence on me.”
“Nah, I’m the best thing that could’ve happened to you. Just wait and see,” he said it like a fact. No room for argument.
As they packed up to leave, Blake realized something had shifted between them.
Maybe it was the receipt still tucked in her pocket, or the way he kept finding reasons to touch her, or how neither of them wanted this stolen afternoon to end.
Whatever it was, she knew there was no going back now.
And maybe, just maybe, that was exactly what she needed.