Page 5

“You should absolutely go out with him,” my mother, Courtney, called from the bathroom.

She was getting ready for a night out on the town and had to have every layer of her makeup perfect. I sat on the edge of my bed debating on what to do. True to his word, Kianis sent me a message, telling me to be ready for our date tonight.

After the way he’d popped up at my event, everyone was speculating about us.

Of course, I had to give my mama and best friend the tea, but I was still on the fence.

I’d done the ball player thing and didn’t fully believe he had my best intentions in mind.

Being an attractive woman came with its own burdens, like being so beautiful, it was all people saw.

I was convinced Kianis would be another man to get what he wanted and leave, or even worse, he would stick around just to treat me like shit because of his insecurities.

I’d been through it all and was in no rush to relive any of the trauma.

My bestie Javari strutted into the room a minute later with two glasses filled with a green liquid, swishing from side to side. Aunusti was right on his heels carrying a glass of her own.

“This is good, Vari.” She complimented his mixing skills.

I accepted the glass he handed me at the same time my mother called out to them. “Tell her she has to go out with Kinga tonight.”

Aunusti took a seat at my vanity while Vari went to lounge on the beige chaise in the corner of my spacious bedroom.

“I agree. That’s a once in a lifetime opportunity right there. The blogs would eat it up.”

“Right. All press is good press,” my mama replied, agreeing with her quickly.

I rolled my eyes instantly, becoming annoyed with her way of thinking. She didn’t care what the media said about me, only that they were talking in the first place. It didn’t help that I never addressed anything either. There was a mysterious air to my dating life that really got the people going.

To some, I was a ho. To others, I was exploring my options while I was still young, and therefore, I was wiser than most. The only thing keeping me sane was the fact my personal life was also private.

I allowed social media to see the things I wanted like my business ventures, friendships, and obsession with all things beauty and fashion, but they were not allowed into any other parts of my life.

It was strict around these parts because I refused to be judged for every mistake.

“What do you want to do, Charm?” Vari asked, catching on to my silence.

That’s why he was my heart. Becoming attached at the hip from the tender age of eight years old was a blessing to my life. He was the only one to truly understand me. As we grew older, we began to bond over our love for dick. Vari saw me for the real me and cared nothing for what I looked like.

Aunusti was cool, but I met her a few years ago on a brand trip.

As a fellow influencer, she was also known for fire photos and lived for the likes.

She was willing to do anything for attention, and I quite literally mean anything.

The scandals that smeared her name online were a mile long and continued to grow.

The one thing we had in common was our I don’t give a fuck attitude.

We let people talk and continue to live our lives.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Don’t get me wrong. He’s fine as fuck, but Kianis Kinga? He’s literally always in the blogs for some woman shit. Didn’t that girl release one of those trendy tell-all documentaries on him the other week? I feel like I might be asking for trouble at this point.”

Vari slowly sipped from his drink before crossing his legs and leaning forward.

“You know better than anyone that the media paints the picture they want you to see. I think you should at least give him the chance to prove what type of timing he’s on.

If he ain’t on shit, then at least you can say you tried. ”

Almost on cue, my phone vibrated with a notification. I picked up my phone to see it was something from Kinga. Unlocking my phone and selecting it led me to a story post. Kianis was sweaty as if he’d just finished practice.

“I got a date with the most beautiful girl in the world tonight. Y’all think she’s going to stand me up? I’ma be pissed if she do ‘cause I planned something playa as fuck. She gon’ remember this night for the rest of her life. That’s a fact.”

The second video showed him in the back of a black Eskimo truck.

He panned the camera down to his designer fit, looking every bit of fine with his freshly tapered hair and moisturized brown skin.

He had his diamond grills in, of course, with all the jewelry he owned.

But what really got me was what he said next that made my heart skip a beat of excitement.

“On my way to you, pretty girl. Get ready, and stop overthinking.”

Javari made an “oop” sound from the other side of the room. When I glanced up, his hand was covering his mouth in shock. I wished I could hide my smile, but it was too late they all saw it.

“That man is not playing with you.”

I giggled with a sigh. “I see that.” With a quick shrug I made my decision. “Let me go get ready so I can fuck around and find out what he’s really on.”

When I walked outside of my condominium building, the wind entangled my hair in its grasp before sticking to my lip gloss.

By the time I cleared my view, the driver Kianis sent was standing there with the door of the Eskimo truck open.

Pulling out my phone, I quickly started recording content.

I inhaled my excitement and exhaled all my nerves.

I paused when I made it to the open door to find a backseat full of roses instead of my date for the night.

“Awww.” I sniffled.

Leaning forward, I picked up the little note on the seat.

Thank you for giving me a chance. Get in and bring your beautiful ass here right now.

I tucked it to my chest barely containing my smile. I could only pray his efforts were from a genuine place. Panning the camera to my face, I was vulnerable to my audience.

“Y’all think this man for real? He just sent you a black truck filled with roses. You staying or going?” I winked at the camera then panned it back around as I climbed inside.

The moment I was secured in my seat, I Facetimed Vari. He answered on the first ring.

“Bitchhh!” It was all I could say.

I quickly flipped the camera before he could even ask any questions. Vari sat up in bed, knocking the covers off his bare sculpted chest. My friend didn’t play with his fitness. I understood that more than anyone because this man had me snatched.

“Okay then, Mr. Most Likely to Win. It can only get better from here. You deserve this, best friend.”

I turned the camera back around to myself, trying to keep my tears at bay.

“Girl, I’on know what I’m about to get myself in to, but I can’t resist it.”

He shrugged. “Maybe because you’re not supposed to. It’s okay to be hopeful and excited. That energy is literally so yummy. I wish I could bottle it up.”

I giggled with a sigh of relief. Quickly swabbing my eyes, I lifted the camera so he could see me.

“Is my makeup still giving?”

“Baddest in the room? You know it is. Call me when the date is over. You’re going to love what he has planned. It’s so thoughtful and cutesy.”

I frowned then brought the camera closer. “And how would you know that?”

“I’on know shit. Bye, nosy ass ho.”

I laughed knowing he was pissed that he slipped up.

Now, I was even more curious about this date.

I sat back in my seat, allowing every muscle in my body to uncoil.

I fell in love with the city whipping by in a blur of magical colors.

Solaire had a charming allure about it. From the interstate, I had the perfect view of the skyline with the setting sun illuminating every inch of the sky I could see.

At that moment, I decided to believe—believe in beauty, believe in love, believe in Kianis, and I could admit it was terrifying to do so. Walking around with my guard up was how I protected myself from being hurt. It was how I sped up my recovery time when things didn’t work out.

At the same time, this was the most effort a man had put into courting me. I wanted to taste the sweetness of God’s goodness in this life, so I relaxed. I controlled my breathing and allowed myself to sink into a steaming bath of delightful possibilities.

The truck slowly came to a halt in the back of a building.

I couldn’t see much apart from the alleyway.

When my door came open, I expected to see my driver, but it was Kianis instead.

Seeing him on video didn’t compare to seeing him in the flesh.

Everything was more vibrant and alive, more perfect and precise than I realized on camera.

When he smiled, showing that mouth full of diamonds, I swallowed a gulp of dry air.

In an instant, I became more parched than ever before and knew only a glass of Kianis would satisfy me.

“You look amazing,” he complimented me in a low tone. The sincerity in his eyes created a new level of ease in my body.

I smiled brightly. “So do you.”

He winked at the same time his cologne swallowed me with a rush of the wind. I cleared my throat softly, trying to get myself together, but each of my motor skills were starting to malfunction.

“Shall we?”

I nodded then accepted his hand to help me out of the truck. I smoothed a hand over my long, black lace dress to remove any wrinkled fabric. Kinga whistled. When I glanced at him, he watched me with wonder.

“I know you probably hear this all of the time, but you’re perfect.”

I smiled shyly, allowing him to lead me toward the left side of the alley way. We entered through the back of a business. I wish I could describe the way it smelled, but something about it relaxed me. My heels clacked along the floor as he led us down a hallway.

At the end of it, we entered a large, private room with an island in its center. It was covered with various amber bottles, dried flowers and herbs. A jazz playlist played softly in the background as a serene white noise.

In the corner was a bottle of champagne with some cute glasses waiting along with a charcuterie board on top of a cocktail table.

On the walls were various well-known fragrances with details of the different notes in each one.

The pink neon sign along the back wall painted black and white read life smells amazing in cursive letters.

After I finished taking in every detail, I glanced up at Kianis. “What’s all of this?”

He smiled at me proudly. His chest even expanded in size, making him appear bigger.

“Tonight, we’re going to be making scents for each other to wear.”

He walked in front of me, leading the way to the champagne and snacks.

I waited patiently for him to pour a drink for us while piling meats and cheeses on my plate.

I loved a good charcuterie board, especially ones that included olives.

There were even some containers of the buffalo chicken dip from The Chicken Salad Chick.

Vari had to have told him it was my favorite.

I popped an olive in my mouth just as he shook the bottle then cheerily exclaimed, “To the first of many dates!” I squealed when the cork popped off the bottle and the champagne began to explode all over the floor.

I covered my mouth, stifling my laugh. Kianis seemed unfazed by the mess he’d created as he finally filled two glasses.

I dropped my hand, revealing a wide grin, and I accepted my flute with my free hand.

We toasted in the middle never once losing eye contact.

A chill ran down my spine that I was sure he saw.

The things I would let that man do to me…

“I was thinking that if you like how this date goes tonight, then you have to wear it on every date moving forward.”

I hummed softly. “And you’re going to wear yours?”

He nodded. “Like a badge of honor.”

I hid my blush by taking a sip of champagne. “Well, I guess we’ll have to see how tonight goes then.”