Page 38 of Taming a Menace

Sixteen

K eywan

I dozed off listening to Iyla’s heartbeat and woke up confused as hell.

My baby was still knocked out when I woke up.

I wanted to pick her up, but I knew moving her would probably wake her.

Instead of trying to carry her back to the house, I nudged her a little as I kissed her soft lips.

Her eyes fluttered open, restarting my heart.

“Hey, sleepy head.”

“Good morning,” she said, smiling up at me.

“It’s not morning, baby. We’ve only been sleep for about thirty minutes.”

She rolled her eyes playfully. “I knew that.”

“Let's get up. You can go back to sleep in the house, but I have to get ready to go to the venue.”

“I'm still going with you, Keywan. That's unless you don't want me to.”

“That's why I brought you with me, Iyla. I just figured you were tired after the ride and playing in the sun.”

“I got a nap. Plus I'm sure a bridal shower doesn't last all that long. I can rest after.”

“OK, well let's get moving. I need to take a shower and get changed.”

I helped Iyla get up, and we headed to the house.

She went into her bedroom, and I turned to go into mine.

Before going into the bathroom to take a shower, I put my suitcase on the bed and took out my uniform.

I loved to wear the standard chef shirts for jobs because I didn't have to think about what to wear.

I laid my clothes out on the bed and made sure my apron was in place before heading to the bathroom.

It didn't take long for the water to warm up once I turned it on.

I let the water run while I undressed. I started to do a rundown of the menu of what I had to set up.

They were having a brunch themed shower with miniature waffles and pancakes.

I planned to do blueberry and plain pancakes and red velvet waffles.

The bride also wanted an omelet station that I would keep open for an hour.

There would also be shrimp and grits, Cajun crab cakes, oxtail eggs Benedict, and loaded hash browns.

I liked doing breakfast because everything was quick and easy.

I didn’t get to stretch my creativity muscle as much, but I made sure everything was delicious.

I took my time making sure to shower the sand and grit off me.

Above the seagulls and sharks, the sand was the thing I hated most about the beach.

As much as I hated getting sand in places that sand had no business going, I enjoyed being on the beach with Iyla.

I would probably never tell her that I hated the beach.

I would tough it out a hundred more times just to see her play and enjoy life as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

When I stepped out of the shower, I grabbed a towel from the bar behind the toilet and dried my body before wrapping it around my bottom half.

I walked over to the sink and brushed my teeth before going back into the bedroom.

I frowned when I realized that my uniform wasn’t on the bed.

I knew I’d laid it out before I went into the shower.

Just in case I was losing my mind, I opened my suitcase.

I left my bag open and walked out of the room to see if Iyla had moved it.

My shoulders dropped when I spotted her.

Her back was turned to me, and she was doing a little dance swaying her hips as she worked.

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the sight of my baby dancing and ironing my clothes.

She was adorable and sexy all rolled into one dressed in a flowy light blue dress.

My feet started moving. They were on a never-ending quest to keep me as close to her as possible at all times.

I wasn’t mad at it. Just as bad as my feet knew I wanted to be close to her, my hands knew that I wanted to touch her.

When I was close enough, I placed my hands on her hips and kissed her cheek from behind. She nearly jumped out of her skin.

“You scared me to death,” she told me.

“I’m sorry, baby. I was looking for my uniform.”

“I came to see if you were dressed and saw that it needed ironing.”

“Yeah, I was going to hit it with a little heat when I got out of the shower. I see you got me all the way together.”

“That’s right. I want my man looking as good as he possibly can,” she said, turning to hold the freshly pressed shirt in front of me.

“Is that right?” I quizzed.

I was so turned on that I was seconds away from saying fuck the time. I knew that it would be unprofessional to show up late. Most of my business came from client referrals. I needed to make a good impression. Still my baby had ironed my clothes without me even asking or thinking about it.

“Absolutely.”

Throwing my head back, I looked to the heavens and prayed out loud. “Lord, please don’t let me lose this woman I prayed and begged You to give me. I swear on You and Your son, she’s perfect.”

Iyla thought that was funny, but I was serious as a heart attack. “You’re so silly.” She tittered.

“I might be, but I’m dead for real.”

“Why do I believe you?” she asked, tilting her head.

“Because I suck at lying.”

“That’s a good thing.”

“I know it is,” I said, chuckling as I reached around her and grabbed the pants that were folded neatly on the end of the ironing board.

“Keywan, I’m going to say something. You don’t have to respond to it right now. As a matter of fact, I don’t want you to respond. Take some time and think about it.”

“What is it, Iyla?”

“I think you should tell your mom about what happened to you. She deserves to know that you were in pain because someone hurt you. I think she will understand that you didn’t know how to process your pain, so you lashed out in other ways.”

I listened to what Iyla had to say. Since she told me that I didn’t have to respond, I chose not to. I had already told her that I wasn’t telling anyone else so there was no need for me to repeat it.

“Thank you for caring,” I told her, kissing her forehead before turning to go back to my room to get dressed.

I didn’t need to explain that there was no use in digging up the past. Iyla knew that. My mom would probably just take me to the church to have her beloved pastor lay hands on me. That’s not what I needed. I needed to move on with my life.

Dredging up the past would only take me backward. I didn’t need any setbacks. I was proud of the progress I was making. My life was all about forward motion. I wanted to grow, but I didn’t think it was necessary to bring up old shit to make that happen.

Against my protest, Iyla was behind the scenes helping me cook and set up everything for the party.

I had hired a couple students from the local culinary school to make sure that the night ran smoothly.

They were great at prep work which left me plenty of time to perfect the set up for the stations the bride wanted.

I whipped up batter for the various flavors of pancakes and waffles and my helpers were hard at work making them. We were doing forty of each flavor since they were so small. I had the toppings for the stations all set up and ready to go.

My baby was a whiz at helping me make everything look good.

She even added her own touches. I didn’t bother her as she rearranged the set up and made each station easily accessible.

She worked with the decorator to use some of the decor from the party to help tie the stations in with the overall look.

I loved seeing her go hard to make my job easier.

Iyla was a godsend, and she didn’t even realize it.

As the party started, Lilly, one of my helpers offered to run the omelet station so that I could rest and address anything that came up over the course of the party. That sounded good to me. We were only set to be there for two hours. Still I wanted to spend as much time as I could with Iyla.

“Dance with me,” I said, sneaking up on her as she chatted with one of the bridesmaids.

“I thought this was a work trip.”

“All work and no play makes Key a dull boy.”

“There is nothing dull about him. That’s for sure.”

“I want to keep it that way. Dance with me before I have to go make more shrimp and grits martinis.”

“They are bomb, Keywan. I had one just a minute ago.”

“You got lucky. They’re going fast. I’m going to put twenty more out after we dance.”

“Do you need me to do anything else?” she asked.

“You’ve already done more than enough, baby. I didn’t bring you with me to put you to work.”

“It didn’t even feel like work. I’m having a great time.”

“That’s good. Thank you again for everything, baby love,” I said as I closed in on her and pulled her into my arms.

I didn’t recognize the song that was playing, but it didn’t matter.

As long as Iyla’s soft body was pressed against mine, every song was my favorite song.

I twirled her just to see her smile. She giggled and a huge smile split her face.

My reward made my chest warm on the inside.

She was the medicine for everything that ailed me.

Fuck the therapy aspect. Iyla was what I needed.

“We’re almost done here. My assistants are going to finish up and do the clean up after we put out the last of everything.”

“This was fun. When is your next event or whatever? I want to come.”

“Really?” I quizzed.

I was taken aback by her comment. I knew she was enjoying herself but her asking to come to another event caught me off guard.

“Yeah I had a good time, especially being a taste tester.”

“I can always use a good tester.”

“I’m your girl.”

“I know that’s right,” I said, pecking a kiss on her face. “Are you tired? I have somewhere I want to take you when we leave here.”

“No, I’m good for a little while longer. Wearing flat shoes really helped.”

“Good. I’m about to get the last dishes set out. You take a load off. You worked hard today,” I said, releasing her once the song was finished.

“OK, I’m about to say goodbye to Kelly before we go. She was really sweet.”

“That’s cool. Meet me in the back when you’re done.”

“OK,” Iyla said.

I watched her sashay over to where the bridal party was dancing and having the time of their lives.

For a split second, I imagined Iyla with her own bridal party.

My mind even flashed to a scene of her in a wedding dress.

I didn’t want anyone other than me waiting for her at the end of the aisle.

I was her husband. Just as quick as the thought passed, I chased it away.

What the fuck? What was I thinking? I needed a drink or something because clearly I was losing it.

It only took a few minutes for us to finish putting out the rest of the dishes.

I’d made arrangements for a surprise for Iyla tonight.

I just needed her to trust me enough to let me see it through.

That was going to be the hard part. I was closing the lid on my trunk when I looked up to find the bride to be, Kelly, coming in my direction with Iyla right behind her.

“This beauty let me know that you guys were about to leave, and I just wanted to come back here and thank you again for everything. My girls are raving about the food. I told her if I wasn’t getting married soon, I would have tried to snatch you up for myself.

A handsome man that can cook,” she said, fanning herself.

“All right now, I told you this one is spoken for.” Iyla chimed in.

“That’s right, Moon. Claim your man, baby,” I said, winking at Iyla before turning my attention back to Kelly. “Thank you. It was my pleasure to make your night special.”

“That you did. I’m excited for the wedding dinner. Your company did my best friend’s wedding a few years ago. It’s probably been five years by now, but I’ve never forgotten the way those lamb chops melted in my mouth.”

“I’m glad I made a good impression on you.”

“Well I’m not going to hold you guys up. I guess I’ll see you in a month,” Kelly said.

“You ready?” I asked, turning to Iyla.

“Yeah, ready when you are.”

I held her hand as we moved through the back exit to my truck.

“I’m going to need you to wear this blindfold until we get to our next stop.”

“A blindfold?” she asked, whipping around to face me.

“Yes, ma’am. A blindfold. If not it will ruin the surprise.”

“A blindfold, though, Keywan?” she asked again.

“Do you trust me? Maybe I should have asked that first.”

“Yes.” She nodded.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I know that you wouldn’t do anything to hurt me or let anything happen to me.”

“So what’s the problem? You afraid of the dark?” I asked.

“No.” She pouted.

“Is it about control?”

“You know that,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“If you trust me, you don’t have to be in control of every little thing when I’m around. I told you to give me some of that burden, Moon. Let me carry it for you,” I said, pulling the pink blindfold I’d swiped from the bridal party out of my pocket and dangling it from my finger for her to take.

Tonight there was a full moon. I wanted my girl to see it up close and personal.