Page 26 of Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming

SUCHI

T he ladies are having drinks and appetizers at a bar in downtown LA.

Suchi has just finished telling them about her impromptu date with Kofi last night.

He texted her this morning and told her he enjoyed meeting her, and that while he had a busy day scheduled, he wanted her to know he plans to see her again and would hit her up later tonight.

“I feel like I can write a book about this guy,” Bridget jokes and sips her appletini.

“What? I didn’t tell y’all that much.”

“Suchi, babe. You basically told us this man’s whole life story,” Lyric teases.

“I guess, but it was magical. It was like we were magnets, immediately bonded to each other,” Suchi says with a dreamy look in her eyes.

Aimee sips her mai tai. “So, when are you seeing him again?”

“Not sure. He’s going to get back to me tonight. He told me he has back-to-back clients today, and he’s interviewing for a new tattoo artist.”

“Maybe you can get a free tattoo,” Aimee jokes.

“Um, I don’t think so. You all know how I feel about needles.” Suchi shakes her head.

Bridget bursts out laughing. “Remember when we all gave blood in college?”

Lyric and Aimee join in the laughing, but Suchi is a lot less amused. She fainted when they each gave blood. They were broke, needed money and wanted a free cookie.

“Speaking of getting tattoos, let’s hold off on saying anything around my chirren,” Bridget says.

The ladies laugh at her pronunciation of children .

Bridget continues, “Those two knuckle heads will each ask for a tattoo.”

“Especially LJ.”

“He’s still tripping over this whole car agreement. You know that goofy boy asked if he could get a corvette?” Bridget bites into a potsticker.

“Okay, baby boy is tripping hard.” Lyric laughs.

“Too hard.” Bridget shakes her head.

“Tell him he’s getting a sensible sedan.” Suchi eats a meatball.

“Exactly! Four doors, airbags, spacious leg room, ’cause you know that kid is tall,” Bridget jokes.

They all laugh.

Bridget continues, “If he wants a corvette, he needs to make some corvette money. Ain’t even got a job and making requests.” She sips her drink.

“We can’t tell Ranson. His ass will buy him one.” Lyric eats a lettuce wrap.

“Patrick’s talking about buying Ms. Courtney a Range Rover when she turns sixteen,” Aimee tells them.

“Why?” Bridget asks.

“Because she asked for one.” Aimee shrugs.

“I wish my dad spoiled me like Patrick does his little Courtney bean,” Lyric says.

“Your dad does spoil you.” Aimee playfully rolls her eyes.

“Not that much,” Lyric protests.

Suchi laughs at her friends when her phone buzzes. It’s Kofi.

Kofi

Sweet Suchi. I cannot stop thinking about you, girl. I literally almost tatted your name on someone (laughing emoji).

Suchi giggles, prompting Bridget to take her phone and read Kofi’s message. She shares it with the girls.

“This nigga is gone.” Lyric laughs. “All that, and all you did was kiss him.”

“For real, he’s going to propose the minute you give him some,” Aimee teases.

“Shut up and give me back my phone.” Suchi cracks up.

Bridget hands her back her phone.

Suchi

Don’t go getting sued over me.

Kofi

Never that. I’m a professional. It was a brain lapse and that lasted a second before I realized what I was about to do. Let me take you out to dinner tomorrow.

Suchi grins like a Cheshire cat. “He wants to take me out to dinner tomorrow.”

Her girls smile a mile wide.

“Wear that tangerine dress,” Aimee suggests.

“Yep, that one definitely makes your tits pop.” Lyric nods.

“Good idea,” Suchi agrees.

She texts him back.

Suchi

Sounds good.

Kofi

I’ll pick you up at seven. Cool?

Suchi

That works.

Kofi

Kofi’s trying his damndest not to stare too hard at Suchi.

Great googly moogly ! This woman is finer than a motherfucker .

That dress she has on makes her titties look amazing.

It’s molded to her curvy frame. Kofi thanks God they’re sitting at a table, and she can’t see that he’s sporting wood.

He jerked off before the date, but the minute he saw her when he pulled up to her apartment, it was a wrap.

He’s spent the better part of this date trying to think unsexy thoughts while simultaneously paying attention to her.

“Dr. Brown, what made you want to study psychology?” Kofi takes a bite of bulgogi.

He took Suchi to a Korean BBQ place in Koreatown.

She sips her peach soju. “I’ve always been interested in the human brain and what makes us behave and react to certain stimuli. That, and my Uncle Tariq is a psychologist, too. I always admired my family, but astrophysics, philosophy, and chemical engineering was never of any interest to me.”

“That’s what the rest of your family does?” Kofi asks, his eyes wide in surprise.

Damn, this woman just keeps getting more and more impressive .

“Yep, my father, Percival, is a chemical engineer who works for Taylor Made Hair Care, so if you need any hair products, let me know. I get them for free.”

“Nice. I need some more conditioner,” Kofi jokes.

“Which kind?”

“The kind with jojoba oil,” he answers.

“Okay.” Suchi takes out her phone and sends a text. She looks back up at him and says, “I’ll have a couple of bottles in a few days. You can pick them up whenever.”

“Damn, really?”

“Sure.” She shows him the text.

Suchi

Hi dad, could I please have some bottles of the jojoba oil conditioner?

Daddy P

Sure, baby. I’ll send you a couple of bottles in the morning.

Kofi smiles, “I love that you call your dad Daddy P.”

“He’s Daddy P, my Auntie Shereeta—the astrophysicist—is Auntie Ree Ree, Uncle Tariq is Uncle Riq and my grandmother was Big Momma.”

Kofi grins broadly. “I love it. So basically, you’re a family of geniuses.”

Suchi laughs. “That’s the name of our documentary.”

“Documentary?”

“Yes, we were the subject of a documentary called, A Family of Geniuses . It aired on one of those streaming services no one has heard of. Almost no one has seen it.”

Kofi asks her, “You didn’t mention your mother. Where is she?”

Suchi gets quiet.

“My mother Camielle is a genius, too. That’s how my parents met. They went to the same school for gifted young people and were two of only a handful of Black kids.”

Kofi sips his beer and leans in, listening.

“Camielle came from a family where she was put under immense pressure to succeed, unlike my dad, who was taught that his intelligence was a gift, not a burden. He was encouraged to use it in ways that helped others but also made him happy. Camielle was told to use her gifts to benefit her family. She got pregnant when she and my dad were nineteen and in college. His family offered to raise the baby so Camielle could finish her studies. Between postpartum depression and all the pressure from her parents, she had a mental break.” Suchi pushes her food around her plate.

Kofi reaches out and touches her hand. “Where is she now?”

“She currently lives in Reseda and teaches advanced calculus at a junior college. I have a good relationship with her, but we’re more like friends than mother and daughter.”

“Well, it’s good that you have a relationship with her.”

“That’s true. It’s been a point of contention in a lot of the men I dated.”

“How so?”

Suchi lets out a sigh. “Navigating life as someone who is intelligent isn’t easy.

Being an intelligent woman makes it harder.

Being an intelligent Black woman makes life almost impossible.

There are way too many men who have a white supremacist way of thinking.

They see a smart Black woman and feel the need to humble us.

I’ve had men with barely any education quiz me on subjects I knew way more about than they did. ”

“Those motherfuckers were weak.”

“Like dishwater.”

They both share a chuckle.

“Between that, and telling them about my background, including my mom, more than a few thought that I would ‘lose my mind,’ too. I’ve dumped a lot of losers, Kofi.

It’s forced me to be very cagey about what I share with the men who I spend my time with.

One man made a joke about how Camielle ‘ended up making nothing of her life.’”

“I don’t blame you for being cagey. You tell these fools about your mother’s struggles, and the first thing they think of is themselves. And your mom was drowning with no one to help but your dad and his family. That’s fucked up. She deserved sympathy, not ridicule.”

“Thank you. I don’t feel cagey with you, though. From the moment we first met, you felt … safe. You’re so easy to open up to, Kofi.”

“Thank you.” He grins and his eyes widen with recognition. “Wait, is your Uncle Tariq the same Tariq Brown who hosts a relationship podcast? I’ve listened to a few episodes.”

“Yes, and he’ll like hearing that.” Suchi smiles.

“Wait, I remember him talking about his family before. You’re his niece, cricket?”

“Yep, that’s me. He started calling me that when I was three because of how high I jumped.”

“I’m going to look for that documentary, too.”

“Okay. Good luck with that. The streaming service it’s on was marketed as a competitor for Echo, and we thought it might actually become the next big thing. In hindsight, going up against the biggest streaming service in the world wasn’t a solid business plan.”

“That’s crazy. Auntie Ree Ree works for NASA, right?” Kofi asks.

“She used to. Auntie Ree Ree works at Cal Tech, now. She’s a bad ass. Being a Black female astrophysicist isn’t for the faint of heart. She got the distinction of saying she worked for NASA, but with no one acknowledging her contributions.”

“Damn.”

“She took her wins where she can get them. She once sent her old quantum mechanics professor a photo of herself in space. He was a raging racist and misogynist.”

“I love the petty.” Kofi smiles.

“Me, too.” Suchi laughs.

“By the way, you are a fucking superhero,” Kofi gushes.

She eats some Japchae and sips her soju before speaking. “What are you talking about?

“You help heal young Black kids. That’s tremendous.”

Suchi’s eyes water. She wipes the tears and tries to speak. “Thank you. No man has ever said that before. In the past, I would tell them I’m a doctor, and that’s when their insecurity would come flooding out.”

Kofi wipes away her tear again and Suchi snorts. “I have got to stop crying in front of you.”

“Don’t make no never mind to me, baby. I’m here to wipe your tears away.”

“You really mean that, don’t you?” Suchi grins.

“Yes, I do.”

Suchi leaves her seat and sits next to him, rubbing her nose against his.

Fuck, she is so got damn cute .

“I might as well tell you everything, since you’re taking this so well.” Suchi shrugs.

“I’m listening.”

“I speak five different languages. I play the piano, the violin and the upright base, and I’ve been a member of MENSA since I was four. I use music to help children with their therapy.”

“You’re a fucking superhero,” Kofi whispers.

“Thank you.”

Kofi puckers his lips, and she kisses him.

“I would love to hear you play one day,” he requests.

“Sure, no problem.”

He pulls her close to him and kisses her. His tongue collides with hers. Tasting her and feeling her soft curves against him is making him want to never leave her side, and hopefully, he never does.