My nerves picked up the closer I got because I was about to put myself out there. I never had to be so up front with my feelings, because I hadn’t had any real relationships. Dick and maybe dinner was the most I was giving. I came across multiple women who tried to get what they could from me and thought that just because I had money, I had to give it to them. I watched my mother struggle for years, and while I would never want to see another woman struggling, I wasn’t going to just spend my money and get nothing in return. When a woman thought all she had to offer was sex, I lost interest fast. I wanted someone to build a legacy with. I wanted someone who had something going for themselves and where we could do things for each other. I wanted to be able to come home to someone who asked me how my day was and genuinely cared. I needed that support when the world was against me; I could come home and have someone on my side. I didn’t ask for much, but it was hard to get what I looked for. I hoped that, at some point, River could be all those things and more for me.
I stepped into the cookie shop, and the aroma of the cookies and pastries hit my nose in full force and caused my stomach to growl.
River was at the counter but froze for two seconds when she noticed me.
She tried to be discreet about it, but I noticed how she looked at me from head to toe.
“Wasn’t expecting the suit, were you?” I asked when I approached the counter.
Her hand rubbed the front of her neck, and her cheeks tinted.
“No. No, I wasn’t. Looks good though.” Her eyes traveled the length of my body again. “I thought you would have told me you were outside, not come in.” She looked around, but one of the workers was helping someone else, not paying us any mind.
“I wanted some cookies.” My gaze traveled as much of her body as I could see since the counter covered half her body. “And you should know I don’t do that come outside shit. If we are supposed to go somewhere together, I will come to the door like a gentleman. We told old for that other shit, Babygirl.”
I smirked when I noticed how flustered she got.
“What cookies do you want, Coye?” she asked when she snapped out of her quick daze.
“The soft chocolate chip ones, and the lemon and strawberry ones.”
“You sure you don’t want to wait until after lunch so they’ll be warm? It should be a fresher batch by the time we are done eating.”
I thought about it, and the cookies were better when they were warm.
“That works. Are you ready?” I asked, then put my hands in my pockets.
“Yes, give me a minute.”
I stood to the side while someone stepped up to the counter to order. There were multiple people seated at the few tables, and I noticed a couple of women giving me the eye, but I paid them no mind. My focus was on River for the moment.
A couple of minutes later, River came from around the counter and stood in front of me.
“I’m ready.”
“After you.” I gestured for her to walk in front of me. It was the gentleman thing to do, but it also gave me the perfect view of her ass in the leggings she wore. River had an ass that a lot of women paid for.
“I know you probably don’t have a lot of time, so I figured we could walk down the street to the diner.”
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
I made sure to walk closer to the curb, as a man was supposed to do. River probably didn’t realize that was something her father taught me when we were coming up. Most of the things I learned about how to treat women came from her pops.
When we got to the diner, I held the door open for her. It wasn’t too busy, so we ordered our food, then found an empty table.
“How has your day been so far?” I asked once we were seated.
“Busy. Thanks for helping me this morning. You freed up some time for me to do some other things.”
“No problem. Do you be there that early by yourself often?”
Someone dropped off two glasses of water, so River waited until they walked away. The diner didn’t have waiters or waitresses per se, but they did have someone to drop off drinks and the food.
“No. I just had a lot of energy, and that was the only way I knew to get rid of it. I didn’t expect you to be there, though, but your presence helped me not get too far in my head.”
She took a sip of her water.
“I’m glad I could be of some assistance, but I need you to do something for me.”
