Symphony got in the car first followed by Block. “A driver? Impressive. May I ask what it is you do for a living, or is that too intrusive?” Symphony was an adult. Asking a man what he did for a living was regular conversation to her. It wasn’t a question anyone should be intimidated by, but for some reason, she got the feeling she was doing something wrong by asking him what his profession was. Or maybe she was afraid of the answer.
He looked directly into her eyes. “A little of this. A little of that. Is that a problem for you?”
Symphony became so lost in his eyes, that she almost forgot to answer him. Shit, was that a problem for her? A sudden revelation came to her, and her breath caught in her throat. “Do you know my sister, or is that just your cousin?”
“Nah, I don’t know your sister. Me and my cousin aren’t on the same type of time.”
Street smart was never something she’d used to describe herself, but Symphony was smart and could catch the gist of what he was saying. They didn’t sell the same thing. She gave a curt nod and elected not to answer his question. They rode in silence for a bit before he spoke.
“You want some champagne?” when he lifted the arm rest and removed a bottle from a bucket of ice inside the compartment, Symphony knew he was something serious.
“Sure.”
She was riding through the city sipping champagne in a Rolls Royce Phantom. Damn. She was a doctor and had never experienced that kind of luxury. Especially not from a man. Symphony worked hard, so she didn’t hesitate to spoil herself and treat herself well, but there were things she’d never done like rode in a half a million-dollar car while sipping champagne.
“How old are you?” Block inquired.
“I’m thirty-four. You?”
“Thirty-two. No kids?”
Symphony sighed. “No. Not yet. Maybe not ever. Who knows?”
“Do you want them?”
“Yes. I want at least one. In no world would I ever want to be a single mother, but I for sure couldn’t handle being one as a doctor. And that doesn’t even mean not with my significant other. We both can’t be extremely busy and always at work leaving our child to be raised by someone else. I’d stay home for the first year, but I didn’t bust my ass in medical school to end up quitting to stay at home after only a few years as an actual doctor.”
“I feel you on that.”
“What about you? Do you want kids?”
“Shittttt,” he drawled. “I don’t even know. Between Mario and my other brothers, I’ve been feeling like a father for years now. My other brothers are way older than Mario, but our pops is in prison. I kind of stepped up when he went away and took on the role of more than a brother. The older ones didn’t stress me out too bad, but Mario is a different breed.”
Symphony kept her comments about Mario to herself. Honestly, she knew she shouldn’t judge a kid. He was old enough to know right from wrong, but kids would be kids. She knew her nephew wasn’t perfect either.
“How long has your father been away?”
“He went away when Mario was three. Been down for elven years, and he finally comes home next year.”
“Wow.”
Symphony was young when her father had been taken from her, but she had a lot of memories of him. Often, she found herself wondering what life would have been like if he was still alive. She would never know so dwelling on it was pointless.
“How long have you been single?” she tossed the question out there while finishing off her champagne.
“Since I was like twenty-three,” he stated, and her eyes widened. “What? What’s wrong with that?” he chuckled.
“You haven’t had a girlfriend in almost ten years? Oh hell no. That’s a red flag.”
Symphony was serious, but the comment made Block laugh. “Why is that a red flag? Because I didn’t want to be in a relationship?”
“Yes, because what do you do? Just consistently sleep with various women with no commitment?”
“I think I should be offended by the way you’re stereotyping me. What if I’m celibate?”
“Nigga, please.”
The fact that he rarely ever smiled or laughed unless he was with his brothers, and she’d made him laugh so much in so little time stood out to him. “That’s cold,” he shook his head. “I just deal with people that are on the same page as me. Not everyone wants to be in a relationship,” he shrugged passively.
