There was another pause before I spoke.
“I’ll be there shortly. I’ll text once I’m downstairs.”
“Okay.” This time McKay’s voice was low, but still sweet, as if she was blushing.
I shook that thought out my mind. I was sure I was just being silly.
As I walked down my hallway, passing through the kitchen, I quickly decided to take her one of Anna’s meals out of my refrigerator. I scanned through to find a pasta dish and the pot roast meal. I would still stop and get the fry and shake too.
Once I secured everything, I texted McKay, who immediately buzzed me up. I made it up to her floor in five minutes. I caught her little head poking out in the hallway, making me smirk.
“What are you doing? Were you afraid I would get lost between the elevator and your door?”
She shrugged while stepping back, allowing me space to walk into her condo which was bad as hell. It fit her perfectly. It was a minimalist design, with lots of opportunities for fresh light to come through her windows. It was weird how even with this simple and clean concept I could still pick up her bohemian style in certain pieces of art she had scattered throughout the unit, with the pops of rustic browns and earthy tones of blues and greens in throw pillows and blankets.
“No. But I wanted to make sure you knew which door was mine. Would you like something to drink?”
“No thank you. Remember, I stopped and got food,” I said, this time making the bag of food I had for her visible.
“Oh yeah—wait, please tell me that you didn’t, Burkeley. I can’t accept that.”
“McKay, it’s just food. If it makes it easier, the only thing I bought were the fries and shake from BJ’s. The other food my mother, Anna, made.” She frowned instantly, her brows furrowing together and her mouth curving up.
“Okay, that didn’t help. What I meant to say was, my mother does her version of meal prep for me and my brother, and instead of my brother coming over and eating mine too, I’m giving it to you and the baby.”
She stared at me for a minute before finally taking the bag of food.
“Thank you, Burkeley. Well, Mrs. Anna.” She opened the bag, going for a fry first before taking a sip of the chocolate covered strawberry shake I’d gotten her. It was a guess, but it was one of my favorites.
I watched McKay intensely as she closed her eyes and moaned lowly through the whole process as she sucked on the straw, clenching it tightly.
Once she caught my eye, her cheeks flushed red from embarrassment. I should’ve been the one looking away because I knew this was straight creep behavior, but I couldn’t. McKay was beautiful and I was selfishly taking every chance I could to admire her in person.
“Oh my gosh, I am sorry, and yes, I’m about to blame it on the baby. I could eat a piece of toast with the right amount of butter and lose my shit.” I chuckled as I held up my hands.
“No need to explain. I get it, the shake is that good. I wasn’t sure what flavor you would like, so I went with mine and prayed for the best. Seeing your reaction is all the satisfaction I need.”
When she blushed again, it made me think about earlier when we were on the phone, like maybe she did it then too.
McKay cleared her throat, putting us back on track.
“Well, I feel like I’ve taken up too much of your time, let me get you those pictures.” I wanted to tell her that she wasn’t taking anything I didn’t want to give, but thought with the food push anything else would be too much right now.
Yeah, way too much, BK. Remember, she has you looking for her baby’s father. She ain’t checking for no one else but him.
I followed her back toward the living room where she had the envelope of pictures ready for me.
“And I know you said no deposit was needed, but I want to pay that now too.” While I took possession of the pictures, I protested her request.
“It’s not necessary. Plus, I didn’t write up the official contract yet, so I can’t actually tell you how much your deposit would be. Each is different based on the case, and with yours, I can’t say off the top of my head. I’ll be in touch with you tomorrow,” I said, causing McKay to squint one eye at me as she tilted her head. She was funny. She didn’t even know me but was trying to read if I was lying. If she called me out right now, she would be right.
I chuckled.
“Burkeley, something tells me that you’re bullshitting with me right now, but I’ma take your word. I will say, this is bad business. You can’t be letting people not pay you at least half up front, me included. I don’t even let family or friends get my suites without getting something. I’ll cut a deal, but not free, because that’s my business. And in order for me to be successful and make money, they have to pay too.”
I laughed to myself because I was sure if McKay knew she was the only person I had ever not collected my deposit money from, she would insist on paying me for real. And I didn’t want that. That meant I was one step closer to our interactions being over with. I was already stalling, stealing more time, but now I was even more curious about McKay.
“Suites? What kind of suites? And you’re telling me not even your parents?”
