She clapped her hands together and squealed. “Smart choice. Oh, and can you buy me this ring, please?” She put her hands in the prayer position, and I could only shake my head.
“Don’t you have a job with money?”
“Wow, you really want me to sell it for a little ring at the farmer’s market? You really hate me!”
I mushed her head to the side. “You get on my damn nerves. Here.” I dug into my pocket for the first bill I got my hands on. She had better make it enough to support her bad habit.
“Thank you, Brother. You’re the best.” She turned to the rings and started browsing for the one she was going to buy. “Gon’ on and get your wife’s number now.”
“Wife?” I asked, hesitating.
She nodded. “Mmhm. I just got a feeling about that one. Stop being scary, and go.”
She pushed me forcefully, causing me to stumble a few steps. Considering this was something I actually wanted to do, I made my way over to the florist stand. I wasn’t sure what to say, so I just pretended to look at the arrangements of bouquets available.
“Stanley? What are you doing here?” she asked when we reached for the same bouquet. Heat spread up my arm, almost making it go numb. I finally turned to look at her and felt my entire body power on for the first time.
I chuckled. “Damn, you forgot my name and shit?” I looked around with a frown. “Who the hell is Stanley? I got beef with that nigga.”
Her laugh made me return my attention to her. I got lost in the light in her eyes and became a little less nervous. “I’m talking to you, boy. I remember your name is Ketai, but as far as I’m concerned, your name is Stanley.”
“I don’t get it.”
She patted my arm with a grin. “Just know it has something to do with what you did to me the last time I saw you.”
I smirked. “Oh, you been thinking about that? You ran up out of there so fast; I thought you hated it.”
She shrugged casually. “Maybe. Maybe not.” She twirled her finger around, then turned to me. “So, who you over here buying flowers for?”
I chuckled. “You.” I turned to the florist, motioning to all six bouquets she held close to her chest. “We’ll take all of these.” I paid for the flowers, then took them from her arms.
Her smile was worth the purchase. “Aw, thank you, Stanley. You got money,” she teased.
I waved her off. “I mean, I’m doing well enough to buy a beautiful woman flowers at the market without breaking asweat.” She tucked her lips in an effort to hide her smile from me, but the rise of color on her cheeks told me the truth. I glanced around, looking for Katana. I couldn’t find her, so I focused back on Free. “Is there anything else you want?”
“If you’re buying, then hell yeah. I wanted one of those coconut drinks over there.” She pointed to a cart a little further down. I nodded before falling into step beside her.
“So, if I’m being honest, I haven’t been able to get you off my mind since you crashed my mama’s birthday party.”
She stopped walking before popping me on the arm. “Hey, I did not crash her party. I was invited. The invitation was public, and I even brought a gift.”
I couldn’t help but laugh as I stopped walking too. “That was an accident, and who randomly invites themselves to a birthday party?” I joked.
“Oh my God, it’s no different than if I saw a club flyer of someone hosting a party and decided to go. Don’t do me. I had fun too.”
“Mhm, I could tell,” I mumbled. “By the way, my mother thanks you for the necklace. She said you have good taste.”
A satisfied grin appeared on her face as she twisted from side to side childishly. “I knew she was a diva. And she’s right. I do have good taste.” Without another word, she took off again, and I was right on her heels, following her floral scent as if it had the ability to lead me home.
My smile was inevitable, and I fought to get rid of it by the time we made it to the stand. She looked over the menu before placing an order for the drink and a Jamaican beef patty. I paid while she collected her items. I followed her over to a bench where she decided to take a seat.
For a while, the only sound was her slurping through the straw of her drink. I glanced at her when she moaned. “Mmm,this is so good. You should’ve gotten one too. That way, I could’ve had two.”
I chuckled. “You want me to buy you another one? I’m not a fan of coconut, so that’s why I passed it up.”
She shook her head. “No, you don’t have to do that. I was just joking. Thank you though.”
“No problem.” She turned to me as she bit into her patty. As I sat, admiring her beautiful features, I found the courage to ask the question I really wanted to. “Listen, would you like to go out on a date with me?”
