Marissa exhaled like she was cleansing her spirits of the good time she just had with the nigga and pulled her card out.
“No, I got it,” he urged. Standing from my seat, I sauntered over to their table, allowing Marissa to get a good look at her knight in shining armor. I placed my hand over hers as she lifted her card for Carl to take.
“You out here giving broke ass niggas a chance behind my back?” I inquired, placing my Black Card on the table. Carl scooped it up and scurried off to finally make the payment.
“Who is this?” He questioned Marissa.
“Your mouth should be just as quiet as your pockets lil dawg.”
Marissa let out a soft breath, her eyes still locked on mine. I probably didn’t even have to go the extra mile to make dude look broke because once her eyes landed on me lil man didn’t exist.
“He ain’t even offer to feed you dessert, did he?” I pried after scanning the table and not a sweet in sight. “She’s mine, run off lil nigga.”
“What?”
I looked down at him like an annoying gnat that I needed to swat away. “Get the fuck up and give her space,” I snatched him out of the chair, sick of being cordial for the sake of my parents. If they weren’t here, this shit would’ve gone a whole other way. He stood, and now that he was out of his seat, I had at least a foot on dude. Marissa was probably about the same height as him when her heels were off.
“Yaseer,” Marissa hopped up, standing between us. “Ummm, Benjamin, I’m going to call it a night.”
“Alright. I’m sorry about the mishap with the payment. I promise I…”
“Save your broke boy excuses and bounce,” I ordered. Marissa nodded, signaling it was okay. Benjamin grabbed his wallet off the table and made his way out of the restaurant.
“You should’ve known he ain’t have it when he came to the date in them cheap ass loafers,” I noted, shaking my head in disgust.
“Yaseer, please,” she smirked, turning her head to catch a glimpse of his shoes.
Marissa sank back into the chair, visibly overwhelmed and maybe still slightly embarrassed, but I reached for her hand with a slow and steady grip and gently pulled her back to her feet. I didn’t enjoy seeing her flustered; it mirrored the unsettling feeling I got when something was bothering Amill. My touch was firm but careful; I didn’t want to agitate her any further. Knowing she would follow my lead, I guided Marissa up and outof her seat. Carl passed me my card, and we made our way out of the restaurant.
I wasn’t worried about my parents. My dad out-earned me even in retirement, so he could cover the bill, and Wayne would get them back to the hotel and home with Amill. If I tried to rejoin them at the table after what I just pulled, they wouldn’t let me hear the end of it anyway.
Stepping out of the restaurant, the beating sun was a harsh reminder that it was the end of September in Florida. Thwarting my plans to walk along the strip and get to know Marissa better.
“That broke ass nigga drove you up here?” I looked down at Marissa as we stood outside the restaurant.
“No, I drove myself,” Marissa affirmed.
“Good, you wasn’t planning to leave with that nigga anyways.”
“How would you know? You don’t know me.”
“I know you feisty and I like that shit. I know your son Quincy is a beast on the baseball field. You are going through a divorce, so I met you at the right time and above all else, I know you love dessert and that fuck nigga couldn’t have offered you none because I didn’t see a plate in front of you,” I expressed.
“Why are you all up in my business? Are you stalking me?”
“Maybe,” I smiled when an idea hit me.
Not only did Marissa love dessert, but she also had a particular weakness for cheesecake. I knew that because I watched every video on her TikTok account like it was intel I needed to breathe. The page was new, only a few months old, and her first post was from a trip to Tokyo with her sons and a group of people I didn’t bother to identify. I wasn’t interested in them. Marissa was my only focus.
The way she talked. The way those suckable lips curled perfectly into the masterpiece that was her smile. The way she articulated her thoughts with a soft, confident tone made everyword sound like it was meant just for me. It was addictive. I needed that type of shit in my life permanently. Not for the remainder of this trip. Not for a fling. Permanently.
Marissa was well traveled. Every other month, she was in a different country, living lavishly and vlogging like she was destined to sit in front of a camera. And she was. The lighting and angles weren’t always the best, but we could perfect that.
What really caught my attention wasn’t the passport stamp or the hotel views. It was the way her bright eyes lit up anytime dessert hit the table. Sweets made her feel all soft and fuzzy on the inside. Made her smile different. The first time I saw her eat a slice of cheesecake, she looked like the troubles of the world didn’t exist. I knew it was her favorite before the video where she mentioned that cheesecake was her favorite. From that moment, I stored it in the back of my mind because my mom loved a specialty cheesecake that I planned to introduce Marissa to.
When you were fucking with a woman who clearly had the world at her feet, it was the small shit that would win her over.
“Where you parked at?”
