My arms and hair follicles prickle, and my legs are shaky as I put my half-eaten sandwich down and stand. I try to recall how many baristas are here as the decision to leave work before my shift ends grows urgent. Unsure of how to delay the inevitable, I gather the remnants of my lunch and my phone before I exit and head toward my boss’s office. Once there, I knock on the closed door and hold my breath as I wait for clearance to enter.
“Come in,” I hear before I turn the knob and walk in.
My boss, D’Essence Price, sits behind her desk with her rapt eyes on me as I move to take a seat in one of the two available chairs.
“Ooh. I’m not sure I like the look on your face. What’s wrong, Sadia?”
“I have to leave. I got a call from my admissions advisor who said she needs to see me right away.” The tremor in my voice matches the slight shake in my hands as I smooth them over my dress.
“Oh, okay. I’ll go out on the floor and cover the rest of your shift. Go handle your business,” D’Essence says.
Air leaves my lungs as I sigh before I nod and move to walk out of her office. My mind is going a mile a minute as I struggle to settle on any of the random thoughts. I feel like I’m in a fog as I move through the process of going to my locker to retrieve my purse and exit my job. My head is low, which prevents me from discussing my early departure with any of my coworkers.
The time between my exit at Sips of D’Essence and my arrival on the campus of Kaigood University is lost due to my wayward thoughts on the journey. But my feet feel like weights when I make the journey to Rebbie’s office. My knocks on her closeddoor are hard and reminiscent of law enforcement due to my anxiousness to speak with her.
“Come in.” Rebbie’s light voice increases my blood pressure as I turn the knob and walk in, and my chest pounds like the drumline for the university at one of the football games. “Hey, beauty. Take a seat.”
I nod and move to a seat, and plop down as my shoulders sag with sudden weights. My tongue is stuck to the roof of my mouth, which prevents me from being able to utter a word. But thankfully, I don’t have to when Rebbie speaks again.
“I appreciate you coming in so fast. I didn’t think you would be here until later or close to the end of my workday,” Rebbie says.
I nod because it’s all I can do to acknowledge her words, and again, Rebbie frees me from having to talk.
“Although this could have been discussed over the phone, you and I have established a good relationship, so I wanted to provide a more personal touch when delivering this type of information. I’m not sure how we missed this, and I apologize because it was my fault for telling you that you were good to go. Instead of being paid in full like I previously stated, you have an academic hold due to a balance on your account. You’ll need to go to the billing office to get the exact amount.”
“Oh my God! What does this mean? I’m supposed to graduate soon.”
“Unfortunately, you won’t be able to graduate until the balance is taken care of.”
My heart stops. Tears well in my eyes before they spill and fall rapidly down my cheeks as my world spins on its axis. The worst thing about Rebbie’s sudden information is that I just used my savings account to have a transmission put into my car. The unexpected expense wiped out not only my nest egg but also my hopes of finally earning my degree. As I stare at Rebbie’ssorrowful eyes, my fingers tingle, spots cloud my vision, and my breath becomes short and thready. Twilight mixes with daylight, and all I can do is shake my head as I fall into silence. This can’t be my life right now. What the hell am I going to do?
Two Days Later. . .
You’re a catch. A man that any woman would be happy to be seen and connected to. One who knows how to pretend he’s the forever type for the sake of a moment.
“Who the hell am I kidding? That self-centered pep talk is why my black ass is in the situation now.” I shake my head, my eyes on my computer screen, although none of the information registers thanks to my wayward thoughts.
I haven’t been able to go to Sips of D’Essence like I usually do because several of my parolees have gotten into trouble. I’ve had to make bland, boring coffee at home just to get to the office quicker. The shit has been irritating because along with the withdrawals from my caffeinated beverage, I have been missingthe hell out of not seeing Sadia’s beautiful face. My attraction to Sadia has hit me like a ton of bricks. I don’t know if it’s the quiet storms within her eyes that seem to call for the warrior within me, or if it’s the way her cheeks become rosy when she giggles. Or maybe it’s the way she stares at me as if I can hang stars.
Whatever it is, I have tortured myself enough, and I need to go lay my eyes on Sadia. With that thought in mind, I go through the motions of closing out my programs so I can head out. Thankfully, I don’t have any meetings or anything pressing on my calendar, so my early departure shouldn’t cause any resistance from my assistant, Ms. Janie. She runs my calendar like a drill sergeant, and while I’m grateful for her attention to detail, it often has me scared to throw a monkey wrench in the well-oiled days she plans for me and my calendar.
“Alright, I’m heading out for the day, so you can either finish up whatever you have going or spend the rest of the day not micromanaging me. Either way, I’ll see you in the morning,” I tell Ms. Janie when I exit my office.
“Early? It’s only ten after twelve,” Ms. Janie says. Her eyes rake over me as her lips curl.
“I know. But I have something to take care of, and I can’t do that sitting on my hands all day.”
“Hm. Bye, Chance.” Ms. Janie rolls her eyes, and a low chuckle escapes my mouth as I continue toward the stairwell.
My office is on the second floor, so I take the stairs when I come and go. I can get in some steps and not rely on the elevator for such a short journey. I’m a coffee-holic, so I have been making a knock drink at home just to keep me from flipping out on the people I deal with. My addiction won’t allow me to go cold turkey, but there is nothing that compares to what Sadia’s gifted hands make me. Nevertheless, I only drink coffee in the mornings, so my point in going now is simply to secure a date with Sadia.
“How the hell am I going to convince this woman to take a chance on me?” My hand hovers next to the button to start my vehicle as my mind reels.
A heavy sigh falls from my lips, and I push the button and head toward Sips of D’Essence anyway. Hopefully, the words will come to me once I reach my destination, or I’ll have to rely on my charm to direct the conversation. The radio music fades into the background as I make the twenty-minute drive to Downtown Kaigood, where the coffee shop is located. What’s crazy is that I pass several places where I could get coffee, but I drive out of my way every morning just to lay eyes on the beauty whose magnetism forces me not to switch up.
When I pull into the coffee shop parking lot, my heart rate increases, and a cheesy grin forms. My stomach clenches as a knot pulls inward, and shallow breaths escape my mouth. When I’m in a spot, my left hand grips the lever with a slight tremble before I release it to take a cleansing breath. The moment allows me to stall for a couple of seconds, to gather myself, because the last thing I need is to trip over my words in front of Sadia. Once my composure is back to normal and I don’t feel like I’ll take a nosedive on the cement, I open the door.
Either no one is in the vicinity or my ears are particularly sensitive, because my footsteps are loud as hell as I walk toward the front entrance of the coffee shop. But a muffled scream halts my movements, and my eyes scan the area for the culprit. My gaze lands on a silver Honda Civic that appears to be roughly six years old. Before I can mentally caution my action, my feet head toward the car. To avoid startling the occupant, I approach the vehicle from the passenger side. My heart freezes when I look inside to see Sadia with her head in her hands and her shoulders moving up and down.
