“He better come quick before there are three casualties out here,” he says and she swivels to face him.
“Casualties?” she questions.
“Yeah,” he confirms, staring directly into her eyes. “Six-two with the wedding ring, five-eight who keeps checking his two cellphones, and six foot with the grill on the bottom have one more time to eye you. Just one and I’ma check ’em.”
“They just walked up. How do you know all that?” she questions.
“I’m always aware of my surroundings, especially the people. I could tell you more but it doesn’t matter ’cause either we or them will be leaving this bar soon. I just know they won’t like how they will be leaving.”
“It’ll be us. We’ll leave as soon as I get our drinks,” she says before grabbing his hand. After latching her fingers with his, she adds, “Just in case, keep your eyes on me.” Still holding his hand, Sunjiya turns back to the bar and orders their drinks. While they wait, she faces him as a distraction. “Back at the ranch, I heard you shooting. Do you do that often?” she asks.
“Yeah. I either run or shoot to relax. I prefer shooting, and right now…” he says, then turns toward the men. Her hand lands on the side of his face and she turns his focus back to her.
“Teach me,” she says and his eyebrows furrow. “To shoot. I want to learn.”
“Why? You got a shooter. I’ll drop anything that tries to hurt you.”
“And I believe you but I still want to learn how. Please,” she begs with a faux pout.
“A’ight. I’ll teach you. When we have time and find a spot,” he assures her.
“I’ll find a spot,” she says excitedly.
“You charging to your room or paying here?” the bartender asks.
“The room,” Akeem answers. He left his wallet in the room.
After stepping toward the bar, Akeem signs the tab and grabs their drinks. When he hands Sunjiya her huge bucket drink , she smiles and takes a long sip.
“This is good,” she gushes. “Let’s go find a spot.”
She walks toward the beach but he makes a detour to the other side of the bar when he notices the nigga with the grill hawking Sunjiya. Akeem steps right beside him, glares into his eyes, then grits, “If you want to keep breathing this beach air, you’ll keep your fucking eyes away from mine.”
Grill’s eyebrows pinch together then he stares up at Akeem. However, his stare is no match for Akeem’s and he visibly cowers when Akeem doesn’t even flinch. While shaking his head, Grill quickly surrenders but tries to maintain some dignity in front of his homeboys.
“No disrespect, my man,” he offers.
“I’m very disrespected though. Don’t do the shit again,” Akeem warns before walking off and catching up with Sunjiya. As soon as he reaches her, she smirks and shakes her head.
“Yeah. We need to go shooting so you can relax,” she says. “Today has been a good day. The water is beautiful and we might get some good news tonight.”
“I’m good now but I’ll be better when we find a spot and you sit this ass on me,” he says after patting her butt.
“I like over there,” she says while pointing toward a blue umbrella hovering over an empty beach chaise. The others on the beach behind the hotel are occupied. He nods and they journey toward the chair. He drapes a towel on the back of the chaise and spreads the other over the length of the chair while she removes her dress. She eases down first and gets comfortable as he sits behind her. The moment his back rests against the chair, she leans into his chest. For minutes, they stay body to body, silently taking in the view. “Perfect,” she finally sighs as she marvels at the water. “I love the beach. It’s so peaceful and just calm. You know?”
“It actually is,” he admits, to his surprise. “I’ve never done this.”
“What?” she asks, then sits up and turns to see his face. “Done what?”
“Just chill at the beach like this,” he says. “Not doing shit, chilling.”
“I’m glad you came down with me. After these last few days, I need this. Well, we need this. No telling where we’ll be tomorrow.”
“Hopefully, we’ll be wherever your sister is. Then, Miami next.”
“God, I hope so,” she says, then relaxes into his chest. His arms engulf her and she relishes his strong embrace. “I’m ready for both,” she admits while nodding slightly.
Soaking up everything about this moment, Sunjiya sips from her bomb ass drink, enjoys the feel of his strong yet tender touch, and admires the sight of the tiny ripples of waves cresting the white shore.
