“Who is that?”LoLo questioned as a gorgeous, built by the gawds man approached the booth.
“Kaynaan Israel.”
I would recognize Kaynaan Israel anywhere. Everybody in Chicago would recognize Kaynaan Israel. He was one of the most popular players on the Coyotes. But I also knew him as the bane of Preston’s existence. My ex entanglement hated Kaynaan Israel with a passion. And when I would ask him why he hated the man so much, his answers were always vague and dismissive. I took that to mean that he didn’t really have a reason.
Kaynaan Israel looked like he could’ve been the love child of Blair Underwood and Megan Goode or some equally beautifulblack woman. His skin had been kissed repeatedly by the melanin fairies, leaving him a deep, burnished mahogany. His chestnut-colored eyes were narrow, framed by thick eyebrows, and always looked serious. He rarely smiled, but those bright brown eyes held . . . something. His full lips were lined by a neatly trimmed mustache. His nose wasn’t broad, but it fit the proportions of his face perfectly. His beard was well groomed and looked pillow soft. He was tall, muscular, and utterly gorgeous. He wasn’t flashy, at all. But he was most definitely a presence.
I looked up at him, and our eyes met. It always went back to his eyes for me. His eyes were so kind. The unexpected smile he shot me caught me off guard.
“Hey,” I said. “How may I help you today?”
“What’s up, Wyndi?”
I fought hard not to fangirl. He knew my name. Kaynaan Israel knew my name. Not that he shouldn’t. I’d done a couple of private commissions for him in the past. Not to mention that we’d run into each other at the Coyotes end-of-the-year banquet. He’d spent like twenty minutes talking to me. We were vibing until he excused himself to go off with some white woman. Shortly after that, Preston had approached me. He cautioned me not to give much thought to any interaction with Kaynaan, because Kaynaan was known around the locker room for only dating “snowflakes.” Since Kaynaan had excused himself from our conversation to be with a white woman, that seemed to track. Preston stayed glued to my side for the next half an hour or so. When Kaynaan returned to the ballroom, I’d noticed right away. So had Preston. He took my hand and asked if he could show me something.
That something turned out to be his very flashy, very expensive vehicle. He asked if I wanted to grab something to eat. Since I was starving, I told him yes. He took me to dinner ata fancy restaurant. I was glad because the food at the banquet had been decidedly bland. At the dinner table, he laid out a proposition for us to spend the summer having fun together. I’d never had a situationship or an entanglement. I had only dated one guy in life before I met Preston. It sounded exciting, so I agreed. I never looked back.
“Why’re you blushin’, mama?” Kaynaan asked, which made me blush even harder, while LoLo let out a quiet bark of laughter. I decided to just be honest, since I really didn’t have the bandwidth to play coy.
“I’m surprised you know my name is all.”
“I know your name. We spent all that time talking at the banquet this summer. You think I wouldn’t remember your name?”
“Well, apparently, you did. Hi, Kaynaan.” I pulled on my professionalism and centered myself. “What can I do for you today? Did you have an idea in mind for a custom item?” Kaynaan was an extremely attractive man. But since I’d spent the last three months having sex with his teammate, I had no business lusting after him. I kept my face neutrally friendly and kept my tone professional and light. “What were you thinking?”
“Listen,” he said. His tone was low and calm. “When I saw you at the banquet, I was hoping to spend some time getting to know you. I got pulled away, and missed my chance. I promised myself that the next time I got the opportunity to step to you, I would be on your ass. Now, here we are. I’m available. You’re available. Would you let me take you out sometime?”
My heart rate seemed to start a gallop that couldn’t have been normal or healthy. “What?” I asked, because I couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“I wanna take you out. You think we can do that?”
Everything in me wanted to say no. I felt like I should say no. I’d just spent the entire summer fucking on one of histeammates. To start something up with him would be . . . slutty. Wouldn’t it? “I thought you only dated sno—women from the dominant culture.”
“What?”
I closed my mouth.
He stayed silent and watched me struggle with whether to accept or deny his request.
“Uh, are you aware that I just got out of an . . . entanglement with Preston Wilcox a few weeks ago?” Maybe my admission would make him rescind his invitation.
“You playing sad songs? Sitting in the dark eating ice cream straight out the container?”
I giggled. “Nah.”
“You crying in the shower?”
“No. I’m good.” I rolled my eyes playfully.
“So . . .” He grinned at me as he awaited my response.
“You have dimples,” I commented dumbly, but they were so attractive. His entire face was attractive.
“I do. They come out even more when I hang out with people I’m interested in. You should kick it with me and my dimples.”
LoLo laughed.
I laughed, then sighed. “Okay. But you and your dimples better make it fun. If it’s boring, I’mma create one of thoseI Hate Kaynaan Israelpages where women bash you.”
