I smirked. My confidence was coming back, and while still nervous, the tight feeling in my chest was dwindling. I thanked my pop and watched as the lady of the hour pulled up in a Tiffany-blue G-Wagon with burgundy rims, blasting some ChiefKeef at an ignorant level. She turned her truck off, and I stepped out of mine, meeting her by the driver's door to open it for her. She beamed when she saw me, and the words for how beautiful she looked got caught in my throat. She stepped out and had on a pair of distressed denim shorts, a red baby tee with the wordsGive Them Hellon the front, and those new Concrete Rose Jordan 3’s I had my eye on. She smelled heavenly, like crisp green apples, and her hair was in a long, sleek ponytail that touched the top of her ass. This woman was fine, and I’m sure she knew it, but I was gonna tell her every chance I got.
“Ya know,” she stepped out and beamed at me. “I thought you were the type that would want to just take me to a fancy restaurant. Which is cool; I like those too, but this… this has already exceeded my expectations.” Her eyes bounced around in excitement. I stood there, gawking at her until she threw her slender arms around my neck, hugging me.
Tighten up nigga. Act like a beautiful woman has paid you attention before.I could hear my Pops' voice in my head. But Reina was more than a beautiful woman. She was intelligent, funny, witty, assertive, and about her money. Her beauty was an addition, not the whole sum of who she is.
I broke the hug and cleared my throat. If she were nervous, I would never be able to tell just by looking at her. The look on her face was serene, and her pretty orbs shone with whimsy. She grabbed my hand, leading us to the entrance, and then paused.
“I actually don’t know where we’re going,” she giggled.
“Over here,” I led her to the correct entrance, and we were greeted by the owner.
“Welcome to Cash Money Acres. I’m the ranch owner, Dinero.” He introduced us to two horses, Cash and Money, a brown mare and a white stallion. Reina walked slowly toward both horses, letting them sniff her hands and nuzzle against her. She pulled out her phone and took selfies with them, her eyesgoing into slits because her smile was so big. The ranch leader just let her do her thang, and once she finished, he helped her mount the horse named Money, her long legs swung over the saddle effortlessly.
“Whew shit! I did not know horses could go this fast!” Reina exclaimed, tightening her hold on the reins. I whistled, and Money slowed down to a more gingerly pace.
“Wait. You speak horse?”
I chuckled. “Nah… I saw that shit on Animal Planet once and just tried it.” It was her turn to laugh, and then we rode in a comfortable silence, the summer weather pleasant enough to warm our skin, but not overbear us. We eventually got to a picnic blanket that overlooked the small clearing of water in the distance.
“Vasiah?” She called out.
“Wassup?”
“This is really nice,” she admitted, and I smiled goofily at her.
Our first date was going off without a hitch, and it felt normal being with her.
“Ya know… this goes against my rules, but I think I wanna take you out.” She smiled shyly.
“Oh, you don’t have to –”
“Aye, what you doing tonight?” she cut me off.
“I was chilling…”
“Hmmm. You can chill with me,” she winked mischievously.
Dawg. What was this woman about to get me into?
5
VASIAH
We wrapped up our picnic, and she had me trail her to this spot I’d never been to, called The Palace. I wasn’t much of a clubber. I preferred my video games and my comic books over spending hundreds in the club, but Reina explained to me from our initial phone conversation that she loved hookah, loved having a drink, and loved going out when she had the time.
That was where we differed, but it wasn’t a turn-off for me. She explained that on Mondays, they had a happy hour that shifted into a night party. We bypassed security without paying a cover charge, and one of the waitresses whisked us to a booth that was in the cut but close enough to hear the music.
“Ok so, Imma order us four shots and a hookah. Cognac for you, right?” she asked, remembering what was in my glass when we met at Vibes and Lines. I nodded, and she told the waitress our order. The waitress came back shortly with our drinks and her hookah, and after cheering to new beginnings, Reina lit her hookah and leaned back into the booth, her eyes closing in blissas the smoke filled the air. I just stared at her, feeling the effects of the yak I tossed back settle in my bones.
“Why you staring, Vasiah?” she asked with her eyes still closed.
“Cuz you fine.”
“Yeah?” she smirked. “I think you fine too.”
I grinned at her while she continued to smoke, gripping the handle delicately with her manicured fingers. It was so much I wanted to ask her, so much I wanted to pick her brain about, so many ways I wanted to hear her laugh again.
“LaReina?”
