He chuckled. “You really wouldn’t like my boy Monte then.”
“A friend of yours?”
“One of my staff at the shop.”
“I don’t hold flaws against people. I just find ways to remove myself from their presence and make sure that I stay out of their way. What about you? What are some things you like and dislike, Mr. Aries?”
He tilted his head slightly, and with a serious expression, he replied, “You. I like you. A lot.”
I lowered my gaze and willed myself to stay calm. “Well, I like you, too, but I was talking about the zodiac conversation that you started,” I replied smoothly.
“Music, books, and kicking it with people, finding out what’s on their minds, their hopes and dreams, and checking out my city. I don’t like being alone, the same routine, or being confined.”
“I really love that you like reading. What types of things do you read?”
“Sci-fi, mystery, and I even get into contemporary romance.”
“That’s wild.”
“Why? That I like reading romance?”
“Reading period. I haven’t met a man who’s into it, and I love to read. Contemporary and urban romance are my jam.”
“That’s wassup. I might have to read you a bedtime story one night.”
I tucked my tongue into my cheek and bobbed my head. “You just don’t stop.”
“What?”
“Making your intentions known.”
“I told you that I was coming behind you.”
“You did.”
“How did you get into baking?” he asked.
“I was always fascinated with baking since I was four. My dad’s mom used to bake all the time, and I loved the sugary sweetness that came out of her kitchen. Even more than that, I loved the magical moments between her and me when we wouldspend time in there. She would tell me all about her childhood and growing up in the fifties and sixties. I treasured those times. My Nonni taught me everything. I always knew that I wanted to bake for a living. What about you? How did you get into barbering?”
Our food was served, and we paused long enough to thank the server, say grace, and sample each other’s food.
“Where were we?” he asked after we finished sampling each other’s food.
“You were supposed to tell me how you got into barbering.”
“I was an artist, good at drawing, and good at creating designs in people’s heads since I was a teen. When my father told me that I had to get my own job since I didn’t want to go to traditional college after high school, I went to barbering school.
“We were expected to go to college, and my parents felt like I was rebelling. They allowed me to follow my own path; they just wanted me to do something productive. They stopped giving me money. I did great for several years, but then in my mid to late twenties, the money was pouring in, my reputation was growing, and I was being called to cut hair on movie sets.
“It went to my head after a while, and I started going down the wrong path, drinking, smoking, and wilding out. The movie set calls dried up, and shit went to hell when my boss slash mentor’s girlfriend’s brother started working there and stealing from them.
“Nobody believed that the kid would do such a thing, and since I had been smoking more and drinking, missing appointments, coming in late or not at all, it was easy for everyone to believe it was me. I was in my head about not getting the movie gigs anymore, because I thought I was heading somewhere with that. I learned the hard way that everything isn’t for everyone. There was a purpose for my life, and it wasn’t in the entertainment industry.
“Unfortunately, it took some time to figure that out. My behaviors were changing, and I was fired and lost my friend and mentor. My granddad still believed in me even when the others were disappointed. He was wealthy, but he didn’t believe in handing out freebies. He believed that you had to earn everything you had, and he told me, ‘Now that you’ve hit rock bottom, Son, there’s nowhere to go but up from here.’
“He gave me odd jobs to work to earn some pocket money. I worked hard for him for a few years, and he noticed that. When he saw me saving, and I opened my shop and bought a house that I flipped and sold, he invested even more in me. Before he passed, he added me to his will, giving me rental properties, some money, and some blue-chip art investments. He gave my older brother commercial properties.”
I paused while eating and asked, “What are blue-chip art investments?”
