We pulled up to the dock and headed up the plank to the boat. She looked a little nervous, and I grabbed her hand to rub it, hoping to soothe her nerves.
“Are you afraid of being on a boat?” I asked as we stopped at the maître d’ station.
“No, I’m fine.”
I nodded and greeted the maître d’ who knew me personally. He led us to our table, and we placed our orders before we resumed our conversation.
“What does the world’s greatest barber like to do in his spare time when he’s not being my bodyguard?”
I chuckled. “Ahh, I like that title. To answer your question, I jog and play softball for exercise, I love to go off-roading, and traveling is my jam.”
“Off-roading . . . that’s unique.”
“Yeah, it’s a lot of fun, though. We’ll have to go together some time.”
“I’d like that. Where have you traveled to?”
“All fifty states, Jamaica, Spain, Curaçao, Bimini, England, Aruba, Grenada, Cayman Islands, Saint Lucia, and Scotland.”
“Scotland? That’s different.”
“High school trip. That’s how I got to England and Spain too. The others were places I traveled to after I became an adult. The fifty states and Jamaica were with my parents.”
“That’s pretty cool. I’ve only traveled to thirty-one of the fifty states. International travel, I’ve only been to Bora-Bora,Santorini, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and Brazil. I would like to see Saint Kitts and Nevis, speaking of the Caribbean.”
I made a mental note to take her to Saint Kitts and Nevis. We were served and talked about how delicious the food was, and other menial things like how her business was doing. When we finished, I paid the tab, to her surprise and despite the arguments she made.
After dinner, we exited the yacht and walked down Main Street toward the waterfall at the end of the street.
“I met your brothers at the launch party, they seemed pretty protective of you.”
“They are. I was spoiled as a kid, but they protected me too. They’re the reason that I have the name Baby. They couldn’t pronounce Tegan when I was born, so they just called me Baby. After they grew older, they kept calling me that, it stuck, and my family and friends started doing the same. What about you? You said that you have two siblings, right?”
“Yeah. My older brother, CJ, and my younger sister, Courtney, who you already met.”
“So, you’re the middle child?”
“Yep, and the baby brother. It made for some interesting dynamics at times, but I wouldn’t trade them for the world. I’m pretty close to my siblings, and I could tell that you are too.”
She nodded. “Family is important to me. When I have kids, I want them to be close to their siblings as they grow up too. Harlem, thank you for tonight,” she stated, changing the subject. “I was supposed to be treating you, but you took over. You’re an excellent leader of the welcoming committee,” she pronounced with a wink.
We were standing in front of the waterfalls. I took her hands in mine, and I stared into her eyes as I professed, “I’d like to be so much more than that. I know that we’ve been kind of movingaround each other, and you’ve opened up to me, but I want you to open completely to me.”
She stared at me, but she remained quiet for so long that I wondered if she heard me.
“Are you good?”
She blinked, nodded, and replied, “Yes.”
“I noticed you were quiet when we pulled up to the restaurant, and it took a minute for you to come out of your shell, and then you were quiet again after I paid and again now. What’s up with that?”
“Tonight made me think about my ex, unfortunately. I promised myself that I wouldn’t compare you to him, but it was a little harder than I thought it might be. I told you how he started out doing nice things for me, and then he switched up. He always expected me to pay for everything and would choose the most expensive places to go.
“He used me until the end. When I no longer had a job and couldn’t afford to pay for anything, we argued all the time. I was reminded of that when we went to Rose on the River tonight. After what I went through with him, I’ve often questioned if I’m a good judge of character. We’ve grown close, and I’m enjoying it. I’m scared to mess this up.”
“Baby, I promise you that I’m not that guy, and I would never treat you that way. You’re too precious and too deserving of all the best things in life. I respect your view, though, but I would still like for you to give us a shot. We can take it slow, but I want to be your man. I’m not trying to see you in these streets dating some other nigga or even see any niggas in your face. I’m not interested in nobody else but you.”
“I want the same thing you do, Harlem, but please be careful with my heart because it’s fragile. I’m not certain I will survive another blow.”
