'I've had a crush on you for a very long time.'
I confessed.
We comfortably laid in her couch back in Charlotte spooning with my head resting in the crook of shoulder.
'Where?' Her laugh resonated within me.
'I'm serious. I did. It was sometime after we'd started working together and certainly before our first kiss.'
'You mean when we went to Incheon? That's vague.'
'No our first kiss wasn't at Incheon.'
I frowned. How could she not remember.
'When did we kiss before? I would have remembered.'
I turned in her lap to catch her genuine look.
'You were wearing a black strapless dress, we were in Loft X.'
Her eyes rounded after moments in confusion.
She rounded her mouth and made an exaggerated inhaling sound.
'No! That was you?'
My face burned in embarrassment. That really hadn't been my finest moment, just kissing her like that and I had been a little out of it at the time. Still no excuse.
'You looked right at me, I thought you knew who it was.'
'I'd lost my contacts. Everything in that dark room was a blur.'
My ears turned pink.
'I thought you were pretending not to remember. You just breezed in and out of the office like nothing happened. But there I was struggling with how to bring it up or rather not to.'
She laughed.
'I remember the day after that. Oh David.'
She lowered her head and kissed me.
'You should have said something to me.'
'Well I also wasn't eager to get sued. I thought, what if I misread the entire situation at the Loft.'
'Ow.' I rubbed the should she just smacked.
'That was for stealing a kiss from me.'
She failed to keep her frown with the stubborn smile that persistently tugged at her mouth.
'I'm sorry.' I said in vain when my innocent expression only turned devious and my hand ran lazy circles on her elbow.
'Can I kiss you?'
She stretched beside me on the couch.
'I don't know. Can you?'
When I say I visited a little piece of heaven every time I kissed this woman...
'Kay, we were wondering...'
Anne stood over the couch with her keys in her hand and Donnie not far behind her.
'Look, I know you two have been dating for sometime now... but I can't be the only one that still finds this a little weird.'
Donnie shook his head.
'Babe, I'm with you.'
'Right? It feels as though it was just yesterday you were telling me how much you hated him. We even had a name for him.'
'He knows all about those.'
Keziah smiles snuggling closer.
'I meant to tell you those were really original.' I pated her back.
Donnie rolled his eyes and Anne just gaped.
'Thank you.'
'These two are making me sick.'
Anne dropped her bag on the center piece settling in.
'Don't you have your own apartment?'
Keziah playfully asked.
'Wow. That's where are now?'
Donnie and I chuckled but kept our peace.
'Do unto others and all. I'm sure you understand.' Keziah shrugged.
'I knew we should have gone straight to our apartment. Shame on me for thinking my friend would still wants to spend time with me after all those months apart.'
I reached for Donnie.
'You don't have to leave.'
Yes, yes they did. I waited to see if Donnie would catch the secret message I was mentally projecting to him.
'He's right.' Keziah got up. Damn it all. She didn't have to agree with me.
'We need to get ready anyway. And I need you two to puppy and kitten sit.'
'You're going somewhere? Another date?'
Anne laughed.
'All of Charlotte knows you two are an item with the number of times you two go on about.'
'No. It's not a date.' Keziah replied.
'My mother invited us to lunch.'
Donnie and Anne both froze.
'It's nothing big. I go out with Liz all the time.'
But Anne read something more than I was seeing in the casual declaration.
'Girl, let me see what you're wearing.'
The two ladies left.
'David. Are you serious meeting the parents of the girl you are dating? That's a big deal.'
There was this pleasant pressure spreading in my chest.
'Don, I've never been so serious about another girl in my life. I want this to be a big deal. I'll make sure Liz knows about it.'
His wide smile spread generously making his eyes sparkle.
'I called it. I didn't want to say anything. But I knew Kay would special to you. Who else would have you going to Jared.'
I did a double take at the mention of our other cousin's name.
Realizing his fumble Donnie pressed on sidestepping his mess.
'Are you going to lunch in that?'
'No. We are stopping at my place next.'
Keziah came out in a pale blue dress. It was very professional.
'Do you like it?'
'You look sexy in everything.'
I replied.
'You could be in a box and David would tell you that.' Donnie joked.
But that wasn't a joke. That was a conversation with Jared begging to happen.
We arrived at the restaurant just in time.
Keziah stopped short at the doors and made the face she usually made when she did something wrong.
'Tell me quickly and I'll be okay. What happened?'
'I think Mama brought my dad along.'
Damn. Was that my phone ringing? Was I sure I didn't have something to do today?
'Lollipop,' I started with the corniest pet name I chosen for her. It represented the seeet tooth I had just for her.
'I don't think your father and I parted on the best terms. You should have told me so I could have been prepared.'
As I recalled I was a little rude to the man.
'Well my father doesn't hold grudges. So you're fine.'
I pulled her aside.
'I had a plan but it seems that's might not pan out the way I wanted it to.'
Since her father was in the mix, the response I was hoping for might not be favorable.
'My parents want to meet you because for the past three weeks I haven't been able to shut up about you.'
She ducked shyly.
'And I told them I'll let them meet that special girl who keeps me smiling every second like a dumb buffoon. And today I was going to ask that very special girl a very special question in front of her mother.'
Damn, my voice was getting lighter and why the hell were my palms sweating. Okay they were a little clammy.
I exhaled.
'Lollipop, will you please, for the love of all things beautiful. Will you be my girlfriend?'
I reached for the couples ring in my back pocket like the ones she loved in those korean dramas but she ambushed me in a hug.
'I'm taking that as a yes.'
I laughed.
She kissed me, a response I much preferred.
'Oh! David you even got the couple rings!'
She squealed seeing the simple rose gold band embedded with a two carrot pink diamond.
'I'm going to formally ask the parents but should your father say no, you already said yes and I'm not listening to him.'
One quick kiss and we walked through the doors into the restaurant.
Liz immediately stood hugging me. Hezekiah nodded. That was all.
'So. You two are dating now.'
Lizzie softly nudged her husband.
'Sweetheart, let them order first.'
'Why waste time with small talk?' He smiled dryly in my direction. I had no problem matching his attitude but I refrained for Lizzie's and Keziah's sake.
'Yes, sir. We are. And I wanted to take this opportunity to ask both of you if she could be my girlfriend.'
Lizzie laughed clapping her hands.
'You don't need our permission for that. We can talk when you decide to marry her.'
'I'd like to think the contrary.' Hezekiah spoke.
His dry tone did nothing to dim his wife's smile. She must be used to him.
'I want to know the man my daughter is involved with.'
'You know my father very well and I trust that you know what kind of man he raised.'
Keziah looked oddly at me.
I made a note to tell her all about that drama later, before she meets my parents.
'I'm not sure I can trust a man who doesn't know how to keep his professional life away from his personal.'
It was going to that kind of lunch.
'Believe me sir, I do.'
Keziah scratches the back of her head and looked away. Maybe I wasn't being a hundred percent honest. Just the other at work, I had Keziah on my desk and we spent a good part of our break making out in my office. But we had been on break.
Maybe.
'So then why are you dating your secretary.'
'I find that she's someone I wanted to know beyond the walls of my office building. She's sweet , intelligent, and a smart independent woman who knows what she wants in life and goes after it. That's the kind of partner I was looking for.'
I refrained from adding that she was sexy as hell and got me hot just by smiling. No father needed to know that.
'I now understand your actions clearer now.'
'My actions then were not based on my feelings now. If I see something, I say it. You can ask anyone.'
He turned his attention to his daughter.
'Where is the other boyfriend?'
Thomas...
Keziah had seen him once or twice after our return. She told me they'd spoken at length and they both agreed that staying friends would be the way to go.
Luckily, Thomas hadn't said anything that upset her. I knew all this because she told me everything. Still I wanted to hear her answer to the query.
Keziah cleared her throat and called the waiter.
'Can we get a two glasses of mimosas.'
'We don't care about him. She's with David now.'
Lizzie did a little dance.
'Zeke and I give you all our blessings. He's just being a butt because he's protective.'
I smiled at Lizzie.
'I understand.'
Hezekiah remained silent most of the time and met his wife ask the rest of the questions while he scrutinized my every action and word.
'I'm sorry about my dad.'
I understood perfectly.
'Don't be. I find him refreshing.'
'Well I'm glad. He approved of you, do you know that?'
I shook my head; no, no I didn't know that.
'The fact that he didn't roast you more than tonight says it all. He's one reason I never brought Thomas to meet them or any of the others.'
I kissed the back of her hand and held on to it the whole ride back to her apartment.
'Now you have to meet my parents.'
She placed her forehead on my arm and groaned.
Keziah opened my office door tapping her watch. 'Sir it's time for us to leave.'
'In a minute. Get me a cup of coffee will you?'
She propped her frame against the door looking at me with her mouth pursed.
'I meant please get me a cup of coffee if you could. I really love how you make the coffee; it's one of a kind.'
'You'll be wearing it if you don't get your butt out of that chair.'
I stretched in my chair making no move to get out of it.
Then I smiled at her annoyed expression reluctantly dragging myself towards her.
'I'm so tired.'
I pressed her soft body against mine and placed my cheek on her hair. I locked her in my embrace, she wasn't going to go anywhere until I let her go. I didn't want her to go anywhere: I liked this.
'I applied.'
'Applied for what?' I mumbled.
'The position of for junior consultant So you might have to start looking for a new assistant.'
I held her away,
'How could you do this to me?'
The echo of betrayal was feigned, however, the pang of regret was too raw to mock.
'I'm sorry, David.' She replied lowering her voice,
'This way we can continue dating because we'll be in different departments.'
That was all good and well, but the issue remained.
'Now I'll have to walk all the way to your office just to get coffee. How am I going to survive?'
She playfully punched me. 'Coffee? That's all I'm good for as an assistant?'
'No.' I laughed.
I softly claimed her lips for a long kiss.
'I'll begin making up my excuses to come see you.'
I returned us to our former positions where I just cradled her against my chest.
'You've already got the job, you know. And to celebrate, we can use our trip to Cancun coming up.'
She agreed.
'Sounds like a plan. Now Let's go.'
The office was empty so we could walk outside hand in hand like two kids in love.
Our progress was halted by the unexpected visitor standing at the door way.
Claire.