by DL White
“The one that ran her mouth, then shut right up when she realized who we were?”
“She backed off before you introduced yourself. But yeah, I’ve been…” I blew out a breath, puffing out my cheeks. “We’ve been hanging out. Or whatever.”
“Huh. The smoothie shop girl. I mean…” Gage sucked his teeth. I could just see him brushing a hand over his signature waves, then pulling at his goatee. “She’s fine and everything but you think it’s a good idea to be like… dating?”
“Not dating. We’re just hanging out. Seeing each other. It’s just a beach thing for right now.”
“Does she know it’s just a beach thing for right now?”
“Yeah, man. Yeah. She’s cool with it.”
We’d both made sure we were clear about the details of our “relationship”. Neither of us were looking for anything long term or long distance. I lived in Brooklyn. She lived out in Black Diamond Bay. Having someone out here to visit every once in awhile was nice, but I had no plans on making regular visits to this town.
“I hear you now. I don’t want to hear you later, talking about how she misses you and she wants you to move out there.”
I rolled my eyes, stepping back outside and setting up the candles, laying out the napkins. “It’s not like that. It’s not gonna be like that. Yo, what do you want, man? I’ve got a lot going on here and I need to change my clothes.”
“You still think somebody cares about your dirty shirt.” Gage laughed, then went on. “What do you think I want? These samples you sent last night are tight. I wanted to talk about using a couple of them. The ideas are flowing right now. I wish you were here; we could get some serious work done.”
“Yeah, well. That’s the whole reason I wasn’t allowed to go on vacation with ya’ll this year. We worked the whole time last year. Sheree is still pissed about that. And on that tip, don’t get me in trouble this year either. You’re supposed to be on vacation, not working.”
“Sheree will be alright. She likes the paychecks.” His voice rose for a few seconds when he asked, “Don’t you, bae? You don’t want me to work but you like that money!”
Sheree said something I couldn’t understand, tinged with a thick Jamaican accent. The tone alone told me Gage better watch his step. And his mouth.
“Ay, man. Keep me outta this. Happy wife, happy life works for me, too. Which ones do you want? I can work on them later and shoot them over to you.”
We talked about a few tracks he really liked. I agreed to work on drawing them out from the 20 second samples to full 2-3 minute tracks. Once he had a good idea of how the beat transitioned throughout the song, he could start writing. We would round out the sound with layers and other tricks of the trade when we were back in the New York studio.
The doorbell rang as soon as I hung up. “Shit,” I muttered, glancing down at the shorts and t-shirt I’d worn earlier. I pulled open the front door and let Ameenah in.
“Hey, pretty.” I greeted her with a kiss on a full, round cheek, then tipped my head to catch her lips. She hummed, then giggled, the longer the kiss lasted. She finally broke away and stepped back.
“I didn’t realize we were dressing down tonight.”
“We’re not. I’ll get you set up with something nice to drink and then I’m going to go shower and change so I’m a little more presentable.”
She was elegant but casual in a thin blue and white flowered dress that flowed to her ankles. It tied around her neck and was sleeveless so she was showing off the golden tan she’d earned earlier in the day. And it had a split up the side so her shapely thigh made an appearance every other step.
I wound my fingers between hers and led her through the family room to the deck where I’d set a table for us with a perfect view of the sun on its descent.
“Oh, how pretty,” she cooed, looking over every detail, from the colorful poppies in a small vase to the long white tapered candles in crystal candle holders to the blue and white bone china plates, the fancy silverware and the etched wine goblets.
“You really went all out.” She grinned back at me as she took a seat in the chair I pulled out for her.
“Not saying that I wouldn’t do the same if we were having dinner at my place, but none of this stuff is mine. I’m just using it to impress you.”
“Well, remind me to thank Gage’s wife for her amazing taste and for leaving everything here for you to impress me with.”
“I’ll do that. You want some wine?”
She nodded, smiling up at me, so I grabbed the wine from the fridge, popped the cork and poured her a glass. “I’m gonna go shower. You cool? Need anything?”
She waved me off, already sipping from her glass and pulling out her phone. “I’m good. Go. Go, I’m fine.”
I hurried through my shower, slapped some lotion on my skin, brushed my hair and my teeth and touched up my goatee. Minutes later, I thumped down the steps to find the deck empty and the sun beginning to dip below the horizon. I whipped around, glancing into the kitchen to see if maybe she was hanging out in there, but it was empty.
“Meenah?”
“Down here,” I heard from practically under the deck. I walked toward the edge and laughed. Ameenah had stretched out next to the pool one level below, looking awfully comfortable on one of the cushioned loungers. Her long fingers wrapped around the bowl of a wine goblet, lifting it to her lips.
“Stay right there,” I told her, then got to work transferring our dinner from the deck to the pool. I was flexible, and for Ameenah’s birthday, I was willing to do just about anything to make sure she was happy.
A few minutes later, we had moved to the patio table near the pool and I had dished up steak and scallops in a champagne butter sauce and steamed green beans.
Ameenah spread a napkin across her lap and admired her plate, her eyes sparkling. “Everything looks amazing, Wade. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” I answered, shrugging a shoulder. I was already digging into my plate. “It’s no big thing.”
“No big thing?” She grumbled while slicing the tenderloin. “You’re always making something delicious for me. I hardly return the favor by making you a smoothie every day.”
“Don’t forget those muffins.”
“And the muffins… that I make for the shop and give you the extras.”
“Still, I don’t stop in just to say hi. I crave that drink. My mouth expects it around 11 o’clock and if I haven’t had it by mid-afternoon, I can’t stop thinking about it.”
Ameenah laughed around a mouthful of green beans. “You flatter me, but I still don’t think some juice and ice cream compares to surf and turf.”
“It’s not a contest,” I mumbled, reaching across the table for her hand. She slid it into mine and I squeezed. “I like to cook. And it’s nice to have someone to cook for.” I glanced at her plate, which bore evidence that she was more than enjoying her dinner. She was practically inhaling it. “Who will eat.”
She eyed me while spearing a slice of scallop and a few green beans. “I already told you about these glorious hips,” she said, before a forkful of food disappeared into her mouth.
“And I already told you I like those glorious hips.” I picked up my wineglass, enjoying a swig before returning to my plate. “For real, it must be nice working in the restaurant industry. You could probably drop in any of them and eat for free, right?”
“Something like that,” she said. “I’ve worked in all the restaurants my family owns, in some capacity. It’s more like visiting a former place of employment. I don’t really hang out in our restaurants, even for a free meal. I see things that need to be done and before I know it, I’ve been working for six hours.”
“I guess I can see that. But you must get perks out of it.”
She picked up her wineglass, tossing her head from side to side. “For sure. I mean, our nicer restaurants are great for birthday parties, graduations, things like that. I get first dibs, if I want them. Paige and I turned 3
0 a few days apart. We had our party at Porter’s Steakhouse, in a private room. You normally have to spend a couple grand to get that room.”
“Porter’s is nice. Real nice. I remember my mom trying to save up money for us to go there one time.”
“It’s a little on the high end, yeah. But you don’t have to worry about that now, I bet.”
“Not really, no. I take her and her friends there every year around Thanksgiving. But like I said—” I gestured to the table, our nearly empty plates and wine glasses. “I like to do for myself. No restaurant cooks for me as well as I cook for myself.”
“I see. And…” She smirked from behind her glass. “I agree. And that’s a lot coming from me.”
“I will take that as the compliment it was meant to be.” I stood and reached across the table for Ameenah’s plate, stacking it on top of mine. The sun had set, putting us in shadows on the patio. She stood too, grabbing wine glasses and other dishes and following me back up the stairs, across the deck and back into the house.
“Just drop those next to the sink. I’ll take care of them later.”
“I’ll do no such thing.” She started running water in the sink. “You cooked; I’ll clean up.”
“No, no, no… I—”
“Is there an apron around here?” She opened and closed drawers, then walked into the pantry. She came back out wearing a black and white striped apron, tying the strings around her waist.
“Ameenah, you don’t have to—”
“Go get the rest of the dishes from the deck and the patio. It won’t take long to wash them up.” She busied herself rinsing plates and dunking them in hot, soapy water. She glanced back at me and smiled. “Wade. The rest of the dishes?”
I gave up and went back outside.
Once Ameenah was satisfied that the dishes were washed and we cleaned the kitchen, I untied the apron from her waist and pushed her into the family room with a fresh glass of wine.
“I can’t believe you washed your own birthday dishes.”
She shrugged, kicking off her sandals and tucking herself into the couch, sitting sideways with a leg tucked under her. The split in her dress showed off her leg from thigh to toe. Not that I was looking.
But I totally was.
“I can’t believe you cooked an amazing meal for me and wouldn’t let me do my part to help clean up.”
“I’m gonna have to circle back to the whole birthday thing.” I settled into the couch next to her and set my wineglass on a coaster on the coffee table. “Tell me you had a great birthday and I’ll let it go.”
“Mmmm,” she hummed, taking a long swallow of white wine before setting her glass next to mine. “My day was perfect. I spent it in a place I love, doing something new with someone I like a lot. Then I had some good food and some really good wine.”
“I’m stuck on that part where you talked about someone you like a lot.”
“Oh?” Her eyebrows rose. She scooted in a little closer to me and pressed her lips to my chin. I groaned at the feeling of her lips on me. Cool from the wine. Soft. “What did you need help with?”
My arms dropped around her. I took advantage of all the skin she had on display, my hands roaming her shoulders, down her arms and the thigh was in plain view. “Just, you know. I was wondering who that was, that you liked a lot. And how that person would know it was him.”
“So you’re saying you need a clue?”
“I might need a clue.”
“Now, uh…” She stretched up to kiss me, her lips lingering on mine a moment longer than usual. She pulled back and when I leaned in for more, she tipped her head back. “I thought you were from Queens. Ya’ll got street smarts, I hear.”
“Oh, we do. We do.”
I cupped her chin in my hands and covered her mouth with mine. I swirled my tongue around hers, then sucked on it, gently, then harder with rhythm. She relaxed against me and let a long breath escape once I released her.
“So…” She mumbled, her eyes still closed, her chin propped against mine. “What are your street smarts telling you?”
“Uh, so… I think that guy might be me. Either that or you got a couple of boyfriends out here on this island.”
She laughed a hearty laugh in my face. “Not saying I don’t have a couple of cuties out here.”
“You tryna say I’m not your boyfriend?”
Her eyes popped open. Wide. “Uhm… were you trying to be? I mean... I thought…”
I pecked her on the nose and drew her in closer to me. “I’m just playing with you, Ameenah. I know what this is.”
She sat up, though and scooted away a little. “Hold on, though. I know what this is, too. It’s me and you having a good time. But you… were you expecting exclusivity?”
“Were you planning on not being exclusive?”
“I hadn’t thought about it. But asking me to not see anyone else feels like more than we agreed to.”
“I’m not asking for that.”
“But you’d have a problem if I was seeing someone else out here?”
I shook my head, averting my gaze. Where did this come from? How did we get here?
“I didn’t say that at all. That’s not even what I meant. I’m not asking you to do anything you don’t want to do. Including be exclusive to me. If you want to see other guys out here, I can’t stop you.”
She didn’t respond for a few moments. Then she sighed a long, drawn out sigh. “I think wine is going to my head. I don’t even know what that was about.”
I laughed. I saw a couple of laugh lines show up around her mouth, which was a good sign. “Gage called earlier. Told him about me and you hanging out. He was concerned about me dating, since I’m here to work. I said we weren’t dating. But… aren’t we?”
She lifted a shoulder and pursed her lips. “Paige was also concerned about me dating. But her concern was more centered in why didn’t you tell me you were fucking Wade Marshall and how big do you think Gage’s dick is?”
I laughed so hard I choked. Ameenah stretched to grab my glass of wine and handed it to me. I sucked down a swallow or two, until the cough subsided and set my glass down again.
“So my street smarts are telling me a couple of things right now. That we like each other. That we might be upset if either of us was… hanging out with other people.” I paused and caught her curious gaze. “And that your friend is real nosy and has a death wish.”
She laughed. “I already told her Sheree would take care of her. She doesn't believe me.”
“So, Brooklyn… what do your street smarts tell you?”
“Well, my Brooklyn smarts tell me you’re right. I’d be hot if you were this cuddled up with someone else on this island. And that it would be sweet if I was going back to Brooklyn. But my island smarts tell me that this is for fun and this is temporary and I should reserve my feelings and protect my heart because liking you might get dangerous.”
“Yeah.” I nodded a few times. “I see that.”
“But also that it’s… kind of too late to be careful.”
I nodded again. “I see that, too.”
“Do you? Did your Queens street smarts tell you that?”
I laughed, looping my arm around her neck and bringing her close to me again. I dropped a kiss on her temple, then left my lips there. A beat or two passed before I had put together the words I wanted to say in my mind. I needed to be clear.
“I’m not going to pretend I don’t like you. A lot. Like if you still lived in Brooklyn, I would case your front porch every week. I’m glad I met you that night when you called yourself telling me and Gage off.”
She giggled, the sound muffled in my neck, where she’d buried her face.
“But I’m also not trying to hurt you. If I’m honest, I’m not trying to get in deep with you. Knowing I’m leaving in September… I don’t want you to regret agreeing to be with me. So, this can go as fast or as slow as you want or need it to go. I’m only concerned about you and how you’re gonna mak
e it out here once I’m gone.”
Ameenah laughed.
“What? I’m having a big impact on your life right now.” She laughed harder. “Fine. We’re just gonna pretend I’m not tearin’ it up. I’m not knockin’ the bottom out. I’m not standing up in it. Let’s just pretend that’s not happening.”
She cackled, laughing so hard she had to move away. “I don’t even know what standing up in it means!”
“I don’t either. I heard some dude say it and I thought it was funny. You okay over there?” I tried not to laugh at her, a whole seat cushion away from me, wiping tears from her cheeks.
“I’m fine, just shut up for a second so I can inhale. Goddamn.”
I got up while she got herself together and went into the kitchen, returning with two small bowls. I dropped down next to her and handed her one. “A peace offering.”
The way her eyes lit up when she saw it was a bowl of blueberry crisp ice cream made my night. I couldn’t even eat my ice cream because I was watching her eat, listening to her humming and moaning, practically licking the spoon clean between bites.
“You really like ice cream, huh?”
“Mm mm,” she moaned, scraping the last of what was able to melt from the bottom of the bowl. “I do. Always have. It’s so… cold and sweet.” She sighed, leaning forward to set her bowl on the coffee table.
“I’m a little jealous of that spoon. You gave it a real good licking.”
Ameenah’s eyebrows rose while her eyes slid closed. “Are… you saying I don’t lick you good? Is this what you’re telling me?”
“I’m not—” I didn’t get a chance to finish my sentence before she pounced. My poor melted bowl of ice cream ended up back on the table and Ameenah was on her knees between my legs. She reached up behind her neck and undid the tie that kept her dress up and on her body. When it was undone, the top of the dress fell, revealing her bare breasts and hard, erect nipples.
“Ameenah, I didn’t mean—”
“Hush,” she hissed, unbuckling my belt, then pulling open the button enclosure to my shorts. I watched her hands yank down my zipper and open the shorts wide. Even my eyes got big when I saw how long and hard I was pressed against the thin fabric of my boxers.
