“My name,” I said. He smiled.
“Lele,” he repeated. I bit my lip, and then leaned across the little table to kiss him on the lips. “I like you Lele. A lot. And I don’t want anything to happen to you. I have a game coming up next week, and after that, I’m going to be leaving. I don’t want to leave without knowing that you are going to be safe.” I couldn’t help the wide grin spreading across my cheeks. I grabbed hold of his hand.
“I really like you too,” I told him.
“I’m going to get us some ice cream. What kind do you want?” he asked me.
“Vanilla,” I said with a wink. He laughed and stood up.
“I’ll be right back,” he told me and then kissed me on the forehead before walking over to the counter. I couldn’t stop smiling. It was too soon for me to be feeling like this! So much had happened in so little time. I felt bad that Michael kept getting into fights when he was with me. Did I attract trouble? Was I bad for Michael? These thoughts successfully wiped the smile off of my face. Michael returned with two bowls of ice cream and two spoons. Michael placed the bowl of vanilla ice cream in front of me and stuck my spoon into it before sitting down across from me and setting down his bowl of chocolate ice cream. He was about to eat a spoonful when he noticed me watching him. He looked from his bowl to mine, and then both burst out laughing. We ate our ice cream quietly with smiles on our faces.
Michael finished his before me and pushed his empty bowl away.
“So, did you think about what I said?” he asked me. I stopped with the spoon halfway to my mouth. I wasn’t sure exactly what he was referring to. Michael must have sensed as much because he went on, “I want to help you move to somewhere safer.”
I put my spoon down. “I’m not comfortable with that Michael. No offense, but we just met. I can’t let you pay for an apartment. That’s too much,” I said.
“I understand that this is all happening so fast, but you have to admit that there is something deeper going on between us. I’ve never felt this way with anyone else, especially not so soon,” Michael admitted. I nodded in agreement. I felt it too.
“Our connection is undeniable. But I don’t know,” I said. I felt overwhelmed by everything that had transpired. It was all so crazy.
“How about you sleep on it and we discuss it again over brunch?” Michael suggested. I nodded.
“Okay,” I said.
“In the meantime, can you at least stay the night with me? I’d feel more comfortable if you didn’t go back to that house,” Michael said. My eyebrows nearly shot off of my forehead. Michael was asking a lot of me. I shook my head.
“No, I do not want to stay at the hotel that I work at.”
“Then quit,” Michael muttered. I decided right then and there that Michael was out of his mind. Maybe he took too many hits to the face.
“Are you feeling okay? Because you’re talking a little crazy. Maybe you should lie down,” I suggested. Michael smiled at me.
“I’m joking,” he assured me, but I didn’t believe him. “You can stay at the hotel of your choice. My treat.” He flashed me his most charming smile. I could do that.
“Okay,” I agreed.
“Great!” Michael clapped his hands together. He looked down at my empty bowl of ice cream. “Ready to go?” he asked me. I nodded and we stood up to leave.
We continued walking downtown. There were a few other hotels nearby. We headed into the Hilton and Michael payed for me to stay in a presidential suite. I had never stayed in a presidential suite before, I had only cleaned them. I fought to hide my excitement. The woman at the front desk’s eyes lingered on my housekeeping uniform before she checked us in. She went to hand the key cards to Michael but he motioned for her to hand them to me. I took them and smiled at her.
Michael took my free hand in his and led me back out of the hotel. “Let’s get you some stuff to wear,” he suggested as we headed into a boutique. “Pick out any and everything you want,” he told me.
My eyes lit up as I smiled like a kid in a candy shop, or a woman on a limitless shopping spree. We stayed in the boutique for hours as I shopped. Michael didn’t seem to mind. He watched me as I tried on clothes and looked at me longingly in every outfit. I got dresses, jackets, skirts, tops, bottoms, shoes, bags, jewelry, underwear, bras. When I was done, the total came close to $2,000, more than I made in a month! Michael carried the bags as he walked me back to the Hilton.
We stood in the hotel lobby. “I’m going to let you get settled in. I need to go back to my room and lick my wounds. Think about what I said.”
Michael leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said before turning to go. Again, I watched him until he was out of sight. The concierge helped me take my bags to my suite.
The presidential suite in the Hilton was far more luxurious than the one at the hotel that I worked at. I changed out of my work clothes and into a complimentary robe, and ran myself a warm bath. Once the bath was ready, I climbed into the large tub, submerging myself up to my chin. I let myself relax and my eyes close as I reflected on the drastic turn that my life had taken. I could get used to this, but I wasn’t sure that I should. Everything was happening so fast and I was a little frightened by how quickly our relationship was developing. I didn’t know what to expect anymore. I told myself just to enjoy the ride and not to worry so much.
The bath felt so good that I almost fell asleep in it. I climbed out of the tub and put on the fluffy robe then headed out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. The bed was huge and full of large decorative pillows. I threw the pillows on the chaise that was by the window, only leaving two pillows on the bed. I climbed into the soft, plush bed and fell asleep with a smile on my face.
I had fallen asleep with the curtains open and when I finally awoke, the sun was shining brightly into the room. I sat up and stretched, feeling absolutely fabulous. I was in a beautiful suite, paid for by a beautiful man and I was just falling in love with my beautiful life! I leaned back on the pillows when I faintly heard my phone vibrating in the living room. I scurried out of the bed, and searched through the bags of clothes for my phone. I found it in a bag of underwear and answered on the last ring.
“Good morning!” I exclaimed, slightly out of breath.
“Good morning beautiful. How did you sleep?” Michael’s voice was like a breath of fresh air. This man just knew how to make me smile.
“Great! You?” I asked him as I returned to lie on the bed.
“I slept well. I’m a little sore from yesterday so I’m going to pay a visit to my personal trainer.”
I frowned. “I hope that this doesn’t affect your game.”
“Eh, I’ll be fine. The coach wasn’t too happy about it, but the game isn’t for another week anyway. I should be fine by then. I’m not banged up too bad,” Michael assured me, but I wasn’t convinced. We were quiet. “So I’m going to have to postpone brunch. Can we meet up for dinner?” he asked.
“Of course,” I told him.
“Great!” I could hear the smile in his voice. We got off of the phone and I started going through my new clothes. When I got hungry, I ordered food from room service. While I waited, I called Zion, who should be off of work by now.
“Hello?” Zion answered.
“Hey girl, what are you doing?”
“Nothing, just got home, about to start cooking dinner. What’s up with you?” I began filling Zion in on everything that had happened since we left her apartment last night.
“Damn girl! You gave him some yet?” Zion demanded.
“No! We’ve only kissed,” I told her. I have to admit, I was proud of myself for taking things slow, moving at my own pace.
“I’m impressed. He’s a good guy. Does he have any friends?” Zion asked. We laughed. “I’m serious,” she said.
“I don’t know, but he has a whole team. Maybe we could go to his game next Friday,” I said.
“Yes! I’ve never been to a major league football game before,” Zion said.
“Me neither,” I admitted. I was having a lot of firsts with Michael. Zion and I got off the phone just before room service arrived. I had ordered crab legs with butter and champagne. I guess I was already getting well accustomed to this lifestyle.
While I waited for Michael to be ready, I ordered dessert and watched television. When I got bored, I took a nap. The sun was starting to set when I awoke and I took that as a sign that I should begin getting ready. I decided to get all dolled up to show Michael how much I appreciated him. I put on a long candy apple red wrap dress that hugged my curves. The deep V-neck showed off my cleavage. I wore a pair of slinky black heels that really displayed my cute feet. I pulled my dreadlocks up into a bun, and did my makeup. I was back on the couch watching TV when Michael called.
“Hey beautiful, ready for tonight?”
“Yes I am, where are we going?” I asked.
“It’s a surprise,” he teased. I smiled. “I’ll be outside in less than five minutes.”
“Ok, I’m heading down now,” I told him. I got up, grabbed my new black jacket and black clutch and left. I caught the elevator down to the lobby. A cab pulled up outside just as I was walking out so I made my way towards it. As usual, Michael got out and opened the door for me as I climbed into the back seat of the cab. Michael got in beside me and the cab took off.
“You look beautiful tonight, as usual,” Michael told me.
“Thank you, so do you,” I told him with a grin. Michael and I matched tonight. He had on a black suede tailored suit, with a black V-neck underneath, and black suede loafers. He was still a little bruised but the swelling in his lip had gone down. He looked as handsome as ever.
Michael took me to a luxurious rooftop restaurant that he had rented out specifically for our date. I had never even known that this restaurant existed and the view of the city was incredible. All of the tables were lit by candles, the main source of light being the glorious full moon. A waiter brought out a bottle of champagne and a couple of goblets, filling them up halfway before leaving us alone to look over our menus.
Michael ordered steak with broccoli and wild rice. I ordered the same thing but replaced the steak with salmon. As I ate, I realized that I didn’t know that much about Michael. I decided that this was the perfect opportunity to play 21 questions.
“So Michael, have you dated black women before?” I asked, going straight for the jugular. Michael blushed and it was so adorable.
“Yes. Actually, I have only dated a few white women in my life. My first and my ex were both black women,” Michael told me. For some odd reason, I was relieved by his answer. “Have you ever dated a white man before?” he asked me. Now it was my turn to blush.
“No, I have not,” I admitted. Michael nodded, but tried to hide a smile. “What?” I asked him.
“Nothing. I’m just proud to be the first,” he said and then looked deeply in my eyes, “but I’m hoping I’ll be the last.” I was caught off guard by the intensity with which he said that last part and took a bite of my food to avoid having to say anything. We started talking about each other’s family. Michael told me that he had been raised by a young widowed mother in the inner city. He was an only child and grew up poor. I would have never known. I told him about how I was raised in a big family, with four other sisters and how differences with my dad caused me to move out.
“I’d like to meet your family one day,” Michael told me. “Lele, I know that I’m going to be leaving soon, but I am willing to do whatever it takes to make this work between us. I know that I may be moving fast, but ever since my father died, I don’t take anything for granted. Lele, I love you.” I almost choked on my champagne. “You don’t have to say it back just yet.”
“I love you too,” I said. I didn’t even know that I was going to say that. I had completely lost control of the situation and as soon as I uttered those three little words, I felt so much freer. Michael’s face lit up and he looked like an excited little boy. The waiter came out to remove our plates and we ordered dessert. Minutes later, the waiter was back. We had decided to share a slice of Hawaiian wedding cake. Michael didn’t eat much of it, he just kind of watched me devour it. I had never been the type of girl who was uncomfortable eating in front of guys. Once I was nice and full, Michael stood up and took my hand to dance. I loved to dance, but I was a little full so thankfully, the music was slow and didn’t require a lot of movement. I was surprised, Michael had rhythm. He twirled and dipped me all around the dancefloor. We were out of breath and sweating by the time we sat back down. I slipped out of my heels and wiggled my toes.
“I’m really enjoying our time together,” I told Michael. “Thank you, for everything.”
Michael clasped my hand and stroked it with his thumb. Then he stood up and came around to where I sat on the other side of the table.
“I too, have greatly enjoyed your company. In all of my years on the road, I have never felt anything close to what I have felt with you in these last few days and I don’t want it to end.” With that, Michael took a knee and I stopped breathing.
He looked me deeply into my eyes again and it felt as though the world had stopped turning. Michael reached into his suit jacket pocket and pulled out a black suede box. He only let go of my hand to open it revealing the most beautiful ring that I had ever seen.