Knight & Day

Mismatch Made In Heaven

+Tyson+

I glanced at my watch for the umpteenth time, growing more and more impatient by the second. It was 12:29 and Alicia had yet to arrive. Although we'd officially agreed to meet at 12:30, I'd personally always been a stickler for arriving everywhere 10 minutes early at minimum. It was something I'd picked up from one of my college professors. His motto was "If you arrive early, you're on time. If you arrive on time, you're late. And if you arrive late, don't bother showing up." As a college freshman, I initially found this statement to be a bit melodramatic and even pretentious at times, but over the next several years I'd found it to be essential to my success. I discovered that arriving early and always being prepared had allowed me to accomplish more than double what most of my colleagues had in nearly half the time. Once I realized that, it became a key part of my daily life, as did everything else I'd pick up through the years to cater to my growing need to be the very best at everything I did.

However, I could admit that at times like this when I had to operate on someone else's terms, my habits often became burdens. As I'd arrive at exactly 12:20, the last nine minutes had been filled with watching the time and wondering if she'd actually show up, something I didn't enjoy in the least. Being anxious over a woman was a rare occurrence for me, but here Alicia was filling me with that precise emotion for the second time. It was becoming a pattern with her. One that needed deterring if anything between us were to blossom.

Checking the time once again, I watched as the long hand jerked forward, indicating 12:30 exactly. I sighed deeply, nearly convinced that she would stand me up when suddenly, I spotted her model-esque figure entering the dinning room threshold as she searched for me with her eyes. She looked amazing, dressed in an all white pant suit and accessorized to perfection in rose gold jewelry. She carried a rather large white handbag with her, opening it to retrieve her membership card and show it to the maitre d'.

We were having lunch at the Summit Hills Country Club per my suggestion. I'd chosen the country club for our  first official date to see if my research on her pedigree had been accurate. From what I could gather, Alicia came from a similar background of wealthy black ancestry as I had. Her great-great-grandfather was a freed slave turned businessman, garnering wealth as one of the first black men to own farmland in the deep south. He'd established a legacy for his family that allowed for the following generations to prosper in ways most could only dream of. Her family's membership to the country club was a particularly historic one seeing as her grandfather had been the first black man to obtain membership in the early 60's and his membership had clearly been passed down with the rest of her family's legacy. Her heritage was full of innovators and go-getters and the more research I did, the more impressed with her I was.

I stood to my feet to greet her as a gentlemen does when a lady enters the room, and her eyes met mine. She smiled, strutting across the room as if she were on a runway. Her long legs and confident stride captured my entire attention as she seemed to float towards me in slow motion. This woman really was of the utmost quality and I had to have her for myself if it was the last thing I did.

"Good afternoon, Tyson. How are you?" she spoke, stopping in front of me.

"I was alright but I'm better now that I've had the pleasure of seeing you again," I responded with a smile of my own. She chuckled lightly as I pulled out her chair and she sat.

"Starting early with the charm, are we?" she said as I sat opposite her.

"If you consider my honesty charming, we just might be a match made in heaven."

She smirked before she responded.

"Don't get ahead of yourself... Whether we're a match at all is still to be determined," she spoke, watching me from across the table. Her eyes never wavered from mine as her stare was sexy yet intimidating.