Missing Key

Different You. Different Me.

"Umm. Cierra? You okay?" Quincy says as he squints at me. "Look, I didn't mean to scare you. I probably shouldn't have even told you what I was thinking. I know it's a little weird for me to be saying something like this when we just met. I just had to tell you how I feel. Cierra, I know God made our paths cross for a good reason. You gotta believe me."

"Uhhh. Um." I brush my hair out of my face. "Okay. Let me breathe for a second."

I take a deep breath. Okay. Breath, Cierra. "Okay. I'm back. You didn't scare me, but it's a lot." Cierra, girl., you've got to get yourself together. Don't scare the man away. We've got to get it together. I slip my hand from his and begin twirling my hair as I try put my thoughts together.

Part of me just wants to run away right now. I think the only think stopping me is the fact that all of my blood is in my face. All this time, I've been trying to get that commitment that Quincy's talking about, but now that he's offering it, I'm running away. I can't miss this oppportunity. No matter how much I wanna run. It's time to stay. When should I run when everything I've been asking for is right here, wrapped with a bow on top?

You know, sometimes you can get so caught up in the chase of the goal that you don't even realize when you've won the prize. I don't wanna be that girl. Maybe Quincy's popping out of nowhere is a blessing in disguise. His arrival is at one of the most difficult points in my life. Just when I thought my life was spinning around, he swooped in to save me. In just the day that I've known him, he's done something to me. It's different. Maybe I'm becoming a different me.

Three snaps pull my attention back to Quincy's worried eyes. "Earth to Cierra."

A smile stretches across my face and I say, "Quincy, I'm here. A hundred percent here."

"One Hunnid?" Quincy questions, lifting an eyebrow.

I cross my arms and raise my eyebrows in repsonse. "One hunnid, shawty."

"Ayye!" Quincy laughs, locking me in his embrace. "I can get wit that!"

We both laugh, still in the hug. His cologne floods my nose. My body relaxes and rests in his arms. Quincy gives me one squeeze and releases me.

"You know, I can't get Shaw to catch me hugging up on his daughter. I'm not tryna get fired," Quincy says jokingly.

He's a jokester and he's got the right person to do some joking with him. "Q, that'll never happen... Unless, you break my heart. That's what happened to the last one." I shrug my shoulders and slant my eyes at him. "You wouldn't do that would you?" I say with a stern tone and hard face

Quincy's hazel eyes squint at me, examining my face for any signs of a joke. Inside, the laughter is about to burst out of me. To keep it from exploding, my fingers trace circles on the black table cloth. "I can't tell if your serious or not," Quincy says still eyeing me. His eyes trace every part of my face. The circles begin to get bigger.

I'm debating whether to tell him that I'm joking, but this gives me the opportunity to check him out a little. His thick, full eyebrows reveal a thin wrinkle on his forehead. His strong hands run through his deep chocolate curls. Uncertainty plagues his face. Getting one more glance, I begin to tap my fingers on the table to the choppy beat playing throughout my head. Laughter slips through my lips, I'm hoping to relieve him from his anxiety

Quizzically, Quincy leans into the booth with his hand on his chin, rubbing the invisible beard. "You were joking the whole time?"

I roll my eyes and smile. "Yes, Quincy. I'm not petty like that."

He exhales and rubs his hair. "Man, you had me scared for a second. You should really consider acting if you could pull that off."

"Pull what off, Q?" my father asks as he slides into the booth. A tall, slender young woman, dressed in a sundress, slides in behind him. She smiles at me, causing me to feel a little unsettled. I know her from somewhere.

"Ahh, Shaw. Didn't even see you coming. But nah, it's nothing, man," Quincy replies, looking at me to model looking female. He raises his eyebrows, wondering the same thing that I am: Why is she here?

I clear my throat, not taking my eyes off of her. "So, Daddy, who is this joining us for our lunch date? I didn't know it was an open invitation," I say in the least polite way, but smiling the whole time. I'm not into playing games, so I'm not gonna act like I like her.

Daddy looks at me with a discinplarian expression. I blink slowly at the woman then to my dad and take sip of water. "Cierra, Quincy, this is Victoria Hollis." He smiles brightly and puts his arm around her should in a very friendly embrace.

Water shoots out of my mouth. "Excuse me?!?!"

Leave your thoughts and comments below. Thanks for reading! <3