I sit in my car parked inside the security gate waiting for the driver Malik sent to pick me up. I let security know I'd be leaving my car here and I was expecting someone to pick me up.
I see a black SUV pull up and the guard waves me over once he identifies him. I get out of my car set the alarm before walking over.
The driver gets out and helps me into the back seat. I check my phone and it's 7 on the dot.
As I'm sitting in the back seat, not sure where we're headed and I decide to text one of my friends who also happens to be my neighbor, Jade.
Her husband is a police chief so when I met them, I knew our neighborhood would be extremely safe.
I laugh to myself as I write my text.
Hey, going on a date.
Sending you my location so you know where to find the body
lol
Wish me luck 🤞🏽
Grl, don't joke like that,
but have fun.
Good luck 🍀
Making small talk with the driver, a man named Arlo, I lose track of time, before I know it, it's a quarter til 8.
We arrive downtown and stop in front of a huge building with a revolving door. I look at Arlo for some sort of confirmation of where we are.
As I turn my head back to the building, Malik emerges from the door looking even better than when we met less than 24 hours ago. He's wearing a charcoal gray suit with a white dress shirt and a powder pink tie.
Arlo opens his door to get out so he can open the door, but Malik gestures to him that it's okay, and lets himself in the back seat with me.
"Hey beautiful," he greets me while settling in. As we drive away he checks his watch, "Sorry I took so long."
"Hey, handsome," I reply smoothly. "We haven't been here long"
"Oh, I guess you live farther than I expected" he stated sounding surprised.
"There was some traffic" I inform him.
"Well, with such a long trip, I have to make sure tonight is worth it." He tells me with a smirk.
We arrive at another tall building which happens to have a restaurant at the top. It's one of the tallest buildings downtown.
We had the choice to eat in the main restaurant or the lounge, so we opted for the lounge which was a little more intimate.
While ordering drinks the waiter cards me. I show him my ID and he goes to put in the requests.
"Are you sure you're old enough to be drinking with that baby face of yours?" Malik teases me.
I roll my eyes at him. "Yes, I am old man!" I retort.
He did have some stray grays in his beard but they're only noticeable when you're looking closely.
He pretends to grab his chest. "Aww, that one hurt. How old do you think I am?"
"I'm not good with these types of guessing games, and I don't want to hurt your feelings," I reply smiling shyly.
"Take a guess, I promise I won't be too offended."
"30" I respond covering my eyes.
He raises his brow. I furrow mine. That must be too old. I smile innocently.
"I'll be 35 next month." He says proudly.
I mouth an 'o'. I wasn't expecting that at all. "Well damn, you look good!" I blurt out before thinking.
"Well, I appreciate that. So how old are you?" He chuckles.
"I'm turning 25 in a few months," I tell him feeling guilty about being so young.
I'm well past legal, but a decade is a significant age gap, and I've dealt with an older guy before and it wasn't the best experience.
"Hmmm." He smirks at me. "You still a baby, girl."
I nervously fiddle my hands on top of the table.
He takes my hand in his and I meet his gaze "Does that bother you?" He asks possibly reading my body language. He seems disappointed.
The waiter breaks the awkward silence bringing our drinks. He takes our food order and I request another drink before he leaves.
Quietly, I sip my drink.
"Sharice." He almost whispers my name gaining my attention. I become mesmerized looking into his gray eyes. "If you're uncomfortable, let me know. You can be real with me."
The last man I dealt with was much older than me. It wasn't until I started therapy a few months ago that I was able to identify that I was dating a narcissist. To this day I haven't told my parents the truth of it all. I'm too ashamed. I was dating a 36-year-old man at the age of 21, fresh out of college and he did a number on me.
"It's fine." I smile at him shaking myself from my thoughts. "So when's your birthday?"
"April 20th," he says smirking.
"4-20 huh?" I laugh raising my eyebrow. Smokers holiday.
"Do you?" He asks quietly.
I wink at him. I enjoy a little Mary Jane here and there.
"Well then, do I have a surprise for you. Arlo will take care of you. He keeps all the goods." He says happily. "So when is your birthday?"
"Take a guess, my birthday's on a holiday but it's in the summer." I hint to him.
"The fourth of July?" He guesses correctly.
I nod to confirm, "I love it. There are always fireworks."
He tells me more about himself. Single of course, no children. He's the eldest of 3 siblings. His brother is 29. He's the one at the gas station and they have a younger sister who is 22. Their family is originally from Georgia, but he and his brother, Mason moved to California for business. Their sister, Sophia, is in Florida finishing her final year at a university.
He works for a private equity firm. That intrigued me since I also work in finance, but not wanting to divulge too much information about myself, I simply tell him I work for a bank. He, along with his brother, also work in health technology.
Seems like a very busy man.
"I just have to ask, how often does that gas station trick work?" I ask bring flirty but also wanting to know.
"Actually," he pauses. "When I saw this angel walk in and I needed an excuse to talk to her and not seem like some creepy dude at the gas station. Especially at 2 in the morning."
My cheeks heat up while I'm smiling. "Good answer. Do you live out that way?"
"No, I have a home in the hills, but last night I had a business dinner that ran longer than expected so Mason and the guys wanted to go to an uh..." he pauses and shakes his head before continuing "gentlemen's club."
"Oh."
"Trust me, it was innocent." He tries to soothe me. "We closed a deal, and men celebrate in weird ways." He scrunches his face.
"Well, congratulations then" I raise my glass.
"It's a good thing I went, or I would've never met you." He says as our glasses connect to cheers.
"Lucky you," I respond playing it cool.
"Lucky me indeed" he looks at me and flashes that smile. "So why are you single? You are single right?"
"Yes, very much single." I laugh.
"Good because I don't like to share," he says with a mischievous smirk.
I smile back before answering "Well, a lot of the men I've come in contact with have too much going on. Full of themselves, unstable, just a bunch of drama and mess. Too much like my ex."
"And what happened to him, if you don't mind me asking?" He asks rubbing his beard.
"Ummm." I hesitate unsure if I should tell him about my drama, but I decide to continue "I'll put it like this, one day I decided I'd had enough." I shrug my shoulders, "I quit my job, changed my number, and moved away."
He kept eye contact and gave me a nod to continue.
"We were together longer than we should've been and after a while, things changed and I spent the rest of our relationship trying to be better because I thought I wasn't good enough. I was fresh out of college and we shouldn't have been a thing in the first place. It was toxic as hell. Just a cycle of craziness. On and off like a switch."
"He was an older guy." He states rather than asks.
I nod. "15 years." I wince telling my secret.
He places his hands around mine. "That wasn't your fault. Some people are just shitty and they thrive on hurting good souls. You were strong to walk away."
I not sure why, but when he said those words it felt like I was opening my eyes for the first time.
When my therapist told me those same exact words it felt good to hear, but he's also paid to tell me those things, but the man in front of me has known me for less than 24 hours and is speaking to my soul.
He stands from his chair and kneels in front of me wiping a tear from my cheek that I didn't realize was there. But I'm not sad, it was a happy tear.
"Thank you, Malik." I breathe out.
I needed this.
Call it more than even.