"Okay, good job, baby!" Gianna cooed, bending down to pet Snow who barked in excitement. She had been a messy drinker since she got her and Gianna had been training her to be more clean when doing so.
She had gotten a deeper bowl to make it easier but it seemed like Snow just couldn't break out of that habit. Or so she thought.
Either way, she was glad her hardwood floors weren't drenched with puddles of milk.
Standing to her feet, she made her way over to the sink to wash her hands so she can continue to make her sandwich. It was Wednesday—her day off—so she was using the time to spend with her dog. She took Snow for walks in the mornings before she went to work, but that still wasn't enough outdoors for an active animal like him.
Plus, the sun was beaming outside so it was the perfect weather.
Gianna was dressed in a black ribbed short-sleeved unitard, paired with a beige cropped jumper across her shoulders to match her Marc Jacobs mini tote bag. Black Chuck Taylors covered her feet, with white crew socks peeking out at the top. A silver nameplate necklace hung around her neck, with diamond studs on her two pierced ears. Her hair was straightened to her liking and she did light makeup since she wasn't going anywhere special.
After making and wrapping her BLT along with Snow's treats, she placed them in her bag and grabbed her keys along with her half bottle of Essentials water. "Come on, girl," Gianna called after Snow and the two made their leave.
While opening the passenger door of her car to put Snow in, her phone vibrated in her hand. Once the animal was in the seat, she unlocked her phone and opened the message from Donte.
She had texted him after receiving those roses on Monday, but he had yet to reply. He didn't call like he say he would and she figured he was busy. She expected that from a man in his career, especially since the basketball season started soon.
Donte💗: hey, been busy myb
it's fine:
Should I have waited a whole day to respond like he did, her petty side thought but she shook that off.
When she got into her car and hooked her phone up, there was an incoming call from Donte. Her heart skipped a beat but she quickly calmed herself down before answering.
"Hey." Donte's voice was deep and groggy, which she found somewhat attractive.
"Hi. You sound like you just woke up."
"I did, actually. My body is pretty much shut down, it's a miracle I have the strength to talk right now." He replied, "But whatchu' getting into today? I know it's your day off."
He remembered, she took note.
"I'm bringing my baby to the park." She responded casually, pulling out of her driveway.
"Baby? Damn, you got a kid? How the fuck did I not know?"
"I don't have a child, Donte. My baby is a furry white animal named Snow." She let out a chuckle whilst he sighed in relief.
"Oh, thank God. The mother of my kids can't have any kids before me."
"Here you go."
He let out a laugh. "My bad. What park are you heading to?"
"Holly Park."
"Bet. I'll meet you there." He informed her and her eyes widened slightly. She wasn't surprised at his offer, but the thought of seeing him again in person made her nervous. He was intimidating in her eyes.
"You just said your body's shut down."
He agreed, "Yeah, but it's best if I get off my ass and come get some sun. Plus, Lucky misses you."
The woman's heart warmed at the thought of the dog she examined weeks ago. "I know that dog does not even remember me but whatever you say. You don't have to come Donte. We can meet another time."
"Why not meet now? You're free and I'm free so it makes sense."
"Hmm."
"I'ma be there in about an hour, okay? Stay pretty for me."
Gianna rolled her eyes, her mouth screwing up to hide the smile that was forcing its way on it. "Bye, Donte." Was her response, to which he chuckled.
When she hung up, she briefly glanced at her dog who was looking at her with doe eyes. With a shrug, she said, "he's just a friend. A client actually."
Snow tilted her head.
"And he's bringing you a play date so it's a win-win for both of us. Right?"
The dog let out a bark and Gianna chortled. "I'm not tryna find excuses to see him, girl. Don't even." Snow responded with another bark and the woman playfully rolled her neck as she sped down the street. "Stay acting like you better than me. Wanna square up? I can do that when we get to the park, okay?"
Admittedly, Gianna would never get tired of talking personally with Snow. For the past few months, she didn't have anyone else to turn to but her. Snow was like her child and friend in one, and she loved her very much. Even though she had Jeliyah now, Snow was still her OG gossip partner.
Gianna giggled as Snow galloped over to her with the tennis ball trapped between her teeth. She bent down and pet her around her ear before repeating the process. Normally, she would bring her straight to the area where there were mainly dogs, but she knew how easily stimulated her dog could get so she decided it was best she stayed at a secluded area until Donte.
Speaking of, Gianna had been running her hand over her hair and making sure her makeup looked flawless underneath the boiling sun. She didn't know how much she was obsessed with her appearance until she was meeting up with a man she found attractive.
Was it bad?—to want to look good, mainly for a man's validation?
She couldn't help herself.
Feeling a vibration from inside her bag, she retrieved the device and read over her bright screen. It was a message from Donte, which made her heart skip a beat.
Donte💗: wow, you get finer by the day.
She looked up and her eyes landed on Donte who stood a few feet away from her with a smirk on his face. Without even noticing, a smile was forming on her lips also. That moment was short-lived though because soon a hyperactive Lucky was jumping on her.
"Oh, look at you!" She exclaimed with a laugh, rubbing her hand over his fur, checking his infected ear, and taking note that there was now little to no hair loss there.
"Told you he missed you," Donte said, now standing right in front of her.
"Okay, maybe I believe you now."
"Mhmm. Y'all done having your moment?" He cocked a brow and she rolled her eyes, standing up to her full height yet still having to crane her neck to look at him. "Finally."
To her surprise, he took hold of her right hand and pulled her into his chest. His strong, manly, and husky cologne clouded her nostrils and his hands secured a space on her waist.
"You missed me?" He muttered low enough for her to hear.
"I barely know you."
Donte pulled away and licked his lips. "And that's why we're here, beautiful. To get to know each other mo—what the fuck?" He cursed as he looked down at the bichon frise that was biting on his sweatpants-covered ankle.
Gianna could help but laugh as she watched Donte try to get Snow off of him. She was wondering when her dog would take notice of him being so close to her. Snow was always defensive to anyone who got close to Gianna.
About a minute later, she decided to chime in, "Snow, girl, stop." With a clap, Snow was off his ankle and walking over to her owner. "Sorry about her. She does this a lot to strangers."
Donte rubbed his leg while shaking his head. "Oh, that's your delinquent? Makes sense—hey!" He whistled sharply and that's when Gianna noticed that Lucky was growling at her pet.
Lucky calmed down at his owner's command and went by his side.
"Well, this wasn't how I expected them to react to each other." She joked and the two shared a laugh.
"Nah, it's just a rough start." She—and Snow—watched attentively as he crotched down and held up his palm, approached the furry animal. "Hey, Snow. You good, girl? I'm not a bad guy, okay? Your mom likes me a lot—at least I hope so." He briefly grinned up at her and she only shook her head.
Slowly and steadily, he turned his hands downwards and she watched Snow walk cautiously over to him before slowly sniffing the back of his hand. The same that was damn near trying to bite off that man's ankle was now barking in approval and letting that same man pet her.
It's definitely because he's handsome, Gianna laughed and pulled out her phone to snap a quick picture. This was a rare sight to see so she had to record it.
Soon, Donte ended up sitting down on the grass while holding and playing with Snow. Lucky, who was running around the spacious area joined in and after a look from Donte, he was playing and rubbing on Snow.
Gianna was a bit amazed that Donte was able to do all this in a matter of minutes.
"You must be a magician or something. She never warms up to people so easily," Gianna informed him.
"I have that effect on people." He smirked, "Come, sit."
In a matter of seconds, Gianna was sat.
She crossed her legs and welcomed Lucky into her lap, petting him. "So, why white roses?" She decided to start the conversation, though she had thought about how she would start convo on her way there and that was what she came up with.
"Well, my mom has a thing for flowers so she bought me a whole ass book about flowers symbolisms and meanings and shit. I started reading it about a month ago and I remembered that it said white roses are meant to form the foundation for a relationship. Hence, the note I put in the bouquet I sent you."
Her heart fluttered at his words. She always saw a man sending flowers as a sweet gesture but the fact that Donte actually thought it through and made sure it symbolizes something for them and their relationship.
"Oh, that's very thoughtful of you. I appreciate it. They were nice."
"No problem. I just want to make sure it's clear that I'm not just teasing you or leading you on. If I want you, I'll make the right steps to get you. That's only if you feel the same way, of course."
"Right." She could only smile, she didn't know what else to say to him.
Donte cocked a brown and bit down on his bottom lip, his eyes watching her. "You do feel the same way, right?"
"I don't know. As I said, I barely know you. And I don't want to violate a no personal relationship with clients rule that I made."
The man nodded in understanding. "I get that, I do. And that's fine. I have a few weeks before the season starts so I'll use that time to get to know you."
"When you could be doing something better with your time?"
"Nothing's better than spending time with you, Doc." He offered her a lopsided grin. "Now tell me how your day's been?"
"No, you tell me why you were busy for a whole day and couldn't respond to my message. You just said you have been busy."
He diverted his attention to the dogs and simply said, "Yeah, just practice stuff. Coach wants to make sure I'm up for this season. I still gotta adjust to this new team and everything, you know?"
Gianna decided to ignore the fact that his response was a bit suspicious to her, and nodded, "Yeah, I can imagine. From Milwaukee to San Francisco. That's a big change."
His face brightened at the fact that she clearly was familiar with him or whatever Google had to offer, "You stay doing research on me. You must like me."
"Just want to know what I'm getting into."