"They was about to beat me up." Quincy said as we drove off.
"That's because you were talking about making heat." I laughed.
"I didn't mean it like that. It came out wrong. They had me nervous."
"Sorry."
"Them your sisters or something?"
"Kinda. One is my cousin's girlfriend, the other is my cousin."
"Okay. It's good to have folks looking out for you. I'm like that with Lish." He said referring to his younger sister Alyesha which was Noelle's roommate.
"Yeah. Just be glad Amiri wasn't there." I shook my head just thinking.
"that's ol dude from the library?"
"Yeah. He would've cock-blocked major. He acts like hes' my father. He's so annoying."
"Cock-blocked or not, he wouldn't have stopped this date."
"Yeah." I chuckled and looked out the window.
"What type of tunes you like?" He asked me.
"Uh...I'm not a big music person."
"Really? So you not going around "I ain't sorry. Nigga hell naw." He mimicked girls dancing to Beyonce's lemonade.
"No." I laughed. "I like Beyonce. But I'm not a bee-hiver. I prefer to read."
"Interesting." He simply said.
I sighed silently to myself as I felt embarrassment rush all over me. I just knew he was judging. I shouldn't have said that. I feel the lame all over it. I just looked out the window.
"What's wrong?" He looked over at me, then back at the road.
"Nothing." I smiled to make it seem like I was okay.
"You sure?"
"Yeah." I shook my head yes, then looked back out the window.
There was silence. All we heard was the car.
"What type of books you like to read?" He asked.
"Uh...all kinds. But my favorite is black literature."
"As in..." He said.
"Toni Morrison. Alice Walker."
"Uh-huh. You into them feminist, I don't need no man books."
"What?" I laughed. "That is not what Toni and Alice write."
"Alice Walker wrote The Color Purple, ain't that the whole premise of the book? Until you do right by me, everything you touch going to crumble." He mimicked Celie
"Oh my God." I bursted into laughter. "He treated her wrong. Should she stay with someone who treated her wrong?"
"She could've gave mister one more chance, she didn't have to go putting her fingers in his face."
"I'm so done." I smiled and shook my head looking out the window.
He laughed. "I'm joking."
There was silence.
"I think it's good you like to read. You know who J. Cole is?"
I sucked my teeth like really. 😒 I'm not that lame.
"Okay geez. I was just asking you said you didn't listen to music like that. I was making sure. Calm down."
"Whatever." I blushed.
"In no Role Modelz he say Now all I'm left with is girls from reality shows Hand her a script the girl probably couldn't read along. Truest line ever wrote. So it's refreshing to see somebody not like that."
"Yeah but the sad thing is, guys say lines like that, then go for the reality or Instagram chicks." I looked out the window.
"You got a career I don't know about?"
"What you mean?" I looked at him.
"You a reality or Instagram chick?"
"No."
"Then who are these guys you're talking about? Now don't get me wrong. Lira Galore give a nigga a chance, I'm smashing on sight."
I stale faced him. He laughed.
"That's not funny." I looked out the window playfully.
"It is. Because you generalizing. And like it was unfair of me to do that with you, when we had our problems. It's unfair for you to do that to me." HE paused. "Now apologize."
"Oh my God. Sorry." I laughed.
"That wasn't sincere." He looked ahead at the road.
"Quincy I'm sorry."
"That's better. I accept it."
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. I started to realize his personality, made all my jitters go away. That's a good sign. I suppose.
We pulled in the parking lot of what looked like a warehouse.
"And this is where I take your body and dump it." He said as we pulled into a parking space.
I gave him a look. He laughed.
"What is this place?"
"It's a surprise. Damn wait till we get in there." He unbuckled his seat belt.
I did mine and we got out. We walked up to the building. He opened the door and we went inside.
We walked in and it was an art gallery. I followed him up a flight of stairs and we went into a room where a woman was waiting. She looked a little like Gabrielle Union.
"Quincy." She smiled. He hugged her.
"So Callie this is My god-mother Jean Sharper. She is one of the best modern artist around and she's going to give us a private art lesson. I don't really need it, I'm already Picasso,but you might."
I rolled my eyes at him and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you."
"Okay so we're gonna start with something simple. Grab a seat." Jean said.
We sat in the two chairs in the front that had the easel and paint.
"Let me turn this way. Can't have you seeing my masterpiece." Quincy moved his easel and chair where I couldn't see.
"You are so extra." I shook my head.
"So we're gonna start really simple by painting this fruit bowl." Jean pointed to a bowl of fruit on the desk in front of us.
"No offense God-Ma but I been painting my whole life, I need something more challenging. Like portraits. So just teach Callie here the fruit. And Imma paint Callie."
"No thank you." I said.
"Quincy." She looked at him.
"Y'all gon head." He shooed her along.
She rolled her eyes and worked with me.
As she was working with me. Quincy got up to look to see what I was doing.
"Them colors aren't right."
"Boy goodbye." I held my hand up to him.
"You drew that line crooked."
"Quincy get away from her." Jean said.
"Aight when y'all see my portrait y'all gon wish you had of listened." He went back to his easel. "Let me get back to painting this masterpiece."
He acted like he was really over there painting something serious.
When I was done I looked at my bowl of fruit. It wasn't that bad for my first try.
"Look." I showed Quincy.
"Psh." He waved it off.
"Ooooooo you are such a hater."
"Boom." Quincy turned around his "portrait" of me.
"You have got to be kidding? All this time and that's the best you could do?"
"You just don't know about art. Look at the intricacy of these circles. Tell her God-Ma. I make this look easy but it ain't."
"Quincy stop." She laughed.
"Y'all hating. This better than the Mona-Lisa. Look at the hair. It even got a lil bow. Look at the bow. Shoot this a masterpiece. Forget what y'all saying." He got up.
"Yeah a real kindergarten masterpiece." I rolled my eyes laughing.
He stale faced me. "Don't disrespect my art. I take it very seriously."
"Anyway." I got my painting and thanked Jean for the lesson.
"Aight God-Ma thank you for this." He hugged her.
We left out. "Keep that. Hang it on your wall." He gave me his painting as we walked down the stairs.
"I'm going to throw it away."
"Stop playing that's worth a lot of money." He said as he held the door for me as we left the building.
"Yeah. Ok."
We got in the car.
"What type of food you like?" He asked me starting the car.
"Uh..."
"I think the better question is what can your pockets afford. I don't pay for women." He backed out the spot.
I looked at him.
"What?" He looked at me like he didn't know what he said.
"You are so annoying."
"You got a McDonalds budget or a Ruth Chris budget?" He looked over then back at the road.
"I have no budget, because I'm not paying. You asked me on a date."
"And?" He said. "I asked you on a date, I didn't say nothing about paying Celie." He said referring to the Color Purple reference earlier.
I gave him the stalest face.
He kept driving like he didn't feel my eyes burning a whole into him.
"This is your last and final date." I told him.
"No it's not. Cause Imma ask again and you gon say yes."
He was so annoying. He reminded me a lot of the silliness of Amiri and my father. Which I liked. I wasn't one bit nervous now. I guess that's another good sign.
"If you say so." I said.
"Fareal what type of food you like?"
"I don't know. Whatever you choose."
"Now if I choose something you can't say I didn't ask you."
"I don't know. I like all type of stuff."
"give me something."
"Umm...Italian."
"Nah. I don't like that." He said as if he was serious.
"I am not playing with you Quincy." I gave him a look.
"Is that supposed to scare me?" He looked over at me we were stopped at a red light.
"Uhhh just shut up." I laughed.
He drove and we ended up at this Italian Restaurant
We got seated at a table for two.
"Order anything you want off the kids menu." He said looking at his menu.
I looked at him and rolled my eyes. The waitress came and took our drink orders to give us more time to choose.
"What you getting?" He asked looking at his menu.
"The Mediterranean Pasta."
"Where that's at?" He looked in the menu.
I pointed to it. He looked at it.
"I think I'm gon get this Garlic Cheddar Chicken." He turned the menu.
The waitress came with out drinks and took our orders.
"So...when are you the happiest?" He asked randomly drinking some water.
"Uh...that's a good question." I smiled trying to think.
"I don't know. It's kinda lame." I brushed it off.
"Nothing that makes you happy is lame."
"I suppose. I guess when I'm out in nature. I'm an outdoorsy kinda girl. And I'm from California so me and my dad would go on these hikes. Mainly for exercise but it just makes me happy. To see God's beauty first hand. The sun. The trees. Hear the birds ya know."
"Hm." He said and shook his head he got it.
There was a moment of awkward silence. My nervousness was starting to come back. We were entering the judgment zone again. I don't think that be yourself advice works.
"You know when I'm most happy?" He said.
"When?"
"When I had a long day and I got a Dominos pepperoni Cheesy Crust pizza just waiting for me."
I stale faced him.
"I'm serious. That's heaven in a box."
"Can you be serious?"
"What? I am. The thing about me is I'm not complicated. I could give you a deep answer. But I would be lying. Dominios Pepperoni Cheesy Crust Pizza sincerely makes me happy. You want to impress me, have one of them waiting. That is the major key to my heart."
"Okay. DJ Khaled." I laughed.
There was a moment of silence.
"I'm surprised you don't have a girlfriend."
"Why is that?" He raised his brow.
"I don't know. You just seem like you would."
The waitress brought our food.
I was going to ask to say grace but I didn't want to seem ya know. Too churchy so I just decided to say a short one to myself.
"I know you not gon eat without saying grace." He looked at me as I picked up my fork.
"Oh. No. I said one to myself."
"We need one aloud greedy."
I laughed. "Whatever."
"Bow your head." He told me.
I kissed my teeth and bowed my head.
"Father God we thank you for this meal even though Callie wasn't going to say no grace. We ask that you bless it for the nourishment of our bodies Amen."
"Had to call you out to Jesus." Quincy said cutting his chicken.
"Whatever." I chuckled.
"But to what you were saying. About why I'm single. I just feel like in this generation its slim pickings. People focus so much on the outside, they neglect the inside. Too many beautiful bodies and ugly hearts. I want both."
"I can understand that." I said eating.
"And what about you. You're gorgeous why are you single?" He said eating.
Did he just call me gorgeous? 😍
"I don't know. I haven't really found someone who fits me. In my experience more guys are focused on a woman's outside than her inside. Maybe that's why they spend so much time on that."
"I guess you right." He said.
"what do you want in a girl?" I asked him.
"When I find it, I'll know." He simply said and drank some of his drink. "The trap of telling people what you want is that they pretend to be that to get you. Then you find out it wasn't them to begin with. I've learned not to do that. I want the authentic."
"Hm." I said. I never thought about that.
My phone buzzed. It was Morgan asking if I was alright. I told
Her yes.
"My cousin was asking me did I need rescuing from this date. I told her no. You were cool." I chuckled.
"Hmm." He chuckled drinking some
Of his drink.
We ate a little more of our meal in silence.
"you excited about graduation?" I asked.
He sighed. "I guess." He didn't seem to happy.
"You don't sound too happy?"
"I am. Just it's stressful you know. Trying to finish up. Then trying to decide if I wanna go straight to grad school or study in Rome for a year then go. Then my mama on my back. Like I need to make up my mind. It's just crazy."
"Rome that's pretty impressive."
"Ehh... Some political thing. My mama wants me to do it. You know politics is her thing. But that's not where my heart is."
"Where is your heart?"
"NYU. I applied to their film school. Still waiting to here but if i get accepted, man all my dreams start. Spike Lee went there. And he teaches there. That's my hero. So that's a big reason I applied. To learn from
Uncle Spike? Man." He shook his head.
"Your eyes lit up." I smiled at how excited he was.
"Yeah film was all I could think about since a kid."
"Well I hope you get accepted."
"Thank you."
"My dad acts ya know. He has an acting school in Cali for young kids."
"Word? That's awesome."
"Yeah."
"You want dessert?" He asked me.
"No. I'm full."
"Well Imma get some of this cheese cake to take home and max later."
I laughed and the waitress brought us food boxes. He had ordered me a piece of cheesecake too, although I insisted I didn't want it. He paid the bill and we left out.
He drove back to my house.
"So this was fun right?" He said as we pulled into the lot of my complex.
"Yes it was. Thank you."I smiled.
"I'll walk you to the door."
"You don't have to."
"I know, but I'm going to."
We got out. He made sure to hand me his whack painting. And we walked to the door.
The porch light came on and I saw Amiri through the curtains. 🙄
"They love them some Callie huh?" Quincy laughed.
"They love to annoy me." 🙄
"Is a hug appropriate?" He asked.
"Yes."
I hugged him, the door open.
"Aight. Dates over." Amiri separated us. "You be safe." He pulled me in the house and closed the door.
"Why did you do that Amiri?" I snatched away from him.
"You was getting too close. Go put your night clothes on and go to bed. You had enough fun for the night." He locked
The door.
"Gone. And make sure you say your prayers." He patted my back.
Somebody shoot him please.
🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
What do you guys think so far about Quincy and Cals?