Seven
The sun began it's retreating dance, submerging the sky in a mixture of coral and fuchsia. The atmosphere was cool, the winds blowing just enough to deprive the air of it's mugginess. The sounds of light oncoming traffic and various music could still be heard over the small chatter of people.
Promise's blue orbs became one with the intimate surroundings of the small quaint Italian restaurant before her. She shuffled forward, her fingers curling around the handle of her son's stroller. He peered at her with a small silly grin and wide hazel-green eyes. He squealed loudly as he took in Nikita while she sat waiting for the two.
They decided to eat dinner together at one of their favorite restaurants just outside of campus. Promise figured they would take the opportunity to sit, relax, and catch-up with one another. She picked Zayne up and placed him in the booster seat just near their table.
"Hey, I've already ordered for you and my favorite little person. The food should be here soon, actually."
"What would I do without you?"
"Today won't be the day we find out, but girllll let me tell you!"
Promise furrowed an eyebrow, her faint grin deepening by the second. Mischievousness set her friend's orbs ablaze. "Don't hold out on me, you're making me anxious."
Nikita leaned forward and placed her arms on the table, a wide smile spreading across her full lips. "You see your god mommy Zay? She's crazy, huh?"She teased, glancing over at the toddler. He laughed and banged his toy on the table. "So I had a little run in with Mr. Grey a couple of nights ago."Nikita's sighed, her irises housing a dreamy glare.
"And what kind of run in was this?"
"Do you really need to ask?"
Major Grey had quite a reputation on campus as well, but he couldn't have any idea what he'd gotten himself into when it came to Nikita.
"Let's just say that most of the men that live in the house with them know my name now, cause I put him to bed!"
"No you didn't..."
"I put that NyQuil on his ass!"
Promise couldn't help the loud laughter that escaped her mouth at the moment. She could only shake her head at her friend's antics. "You are such a mess!"She shouted, still not being able to quiet down.
Nikita shrugged her shoulders. Her mocha face still housed a sly smile while her brown orbs remained glassy with a glint of wickedness to them. "I cannot believe you."
"Believe it, Promise. I couldn't help myself and the opportunity just presented itself."
A waitress then appeared and placed their meals in front of them. "Yesss, shrimp fettuccine."Promise inhaled the aroma of her food, nearly forgetting about Nikita's crazy revelation. "You all enjoy your meal. I'll be back over to check on you ladies occasionally."The server conveyed as she finished serving them. They each thanked her before divulging themselves in their food.
Promise turned to her left and began to pick up one of Zayne's chicken tenders. "They're hot baby."She cooed at him. He smiled before reaching out with an open palm towards her. She blew on it a little before handing it over to him. She admired her son and how he was starting to take pride in little things such as feeding himself. "Aw he's growing up so fast."Nikita grinned,"You're a big boy, right Zay?"
Zayvion nodded his head, his dimples caving in,"Yes!" He grinned at his mother before taking another bite of his chicken tender. Promise laughed at him while swiveling her fork around in her pasta. "So anything interesting happen to you lately?"Nikita questioned.
"Not really,unless you want to count Zayne following me to my car last week."Promise rambled off as if it were no big deal. The distinct sound of Nikita's fork colliding with her plate caused her head to shoot up. She surveyed her friend's face with a smirk. She just knew she was going to say something ludicrous.
"And he insisted on following you, because..."
"He claimed he wanted to know why I did what I did to him that Saturday. I'm telling you, he was on something else that day."
Nikita's laughter rang out over the boisterous sounds taking place around them, "Are you serious girl? The infamous Zayne Sanchez was chasing you?"Promise wiped her mouth with one of her napkins with a nod of her head. "If you wanna call it that, so be it. He was all up in my space, can't say that I minded it though."
"I sense a little something starting to form here."Nikita wagged her finger. Promise began to rub the back of her neck, her gaze fixed on her plate. "I wouldn't say that. He's just fun to play around with, that's all. Yeah. That's it."She voiced, trying to assure herself and her friend.
Nikita could see through the facade she was creating to suppress how she really felt. It was definitely more than she was making it out to be. "You just gave yourself away, I think you've always been interested in him... even before everything else took place." Promise nearly flinched at her honesty. She was right though. She was always interested in Mr. Sanchez, he captivated her.
Still, she wouldn't be made to look like a fool because he'd managed to wiggle his way into her system. Her feelings, the want to know him on another level, or whatever it is was going to sit on the back burner, because she refused to act on anything. Curiosity always kills and she didn't need to be reminded of that the hard way.
Nikita cleared her throat, "Don't forget the real reason why you should be talking to him in the first place Promise."
Promise rolled her eyes. She didn't feel like she needed anyone to prompt her of what she had to do once again. Her eyes slowly glided over her son's handsome little face. He was a definite reminder — a live memo that she still needed to tell Zayne about him. "I know Kita. I'm going to tell him soon..."Her words became softer as she continued to watch her baby.
She rubbed her fingers through his mass of curls before kissing his forehead. Zayvion stopped playing in his food and looked up at her with questioning eyes,"Is mommy sad?"He never failed when it came to deciphering his mother's moods. "I'm okay."She smiled, weakly. He watched her for a bit longer before returning to his food.
"I'm not trying to tell you what to do or get on your nerves. I just want you to be careful, because I know seeing him again is probably weighing heavy on you,"Nikita playfully pouted and reached for her hand.
"Alright, I hear you. Let's not talk about this anymore though. The next time this is brought up, it'll be because I'm telling you that I finally told him."
It was in that moment that she silently hoped to be true to her word.
The rest of the dinner was nearly silent as it went on except for Zayvion's laughter and his occasional outbursts of conversation. Promise felt it best to keep to herself for the time being. She didn't want to risk getting mad at her friend for telling what she also know to be true.
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The sun finally set, leaving behind a faint darkness in it's departure. They were still occupying the table outside of the restaurant. They were about ready to head home since Lil' Zay was getting tired. His eyes were heavy and he would dose off for a second only to wake up when he felt himself leaning over too far. "Aww, he's about to fall over."Nikita whispered, giggling. Promise laughed prior to retrieving money from her purse to pay for her half of the meal,"Leave my baby alone. He's had a long day."
"I'll see you in a few son."A male's velvety baritone abruptly pierced the quiet air. Nikita sat forward in her seat, her eyes cascading over towards the mysterious man coming out the entrance of the restaurant. Promise nearly turned around to catch a glimpse of him just because she seemed to be looking at him so hard. "Don't hurt yourself."She laughed. Nikita waved her off,"He's slick handsome though, he's got the grown and sexy thing going on."
"Stop staring so hard."Promise chortled. The man whom Nikita seemingly couldn't pry her eyes away from suddenly appeared at their table. He glanced down at them with mesmerizing hazel-green orbs as he placed the phone he'd previously been talking on into his pocket. His face held a scruffy yet neat goatee, it making him appear to be that much more manlier. His hair was dark and curly and his skin a smooth butterscotch complexion.
His hands remained in the pockets of his crisp black dress pants as he smiled at the two of them. The crisp light blue shirt he was clad in did nothing but make his eyes glower. "You have a handsome little man there."He finally spoke, his eyes descending over Zayvion. Promise smiled and glanced over at her son,"Thank you."
"Is he yours?"He inquired, standing before them with his eyes still glued to the toddler on the other side of the table. "Who wants to know?"Promise asked, quickly deciding that something wasn't right about the way that he was scrutinizing her child. "Just asking sweetheart. He reminds me a lot of my son. Well, when he was little that is."He told her. She glanced over at Nikita whose face held a look of bewilderment. His presence was starting to throw both of them for a loop. "Well again, thank you," She willed herself to say.
He slowly began to turn on his heels to start his trek to wherever he'd been going in the first place. "You're welcome."He tossed over his shoulder, he hadn't gotten too far away yet.
They found themselves staring daggers at one another, neither of them sure of what they'd just witnessed. "I mean, really what are the chances..." Nikita blurted out. Those words sent a chill up Promise's spine. "He couldn't possibly be... or have any connection to..."
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"It's about time you got here old man,"Zayne teased as he took in his father's appearance. He pulled the door open wider to allow him entrance into the house. One could definitely tell that he took pride in his look and how he carried himself. The suave way he dressed at all times gave it away.
"I swear you don't know the meaning of dressing down. Was the dress shirt and pants necessary?"He didn't feel it essential being that he was just coming to the frat house to see him and catch up on a couple of things. It was their annual father-son visit that only took place a couple of months a year. They'd been doing it ever since he went off to college.
Rick Sanchez's eyes began to crease in the corners as he laughed at his son. "This is my recreational attire kid."He answered. A smile began to form at the creases of Zayne's full lips. "Yeah, okay. I've never seen you in a t-shirt and jeans though."They shuffled through the foyer. A couple of his frat brothers spoke to Rick as they neared the living room.
Zayne plopped down into a brown recliner, the soft material nearly swallowing him whole. Rick followed suite and took a seat on a nearby couch. He sat close to the edge and placed his arm on the armrest of the couch. "So what's new dad?"Zayne inquired. He picked up the remote that sat across from him on the cherry wooden coffee table.
"Same ol', same ol'. Working, a different flavor of the week, and working..."
He shook his head at him and continued to flip through the channels, "You still at it pops, when are you gonna settle down?"
The laughter that rippled through the walls of that living room were thunderous. This humored Rick to no ends. "I did that once son. You know what it got me. I'll stick to my freedom."He replied while brushing off some imaginary lint on his pants.
That earned a couple of chuckles from Zayne. He knew asking his father a question like that was flat out ridiculous. After all, he was the one that influenced him. "How's those grades coming along? You bring up that grade in math?"Rick furrowed an eyebrow, quickly switching the conversation up.
"Yeah, I'm good. I'll be making the Dean's list again. "Zayne nodded his head proudly. His desire to make his father proud had only grown more since he'd gotten older. "I'm glad to hear that. You know I'll always be proud of you. You've never not made me proud though son."
"I know. I'm doing it for me more so now, because I want something ."He shrugged his shoulders. After finally being satisfied with a channel he tossed the remote back onto the table. He pulled his eyes away from the T.V. and handed his gaze over towards his father. Rick placed one hand underneath his chin, rubbing his thumb across his scruffy cheek.
Zayne furrowed an eyebrow, because his father's stare was slowly making him uneasy,"Something wrong dad?"He turned his head to the side a little to observe his father's actions. "Have you been thinking of getting a girlfriend lately?"Rick uttered, completely catching him off guard. "No. I've got my picks, but ain't none of em' main. "He retorted. Zayne found that infamous smirk taking over once again.
Him and a girlfriend?
Ain't no way in hell.
"Special picks, huh?"His father nodded. Zayne shrugged his shoulders once more. He didn't think it was anything to make a big deal about. "Yeah, like this girl named Promise."He was definitely ready for that next encounter of there's to take place. "Really now?"Rick continued to rub at the neatly trimmed hair on his face.
Zayne's tongue snaked across his bottom lip,"She's something serious."
He felt like he was getting ready to start playing with fire. "Be careful son. I can tell that you're taking an interest in her."
He sucked his teeth and waved his father off, "She's all fun and games. Not once has she pretended that she doesn't know what I'm about. There's only one thing between us."
Taking an interest in Promise?
Yeah right.
He was only intent on getting to know the inside of her once again.
"I'm just saying though Zayne. Be careful. These girls will try to trap you out here son. You never know what any of them could be hiding about themselves."Rick said. Zayne's green orbs were fixed on the carpeted floor. His father's words made his pacing come to a halt. Trap him? And again there was no way in hell...
He found himself chuckling at his dad again. He could only see him as an over protective parent thing at the moment. "I assure you dad, I'm always careful with these girls. You have nothing to worry about."He diverted his gaze over towards his father. He sauntered back across the room and hopped back into his seat.
They met halfway to take part in a manly hug, "Alright then, I'll take your word. Keep your eyes open though."
"I always do."He answered, despite the uneasiness starting to form in his stomach. It came out of nowhere as if something or someone wasn't right. He decided not to speak on it, because if it was true then it would be reveal eventually.
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Sorry for the long wait y'all, I've been busy 🙄. Anywho I know this was probably blah (I had to get it out the way) but the next chapter has the start of the juice for real!
Let me know what you thought and vote please!
💙