- I make money moves.
The day after our night out, Lea and I stood in line at a coffee shop; she wasn't nearly as hungover as I was, though we were both in desperate need of a caffeine boost. "I'm never going out with you again." I groaned, while adjusting my sunglasses.
Lea simply smiled at me, "You're lying to me and you're lying to yourself if you believe that." She teased, "Plus, we were barely together; I noticed that a certain dark chocolate sensation was monopolizing your time." Lea nudged me playfully, then gave her attention to the barista.
"Jason was nice, I'm kind of embarrassed about how sloppy I was last night though; the embarrassment has stopped me from returning his calls Le! I don't even think that I'm going to send the text." I said, referring to my final dare.
Lea's eyebrows rose as if she was calling my bluff. "Whatever you say, you better stretch and stock up on energy drinks if that's how you feel; inventory is difficult enough when it's you, Jazzy and I." She wasn't wrong, taking inventory and managing shipments for our boutique was extremely time consuming; I wasn't sure how long it would take if I did it alone. "Now on to me, the guy that I talked to for the dare was so amazing KiKi! He was actually really sweet, and I gave him my number. He even texted me to make sure I got home safe." Lea sported a wide grin as she spoke, we grabbed our coffees and went to find a seat.
"Tell me everything, what's his name? Are you gonna go out with him?" I asked her, happy to get the attention off of me.
"His name is Darian and he's an artist and gallery owner, I don't know if we're gonna go out because I wanna focus on the store. It's really important that we get everything done right." Lea's smile faltered but I was quick to stop that line of thinking.
"That's why there's three of us, you can have a boo thang and still do what you need to do with the store, you know that me and Jazzy have your back for life Le. Plus, if one of us deserves a sweet guy it's you." Lea was a beautiful and intelligent woman, but her track record with men left a lot to be desired; she always said that she attracted cheaters. "You don't have to marry the guy but you can go on a few dates to see if he's still as sweet as the night you met. Don't block your blessings Le."
"I'll text him later and see what's up." Her mood had improved significantly, "Now remember what you said and text Jason, take your own advice for once." She gave me a knowing look and then checked the time, "The realtor is meeting us at the first spot in twenty minutes."
"You tricked me!" I gasped, realizing that she'd never really been doubting Darian. "Let's go, I can't believe you just mind tricked me." We gathered our stuff and made our way to the location, it wasn't far from where we were so we had time to stroll while we continued our conversation.
Lea cleared her throat, "I just don't want you to be afraid of commitment forever, give it a try and you can beat me up if it's a waste of time."
I had major commitment issues, I would never let a guy get too comfortable; if and when they did, I would cut them off. Something about the idea of being tied down made me lose interest in whoever I was dating, it was like that for the last three years.
In my freshman year of college, I had a boyfriend who treated me like the scum of the earth, he cheated and constantly put me down about everything. It was then that I lost my self-confidence and no matter what he did, I would stay with him because he made me believe that I was lucky to have him. Eventually he broke up with me because he said that I was pathetic, and he was embarrassed of me. After that I refused to get too comfortable with a man, Lea helped me to rebuild my confidence and I had been happy ever since. She was there for the whole relationship, so she knew why I was the way I was, but she constantly encouraged me to give a guy a real chance; subconsciously I knew that she was right, but it was easier said than done.
"I wouldn't say all of that Le, but he could be a casual hookup." We were almost at the building, it was in the heart of the city, the location would bring in a lot of foot traffic and I hoped that we would like it. Our realtor Tasha was on a phone call when we approached her and hung up immediately when she noticed us.
"Hey ladies, we're going to be viewing three buildings on this block. I picked this first one because it's a newer building and the space is large enough that you have room to grow. I know that you two would be able to find clever ways to utilize all of the space." Tasha led us into the first space as she spoke.
The interior was dark; from the dark wood floors to the black shelves and clothing racks. Lea and I walked around in an attempt to get a feel for the space, in that moment I wished that Jazzy was with us; her creative input would've made the process easier. After a while of looking around, Lea and I shared a look of disappointment, it was a nice place, but it wasn't the right fit for us.
"So, what do you girls think?" Tasha asked in a hopeful tone, her face fell as soon as she saw our facial expressions; I intended to give her a pragmatic, business-like response but unfortunately Lea and I were known to show our emotions on our faces.
"It's definitely not us, I don't know why but I can't picture our clothes on these racks. I feel like this would be a place to sell suits or something." Lea stated as we walked back towards the front door. The space was far too masculine and rustic for our tastes, Tasha made a note in her folder and nodded her head.
"Okay, that's not a problem, there are still two more spaces on this block, and we can go to a few others somewhere else but unfortunately these three are the only spaces available in SoHo that would fit your needs." Tasha said as we walked up the street to the next building. We made small talk on the way until got to the space.
We approached an industrial, open concept style space and I silently hoped that it was the one that she was going to show us. I beamed when she stopped in front of the large glass doors.
"This is the place." Tasha said as she pulled a set of keys from the bunch that she stored in her bag. "This one really reminded me of you two, the sun shines through and the all-white walls open up the room, there's also a large amount of storage in the back, individual offices, a bathroom and a kitchenette. It was originally one large warehouse until someone bought and renovated it." Tasha explained as she toured us around the building. "Unfortunately, he couldn't afford the upkeep afterwards and put the building up for sale. This is the only space I'll show you that is up for sale, the others are strictly rent or lease."
I was sold, I loved the layout and the added bonus of the back rooms, the all-white walls provided endless decorating possibilities. I looked at Lea to see what she was thinking, and she gave me two thumbs up. "What's the asking price for this building Tasha?" I asked, there was no way that we were leaving without putting in an offer.
Tasha scribbled the price onto a piece of paper before handing it to us; that definitely meant that it was expensive. Lea smiled when she saw the amount which caused me to release the breath that I had been holding. We saved every penny that we could from our business for the moment when we could own a physical store, I was immensely relieved that the space was within our budget.
"Has anyone made any offers on this place yet?" Lea asked as she walked towards the back.
Tasha shook her head and smiled "No, this building has been on the market for months now but I only got the file this morning. I suppose it was meant to be for you girls." She smiled as she walked us into the back rooms, the storage room was a good size and the "mini" kitchen wasn't mini at all, with the bathroom and everything, this space was better than most New York apartments. We headed to one of the offices, both of them were spacious but we would probably only use one and find another use for the other one.
"We'll take it. This place is practically a steal." I was impressed, after the first space that we looked at, I was sure that the day would've been an unsuccessful one.
"Okay ladies, I'll draw up the paperwork and fax it over to you guys by this evening, once payment is made you can move in by the end of the week." Tasha shook both of our hands and we headed out.
"Thank you so much Tasha, you'll hear from us when it's time for us to expand." Lea told her as we parted ways. "Okay boo, I'm about to head home, call me later." Lea said as she hailed a cab,
I kissed her on the cheek and walked a little further down the street where my Uber was waiting.
When I got in, I finally checked my messages and decided to text Jason.
To Chocolate Thunder - Hey, sorry I'm getting back to you so late.
He replied about three minutes later, I couldn't help but smile at his message.
Chocolate Thunder - I was about to hunt you down, what you been up to all day?
To Chocolate Thunder - My best friend and I were looking at spaces for our store.
Chocolate Thunder - Oh, okay; well in that case I'll have to give you a pass on not calling me back. You're out here making moves.
Chocolate Thunder - I want to take you out, so that I can get to know you for real.
I didn't even notice that the car had stopped, and I was at my place. I blushed as I typed my response, I was beginning to develop a crush on Jason and was uncharacteristically excited about the idea of going on a date with him.
To Chocolate Thunder - Time and place sir.
Instead of texting me back, I saw an incoming call from him. I was about to get into the elevator but paused to answer the call.
"Hey Jason." I smiled as I spoke, my face felt hot as I blushed like a school girl; it felt like he was my first crush in ages, but I needed to be sure to keep my feelings in check. I wouldn't let anyone drag me into a relationship again.
"What's up Kira? Are you free right now?" Jason asked me, the sounds of honking horns and shouting people let me know that he was probably sitting in traffic.
"I just got home. What, you wanna take me out right now?" I chuckled as I got onto the elevator.
"No, not the actual date but I want to see you. Send me your location so I can pull up." I contemplated his request for a while, "I'll bring food." He added and I smiled happily, food was the way into my condo.
"I would like shrimp alfredo from Gianni's please." I told as I made my way into my condo.
"What do you know about Gianni's? That's my spot." Jason chuckled.
"Oh, do you like their food too?" I asked him as I played with my hair.
Jason chuckled again. "Yes, I do, but I meant that it's my restaurant; I own it." My eyebrows raised and my cheeks heated up for the second time.
"Well that's my favorite place to eat, I expect my food to be perfect or I'll have to kick the big boss outta my house." I laughed to myself, hoping that I wasn't coming off as nervous as I felt.
"I'll be over soon Kira." Jason said as we ended the call. I ran my hand through my hair after he hung up, my eyes widened as I finally realized what I'd done.
Oh my God! He's coming to my house and I barely know him.