THIS week started rough but last night was a form of compensation from the universe. Lillian can say it was one of the best Christmases she's had in ages and her heart is as light as a feather now that she's able to be myself with Brena.
Her date with Damien is tonight and she's so nervous yet ecstatic at the same time. They haven't seen each other ever since the night he met Tamia after dropping her home from the club. And the only time they were alone together, she was drunk.
She haven't been on a date of any kind in a while. When she was dating Tamia, she's usually cooped up in Tamia's house or hers, so this was a different setting for her. She finds Damien really fascinating but he's not the typical guy she'd choose.
The guys she briefly dated were witty and bossy. They were usually in the same caliber as her. When she was 16 years old, her father, Kevin, would introduce her to the sons of his wealthy friend in the business world. His plan is to merge two strong families into one prominent division. When she never showed up for the dates, he stopped arranging them. Which lets Lillian understands that he got the message that she wasn't interested.
Brena and Lillian slept most of the day because they got extremely high last night. Lillian wasn't supposed to get involved with their friends' antics but Imani was playing devil's advocate so she went for it.
Lillian thought she was floating on air meanwhile her mouth was dry and she was laughing uncontrollably. It felt good until she got hungry and ate too much food then passed out on the couch like a drunkard.
Brena woke up before she did. Damien was coming to get her at 6 pm and she hopes that they aren't using the train to get to the location for their date. Lillian hates riding the train and the bus. However, if push comes the shove, she rather the bus.
It was 5:40 pm and she was nowhere close to being ready. He sends a text telling her that he's getting close and she should be. Lillian feels pressured about her appearance so she decides to go with a simple casual look. She's a white cropped sweater with a pair of black high waisted jeans, black patent leather boots, and a burgundy faux fur coat. Alongside her gold hoop pair of earrings, her hair pulled up into a high ponytail.
She has a natural makeup look going on.
At exactly 6 pm, Damien texts her saying that he's outside. She hugs Brena goodbye then goes outside to meet him. Luckily for her, he was sitting inside of an uber. She didn't have to take the train or the bus, quenching her worries. When he gets out of the car to open the door for her, Lillian's heart nearly melts.
What a gentleman. She thought.
"Wassup, how you doin' beautiful?" He asks, hugging her.
"I'm doing good, how are you holding up?" She responds.
"I'm aigh, I'm feelin' your fit baby girl you look good." He compliments her, his eyes taking in her attire.
She shoots Brena a text to let her know she's safe. "Thank you. You too. You look real fresh."
"Word? Good looking beautiful." He licks his lips with a faint smile.
"How was your Christmas?" She asks, breaking the short silence.
"It was calm nothin' too crazy. Chilled with the fam. How bout' you?" He turns to face Lillian, placing his phone inside his pocket.
"That's cute." Lillian gushes. "That's exactly what Christmas is about and as for me, I had dinner with Brena and a couple of friends."
"Oh yeah." His eyes lights up when she mentions Brena's name. "How's she doin'?"
Lillian smiles remembering Brena's reaction earlier. "She's okay. She was more excited about tonight than I was."
"So we got a fan already? I'm diggin' it." He chuckles. "So you ready?" He asks after noticing her fiddle with her nails.
"I been ready. I should be asking you.. have you skated before?" She turns her body sideways, staring at him.
He shrugs his left shoulder. "Nah. Ion do shit like that but I felt like you would so I said fuck it, why not?"
She giggles at how adorable he looks saying explaining himself. "I'll teach you...I used to skate when I was a kid."
A bright smile emerges on his handsome face. "See," he waves his index finger at her. "I had a feeling. I don't mind either. You gotta try new shit in life to truly live."
"I concur." She replies, nodding in agreement.
They seat in comfortable silence for the rest of the ride, stealing glances at each other. Whenever they made eye-contact Lillian suddenly feels butterflies especially when he strokes his beards. Later on, Lillian is surprised at the time. They get there around 7:10 pm. Considering how far it is from Brena's place to Manhattan and the traffic here in the city, the driver must have borrowed Aladdin's magic carpet. Lillian's eyes couldn't tear away from the gorgeous scenery.
It's been years since she came to Rockefeller Center during the holiday season she almost forgot how festive it is around this time of the year. Damien and Lillian check in with ease because he made them online reservations. After they slip on their ice skates, they glide carefully onto the rink.
Lillian closes her eyes, inhaling the cool air. She missed the feel of the ice. Everyone has on big puffy coats, hand gloves, and earmuffs. Mostly families are here and Lillian could spot a few couples also. The twinkling Christmas lights, decorations, and the large green tree itself sharpens the beauty of the vicinity. Though it's well decorated, the golden Prometheus sculpture stands majestically in the middle of the clear water fountain.
It is a sight for sore eyes. Lillian now sees why tourists come here often. It's breathtaking. In the middle of her thoughts, she feels Damien grab hold of her hand.
"You done drooling?"
His playful tone makes her giggle softly. "Yeah. It's just been a while since I came here, New York is magical during the holidays." She says, reminiscently.
"Facts. The scenery is fire." He agrees. "I hope you ain't one of those girls that love takin' pics every minute?" He pulls her closer, positioning himself in front of her.
She bites her bottom lip, gazing into his dark brown eyes. "See, I was trying to do that after but now that you mention it, can you be my photographer?" She asks playfully, handing him her cellphone.
"I charge." He replies thoughtfully. "Shit ain't free." He slowly takes the phone from her grasp.
She squints, trying to see what he's up to. "What's your price then?" She tilts her head.
"I'mma tell you later. For now just say you gon' pay up." He takes her thumb and gently places it on her phone to unlock it.
"Fine, I'll pay." She says defeatedly. "Come on."
Moving towards the middle of the rink, Lillian put her arms out and smiles as wide as she could. When the camera flashes, she decides to do a twirl. Spinning beautifully in a circular motion, Lillian was so focused until, she feels her legs slip through the ice. She almost falls with widened eyes, feeling shocked at her misstep. As she tries to protect her face from the impact, she notices her body didn't touch the ground.
"Here I was thinkin' I was gon' be the one to bust my ass tonight." He teases, pulling her back up.
She sighs disappointedly. "I was trying to feel like myself."
"You was doin' good thou' for real. You a skater skater huh?" He smirks.
The pout on her lip melts away, giving him a small smile. "Thank you. Yeah my parents brought me here every year until one day it just stopped." She replies, fixing her hair.
He says nothing for a few seconds. Instead, he gazes at her, rubbing the back of his head. "Shit, we could come here every year so you could do your thing and shit. You got some moves."
"Boy please. Don't make me blush." Her cheeks become flushed.
They start skating again but slower this time. She sneaks her left hand closer to his. He lowers his gaze and sees her hand so he opens up his hands and their fingers interlock. As she listens to the Christmas songs playing in the background, the tip of her nose starts to get wet. She ignores it at first but it happens again.
The same thing must have happened to Damien because they lift their heads up at the same time to look up at the dark sky. Tiny white snowflakes sprinkle down upon them and the bustling crowd of New York City.
"Oh nah!" Damien exclaims, annoyance plaguing his tone.
Lillian giggles at how bothered he seems to be with the snow. "You're not a snow person."
He shakes his head. "I love summertime. This winter shit ain't my thing."
She manages to convince him that they should go for two more laps and talk. Pushing his want of needing to get off the rink, Damien reluctantly follows Lillian's lead only because the snow wasn't heavy.
"Since you made us stay in the snow, remember the price for your pic?" He questions, sounding like he had an ulterior motive.
"Uh-huh." She nods slowly, not knowing what to expect.
"I'mma need it now." He digs his hands deeper into his jacket for warmth. "Let's talk about the other night at your crib. Is that why you never came for our lunch date?" He leans against the rusty brown rail.
"Ah. I knew we'd get to that soon." Lillian sighs gloomily. "Yes that was why and I still feel guilty." She pauses, trying to read his facial expression. "Her name's Tamia. We weren't in a relationship but we were just..."
"Fuck buddies?" He completes her statement when she starts stuttering.
"Yea," she says hesitantly, looking down at her feet. "Something like that and I want you to know I'm sorry. You didn't have to see that."
"It's cool but shawty was wildin'. Throwin' a tantrum and shit. She must have been really feelin' you. You sure it was just sex between yall?" He folds his arms across his chest.
Lillian goes to his left-hand side and leans against the rail. "She was feeling me and I was her too in the beginning but I didn't feel the fire I wanted to."
"I feel you, it be like that sometimes." He nods in understanding. "So are you bisexual or straight? Not that I mind, I'd like to know what I'm working with."
A flirtatious grin plasters his face, grabbing her hands and pulls her close.
"I don't use labels, whoever I gravitate to is whose company I prefer. Right now that's yours." She lifts up her hands to take off the scrunchy that was tied around her ponytail.
"Say word?" He asks, wanting confirmation.
"Word." She laughs at his silliness as her hair fall down her back. "So I've told you a bit about me. Tell me about yourself." She requests.
"What you trynna know?"
"Anything you feel comfortable with sharing, no pressure." She assures him as they glide back on the ice.
"Aigh, I'm 24 and I'm from Brooklyn but my family's from North Carolina. We moved out here when my moms was pregnant with me and-"
He stops just when he's about to explain more.
"It's fine. You don't have to go too much into details." She says to him, feeling guilty.
He let out a small smile. "You're the first person I've told that much to in a while so you good but I do own a barbershop in Bedstuy. That's my hood and my older brother and I own two sneaker stores. One in Downtown Brooklyn and Downtown Miami."
"That explains the Tesla S." She mumbles, hoping he didn't hear her but he did.
"Yeah." He laughs.
"Why Miami though?" She asks with my brows arched in curiosity.
He digs his hands into his pocket to reach for a small pack of green tic tac. "My brother lives there with his fiancée." He replies.
"Oh okay." She whispers surprisingly. "That's a very strategic decision but why were you serving us that night if you have all of these business endeavors going for you?"
He sighs. "I quit the waiter job last week. I only needed it for the time being before the sneaker store opened up here in Brooklyn. Some shit went down at the barbershop but it's all good now."
Lillian gets the impression he wants to stop right here based on how cold his tone got at the end of his statement. She didn't want to push it so she leaves it alone. They skate off the rink, stepping to the side to remove the ice skates from their feet. Once they were off, we grab them and climb up the stairs near the exit.
"That's impressive though, you got your shit together."
"Whatchu thought I was a bum?" He accuses, sounding offended.
"No, no not at all. I admire your drive. I noticed it that night and other things." She immediately clarifies her remark.
He flashes a smile, showing his pearly white teeth. "You noticed his handsome chocolate."
"I do like chocolate so it's not a surprise that I did. Before you start feeling yourself, I saw you checking me out too so don't front." She replies flirtatiously.
He turns to her as they retrieve their belongings from the locker room. "Ain't shit to front about baby girl. You're beautiful and that black fit you wore was fire."
Lillian couldn't help it. She smiles to herself as his words leave a light shade of pink on both sides of her cheeks. The cold breeze makes her shiver when they walks back outside. They stand by the corner with their hoodies over their heads while the snow falls to the ground, forming white clustered layers on the sidewalk.
The loud honks from the cars soaks up the sound of the music playing faintly in the background. The moment feels right so Lillian knows it was time to make her move. She quickly applies her lip gloss when he wasn't looking.
"Nah bro, it's really brick out here." He says, turning back to her direction.
She puckers her lips with her eyes closed, leaning in slowly, standing on her tippy toes. The warmth of his hands causes her to relax when he cups her face. She knows something is wrong when she doesn't feel his lips on hers. Instead, he plants a soft kiss on her forehead.
Definitely not the kind of kiss she was hoping for.
"We trynna take it slow remember? Even though it feels right." He whispers softly.
"Yeah I'm sorry." She replies instantly, feeling embarrassed.
He brings her chin up with his index finger, gazes directly into her saddened eyes. "Don't feel embarrassed. Believe me, I wanna kiss you right now. Those lips are hella tempting and if we start, shit gon' end up differently but I'm trynna do this the right way with you."
"I guess that makes me feel less ashamed..." She responds, staring at his chest. She couldn't look him in the eye just yet.
He licks his lips and smiles. "You got no reason to be ashamed. Keep that confidence going. I like that shit."
He is making this so hard right now, God help me. She thought.
"Aight so tell me about you now."
Fiddling with her nails, she answers his question. "Well I'm 21 almost 22 though, I'm an only child. Also, I'm an assistant at Johnson Motors Empire and a student at LIU studying business administration. I'm a brand ambassador for pretty little things. It's an online clothing store with a big audience on Instagram and I love to travel."
His eyes holds amusement as his head pulls back in surprise. "That's the automobile company right? okay, okay I see you baby girl. I could tell already you had it goin' for you and shit but I wasn't trynna sound judgy." He says amusedly.
"What do you mean?" She questions, perplexingly.
He has his phone out checking on the Uber ride he called for.
"It's obvious we from two different worlds. I thought you were probably one of those rich spoiled girls but hearing how you got your shit together it's hella badass." He replies honestly.
"I could care less about the words we come from and people always think that about me. Truth is, I got my job on my own without any help from my parents. I do so much for myself and yes my parents help but I'm grateful they do." She says, getting irritated at his assumptions.
People constantly think her parents are responsible for every single thing she does. They did their part in her life but she's tried to work for and by herself. Only if people knew the whole story. Being privileged isn't all that it seems to be.
"That's wassup. I ain't mad at you keep it up." He commends her. "When's your birthday? You said you're almost 22 right?"
"Thank you." She says, tucking her hands into her pockets as the bitter cold causes them to stiffen. "Yeah. My birthday is in two months actually. February 7th."
"Deadass?" He gasps. "My Lil brother's February too but his on the 18th." He smiles.
She could tell he loves his little brother seeing how his eyes lit up with joy.
"Aquarius gang." She chuckles, snapping her fingers sassily. "Wait, you have a little brother and an older brother?"
"Yeah. I'm the middle child."
"And when's your birthday?" She asks.
"November 20th" He simply says.
She purses her lips, thinking of the compatibility of their zodiac signs. "Hmmm...Scorpio."
His brows shoot up worriedly. "You into that zodiac shit?"
"Not really I acknowledge the signs, yes but not too deep. I don't let it dedicate how I behave and who I am you know?" She explains.
He slowly nods in agreement. "That's facts. Personally, I think it's bullshit. We're who we are. I don't think the sun or the moon got shit to do with that. Pray to God and live your life that's it." He shrugs.
"Smart, sexy, and self-made entrepreneur. I know both your parents are proud of you." She says, smiling.
He clenches his jaw while his body tenses up quickly at her statement. She's sensing there's more the story. "I'm sorry did I say something wrong?" She feels bad for changing the vibe of the conversation.
"Nah." He shakes his head. "You good, come on let's get your pretty ass home. This snow gettin' crazy."
Their ride came in less than 2 minutes and they didn't speak much in the car ride. Frankly, Lillian was thinking about his reaction to her statement about his parents. Soon after we enter, her eyes start to shut close. It's been a long day.
"You sleepy? Come here." He instructs.
She moves closer to him and lays her head down on his left shoulder. He puts his arms around her and she instantly feels comfortable. Before she knows it, she's sound asleep. She didn't realize how long it took before they got to Brena's house until she feels someone tap her.
"Wake up baby girl, we here." He informs her.
Lillian yawns quietly, grabbing her purse and gets out of the car. Damien comes out first so he could come around and open the door for her. "Thank you." She says, placing her hand on top of his.
The butterflies creep up on her again when they touch. He walks over to the driver's side to talk to the Uber driver. "Yo, my man could you give me a minute?"
The driver agrees and warns Damien he would charge extra if he exceeded the given time. Damien walks her to the steps and stands in front of Brena's door.
"I had fun tonight. Thanks for getting out your comfort zone." She says sheepishly.
"No doubt. I'm happy you had fun and next time we gonna do some shit I like to do." He teases.
She stops laughing when she realizes what he said. "Next time?" She arches her eyebrows.
"Don't act surprised Lillian, you know I'm feelin' you." He says in a husky tone.
She tugs on the collar of his jacket and pulls him closer. "I'm feeling you too, a lot. I wish you'd just kiss me already." She whispers in a raspy tone.
Licking his lips, he leans in, bringing his lips near her ears. "When I wanna kiss you, you gonna know." He kissed my cheeks and stood up straight. "Goodnight baby girl."
"Goodnight. Text me when you get home." She says while he jogs down the steps hurriedly.
"I Gotchu." He responds.
She stands there on the steps, waving at him as she watches the car slowly disappear out of sight but Damien is still on her mind. She reaches into her purse, bringing out her keys then opens the door.
"Honey, I'm home!" She shouts, shutting the door.
She flicks the lights on, kicking off my shoes carefully placing them on the mat. She turns around to hang her coat up and sees a grinning Brena standing in the corner.
"Fuck!" Lillian exclaims shockingly. "You scared me Bren, why you standing over there like a creep." She asks with her hand placed on her chest.
Instead of feeling remorseful, Brena bursts out laughing. "My bad, my bad. So how was it?" She asks with so much joy, dragging Lillian over to the couch.
After they seat, she begins to tell Brena everything from the beginning to the end. Between Brena's gasps and small slaps on the thigh, you'd think Lillian was narrating an interesting episode from a reality TV show. She opens up to Brena about the humiliating moment. When she got turned down trying to kiss him.
Brena tells Lillian to brush it off and that the fact he gave me a reasonable explanation shows he's trying to take it seriously. They eat the leftovers from yesterday night and watched The Greatest Showman before falling asleep right on the couch, again. Waking up the next morning, Lillian sneaks into the bathroom to call a friend of hers to discuss Brena's birthday present.
"Fred, buddy. What's going on?" Lillian says excitedly into the phone.
"Lillian James, how are you?" He responds tiredly.
"Sorry." I bit my bottom lip. "Did I wake you?" She asks remorsefully.
She hears him grunting in background. It sounded like he was trying to sit up. "Not anymore, what can I do for my favorite customer?" He says happily.
"Did you get my email with the list of cars that I need to be shipped to Brooklyn next month?" She asks, tucking her hair behind her ears.
"Yes. I've given my people a call and they should be shipped in 3 days. They'll arrive on the 3rd of January." He confirms.
"Perfect!" She squeals, jumping up and down. "Okay, remember the Maserati must have a navy blue interior and Lexus's interior is beige while the Mercedes must come with a red interior."
"Everything you requested has been taken care of, don't worry." He replies assuringly. "I'll send you an email containing the information once they've arrived."
"Wonderful! By the way, the day they'll be delivered, the guy has to take her two cars with him. Just like we planned." She reminds him.
"Alrighty, looking forward to it." He notes.
"Thank you so much, Fred. Happy holidays!"
Lillian ends the call, feeling ecstatic because she can imagine Brena flipping out. Though she's going to try to reject the presents, Lillian is sure that's going love it nonetheless. Friendships like this don't come by often that's why to Lillian, Brena is worth every dime.
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04.09.2020