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“Well, my favorite forms of creativity are hair, makeup, and cooking. I love going to painting or pottery classes too.”
“Did you go to school for hair and makeup?”
“Yeah, but I never worked in a salon. I have a small clientele of friends, but that’s it.”
“Is that how you wanted it?”
With a shrug, she nodded as she sat next to me. “I guess. I never had a reason to work, you know? Daddy always took care of me.” Her expression saddened. “I regret that a little now. I feel more dependent than I ever have. A part of me wants to get my cosmetology license renewed and open my own salon so that no matter what happens with Carlos and the business I will always have my own income coming in and can take care of myself.”
“I can respect that. I’m kind of in the same boat. Everything I have is attached to my pops. All of my legal businesses. When I leave, there’s no doubt in my mind he’s going to try and push me out because of spite.”
“You really think so?”
“Hell yeah. He’s all about family, but he believes family should stay together and do what he says no matter what. I don’t think he’s going to take me leaving to do my own thing lightly. I got enough money saved to rebuild whatever I lose, though. And because it’ll be mine and only mine, it won’t be a true loss.”
“I’m excited for you. You get to step out on your own and do your own thing. You get to recreate your own life. Not everyone gets that chance.”
“Maybe not everyone… but you can. And I wanna help. Once you get your license renewed, I’ll help you get a building. I want you to know you can be taken care of, but you can always maintain your independence too.”
Leaning forward, she gave me a slow, tender kiss that made me bite back a moan.
“You’re dangerous.”
I didn’t have to ask her what she meant. I already knew. She was dangerous to me too.
Whiskee stood and started to fix lunch. While she did, we continued to talk. We discussed our dreams and goals… motivations… hobbies and interests.
By the time she was done, Mahogany had arrived. She confirmed Whiskee would be able to do her makeup that evening before she went live then left us alone.
“I’m excited for you to try this,” Whiskee said, placing a plate full of yellow rice and chicken with tomatoes and cucumbers in front of me. It was drizzled with a white and red sauce that looked damn good.
After saying grace, I took a bite and was impressed. The rice was fluffy and moist—the best rice I’d ever had. The chicken was tender. And the white sauce tasted like something I’d get from a halal cart on a trip to New York.
“This the kind of cooking that will spoil a man,” I told her. “What else can you cook?”
With a giggle, Whiskee sat next to me with a plate for herself. “Honestly, probably anything you want. Even if I don’t know how to do it now, I’m a fast learner.”
“This is amazing, Whiskee. Seriously. I need this on rotation weekly.”
The more time we spent together and got to know each other, the more I liked her. I didn’t know how easy it would be to walk away from her in a few months, but for now, I was going to take full advantage of the time we had together.
18
Whiskee
One Week Later
“Girl, please shut up!” Mahogany said, and I had to cover my mouth to keep my laughter from bubbling over.
For whatever reason, these women on TikTok set themselves up for her form of tough self-love every Wednesday when she went live. The woman that joined her live was talking about how hard it was for her to move on from her ex because she didn’t understand why he broke up with her. It didn’t matter what Mahogany said, ol’ girl wasn’t listening. Mahogany had finally lost her patience with the conversation, and I wasn’t surprised.
“If you at the mall and someone punch you, are you going to stand there and say, ‘Oh God. Why did you hit me? I can’t believe you hurt me. I would never do that to you.’ Nah. You gon’ get beat up or beat they ass! It’s the same way with this. He punched your heart and hurt you, but it’s time to move on. Stop worrying about why he did or the fact that you wouldn’t do it to him. Take your L and move on.”
All I could do was shake my head and chuckle because, even though her analogy was crazy, what she said was truth. The woman was so concerned with being hurt that she wasn’t giving herself the space to heal. She was so focused on the past and the old version of him that she was keeping herself in a state of depression.
I waved at her to let her know I was leaving. Since she had a full day of recording brand videos, I’d come up here to refresh her sew-in and do her makeup. When I made it to my car, I checked my phone to see if Beethoven had texted me back. We were talking about needs, wants, and love languages. I wasn't sure when things started to feel more like a real relationship, but that was where we were at with it now, and I was okay with that.
Before I could read his text, I was getting a call from Carlos. I hadn’t heard from him since he had those goons carry me out of Mahogany’s apartment. I started to ignore his call, but in case something was wrong, I answered.
