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“Do you sell these?”
“Oh no.” Chuckling, I pulled hair behind my ears. “It’s just a hobby.”
“Why?”
Our eyes locked for so long he chuckled. “Why?”
“Yeah. Why don’t you sell them? Is this something you want to keep to yourself?”
“No.”
“Then what’s stopping you?”
“I don’t know. I mean, I guess I never thought about making my dream a business. I usually just help other people fulfill their dreams.”
“Who’s helping you fulfill yours?”
I looked away briefly, unsure how the conversation took this turn. “No one, but that’s by design I suppose. I’ve never told anyone I wanted this or that I wanted them to.”
“But do you?” His hand covered mine on my thigh. “Do you want to have your own business? Do you want someone to support you?” I didn’t respond right away, so he continued. “Tell me what you want to do. Your goals, hopes, dreams. I wanna know it all.”
“Okay.” I agreed just above a whisper as my insides tingled. “I’m sorry. This is weird.” I chuckled and removed my hand from under his. “I’m not used to a man actually caring about this.”
“That’s fuckin’ sad. Your man should be your number one fan and soundboard. If he ain’t, I’m willing to be.”
I squeezed the back of my neck. My eyes shifted toward the kitchen. Enjell was seated at the island taking a sip of her drink. She was looking over her cup at us with a smile, and it made me laugh.
“Why don’t you go in the bedroom with Dejvi and stop staring at us?” I asked, making her laugh.
“You can’t put me out of my kitchen, but I’ll go, because you’re going to tell me all about it anyway.”
There was no point in me denying that because it was the truth. After I heard their bedroom door close, I gave my attention to Aspen as we shared a quiet laugh.
After that, Aspen and I talked for hours. I told him about my dreams. How I wanted to go to college more so for the experience than an actual degree. Right out of high school, I took what I believed was an easy route at the time and got my cosmetology license. I didn’t really want to do hair, but I also didn’t want to go to school for another four years. That was partly why I’d been bouncing from job to job. I worked in a salon until I was twenty-two and was bored of it.
Then, I started helping people start businesses and realized I was pretty good at it. It became a passion that I got a lot of pleasure out of while I did my bouquets on the side. The last two people I’d helped with their businesses were Denali and Enjell, and I enjoyed every moment of it. It felt weird talking to someone about starting my own business… but here I was… talking to Aspen about just that.
He told me about his tattoo shop and the businesses he had with his brother. I thought it was pretty cool that they had office suites, a salon suite, and a parking lot. That would explain how Dejvi was able to get my sister that big ass engagement ring while he was working at the fire station.
We lost track of time and ended up staying until the early hours of the morning. I thought we’d have to wake one of our siblings up to lock up behind us, but watching him lock the door with a bobby pin that was on his key ring tickled me. Enjell told me Dejvi was always complaining about Aspen breaking in, and I thought she was just playing until I actually saw him lock their apartment without a key.
He walked me to my car, where I told him, “It was nice talking to you. I meant it when I said I missed you.”
“Same. I like you even more now that I know a bit more about you.”
Aspen closed the space between us and reached around me to open my door. I wanted him to kiss me… That was wrong. He didn’t… That hurt. Being hurt over not being kissed angered me. I was in a whole relationship lusting after another man. We said our goodbyes, and I headed home. It wasn’t until I pulled into the garage that I realized I’d been gone literally all day into the next morning, and Peyton hadn’t called or texted me once.
Three Days Later
When Aspen texted me and asked me to meet him at Dejvi and Enjell’s place, I was surprised. It was the first time he’d contacted me since we talked at his shop. I was excited about seeing him and was curious about what he wanted. The desire to look as good as I could consumed me, making it take me twice as long to get ready as it usually did. I put deep waves in my hair, did my five-layer scent routine, and put together an outfit that accentuated every curve I had.
“Why are you here?” Dejvi asked Aspen as he walked inside.
I chuckled and shook my head at their exchange.
“You gon’ stop actin’ like you don’t be happy to see me, big brother.”
“Nigga, I just saw you yesterday.”
