Lovin' Harlem

Ch. 3

           

The last week and a half had been more than busy for me. I had gone over to Nicki's place five times to read to Harlem since I met her and I enjoyed it every time. Harlem was warming up to me quicker than I thought she would and that only made me want to tell her she was my daughter even more. Mom fell in love with the idea of me having a little girl even though she was upset she was just finding out about her. If I had known about Harlem before now, things would have been completely different but I couldn't change that no matter how bad I wanted to.

                Things at the auto shop were coming along smoothly. In between putting things together at the shop and moving into a two bedroom duplex, I had very little extra free time and when I did, I was reading Harlem to bed. I sighed and looked at the pile of papers in the main office before going to the garage with a satisfied grin. It was still surreal to me that I owned my own business. I walked around, still smiling, while looking at all the tools that I had laying around. It was starting to come together in ways I hadn't even imagined possible in such a small amount of time. I decided to get ready to do work on the 2001 Chevy Malibu to kill some time. It would be simple changing the oil and brake pads. I tossed my shirt behind me and turned the radio on. The next thing on my to-do list was hire someone with the same passion as me.

                An hour and a half passed before I was finished on the car. I nodded my head to the music playing quietly until I heard footsteps coming closer to the car. The smell of green apples met me before my eyes wandered over Nicki's voluptuous hips hugging a navy blue sundress. The heels she was wearing showed off her painted toes and her breasts were enjoying the fresh air as they taunted me from her dress. Nicki smiled and held out a white plastic bag that smelled amazing.

                                "I thought you might be hungry," she smiled and sat the food on top of the car. I watched her eyes wander over my bare chest before she ran a hand thru her straightened black locks.

                                "Whatchu thinking about me for girl?" I laughed and reached for my shirt to wipe the sweat from my forehead. She chuckled but didn't take her eyes off of me.

                                "Whatever nigga, I was in the neighborhood and I know you said you was gonna be here so I brought you something to eat," she clarified with a grin. The food did smell good enough to make my stomach growl. She pulled out a container of Chinese food for herself before doing the same for me.

                                "Right, I'm 20 minutes from town but you were in the neighborhood. Ahaha, let's eat it in the office, come on," I grabbed our food and led her a couple feet away into my office. Her eyes wandered around for a few seconds before she took it upon herself to sit behind my desk, leaving me sitting in the small uncomfortable chair in front of the desk. Nicki was quiet for a few minutes after she blessed her food. Everything about her looked good to me. She had the confidence of a superstar and the looks to go with it.

                                "Harlem really likes you, Terrell. I think you should come to her birthday party," Nicki said after a while of us sitting in silence. Her brown eyes were staring at me intently. The summer air blew up against the office loudly but not loud enough to silence my thoughts. If I went to the party I know for a fact I would have to speak to Eva and that's something I didn't want to do. Things were perfect the way they were and I didn't want to mess that up.

                                "It's next weekend, she's turning 4," Nicki smiled and reached for her phone that was ringing. Her smile disappeared before she answered the phone. I tried my best not to eavesdrop but it was hard with her sitting right in front of me. My eyes roamed up her legs as she crossed them over one another, allowing her dress to taunt me even further.