Willfully Blind

CHAPTER 35 Good to the Last Drop

"Hey, baby girl! Guess what I found?" Lisa opened her eyes to find Dirk standing over her with a cup in tow. She smelled freshly brewed coffee. Her favorite morning aroma.

Dirk was dressed in sweats and a t-shirt and looked as though he had been up for some time. He stood, eagerly awaiting her response.

"Mmm...good morning," she purred, turning onto her back. Staring at the cup in his hand, it almost sounded like a trick question. "I'm gonna go with...coffee?"

"Yeah, silly, but I bet you can't guess in a million years what kind." Lisa turned over on her side and used her elbow to prop herself up.

"Chocolate raspberry?" she replied even though she didn't smell the distinct smell it permeated.

"Nope. Not even close. One more guess."

"Okay, let me think a minute..." Lisa closed her eyes. "Hmm...oh, I know! Is it Sumatra?" She opened her eyes, staring at Dirk with great anticipation. She got excited thinking about the exotic Indonesia roast. It was one of her favorites

"Naw, girl. Here, taste." Dirk offered Lisa the cup and stood there beaming. She slowly brought it to her lips. It took seconds to recognize what she regarded as the best coffee in the entire world.

"Dirk! Are you serious? This is Jamaican Blue Mountain, isn't it? Where in the world did you find it? Who brews this?"

"Slow down, baby. Yes, I am serious, and yes, it is Blue Mountain. I picked up a bag from that fancy little emporium over in the new strip mall. They have a coffee bar, so I asked them to brew you a cup before I left. You like?"

"Do I like? Dirk, I love! Thank you sooo much, baby! Wait, did you say you bought a bag? What did you spend, like fifty bucks?"

"Don't worry about how much I spent. Your excitement makes it well worth it." He leaned over and kissed Lisa on the cheek and then on the lips. Lisa sat her cup down and stretched her arms towards Dirk. He fell into her arms, snuggling into her neck.

"You're the man, baby." Lisa kissed Dirk on the cheek and then their lips met again. She lingered, enjoying the minty taste of his tongue until he disengaged.

"Come on, sleepy head. Let's go grab something to eat." Dirk stood and extended his hand. Lisa was surprised he didn't use the opportunity to call in his sexual favor from the night before. She certainly would have been receptive.

Although it was a true rarity, Lisa ended up spending the entire day with Dirk. They stopped for crepes, swung by the dry cleaners, the mall, and then by the barbershop so he could get his silly little weekly facial trim. Lisa sat in the passenger seat, staring at Dirk as he pulled into the parking spot in front of the shop.

"How long do you think you'll be in there?" she asked, reaching under the seat for her iPad. She had a bunch of emails she needed to trudge through and figured it would be a perfect time.

"Not long. Why don't you come in with me? I wasn't tryin' to leave you in the car. Come on."

"Oh...okay." Lisa did think she'd ever step foot into "his" barbershop.

Dirk held the door for Lisa as she walked inside. Feeling uneasy, she was now having second thoughts. Maybe she should have just stayed in the car. What if they thought she was running up behind him? Like the man couldn't even go to the barbershop without his girl on his heels. But then Dirk promptly introduced Lisa to everyone. And all were friendly, except the one female stylist. The name sign affixed to the mirror at her station read Joy. Lisa couldn't tell from the shade she was throwing.

"Hey, Joy," Dirk said, walking towards her station. "This is my girl, Lisa. Lisa, Joy."

"Hi there." Lisa tried to ignore the snarl on Joy's face and wasn't surprised by her bone-dry response.