HAPPY | ✔

13.0 CHOICES, CHOICES

🎶SHEA BUTTER BABY- Ari Lennox (ft J. Cole)🎶

"You crossed my mind a thousand times. The cost was fine, I draw the line. I'm back, relapse, I'm fiending. Yes, what's that? In fact, I'm dreaming."

"Where do you want to eat?"

"Ah, I don't know," she bumped into me playfully, "You choose."

I came to a sudden halt smack in the middle of pedestrian traffic on a New York City sidewalk.

"Ässhole," I could hear the muttering of angry commuters as they managed to maneuver around us, but payed them no mind.

"I should choose?" I held a hand to my chest and widened my eyes dramatically, "Nah, I'm not falling for that shït."

She had to jog to keep up with my long strides when I stalked away from her, my hands in my coat pockets. "I'm serious!"

"Mhmm, sure," I gave her a look over my shoulder, my lips twisting into a smile at the sight of her parted lips and disbelieving eyes, "Hurry up and tell me where we're going."

"Daniel," she clutched onto my elbow, breathless, "I promise you, I am so serious."

I stared down at her, contemplating with my tongue stuck in the side of my cheek.

It wasn't an arrogant thing to admit that I knew women. It was a simple fact. I knew women, in the biblical sense and otherwise.

Without question I was going to suggest somewhere, and there was a high probability she'd dislike my choice at best and find my selection downright ghastly at worst. Women were fickle confusing creatures. They'd convince themself that they'd be up to anything in one breath and yet shoot down the first five hundred options you'd throw out in the next.

Life hack: save yourself some time and let them decide.

But my Joyce was as sweet as she was gorgeous. She would go along with anything I decided even if I chose a garbage dump in China Town. She was such a genuinely nice person, she bordered on naïveté.

Hmmm.

"Okay," I relented with a flick of my tongue against the corner of my lips, and watched her exhale.

"Okay, great," she rocked back and forth on her heels in thinly veiled excitement, "so where're we going?"

"You'll see when we get there."

"You're not gonna tell me?" Her eyebrows almost kissed her hairline.

I released a hearty chuckle, followed by a grin as bright as the shining sun, hidden behind skyscrapers.

And give her overactive mind an opportunity to nitpick my selection? "Hell no!"

I grabbed her hand in mine and and pulled her to the edge of the sidewalk. I could feel her burning holes into the side of my head with those brown eyes as she gazed at me flabbergasted.

I whistled for a cab with the help of my thumb and index finger and one came screeching to a stop at my feet. I opened the door to the back seat and ushered her inside before whispering our destination to the driver. He was chubby guy with red cheeks and yellowing teeth. With a vigorous nod, he pulled off into a steady stream of traffic.

"How long?" I asked.

"About thirty minutes or so?" Right, so an hour.

"Take your time."

I grasped Joy's hand in my own. I spent a full ten minutes just playing with her fingers before she broke the silence.

"You're really not gonna tell me where we're going?"

I released her fingers only for a second, so I could tuck an untameable curl behind her ear. When her dark mane no longer obstructed my view into her soul, I leaned into her so I could rub my nose against hers. Slowly, until her eyes closed and her lungs ordered her body to release the breath she had unconsciously held captive.

I watched her brace herself for the onslaught of my kiss, but I only gave her a subtle brush of my lips against her own when I replied, "Not a chance in hell."

She groaned in disappointment. At my lack of an adequate response or the underwhelming peck? Probably both.

My mirth left me in a fit of laughter.

She tried to hide her face in her palms but I took back her hand in mine, tightly, and rested our entwined fingers on my thigh.

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