Her Protector

Chapter 9: Unexpected

Last night was interesting. I had a short exchange with Ken that left me with more questions; and then there was Khalil. I haven’t had that much to say to any man in a long time and it felt so right. It made me feel a little guilty still planning a date with Ken. I made up my mind, since I belonged to no one, that what I did was my own business. Besides, I don’t think it would be a wise bet to put all my eggs in either basket. I was stepping into this dating scene full force, apparently, and I didn’t want to sell myself short getting my feelings all wrapped up in anyone so soon.

At work, it was hard to concentrate. Natalie had no idea about Khalil and I really wasn’t interested in revealing him to her. She was already being really overwhelming asking questions about my date with Ken tomorrow.

“Have you picked an outfit yet? How are you gonna wear your hair? Do you think you’ll kiss him if he makes a move?” Natalie said, not even taking a pause for me to respond.

“Damn, girl, can I answer one at a time?!”

“Ok, ok. Sorry! I’m just so excited for you. What if he’s some rich billionaire and is going to whisk you away into a new life full of fancy trips and expensive meals?! OMG! I would die!”

“A billionaire? Ha! I would be shocked. You know as well as I do that coming into the bank with a case full of cash doesn’t necessarily mean it’s your money.”

Working at a bank, we’ve seen everything from businessmen to well-dressed drug dealers. I learned not to be too impressed by the cash they deposit. There are endless possibilities as to how it was acquired. I glanced at the time and was coming up on my usual morning break. I wanted to get to the café and see Khalil and was really looking forward to it. I zoned out for a moment just thinking about how sweet he had been, and a smile spread across my face. Natalie stopped talking once she noticed I wasn’t paying attention.

“Are you leaving something out? What are you smiling about?”

“Nothing! I’m just excited about the date too! I’m going to run out for a bit. Be back soon!”

I quickly got up and walked out to get to the café. My stomach was full of butterflies. I don’t know why I was so nervous. Once inside, I looked for my table and there he was. He looked up as I came through the door and his unassuming expression shifted to a big smile. He stood up and held out his hand for mine. I smiled back and went to grab his hand. As I approached and met his hand with mine, he gently raised it and kissed the back of it.

“Good morning, Kelis. Looking beautiful as always.”

“You’re making me blush!”

“I can’t help speaking the truth. I’m so glad to see you. I’ve missed you since last night.”

Not falling for Khalil was becoming more and more difficult each time I saw him, especially after getting to know him better. As much as I was glad to be in his presence again, I had to play it cool.

“Well, we’re here now. Shall we sit?”

I hoped I wasn’t sounding too cold. I wanted to keep him at a distance, but not too far. He pulled out my chair for me and took his seat after.

“Khalil, your order is ready!” Carissa called.

“You ordered already? I should go make mine.”

“Don’t worry, I got you.”

Khalil went to the counter and came back with a tray. He handed me a breakfast panini and there was a side of avocado on my plate. There was also black tea. I was confused. I had never talked to him about what I order from here. Especially the avocado. I only did that sometimes when I felt like splurging. How did he know?

“Don’t be upset or think I’m some kind of creep, but I took the liberty of asking Carissa what you normally order. She told me you sometimes like avocado, so I wanted to make it perfect for you.” Khalil said.

I looked over at Carissa and she just winked at me and went about her business. How could I be upset? That was such a sweet thing to do.

“Also, I just wanted to have as much time to spend with you as possible.”

My heart just melted. I couldn’t stop smiling and now I was nervous to eat.

“Eat up, Kelis. I can’t have you falling over later today. Ha ha!”

“Khalil, you’re so thoughtful. It’s not something I’m used to. Pardon my surprise.”

“I’ll give you anything you want, if you let me.”

My body reacted to that statement. All I could think about was Rochelle telling me to knock the dust off this thing. If I didn’t have any control, I would have taken him to my car and let him have me. Fortunately, years of abstinence helped keep me in check. We didn’t talk. He got a sandwich as well and ate with me. When we finished he struck up the conversation again.

“So, Kelis. Do you have any plans this weekend?”

“Well…,” I nervously took a sip of tea, “I’ll be a little busy Saturday.”

“How about Sunday?”

I thought about it. I really didn’t imagine this scenario playing out. Sure, I wanted to see Khalil outside of the café but wasn’t sure if having two dates over the weekend was such a good idea. I wondered if he would be able to tell I went out with someone the previous night. It was probably best if I didn’t overwhelm myself with the potential for that to happen. Khalil was being so sweet to me, and I really didn’t want to hurt his feelings or seem uninterested.

“This weekend probably won’t be good for me. What about next weekend?”

“If you’re going to make me wait a whole week to take you out, I want the whole weekend with you.”

“Hmmm…,” I pondered for a moment, “That could be arranged.”

His face lit up at my acceptance of his request.

“Well, Khalil, I better get back to work. Thank you for breakfast.”

“No thanks needed. You don’t have to worry about anything when you’re with me.”

We stood up together and Khalil held out his arm for me to take as we walked out of the café. As we were outside, he turned to me and smiled.

“It feels good having you on my arm. I wish I didn’t have to see you go.”

He slipped his arm away and brought both hands to my waist to pull me close. His chest was flush with mine and our faces were so close, I thought he would kiss me. He stared at me as I stared back. It was the most pleasant moment of silence. I felt a calmness wash over me as I stood there with him. It felt like we were completely alone. I was as focused on him as he was on me. He brought his arms around my waist and pulled me closer. His face gently touched mine and I could feel his breath on my ear. He hugged me close. I could feel his muscles firmly against me and it took real strength to not explore his ample frame. Instead, I wrapped my arms around his neck, returning his embrace. His scent invaded my nose. He smelled like citrus and flowers. I closed my eyes too, inhaling so I wouldn’t forget it.

“You’ll call me later?” he asked softly in my ear.

“Yes, I will.”

With that, he hugged me a little tighter and said, “I’ll be waiting for you.”

We embraced each other for what felt like an eternity. As we let go, he brought his hand to my face and gently caressed it.

“Have a wonderful rest of your day, beautiful.”

His hand dropped and I stood there not wanting to say goodbye. I reluctantly did so and turned to walk away. I took a few steps in the direction of the bank. I was curious if he had walked away too and when I turned around to look, he was still standing there. He smiled at me. I blew him a kiss and he caught it and brought his hand to his heart. I turned around and headed back to work. Just then, a message came through on my phone.