Her Protector

Chapter 8: Patience

KEN

|Have you been thinking about me, beautiful? I haven’t forgotten about you.

I had just walked through the door to my apartment when a message popped up on my phone. I expected it to be Rochelle, but it was Ken. I had been thinking I wasn’t going to hear from him until I saw him again, so I was pleasantly surprised. I set my purse down and put the container with the gumbo on the dining room table. A part of me was pleased with my newfound prowess. I knew it couldn’t do any harm just talking to Khalil or even going on a date with Ken. It was about time I started taking everyone’s advice and live a little. I got showered and changed into some comfortable clothes. My plan for the night was to call Khalil. I wasn’t expecting to hear from Ken so I would text him back. I wasn’t going to appear thirsty for attention by calling.

‘I have someone else to talk to,’ I thought to myself.

KELIS

|Hi Ken. You may have crossed my mind since we spoke. Glad to know you haven’t forgotten me.

KEN

|You don’t have to admit it. I know you can’t wait to see me Saturday. I’m definitely looking forward to getting lost in those eyes of yours. I want you close to me all night.

Ken was so forward; it was hard not to be turned on. My heart was racing and I couldn’t help my excitement. Even if I wasn’t going to admit it to him, I was anxiously looking forward to seeing him after his little confession.

KELIS

|Well, you might just get a chance. What time are we meeting?

KEN

|6pm. We’re going to have a great time together.

KELIS

|I love a good time. I’ll be there.

KEN

|Have a wonderful rest of your evening, beautiful.

KELIS

|You too. See you Saturday!

He didn’t respond after the last message I sent. I exhaled my nervous excitement. My body was feeling hot and all I could think about was having him close enough to touch. I decided to give Rochelle a call to calm my nerves. I still wanted to talk to Khalil. He was a lot more mysterious than Ken and I found that intriguing. First, I had to call my girl. She answered after a couple rings and I started telling her about my recent interaction with Ken. She was gasping and screaming like it was happening to her. I couldn’t help but laugh. I had to tell her about Khalil as well. He was so sweet to bring home made food for me to try, especially something that I love so much. It tasted like it was made just for me, like he didn’t have it sitting around for a couple days already.

“Ok! Player, player from the Himalayas!” Rochelle teased.

“Girl, it’s not even like that…although…it kind of is!”

“So, you’re about to call Khalil, right?

“Yep! I just had to fill you in. It’s crazy, isn’t it? I don’t want to get my hopes too high about either of them.” I said.

“You’ll never know until you test the waters, girl. You’re smart and you’re always careful. If anything seems off on Saturday you know you can call me and I will be packin’ the heat, ok? I kill for mine!”

We both had a long laugh over that. She was very protective of me over the years and even though we laughed I knew she was dead serious. We said our goodbyes and ended the call. I got up to pour a glass of wine. With a slight buzz, I dug through my purse for Khalil’s business card. I was a lot less nervous preparing to talk to Khalil. Maybe it was the wine talking, but I just felt more at ease with him. I dialed the numbers and he answered right away.

“Hello?”

“Hi Khalil, this is Kelis. Are you busy?”

I was hoping he would say no.

“Not too busy for you. Can you hold on for just a sec?”

“Sure…” I replied.

I heard some muffled conversation and when he came back to the phone it was a lot quieter.

“Was I interrupting something? I can let you go.”

“Not at all, Kelis. I’ve been hoping you would call me. I wasn’t sure you would, so I just kept myself distracted with some work to pass the time.”

I wasn’t sure where the conversation was going and I was hesitant to take the lead. I already made the effort to call and I didn’t want to sound too interested. I was really good at appearing uninterested and I wanted to maintain that front as long as possible.

“So here I am!”

“You know…I was thinking about what you told me about your dad...”

My heart sank. I definitely didn’t expect the conversation to go there. It was the last thing I wanted to discuss. I was hoping he wasn’t trying to pry for details.

“I’m sure that’s not a topic you want to discuss. I just want you to know I understand your pain. You seem like such a strong and resilient woman. I know how hard losing my dad was and how I tried to keep all that pain inside to be strong for my mom. I know we’re basically strangers, but if you ever feel like you have no one that understands, you have me. I just wanted you to know that.”

I was so surprised. It was really sweet of him to open up to me like that. Sure, Chelley was my rock through it all, but she still has both her parents. I always felt she couldn’t truly understand my pain. A lot of times I wanted to call her and just cry. Tell her how I was so angry and hurt and that she would just listen and not judge. I kept a lot of that pain to myself. Now, this person who’s basically a stranger was offering me the support that I always wish I had.

“Wow…um…I-I really don’t know what to say. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting you to bring that up. I really appreciate your offer. It’s just…just…so painful I…” I trailed off.

I was choking back tears and was going to lose it since I was away from the public eye.

“Kelis, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to upset you. I should have waited, maybe until I got to know you better. I just saw how hard you tried push past the pain. I know it all too well. No one deserves to suffer like that. Especially someone as beautiful as you. You should always be smiling.”

I was sniffling a little trying desperately to keep the tears from falling. He instantly became a hundred times more desirable. Part of the reason I stayed away from taking anyone serious was not feeling like I would be safe and have my heart protected as well. I was starting to think Khalil had much more potential than I had initially thought.

“Thank you, Khalil. I’ve never been offered something so valuable. I really appreciate that. Maybe there’s something else you’d like to know for now?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

“Of course! I’ve had a burning question on my mind since we were at the café.”

“And that would be?”

“Did you finish that gumbo?”

I laughed, “I was planning on having that for dinner. One sec and I can give you a rave review.”

I went to the table and grabbed the container and spoon.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Chef Khalil has prepared a delicious seafood gumbo for our panel of judges. I smell a very aromatic filé and the bowl is filled to the brim with a plethora of sea species. We have crab legs, scallops, prawns, and oysters. Bob, I’m in heaven.”

He chuckled at my expert description. I slurped loudly from the spoon and moaned in approval, making sure to add all the extra sound effects. Now, he was really laughing.

“Woman, you are too much. That was really good! So, it was a five-star meal?”

“Chef Khalil, it was six! Six glorious stars!” I exclaimed.

The conversation was really effortless after that. I mostly told him about my life over the past 6 years. We touched on some childhood experiences, but I steered clear of anything surrounding my circumstances from when I was eighteen. He wasn’t trying to pry for anything and kept the conversation intimate, but respectful. I found out that he was twenty-nine years old and owned his own business. He lived downtown and would go to the café often. He admitted that after he had seen me a couple times, he purposely tried to be there when he thought I would be.

“So, you have been stalking me!”

“Not exactly. I really wanted to approach you so many times, but I felt it was hard to when you were never there very long. I figured you must work close by.”

“Well, I think that’s kind of creepy, but also kind of cute. You were so patient.”

“And now I finally have my reward.”