Bahlam Feeki

Chapter 12

"Wait wait wait so your youngest sister threw a pot at someone?" He laughs as he stirs the pot of stew. Surprisingly the drive to his place wasn't far from here but who knows if this is even his actual home.

"Yeah, our parents invited people over but this old man kept flirting with her and he wouldn't stop so she shut him up." We love to see it it's not like we don't tell men to leave us alone it's them who don't listen

"Good for her standing her ground!" He chuckles as he pours the stew into the bowl. I try to take mine but he moves his hand away he gestures with his head for me to sit. I pull out my chair and sit.

"So what is this again?" He places the bowl in front of me while rushing back to the kitchen to grab the other sides

"To explain it simply, it's a mixture of different meats to make a stew. You can either eat it with rice or naan it's like a flatbread." He hands me a spoon and waits for me to take a bite. I grab a spoonful of rice and place that in my mouth before scooping the stew in my mouth.

My eyes widen as the flavor danced on my tongue. If I wasn't in front of him I would have stuffed this down my throat.

"What do you think?" He says while picking up the naan and dipping it in the stew

"First of all, whoever taught you how to cook, they did a good job. Two it's very delicious." I quickly go back to the dish and rip a piece of the naan to try. I hear him chuckle from across the table Making me lookup

"It's not too spicy?" He asks while taking a drink of his water.

"No, this is nothing. If you haven't noticed I'm black." I say, catching him off guard almost making him burst into laughter but I could see that he's holding back.

"My mom will definitely like you then. She always complains how no one can handle her food." Wow, slow down there buddy we just started this trial.

"Well, to my advantage I can't speak for every black person but I grew up around a lot of distant relatives who were from different ethnic backgrounds but they are all black." I pause to take a sip of my water.

"So I think it's safe to say I got my fair share of spices growing up." He smirks but doesn't say anything.

"That's good, you have a diverse pallet." He says while clearing his throat. Drawing my attention to him. If I were the person I was a couple of years ago I would have already said yes to being his girl but nothing but heartbreak came from that.

"What's going on in that head of yours habibti?" I would be lying if I said I didn't love when he called me that.

"Nothing, just thinking," I say while going back to my food.

" I might have not known you long enough but I can tell when you want to say something." He smirks that goddamn smirk

"Well, then Mr. wise guy since you would like to know so much. I'm thinking about past relationships." I could see his jaw tighten but he quickly relaxes but it's too late I already saw.

"And what happened?"

"Hm, I don't know if I should tell you that suppose you use it in your favor."

"If you can trust me not to drown you in the ocean why not this?" I let out a sigh, he has a point but I really don't want this to be thrown back in my face.

"You should get the wine this is gonna be a long one." Without even a second to spare he was up out of his chair grabbing the glasses. He began to pour the blood-red liquid into my glass.

" I can't be the only one sharing my failed relationship you gotta share too." I point out he gives me a slight smile and sits back down

" Gosh, where do I even start?" I take a sip from my glass

"His name was Brandon. He was a nice guy at first but turned out to be a narcissistic bastard that ended up turning abusive." His eyes were glued to me letting me know I can continue and that he was listening

"It was hell to get out of and keep him away. Then fast forward to Luke man is a damn sewer rat in businessman's clothing. He was a piece of shit." He nods his head and refills my almost finished glass

"Yeah, they are. They better not step within a 59-mile radius of you or they will end up in a hospital." He says you could tell he was telling the truth.

"Well, I guess it's my turn." He chuckles lightly but you could tell he was uncomfortable. That's a first but then again who wouldn't be.

"Most of the girls I dated were nothing but gold diggers, others were traitors trying to just insider information." Information on what his business deals with?

"Then the most recent one Tawina, I was going to marry her but surprisingly she turned out to be a racist and if that's not bad she had a plan to end me." Damn now I know I had a bad love light but damn this man had people out to kill him?

"Hm, so we both had pretty bad love lives," I say while taking the last sip from my glass

"Yup, but I think if we do become partners I think we have enough sense not to fuck it up?" He smirks at me while pouring me my third glass

"What are you trying to do? Get me drunk huh?" He chuckles and refills his glass as well

"Nope, just two grown adults enjoying some good wine." He brings his glass to mine and I lightly collide mine with his

" to new beginnings." He says while smirking

"Yeah, don't mess it up," I say sarcastically. He rolls his eyes making a chuckle escape my mouth. Let's hope something good comes out of this.