MERCY.

05 | COCOA BABY

November 2012

Detroit cold was an experience unable to be compared to anything else. With many inches of snow and low temperatures, the thought of moving to a place where climate was more forgiving only made Messiah more determined to finish school so he could make real money.

He rubbed his frigid hands together upon walking through the large double doors of the hangout spot, hoping to warm up quick, fast, and in a hurry. He was one of those people who loved the summer and would forever die on the hill of summertime being the best season, even on days where the temperatures hit a blazing 80°.

He took a quick look around for any friendly faces and didn't notice any just yet, so he continued down his original path. Since he had no work and it was the weekend, he was looking around for things to get into. Campus tended to get very melancholy when the weather got this way, so it wasn't a surprise that there wasn't a lot to do aside from sit around and do homework.

Taking his phone from his pocket, he shot Demonte a text to see if he was currently doing anything. Upon looking up from the phone after it sent, he saw a pleasantly familiar face and a smile touched his. He merrily sauntered his way over to Keona, who was focused on a conversation she was having over the phone, a wide smile of her own wearing her lips.

"Keona," he called upon reaching her table. She looked up, brows raised as she wasn't expecting anybody's company. Though her smile dropped, her eyes told a different story. To Messiah, at least. She was flattered by his presence. "Wassup, girl."

"Hi," she greeted gently, watching him sit down. "You know I'm on the phone, right?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "That's fine. I ain't even over here to bother you, I jus' wanted to see what you were doing."

"Just talking on the phone. Chillin'." She was suddenly no longer focused on her conversation with Messiah, so he knew that whoever she was on the phone with her had reclaimed her attention. "Girl, I know what you're doing, you ain't slick. I'll talk to you later," she relayed to her friend with an amused smile.

When she put her phone on the table, Messiah spoke up again. "See? Now you're off the phone so we can talk."

"She only got off the phone 'cuz she heard you come over here messing with me." The roll of her eyes was playful and lighthearted, so Messiah took no offense to the gesture.

He just grinned, nodding his head. "I jus' said I'm not tryna bother you. I do have a question, though. It's really important."

"And that is?" she inquired.

He licked his lips, giving her a slow once over. "I wanna take you out on a date sometime next week."

She just stared at him for a moment before coyly giggling, covering her mouth with her hand. Unsure of what to do with herself as she grew nervous under his stare, she grabbed her phone and unlocked it. He knew she wasn't looking at a damn thing on there.

He continued. "Yes, or no?"

"Why do you wanna take me out?" she questioned, completely avoiding giving him an answer. He got the feeling that she wasn't sure of his request or his intentions. "You barely know me, Messiah."

"We're getting to know each other, though. I wanna take you out 'cuz I'm feeling you. You're beautiful and you're cool as hell. That's why, so yes or no?"

"I got a lot of schoolwork to do."

He almost rolled his eyes, having used this excuse plenty of times. Whenever somebody wanted to see him, he would just blame it on the homework, and it worked every single time. He knew that Keona was bullshitting. "Then you can jus' tell me when you don't got nothing to do and we'll work it out from there..." She didn't respond immediately, so he continued on, "If you don't wanna go on a date with me, jus' let me know. You aren't gonna hurt my feelings."