Noël

Just Business

"Hello." I said craning my neck around her to see down the hallway behind her. "Don't worry, your little boy toy is still obediently sitting and waiting for you." she mocked. I laughed. "I told him to heel." "Look, about earlier, I'm so sorry about Mark's behavior." I apologized. She smiled and crossed her arms. "It's fine." I smiled and tried to move past her but she blocked my path with her body stepping in front of me. I laughed nervously and moved to the other side only to be cut off yet again. "Ok, what is your deal?" I said getting highly frustrated. " You were the one looking for me, what's your rush now?" I stared at her. "And what makes you think, I was looking for you?" I shot back. "Are you always this mouthy?" She asked putting her hands on her hips. I looked at her. 

She was a tall beautiful young Indian woman with long shiny black hair and a warm complexion. Her nose was slightly pointed with a tiny bulb on the end and brown eyes that stood out, highlighted by her skin tone. Her lips were full and pink. They curled into another smile. "Are you just going to stare at me all day or are you going to say something?" she questioned me with a straight face. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. "Look, I'm sorry about earlier, we don't mean any trouble..." "Forget earlier, I'm not here to talk about that." she said taking a step towards me. "Then, what's all this, what do you want?" I asked backing up a bit. She smiled and closed the distance between us. "You." I felt my knees buckle. Lord, out of all days I just had to wear these shoes with no type of ankle support! I smiled and laughed nervously. "Look, I'm just here on a date, I don't know what's happening right now and," I couldn't finish. She held a small business card in her hands and offered it to me. I stared at it before I cautiously took it. "Call me sometime." She turned to leave without saying another word. 

She didn't even look back. How can you drop the mic like that and not look back? Who does that? I slowly walked back to the table where Mark sat waiting. I gave him a sheepish smile. "Damn, that bathroom must be the next town over huh?" he asked sarcastically. "Long line, you know us women, having to fix our hair and shit." I mumbled under my breath and looked around at anything but him. I was officially the worst liar ever. "You are officially the worst liar ever." he laughed as he led the way out. Oh, so this man is gorgeous and a mind reader as well? 

The ride back to school did not take long. He dropped me outside and said his goodnight. I came to my door only to find a note plastered on the inside. "Noel, staying out tonight, don't wait up." Blaire, my roommate had left a note. Great, I have the room to myself tonight. I kicked off my shoes and sat on my bed, collecting my thoughts from the day. I thought about Mark and what a gentleman he was. I thought about Mali and how insanely hot and mysterious she was. I remembered the card she gave me. I fished through my purse and pulled it out. It was small and smooth with blue rectangles. Mali Yinkabush, it read. Professional Chef. First and foremost, what kind of last name is Yinkabush? Is that even a word? Professional chef? I had so many questions running through my head.

 I ran my thumb over the edge of the card, contemplating whether to text her. I was having a mental argument with myself. What if she doesn't remember me? You met her less than 2 hours ago, unless she had a severe case of amnesia I highly doubt it. What if she doesn't look at me that way, what if it is just business, like networking? The woman basically said she wanted you! What do you mean? I sighed. What about Mark? What about him? I had made up my mind. I was going to text her. Wait! Should it be tonight? I just met her. I needed advice. I picked up my phone and texted Marley. I met a girl, I said plainly. I breathed out heavily and lay down on my bed. There was a knock on my door. I got up and opened it up. "Ok, so start from the beginning." Marley demanded pushing past me and sitting on the edge of my bed. "Wow, you don't waste anytime do you," I smirked sitting next to her. "Come on, get to the point." she whined. I looked at her, shook my head and smiled. 

Marley was one of my best friends. We met during new student orientation and we were close ever since. She was light with hazel eyes and brownish hair. She had full lips and big eyes. I remember the first time I saw her on campus. She was wearing these thigh high black boots and a long black flowing dress that looked amazing on her slender figure. Her braids fell down her back, tiny gold ornaments shone in the sunlight. She strode past me, without so much as a glance. That was my first girl crush on campus. I remember our first LGBTQ group meeting on campus that I was so nervous to go to, but I went anyway. She was there, and somehow I mustered up the courage to ask her for her number. Turned out that we lived just down the hall from each other. 

We started talking and getting closer, and I came to learn that she was in a long distance relationship with a woman she had met in middle school. I wasn't about to mess with history. We ended up becoming best of friends though. "Ok, I went on a date with Mark today." I started. She looked at me expectantly. "At lunch, there was this waitress and from the beginning there was this, energy, or something, I don't know." I paused. I could see a smile starting to form. "Then, her and Mark had this little power struggle for a moment which ended in him telling her he wanted his beef well done, even though he didn't notice it was medium rare, I think she did it on purpose." I laughed. "Then, I went to the bathroom and she basically accosted me outside, she wouldn't let me leave until I took her card." I finished. 

"Where is your phone?" she asked me while scanning the room. "No! I am not falling for that again." I warned. "Trust me," she assured while grabbing it from my hand. I stared at her while she typed away on my keyboard. A feeling of dread came over me. "Sent!" she exclaimed. "Wait, you didn't even let me see the message!" I grabbed for my phone. "Eh, eh , eh, no looking, plus whatever you would have said would have been lame anyway." She smirked. "I can't take this, I'm going to take a shower." I said getting up from my bed and collecting my shower essentials. "Ok, I'll be right here when you get back." she laughed. I shot her a dirty look. What exactly did I just get myself into.