“I’m sorry, but this is so good.” I reached for the pimento cheese in the tart shells and moaned even louder. “Damn, Jabari, this is even better.”
He cleared his voice. “I can tell.”
I glanced at him, and his eyes were low and locked on me. My body heated under his stare. He looked like he wanted to replace me with the fried green tomato, so I quickly shot my attention back to the plate, stuffing the tomato in my mouth.
“That good, huh?”
I nodded. “I’m excited about what’s next.”
“Me too.”
I smiled big as I watched him walk to the back. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I’ve never experienced something so romantic. Jabari was pulling out all the stops. Even though it was something so simple, it felt like the grandest thing.
Jabari returned carrying three more dishes. I clapped my hands together with excitement. The delicious-smelling food had heightened all my other senses as well.
“Alright, Amina. I made you a blackened sea bass with grits, a short rib with collard greens, and a truffle macaroni and cheese for the entrée portion.”
Without even a second thought, I scarfed down the food, not even bothering to look at Jabari. I hadn’t realized how fast I shoved everything down until I realized I was licking the fork.
“Good?” Jabari asked with a cheeky grin.
If I were a lighter complexion, he would’ve seen my cheeks heat from embarrassment.
“Sorry. It was so good.”
“Don’t be sorry, beautiful. That’s the type of reaction I want to see. I’ll be right back.”
He reached over and grabbed my empty plates. His shoulder brushed against me.
“My bad.”
“All good,” I lied.
I felt tingly inside, and even though it was only for two seconds, it felt great.
We were now on dessert. This time, I made him sit down and share it with me. Jabari had crafted a sweet potato pie topped with candied pecan praline.
“I never would’ve thought you out of all people could throw down like this. It’s rare to find a man who cooks as well as you.”
He placed his hand against his chest, pretending to be offended, causing me to laugh.
“You sure Gloria doesn’t cook like this too?”
I remembered her mentioning that Jabari’s grandmother taught him how to cook, but I was curious to know if she could as well.
Jabari sucked his teeth. “My mama wishes she could cook. My mama worked a lot.” He shrugged, but I noticed the hurt behind his comment. “I spent a lot of time with my maternal grandmother. She taught me everything I know. I could bake a cake before I was five years old. I found joy in the kitchen, but as I got older, I began putting my twist on her southern soulfulness.”
“That’s impressive,” I commented, admiring his background.
“Thank you. All of my inspiration comes from Grandma Mae. If it weren’t for her, I don’t know what I would be doing.”
He scooped a piece of the pie and placed it at the entrance of my mouth. I slowly opened it, receiving the sweet dessert, closing my eyes and moaning like I had been doing the entire time since I began eating. The act alone was kind and romantic. I felt myself in Delulu Land since being around Jabari. I couldn’t help but think about what it would be like to take things a stepfurther with him. I wasn’t looking for a title, but his company I had enjoyed, and I wasn’t even ready to end the night with him.
Two hours had passed,and Jabari and I were still at his restaurant. We chatted about the latest entertainment news in the blogs. I was shocked to know he knew so much about the latest celebrity gossip. I had moved from my seat and was sitting on top of the counter beside him as he whipped up a banana pudding parfait after he found out it was my favorite dessert, even adding vanilla bean wafers and caramelizing the bananas.
“You’re so impressive,” I noted after he added the gold flakes.
“You’re making my head big. Keep feeding me all these compliments.”
