“My beautiful girlfriend, Madison. I want to dedicate this song to her because it describes our love. I want her to know how grateful I am to have her in my life. I love you, Madi, baby.”
“I know that’s right! Let me know that song, and we’ll get that played for your girlfriend, Madison.”
The gentleman fired off the song, and instantly, the soft R&B song played through the speakers. I couldn’t help but smile at the fact that romance still existed in the world. I longed to experience it, but I knew that in today’s world it was rare. My thoughts went back to Danita’s comments about dating Gloria’s son. It would be nice to have someone I could call and talk to about my day. It would be even better to have someone to come home to and wrap my body around as we cuddle the entire night.
It had been a while since I had experienced what love felt like. A year ago, my boyfriend, Jakeem, ended things out of nowhere. His reason was that I had lost myself while dealing with my mother’s cancer battle. There were nights I would sit up and cry or not eat. I thought little of it because Jakeem knew what was going on, and I never would’ve imagined that I wouldlose my relationship when I had lost my mom. I begged for Jakeem to understand what had happened to me, but he wasn’t trying to hear any of that. After the breakup, I lost who I truly was. My only comforts came from food and work. I gained so much weight and lost all the confidence that I had. I was stuck in a rut.
Because of my longing for male attention, Gloria’s offer sat in the back of my mind. It would be nice to know him. No mother out there just wants any and everybody to date their son. I took her offer as an offer and nothing short of it.
I finally pulled into the driveway of my townhome and headed inside. I imagined what it would be like to come home and have someone greet me at the door with hugs and kisses. The lover girl in me mourned for the experience. However, the heartbroken girl I was could only wish upon a star. I wanted my normal routine to be interrupted and not consistent every day—spontaneous dates, binge-watching a series together, or even the random arguments that ended in us having mind-blowing sex to make up.
The more I thought about my wants, the more I thought about Gloria’s offer. It couldn’t possibly hurt to step out there. It’d been a long time. Even if it didn’t go anywhere, a night out with a man would be nice. However, even though the idea sounded nice, I had to remember my circumstances, and bringing a man into it might not be the best idea.
I satoutside eating my lunch after working five hours straight. Aside from Patrick being his usual self, my day had gone smoothly so far. My mood was better, and I no longer felt sad. I had just finished lunch in the outside courtyard and made my way back inside to clock in. I made my way to the elevator and waited patiently for it to open. I was scrolling on my phone, looking through Instagram, when a warm sandalwood scent hit my nose. The smell was smooth but powerful. I turned in the direction it came from and laid eyes on the most breathtaking man I had ever seen. When I glanced at him, I noticed he had a caramel complexion with deep black waves. I tried my best not to stare, but I couldn’t help it. There was nothing I loved more than a man with a thick beard, and this man had one. I wantedto reach up and grab it so I could pull him to me and kiss his full pink lips. He had on a plain white t-shirt and a pair of dark denim jeans. He wore a pair of sneakers, but I wasn’t familiar with the brand. Finishing his look was a gold chain with a cross pendant. His body language oozed confidence and seriousness.
I hadn’t realized the elevator had opened until a small voice caught my attention.
“Excuse me, ma’am.”
I looked down and saw the cutest little girl. She held the hand of the handsome man. She wore a white t-shirt and jeans as well. Her hair was in a messy ponytail, and her bright pink hair bow was crooked. I stepped out of the way and let the two of them walk onto the elevator. The man only looked up from his phone once when they reached the elevator. I quickly followed behind and pressed the sixth-floor option. I realized I was the only one who had selected a floor. He was too busy on the phone that he didn’t even bother to pick a floor stop.
“Excuse me, which floor?” I asked, looking at him.
“Oh, my bad. Sixth,” he answered, not bothering to look up.
I rolled my eyes and stepped back. I hated it when people were so engrossed in their devices like that. I looked down at the cute little girl and smiled. She smiled back and waved.
“I like your bow. Pink is one of my favorite colors.”
Her smile grew bigger. “Mine too! I have a lot of pink bows.”
I looked at the lopsided bow on her messy ponytail.
“Can I adjust it for you, pretty girl?”
She smiled. “Yes, please.”
I unclipped the hair bow and tried my best to place it back on her ponytail correctly. I smiled down at her once I finished.
“It was already pretty, but it looks even better now.”
The little girl had rich, chocolate-colored skin and fluffy, curly hair that didn’t look as if it had been styled in the past two days. Her edges were all over the place, and her ponytailwasn’t tight. She had a few missing teeth, but a big smile that lit up my day. She was the prettiest little girl I had ever seen. Her eyes were slanted but filled with curiosity. She had long top and bottom lashes and the poutiest lips.
I looked at the man who had yet to look up from his phone. I noticed they had some similar features. It disgusted me how engrossed he was with his phone instead of paying attention to his daughter. Finally, the elevator dinged, and he looked up from his phone. He looked down at the little girl and then back at me.
“I appreciate that.”
I rolled my eyes and exited the elevator. I looked back and waved at the little girl.
“Bye bye, princess.”
She waved, showing all her teeth. It irritated me to see a parent more engaged with their phone than with their own child. Despite being handsome as hell, he had already shown me that he lacked skills in the parenting department.
I took off to the break room before Patrick could stop me. I placed my lunchbox back in my locker and grabbed my stethoscope to visit patients. Walking to the board to check patient assignments, I saw the little girl and the man walking past the nurses’ station. My interest piqued. I couldn’t help but wonder who they were visiting. I made a mental note to myself to peek into the rooms and see who they were visiting that day. I grabbed my equipment and started my rounds. Gloria was my first patient, so I headed to her room. I knocked on the door before I entered.
“Gloria, how are...”
I froze mid-sentence when I saw the man and the little girl from the elevator. My eyes bounced from them to Gloria, who sat on the patient table. She had a big smile on her face.
