My thoughts were interrupted by a vibration in my right pocket. My hand immediately dug in to grab it. When I had my phone in my grip, I pulled it out and looked at it. It was a response from Jade.
Jade:Depends on what and where you’re trying to feed me.
I couldn’t help the grin that formed on my lips. Not one to do all that texting shit, I hit the FaceTime icon at the top right of the screen next to her name.
She answered immediately, bringing that beautiful ass face into the camera. Her hair was pulled up into a bun out of her face, showing every single feature of hers that I tried not to bore into while we were at the restaurant and in my truck the other day.
“Are you outside? Why can I barely see you?” she asked, peering into the phone like one of those bad ass kids asking if you had games.
“Yeah. I’m checking on my garden. Are you a picky eater, Jade?”
“Um no. I think we established I wasn’t at your restaurant. Did you not spend a portion of the night hand feeding me some of everything?”
“Not everything and I enjoyed it.”
She smiled. “As did I.”
“Then don’t tell me it depends. Tell me when you are free so I can feed you then, beautiful.”
She giggled. “You’re such a smooth talker, Mr. West. But no, I don’t turn down food, so how about Friday?”
“Hope the meal isn’t what has you taking me up on my offer.”
“Of course not. It’s the fact that you’re feeding it to me too.” She winked, making my shit brick instantly. “Now can you show me your garden? I’m intrigued.”
“’Bout what, love? It’s just a garden,” I responded, half not expecting her to be remotely interested. She didn’t strike me as the type.
“No, it’s more than that. It’s peaceful. When I was younger my granny used to have one. I hated that she made me help her with it, but now as an adult I remember it being the most serene place to exist. It was happiness on earth.” She smiled into the camera, eyes twinkling.
I lifted the phone and flipped the camera to show her. She was right about the serenity. It was everything needed to calm even the most racing mind. This space was necessary because it was truly calm in a world of chaos.
She beamed. “Just beautiful. Do you own the lake behind you as well?”
I nodded as if she could see me. “Yeah. It felt like it completed the property.”
She nodded. “So how long I gotta be your friend before you invite me over for lunch in the garden and a tour?” Damn, this woman was different. She had the type of energy that would stiff even the toughest. She was confident and knew what she wanted even though she came off shy at first.
I flipped the camera back to me. “How about we talk about that over dinner Friday?”
“Great. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Good. What are you doing right now?” I didn’t want to get off the phone with her, so I started a whole other conversation.
“Honestly nothing. I feel like I should be working, but when I walked in the door, I poured a glass of wine and got comfortable on my couch for the evening. Kinda been pushing the limit a lot these days.”
“Why?” I sat my phone on the dirt and began to harvest the bell peppers I deemed ready.
“The grand opening of my second location is rapidly approaching and I don’t want to half step. I want everything to be perfect. Well, maybe not perfect, because perfection doesn’t exist, but close.”
“Nah it doesn’t, but I understand. Give yourself grace though. I’m pretty sure you know your own formula and what to do instead of stressing yourself out, right?”
“Yeah, I do. When I opened my first boutique, I was heartbroken. My ex had cheated on me for the millionth time, I had just had a miscarriage and I felt like I was dying inside, so I threw myself into my dream. Probably too much information but what made it happen last time doesn’t exist within me anymore. Months of journaling and open conversations with my grandmother made it impossible to carry.”
Her vulnerability made me pause. Women like her were a breath of fresh air because they didn’t put up façades. They were brutally honest, even when it was at the sake of their own sanity. Women like her were rare, they didn’t come around every day.
“I’m sorr?—”
“Don’t be. Things happen and I’ve made peace with it.” A brief silence filled the phone before she spoke again. “I definitely didn’t mean to get that deep so soon, my apologies; it comes with the dark personality.”
