“Montie, you don’t know me very well, but what do you know about me?” she asked.
“Let’s see…what do I know? You’re funny, smart, highly successful, and so damn beautiful with the biggest set of kissable lips that I have ever had the pleasure of tasting and that’s not to mention that a…”
An elderly couple made it to the top of the steps. Lissa coughed to stop me from speaking.
“Let me get that for you.” I held the door open so they could walk in ahead of us.
“Thanks Son,” the man said as he entered the door.
“No problem.” I smiled at the lady who reminded me of my grandmother.
“If you trust me, you know I wouldn’t subject you to anything that might offend you. I think what we’re doing tonight will help us get to know each other better. I want you to know this side of me. Give me a chance to show you without judgement, and if you don’t like what you see you can walk away no strings attached.”
Without knowing what waited inside, I didn’t know the implications of what she was saying to me. However, I had no intention of walking away from her, ever. I opened the door to the church and allowed her to walk in front of me. As soon as we reached the sanctuary, I noticed a line of people wrapped around the room leading to a backroom.
“What’s going on here?” I asked.
“Tonight, we serve the people,” she said taking my hand and walking me down the aisle of the church to the back where she handed me an apron and a pair of gloves. “I have you working mac and cheese. We give them a small scoop each, because by the end of the night we will have served a thousand people, give or take.”
“Are you saying I’m going to scoop one thousand hunks of mac and cheese?” I asked in surprise of her revelation that our date had shifted in intent much too fast for me to comprehend. People served my food to me at restaurants. I had never worked an assembly line serving food to the community.
“Well, actually there are two lines with the same thing on each side, so maybe five hundred,” she laughed. “I’ll be right beside you giving out green beans.”
I had gotten dressed in some of my best casual wear and was well shaven with new clean smelling cologne, and a fresh hair cut specifically for my time with Lissa. I anticipated a five-star meal and a walk by the riverside.
By the time I was sure I had seen four hundred and ninety-nine smiles on the people’s faces and the humbleness with which they came to receive food from a rundown church that I didn’t even know existed, I was sold. Anything I felt for Lissa got real in that instance. I was so in love with her by the end of the night. No, I don’t think you understand, I loved that woman for everything she stood for by the time I scooped my last serving of mac and cheese and looked at her work tirelessly with a smile as she raised her last scoop of green beans. We could’ve been anywhere. She could have used this time to make a hundred-thousand-dollar deal with a potential client, or be wined and dined at an expensive restaurant, but she chose to look into the eyes of those less fortunate and light them up with her smile, her loving spirit, and she brought me along to experience it. I was beyond taken by her. I was
always preaching about doing what mattered. She showed me that it was more fulfilling to do what mattered.
“Glad you didn’t run out on me,” she said as she came out of the kitchen with a large utility broom in her hand and began sweeping. “It wasn’t that bad, was it?” she asked.
“Well, I’m definitely worn out, but—”
“You didn’t like it,” she asked and halted sweeping. She held the broom close to her chest, her heart-melting smile fading away.
“No, this was an experience I will never forget. I loved it. Thank you for sharing this part of you with me,” I said. Her lips upturned in a smile, making all things right in my world again.
“You’re welcome, Montie. It brings me so much joy to give back. When I beat you at pool, I figured I had to bring you along for the weekly community dinner.” Her vulnerable glare dead set upon mine rendered me incapable of looking anywhere but into her pretty brown eyes. “I’m not trying to imply anything more than what we are. I understand that we’re just two people doing business and getting to know one another. I just wanted to do something with you that makes me happy.”
I cut her misunderstanding by closing the space between us and crashing my lips down onto hers. I kissed her properly, the way I wanted to since the first night we broke the first rule of engagement for business partners and went back to my place after our celebratory dinner. That night, I had been able to subdue my feelings for her. But standing there in the church’s kitchen, sweaty and with mac and cheese stained clothing, I was overtaken with desire to become one with the five-foot two beautiful soul standing in front of me.
Judging from the look in her eyes when I finally released her, our soul-burning kiss had smoothed out any rough areas her mind was taking her to. She understood completely that I was ready for whatever she wanted to share with me. “I, uh, I think we should finish up here, so we can leave,” she said and handed me the broom. “Do you mind sweeping out here?” she asked, quickly picking up a pan warmer and rushing toward the kitchen.
“Hey,” I called after her.
“Yeah.”
“I’m glad you won the game.”
“Me too.” She smiled and slipped inside the kitchen. I stared after her knowing I had let her win the game, just the same way I was allowing her into my heart with each passing moment.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Lissa
Let’s Fly Away
“Wow, Year of Yes was amazing from the beginning to end, Shayla. You should read it as soon as possible,” I yelped with excitement over the content I spent the last month absorbing.