Page 35 of Krash & Bern

“Cancel my five o’clock meeting, Malaysia. I don’t want to be here that late. Tell everyone we’ll reschedule it for next Wednesday.” As she stepped off the elevator, she hung up the phone. Then her eyes met mine.

“Keyshawn?” Her lips tugged into a grin.

“Hey.”

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

I lifted the flowers and chocolate for her to see. “I brought you some of your favorites. At least they were your favorites back in the day.”

She poked out her bottom lip. “Aww! Thank you!”

“No problem.”

She took the flowers from my hand and lifted the petals to her nose. She closed her eyes and inhaled. When her eyes opened, the twinkle in those brown irises was unmistakable.

“I wanted to know if you were free to go to lunch,” I added.

She smiled. “I can be. Let me call my secretary to tell her I’ll be taking a longer lunch, and we can head out.”

“You want to ride with me?”

“Sure.”

The smile was small on my lips. “Cool.” I placed my hands in my pockets as I waited for her to handle her business.

“Hey, Kayla. Can you send these up to my office and tell Malaysia I’ll be taking an hour lunch instead of my usual grab and go?” Bernice asked the receptionist.

Kayla nodded a confirmation. “Yes, ma’am. I got you. Be safe.”

Kayla’s eyes darted toward me before she grabbed the flowers and chocolate to take upstairs to whichever floor Bern’s office was located.

I offered my arm for Bernice to wrap her hands around, and she did. The feel of her hands on my skin made me tense for a moment. I missed how my body reacted to her touch. I missed how powerful her presence was to me. She grinned as I led us out to the parking garage to my car.

“It’s been a long time since we rode in the car together,” Bern stated as I opened her door and helped her climb into the SUV.

“Facts.” I closed her door and walked around to the driver’s seat. I started the engine and turned down the AC.

“I like the big body. You’ve come a long way from your Granny’s old Altima.”

A chuckle filled the air. “You ain’t lying. I love the big body SUVs now. I be feeling presidential and shit.”

“You’re a mess.” She laughed.

“I’m speaking facts. The all-black whips make mothafuckas aware I’m that nigga when I pull up somewhere.”

“Period. Don’t play withyou.” She snapped her fingers in a circular motion.

“Do you know where you want to go get something to eat? I don’t want to do a crowded spot because when I pull up, folks always asking for a picture and shit.”

“My bad, superstar! I’m cool with wherever you’re comfortable with sitting down to eat. Or we can go through a drive-through and eat in my office or something.”

“You’d parade me around your office?” I asked with a smirk.

“Well, when you put it that way… no. We can eat out here in the garage.”

“You want to hide me from the world? I can respect it. One of these days, we’re going to have to make an announcement so these groupies can leave me alone,” I joked.

Her head fell back onto the headrest as she released a guffaw. “Keyshawn, I want you to be for real right now.”

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