Page 19 of The Sicilian's Obsession
I agreed and added, "I know the perfect place to get you unwound." Katima gave me a look, but I wasn't about to ruin the surprise. I escorted her to my truck. Philadelphia was about three hours away, but I told Katima to hook her phone up to the Bluetooth and play whatever she wanted for our trip. What I wasn't expecting was the pop music in another language. I flashed her a surprised look as we drove out of town.
"What the heck is this?" I didn't want to sound uncultured, but I had never heard of anything like this.
"Black Pink, they are a K-pop group." She smiled so wide at me. I had never seen her so happy. It took my breath away.
"K-pop?" What the heck?
"Korean pop. I'm a fan of all of it. I'm also a blink. So, if you're going to take me to an undisclosed destination, then you are going to have to listen to my girls talk about being lovesick." Her eyes sparkled. I had no idea who this group was, but clearly, this was something near and dear to Katima's heart. If she liked it, then I would give it a chance.
"It has a good beat. It reminds me of American pop music." I tapped my fingers on the wheel with the beat. It was catchy. Something I thought I would only hear coming from a teenager's car, but I could see an appeal to our generation.
"If you want, there are a lot of blinks who post their concerts online. We could watch one for sure." By now, Katima was bouncing in her seat and I didn't have the heart to tell her no. Who in their right mind would want to kill her light? Not me, that's for damn sure.
A few hours later, and a crash course in Black Pink and BTS, we were at our destination. We were in Queens Village, where I had found a picturesque bookstore calledHead House Books.I wanted to bring Katima because I knew she was a bookworm. I could have taken her to a comic book store, but I wanted to hold off on that. I'm not sure how nervous she was to be outdoors. So, taking this one step at a time was best. Besides, she probably didn't even realize this was a date. I chuckled silently to myself when I saw her face as she peered into the windows. A bookworm, she was practically salivating to get inside. I opened the door for her, and she was a goner. Running her hands over the spines of the books lined on the walls, she looked like she was in heaven. Nirvana etched over her face, a clear difference from how she looked just a few hours ago in the office. She didn't say a word, just flitted from one section to the next, picking up books in her hands. I wasn't even sure if she was reading the backs of them. I grabbed her stack and took them up front, asking the ladies at the register if we could keep the pile up there because I knew she was going to have a lot. The older ladies working said yes after a wink and a little bit of my charm. God, I loved Philadelphia sometimes. I found a cozy seat where I could watch the door and Katima, showed her where I would be sitting, and then let her loose. It was brilliant to watch her unwind and go to her happy place. I wanted to leave her looking like that forever.
After a long while, most of which I spent looking into her past and moving her books to the front, Katima was done.
She stammered, "I-I'm s-sorry its t-t-took so l-long." I grabbed her hand and kissed it, causing her face to heat.
"It's all right. You ready to get some lunch?" She nodded her head and off we went. I took her to South Street, one of the hottest places in Philadelphia. I was going to show her the best.Jim's Steakswas one of the best steakhouse places in Queens Village. I wanted Katima to really enjoy the best of the city, especially since I didn't know when we would be back. I was just thinking about what I could tell my mom to get out of family dinner this week. I never missed it if I was in the area, but if I brought Katima, she would go crazy. Even if I explained that Katima was a client, my mom wouldn't care. She had been trying to set me up for years. I also wouldn't be able to hide how I felt about Katima from her.
"I love this spot!" Katima grabbed my hands and started grinning, excited. My question was when the heck had she been to the city? Her father said she was a recluse and never left the house. Something wasn't adding up and my Spidey senses were tingling.
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