Page 12 of Ready or Not
Without breaking the intense eye contact, he slowly closed the gap between us, his hand reaching back up to gently brush a stray strand of hair away from my face. The touch sent shivers down my spine, awakening a dormant need within me that I had long forgotten. In that brief moment of contact, a rush ofemotions floods through me—longing, desire, and a flicker of something dangerously close to infatuation.
As his thumb traced a soft caress along my cheek, I found myself leaning into his touch, craving the warmth and comfort he offered. The world around us seemed to fade into the background, nothing but the two of us existing in our own bubble.
He leaned in closer, his lips hovering just inches away from mine.
“You’re so beautiful,” he breathed, and every nerve in my body became on high alert, every fiber of my being yearning to bridge the gap that remained.
And so I closed my eyes, allowing myself to lean in the rest of the way…. only for the train to come to a halt, the announcement of Pelham Pkwy echoing through the car, jolting us back to reality. We both froze, our faces mere centimeters apart.
Slowly, he pulled back his hand, dropping from my cheek as he stood to his feet.
“We’re here,” he extended his hand for me to take. “Time for you to see your surprise.”
7 /DESIDERIO
“So…”she said as we walked down White Plains Road, her hand in mine so she wouldn’t trip on the concrete pavement. “What’s this surprise?”
“It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you.”
“Buuut,” she dragged out the word, her voice teasing and sweet like the syrup from the corner diner. "If you told me, I could act surprised.”
I glanced down at her, the golden light of the streetlamp casting a soft glow over her face, making her red hair appear deeper and her skin almost luminous.
"Acting surprised doesn't count. I’m not telling you anything. You’ll have to wait."
Her pout deepened, making me suppress a grin.
Though it was inching one in the morning, the streets of Pelham Parkway, a neighborhood in the Bronx, were still somewhat alive. Sounds of distant car horns and muffled reggaeton from bars filled the air. There was a barbecue happening outside an apartment complex, where a couple of people laughed and drank, and someone was playing the saxophone at the end of the block, where a bodega was still open.
Rounding the corner on Lydig Ave, I steered her towards a home nestled between old brick buildings, and we stopped.
“Are we here?” She looked up at me, her eyes shining like a kid on Christmas morning. She looked around for a sign and found none. “What is this place?”
“Close your eyes and you’ll find out.”
“You’re not gonna kill me, are you?”
I laughed, shaking my head. "Nah, nothing like that. Trust me."
“If you try,” her eyes narrowed, trying to keep a serious face on, however, the smile creeping in worked against her. “My friends?—”
“Will have my body chopped up, floating in the Hudson, I know,” I finished for her. “I ain’t gonna do you like that.”
Biting her lip, she hesitated for a moment before complying. "Okay, they're closed."
Double-checking they were closed, I placed my hands onto her ears and led her up the steps of the stoop, pushing open the home’s brown door. Greeting the old Black man at the wooden counter with a codeword—along with the bouncer who held the secret entrance open for me, I walked her through a door disguised as a bookshelf and down a set of stairs until we reached the hidden space: an underground jazz speakeasy.
Placing myself behind her, I removed my hands from her ears as I whispered."Okay, you can open them now.”
The room was lit with red candlelights, casting soft shadows on exposed brick walls. The air was thick with the smell of cigar smoke and whiskey, mixed with the sound of Latin jazz music drifting from a live Afro-Cuban band in the corner. On one side was a wood, dark red bar, and on the other were vinyls dated all the way to the fifties.
"Oh my god," she gasped, her hand flying up to cover her mouth in shock once she took her fill of the space.
“You like?’
She turned around to me, beaming. “I’m in love!”
Taking her hand in mine, I led her towards a small booth closer to where the band was. As we settled into our seats, she couldn't contain her excitement, her eyes darting around the speakeasy, taking in every detail.
