Page 28 of Bricked Up
“Shit,” Saadiq laughed as he held the door open for her. “I’ve always looked at you like that. You must not have been paying attention. Glad a nigga finally woke ya pretty ass up.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Damn it, Saadiq, can I please take this blindfold off now?” Zia asked, sighing in frustration.
“Zia, don’t ask me that shit again wit’ yo’ impatient ass,” Saadiq warned as he popped her on the thigh. “Just sit still and relax. Chill. We ain’t even been driving for ten minutes.”
“Saadiq, I barely have five damn minutes of paper-thin patience left in me before I snatch this shit off. So, you better drive faster or?—”
“A’ight, hang on. I got you.” He said as he whipped his ride over into the parking lot of PikeView Plaza.
“Wait, why are we stopping? Can I take my blindfold?—”
“No,” He growled before he climbed out and rounded his vehicle to her door. Saadiq grabbed a couple of heavy-duty zip ties that he kept in his glove compartment for odd uses and quickly tied her hands together.
“Saadiq, what the hell are you doing?” Zia asked as she began to pull away from him. “That’s it, take this shit?—”
“Hush woman,” Saadiq interrupted with a laugh as he effortlessly held her arms up and tied her to the grip handle justabove the door. “Since you so tempted to remove that blindfold, I figure I’d help you curb all that temptation.”
“I don’t see shit funny, Saad?—”
Chuckling, Saadiq shut the door, hopped back in the ride, and headed toward the freeway.
“Saadiq, this shit ain’t funny. Is this dumb shit really necessary?” Zia smacked her lips in annoyance.
“Yup, it was. Now chill. We’ll be there soon. I promise it’ll be worth the wait,” He assured her as he turned up the volume on the radio. “Just vibe to this playlist I made for you. Remember this song? This used to be our shitttt! Whoa!! I used to sing this to you all the time.” Saadiq began singing “Believe” along with Raheem DeVaughn.
Zia didn’t want to smile or start singing along, but she did. This song was indeed their shit. And so were the next nine songs that they sang along with. As much fun as she was having just sharing Saadiq’s company and vibing with him, she wasn’t about to admit it. But she was relieved when he finally shifted his ride into park in the middle of song number eleven and cut the engine.
“Oh my god, finally. Saadiq, cut these fucking zip ties and take this damn thing off me right the hell now.”
“I’mma cut yo’ impatient ass loose, but you gotta keep that blindfold on until we get inside. Or I’m not removing the ties.”
“Fineeeee!” Zia mumbled through gritted teeth. Sighing, she held up her hands so he could cut the ties. She sucked her teeth in annoyance when she heard him laugh as he exited the vehicle and went to open her door.
“Now hold onto my arm so I can guide you where you need to go.” He instructed as he started toward the entrance of a large brick building with a burgundy awning that read The Black Girl Bookshop. Once they were inside, they took the elevator to the basement level of the bookstore and proceeded to the backtoward the large event room. Saadiq guided her inside, moved her to the center, and quickly double checked the room. He ensured that everything was where it was supposed to be before he returned to her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed her on the cheek.
“A’ight, I’m ‘bout to take this blindfold off. You ready?” He asked her purposely with a grin, just to gauge her irritation.
“Saadiq, take it off me before I hurt you.”
“Gurl, hush wit’ all that fussing and close ya eyes.” He laughed as he removed the blindfold from her face.
“Fine, they closed. Now what?” Zia shot back sassily.
“Open ‘em, smartass.”
When she opened them, her hands flew to her mouth just as a gasp of shock slipped from her lips. Because she’d been in this room a few times before, Zia knew exactly where she was. But she’d never seen it set up like it was currently. As tears filled her eyes and realization hit her, Zia had to grab onto Saadiq’s arm for support because her legs were suddenly ready to give out on her. She couldn’t believe that Saadiq had remembered something she’d told him the night they met. At the time, she thought it went in one ear and out the other.
“Saadiq, I don’t fucking believe it,” Zia smiled through the tears in her eyes. “I don’t believe you remembered that I wanted a date night in my favorite bookstore.”
Smiling, Saadiq moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He kissed her cheek and said, “Of course I remembered. I asked you the night we met what your idea of a perfect date was. And you said, you’d want to go out and eat first, then spend the evening in your favorite bookstore watching your favorite movie, ThePhotograph,and then talk about your favorite books until your eyelids became heavy from finally being overwhelmed by the high of such a perfect day. So, I made that shit happen.”
Tears were now running down her cheeks because she was overwhelmed with joy and appreciation. Saadiq went all out to give her the night she wanted, but he added his own touches that just made the whole setup perfection in her eyes.
“Yes,” Zia nodded as Saadiq dried her eyes. “You indeed made this shit happen.” The mint green walls of the room were a perfect contrast to the earth tone hues and color combinations. Potted plants, both hanging and free-standing, were in every corner of the room. String lights hung along the walls of the beautiful space. A chocolate reclining loveseat was in the center of the room, facing a giant screen and movie projector. A beautiful handmade wooden snack stand in various shades of green and orange, labeled "Concession Stand," was located in the corner to the left. All of Zia’s favorite snacks and drinks were in the bins. The vibe was earthy, extremely relaxing, and cozy. “This is beautiful, Saadiq, thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
“Anything for you, Zia,” Saadiq smiled as he wiped her eyes, then guided her over to the loveseat. “Here, take a seat. Before we watch the movie, I have a few surprises for you.”
