Dark Or Cream

“I like it,” she murmured as he stared her in the eyes, the movie forgotten.

Rashan leaned across the theater seat and pulled her into his arms for a deeper kiss. He slanted his mouth across hers and caressed her lips with his until she felt breathless, until she was trembling. His hands rubbed down her back. Kaja was overwhelmed by her response to him. The decidedly s*xual way her body moistened and melted at his touch was unnerving. She put a hand to his chest and gently pushed Rashan away before things got any more heated. Making out in the movie theaters like teenagers had its appeal, but she didn’t want to put out the wrong signals to this man. She wanted him, yes. But, too much too quickly wasn’t the way to go. It had gotten to the good part in the movie anyhow. She didn’t want to miss it.

The credits rolled and the theater began to empty. Rashan had lost interest in the movie about midway through, but he was game to sit through it for Kaja. She was all woman. Enough for a man like him to stay satisfied. He led her back to his truck, and he asked her where she wanted to eat. Dinner to cap off the night seemed fitting. They could maybe have a few drinks and get to know each other better.

“What do you say we head over to your restaurant and you whip up something?” he suggested.

Kaja spent 85% of her life in kitchens, and she loved her job, but when she was off, she was off. “I don’t know,” she hedged. “Everything’s all locked up. And, I don’t really want to make work for the ladies in the morning, clean up and all that jazz.”

“It’ll be fun,” he insisted. “Told you I like a woman who can cook. C’mon, you gone let me starve?”

She couldn’t resist the puppy dog eyes he flashed her way, and Kaja found herself leading him back to her restaurant for an impromptu dinner. She mentally went through her recipes for something quick.

They stepped into Cooking by Kaj, and she was assailed by the yeasty, doughy goodness of the bread she had baked earlier in the day. Kaja inhaled deeply and sighed in satisfaction. Her place, her stuff—maybe it was a good idea to have dinner here.

“Follow me, hot stuff,” she beckoned to Rashan.

He grinned wolfishly and followed her to the kitchen where she started prepping her stove and getting her ingredients and supplies together. He hopped up on a counter top and watched her work.

“I been thinking about you ever since the party,” he confessed.

Kaja smiled, small dimples tucked in her cheeks. “Is that so? What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking maybe it’s time I stopped living like a college boy and get on my level, you know? I’m not really cut out for clubbing and sh*t now. I’m damn near thirty. I want a woman I can come home to…what do you think of that?”

Kaja shrugged and dropped the catfish fillets in the flour and cornmeal mix, thinking it shouldn’t take long to fry up some catfish nuggets and maybe throw together some salad. “In a way, I can relate, but I’ve never been much of a partier. I mean, I’m not looking for anything too serious like marriage and all that. I guess I just want to know somebody cares about me the same way I care about them. I think a relationship has to be created, built up from a strong foundation. It’s not something ready-made that you move into.”

She looked up and caught him staring at her in a way that made her skin tighten with goose bumps. He was s*x appeal personified, and if she didn’t watch herself, she would be su*ked into his allure. Kaja played by the rules. No s*x on the first date. No one-night stands. Rashan looked like a rule breaker or at least a reason to break them. She smiled to herself and went back to dunking the fish in seasoning.

“Why you keep me at a distance, Ms. Kaja?” he murmured softly.

“Cause I don’t know you.”

“You can get to know me. I go to school and work. I’m not lazy. I have goals. I’m ambitious. I’m relationship material. What else do you want to know? My hobbies are playing basketball and occasionally playing poker. I was raised by both my mom and my dad, so I don’t have broken home syndrome. I’m great with kids. That’s why I want to be a teacher. You don’t have to feed me with a long handled spoon, so to speak.”

“Oh, really? So, what’s your ideal woman, Mr. Rashan?”

“Someone like you, honestly. Career driven but nurturing and womanly. You can cook your ass off and just from the brief glimpse I got of your place when I picked you up tonight, you know how to clean. You’re ladylike, not like these loose twenty-first century girls. You got a good head on your shoulders. I’d say my ideal woman is about your height, your size and her name is Kaja.”

“Ha! You’re too charming for my own good!”

“But, I can be damned good to you, though.”

He dropped down from the counter and moved up behind Kaja as she dropped fish into the hot grease. He slid his arms around her waist and watched over her shoulder while she cooked. She felt safe and protected in his arms, like he could cherish her the way she desired to be loved. His ere*tion rubbed against her plush derriere, and Kaj swallowed. She wanted to lay her head back on his shoulder and press closer.

“I’ll be damned good,” he whispered closer to her ear. “All you have to do is give me a chance.”

Kaja cleared her throat and stepped out of his embrace. “Well, the food will be done in about fifteen minutes. Why don’t you take those plates over there and go set us a table?”

She needed a little space. It was too hot in the kitchen, and he needed to get out! Rashan chuckled and took her orders, gathering up two plates and utensils and taking them out to the dining area. Kaja hurriedly finished cooking and made a savory salad of spinach and fennel. She heated up some rolls and sauteed up some veggies. When the meal was complete, she used a serving tray to elegantly display the fare and carry it out to the table where Rashan was waiting for her.