He nodded, and a faint smile graced his lips as he led the way inside. The moment I stepped into his apartment, I paused for a second to take it all in. It was clean and put together in a masculine way that fit him without trying too hard. Nothing felt out of place, and even though it wasn’t big, it didn’t feel small either.
I slipped my shoes off by the door without thinking about it, setting them neatly to the side before stepping further in. Carpet stretched everywhere, and I didn’t play those shoes on carpet kind of games.
“You can keep them on,” he said while glancing back at me.
“I’m good,” I replied. “I’m not about to track outside all through here.”
That earned me a small laugh from him as he moved further inside.
“Aight, come on,” he said, gesturing for me to follow him. “Let me show you around.”
The tour didn’t take long, but he still walked me through every single room, being careful not to miss anything. He pointed out the kitchen, the bathroom, the living area, and then the bedroom. Everything was simple, but it worked.
“This is it,” he said with a slight shrug. “Ain’t nothing compared to where you live.”
I looked at him, and I mean really looked at him, before letting my gaze drift back around the space.
“It’s perfect for you,” I said genuinely.
Because it was. It felt like him. And standing there in the middle of it, I realized that this wasn’t just about seeing his place. He was excited and beaming with pride as he showed off what he had worked so hard for. This was bigger than show and tell. It was about him letting me into his world. And badly, I wanted to be a part of it. I was still taking everything in when a low growl came from my stomach. The noise was loud enough to be heard in this quiet space.
I froze for half a second before turning my head slightly, already knowing that he had heard it too. Tahari chuckled under his breath while shaking his head as he looked at me.
“You hungry?”
I let out a small laugh. I was a little embarrassed, but not enough to hide it.
“A little.”
“A little?” he repeated while already walking toward the kitchen. “That ain’t what that sounded like.”
I rolled my eyes but followed him with my gaze as he opened one of the drawers and pulled out a stack of takeout menus. That alone told me that he didn’t get many cooked meals. I wasn’t a professional, but between my mom and the chef at our house, I knew a little something. And one day, I hoped that he would let me show him what I knew.
“What do you want?” he asked while flipping through them.
“Something quick,” I said as I shrugged lightly. “I’m not picky.”
He nodded and pulled one out. He knew me, so I knew that he wouldn’t make a wrong choice. He was already dialing like he had made his decision.
“Chinese it is,” he said before speaking into the phone.
I leaned against the counter while he placed the order, listening to the way his voice shifted just slightly when he talked to the person on the phone. He had his customer service voice on, and I giggled at the switch. When he hung up, he glanced at me.
“It’ll be here in a little bit.”
“That works,” I said while pushing myself off the counter.
We made our way to the couch and settled into opposite ends at first before naturally getting a little more comfortable as the conversation picked up. We talked about small things, and for a while, it felt normal.
On the arm of the chair, a black ski mask was laid across it gently. I picked it up, and when I did, Tahari snatched it from me and then balled it up before sticking it in the side of the chair on his side.
“A Pooh Shiesty just lying around is crazy,” I uttered as I looked at him.
“You know I’m a YN at heart,” he said with a smirk.
I looked around and really took in how nicely the apartment was. I never visited where Tahari lived before when he was living with his best friend. But from the stories he told me about living there, I knew damn well it had to be far away from this nice community. He described that area as the hood, and where we were now was giving a bit of a suburban vibe. On the way over, I even mentally memorized how to get here. He wasn’t that far from my house, but he wasn’t close either.
“So,” I paused before continuing because I didn’t want to offend him, but I had to know, “where did the money come from for the place?”
