Our food arrived and I ain't gon' hold you—the meal was one of the best I had ever had. I was already planning to add Simmer & Soul to the rotation on a weekly basis.
Eva watched me playfully. "This shit is amazing." She shook her head in awe.
"Hell yeah." I shoveled another bite of loaded potatoes in my mouth. "We gotta run this back next weekend."
"And the weekend after that," she laughed.
"Oh, there he is," Devon spoke up. "My frat and the owner." He stood slightly and waved his hand.
Glancing back, I saw a caramel-skin nigga, with a curly tapered fade and tattoos peeking out of his shirt lift his hand with a big smile. He said a few parting words to the couple he was talking to before strolling over.
Devon stood to greet him. "Let me introduce you to my friends, frat." He threw his arm around the owner. "This is Bishop and his lovely wife Eva. This is Remy."
Remy smiled warmly and extended his hand towards me. "Good to meet you, man."
Smiling I shook it. "You too, bruh."
"Pleasure." He shook Eva's hand next.
"You as well." Eva smiled. "This is a beautiful restaurant and the food is incredible."
"Thank you so much." He clasped his hands together and bowed his head slightly. "Any friends of my frat brother are friends of mine. If there is anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask."
"Oh, Remy—" Shelby waved her fingers at him. "Please tell me I'll be able to getTheGiannatonight? Last time we came you ran out of lemon cake." She cut her eyes playfully at him.
My stomach dropped as I watched him, curious.
He chuckled. "My apologies. And yes—you'll be able to order it tonight. I've had to double up on inventory for it because it's so popular."
Wiping my mouth, I casually asked, "That's an odd name for a dessert, fam. How'd you come up with that?"
Remy rubbed the back of his head smiling. "It's actually named after my lady." He looked around the restaurant. "She's actually here tonight, helping me out."
"Oh my God, we would love to meet the woman who inspired my new favorite dessert." Shelby gushed.
"I'll do my best to bring her over here." Remy nodded. He tapped the table twice. "Enjoy your meal guys and thank you for coming." With a salute he walked off.
"He seems like a great guy," Eva commented with a smile
"One of the best." Devon smiled fondly.
My jaw tightened as I leaned back slightly in the booth, fingers curling around my glass as my mind started racing.
Gianna.
Out of all the names in the world, out of all the women in the world, this nigga just so happened to name a dessert after a woman named Gianna? I exhaled slowly through my nose, trying to keep my face neutral as Devon kept talking, Eva chiming in, Shelby laughing at something that was said.
I wasn’t hearing none of it. My eyes drifted across the restaurant, scanning without making it obvious. My gut was telling me exactly what it was though. We ordered dessert. After all that conversation of course we had to order the damn dessert.
But when it arrived and I took the first bite—it tasted exactly how she did. Sweet but with a slight tang. Rich. Decadent. And the cream—I wanted to put my face to the plate and lick it off the top like I did her.
"Shit—" I mumbled, swallowing thickly
"I know right. It's delicious," Eva replied.
She had no idea.
We finished up and were sipping our last cocktails for the evening while we waited for the bill.
