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“What?” I asked, my eyes going skeptically wide as Lance explained, “I mean, ain’t no tellin’ what heat I might’ve missed out on if it wasn’t for your expert eye, not to mention your collection at your dad’s house was looking alil’slim the other day.”
At that, I couldn’t help but laugh as I responded, “Wowww. Seriously, Lance? I’m a sneaker charity case to you now?”
Laughing himself, he argued, “Just consider it a thank you, Yani. Damn.”
It was my natural instinct to decline his offer. But then I realized how much he’d already spent on a regular Tuesday drop-in and decided my little add-on would be nothing to him, a smirk on my face as I slipped from behind the counter and headed directly for the pair of Indigo 12s I knew we had in my size.
“How about these?” I asked Lance, surprised when he frowned in response to the shoes that I was pretty sure he owned a pair of himself.
“I mean, those are cool. But they aren’t gift-worthy.”
“Oh really now?” I asked amusedly, moving on to a pair of Off-White Air Force 1s that were almost triple the price of the first shoes thinking he’d shut that shit down instantly.
He didn’t though, only nodded as he commented, “Better.”
“Better?” I repeated, deciding to up the ante when I moved on to an exclusive pair of Ben & Jerry Chunky Dunky Nike Dunks that were really more a collector’s item than anything. And while I expected the four-figure price tag to make Lance flinch, he didn’t, only grinned as he stepped closer towards me to say, “That’s more like it.”
Between him looking all good and spoiling me for no reason, I honestly didn’t know how to react, his gaze stilling me as he bit into his bottom lip just slightly before lifting his hand to gently push a stray hair behind my ear. And his touch,that touch,didn’t help my case at all, my heart racing as I struggled to push out, “Umm…sooo… when’s a good time to stop by with your stuff? We close at six, so I should be out of here by seven at the latest.”
“Seven is cool,” he answered, still staring as I awkwardly made a move for the checkout counter and was just barely keeping it together once I got there.
Lance, on the other hand, was as cool as a cucumber as he stood on the opposite side watching me ring up all his items. And when I finally gave him his five-figure total, he remained that way, casually slipping me his black card and then using his money-making signature to complete the transaction before asking, “We’re good?”
There were a lot of ways I could’ve taken that question, along with reasons why the answer could’ve been hell no because…what was even happening?But circumstances considered, I simply smiled as I handed his card back and answered, “We’re good,” moving from behind the counter so that I could hand him three of the giant bags I knew for sure he’d be able to fit between his trunk and front seat before telling him, “I’ll see you around seven with the others.Oh, and thank you. For the Dunks.”
“It’s nothin, Yani,” he replied with a grin, holding his gaze a second past comfortable before he finally turned to leave. And it wasn’t until he was out of the store completely that I released the breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding, trying to pull myself back together as Aubrey approached me and asked, “What in the sexual tension hell did I just witness?”
With another deep breath, I lied, “I have no idea what you’re talkin’ about, Aubrey,” moving back behind the checkout counter as Aubrey followed me to challenge, “I bet the snail trail in your panties does though.”
“The snail trail in my…” I started to repeat, only to realize that Aubrey wasn’t wrong since Lance’s presence had definitely caused somethingsto happen down below. But considering how foreign that was, I had no interest in processing my feelings about it with a stranger, instead choosing to defend, “Lance and I are just old friends.”
It sounded good to me, but Aubrey was quick to argue, “None of my current friends buy me thousand-dollar sneakers, let alone my old ones.”
“A thousand dollars for him is like, ten dollars for us,” I explained with a shrug even though I, too, was surprised by Lance’s gesture; specifically, what it meant in terms of where he and I stood moving forward. And that only got more complicated when Aubrey mentioned, “Okay, well none of my old or currentfriendslook at me the way he was looking at you. And I damn sure don’t look at them the way you were looking at him.”
Truthfully, I hadn’t even thought about anyone else noticing us since those moments made it feel like he and I were the only ones in the store. I mean, Lance was just so intensely focused, and that made it impossible for me not to do the same, the fresh memory making my skin grow warm as I finally responded, “It’s only cause we haven’t seen each other in years. We’re like, getting reacquainted.”
I could tell Aubrey wasn’t completely convinced even when she groaned, “Mmmhmm. Whatever you say, Bri,” before moving to tend to the latest set of customers who’d just entered the store. And even though I eventually did the same, my interaction with Lance was all I could think about for the rest of my shift, growing anxious as it got closer to our agreed upon time for his drop-off that I was already regretting volunteering for as I made the drive towards our neighborhood.
By the time I pulled into his driveway, I’d managed to convince myself that this would only take two seconds and there was nothing for me to freak out about. But when Lance answered the door with his upper body bare, his basketball shorts hanging low at his hips with only the band of his boxer briefs peeking out of the top, and a pair of clear-framed glasses on his face that should’ve threw me but somehow added to his appeal, I realized I was in way over my head, swallowing hard before I asked, “Do you always answer the door with your man titties all out like this?”
“I know you ain’t talkin’,” Lance whined, making me giggle as he stepped aside to let me in.
I didn’t go far though, stopping in the foyer where I told him, “I mean, earlier you saidIwas the one setting thirst traps. But then you go and do stuff like this,so…”
Before I could finish, he interrupted, “Answering the door with my shirt off when I know who’s coming ain’t the same thing as posting it on the internet, Yani.”
“I bet you’d get a lot of likes though,” I argued, the way Lance subtly rolled his eyes only making me laugh again as I finally got to the point of my visit. “But anyway, I believe these are yours.”
After handing over the two bags of shoes Lance hadn’t taken with him earlier and then receiving an appreciative nod in response, I started heading back towards the door until he asked, “You’re leaving already?”
“Uh… yes?” I answered, turning back around just as Lance sat his bags to the side and pressed, “What’s the rush? You got somewhere you need to be? I could actually use your opinion on something if you got a minute.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I responded, “I’m listening.”
At that, Lance picked the bags back up before motioning for me to follow him while he began to share, “Aight, so there’s this community center I volunteer at every few weeks, and one of the teens always talks to me about whatever shoes I got on when I’m there. Like, legit knows the history, what other colorways came out at the same time, and all that. But the Air Forces he usually wears have seen better days, so I was thinking I’d gift him a few pairs of my shoes since we look to be about the same size. I just don’t know which ones to pick.”
Now it made sense why we’d ended up in his shoe cave that was already unlocked this go-round, Lance dropping the bags of fresh kicks so that he could pick up two different pairs of older sneakers and ask, “Do I give him something exclusive like these since he’s obviously passionate about the culture, or do I give him something more practical like these so he doesn’t fuck around and get jacked?”
