CHAPTER 3
KEISHA
The next day, Keisha was in a much better mood, and at least the cookies were done. But she couldn’t get the gorgeous caveman out of her mind. Her quick trip to the grocery store had turned into a nightmare. However, she was determined to let all of the mishaps from yesterday go, and make today into a better day.
She plastered a smile on her face and walked into her already opened bakery. Keisha greeted her customers, and her part-time employees, Tracy and Sabrina. Both ladies were busy taking and filling orders.
The bakery was already packed, and they had only been opened for an hour. Hot Stuff was a popular breakfast spot because of their fresh pastries, herbal tea, and some of the best gourmet coffee in Dallas.
Keisha took in her business and all of her customers. Suddenly, the fake smile she’d plastered on her face became a sincere and grateful smile. She was blessed to have accomplished so much after her nasty divorce.
“Hey, ladies,” Keisha waved at the hard working women, “I’ll be out in just a minute to help.” Both ladies smiled and waved back as Keisha made her way to the office to put down her bag.
April was in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on their large specialty order, and Keisha’s sister, Bell was mixing up one of her concoctions.
“Hola, mamacitas,” Keisha greeted her sister and friend.
“Hey, chica,” Bell smiled brightly at her sister. “I hope the extra few hours of sleep helped you have a better start to your day.”
Bell was Keisha’s older sister, but people often thought they were twins. Bell was slightly taller and thinner, but they had the same smooth ebony complexion. They also shared the same natural thick coily black hair.
“Yeah, no tickets or spilled coffee. I’m off to a glorious start already.” Keisha chuckled. “Thanks for coming in and covering for me. I appreciate you.”
“No worries. A speeding ticket and a car accident all in one day is a pretty good excuse,” Bell stated with a sympathetic smile.
“We should all be so lucky,” April snorted. “Let me run over a fine man at the grocery store.”
Keisha rolled her eyes. “First of all, nobody said he was fine. And second, he ran me over.”
April waved her hand dismissively. “I could tell by the way you were acting he was fine. You were all flustered and outraged about how he was acting like a ‘caveman,’ and how he was staring and grunting at you. I mean, you described his eyes and hair. Hell, you almost forgot that you ran him over with your car.”
“Again, he hit me.” Keisha crossed her arms over her chest. “And I never said he was fine,” she added as a second thought.
“Uh huh.” Bell and April giggled.
“Whatever heffa’s.”
“Soooo, did you exchange information? I mean for insurance purposes, of course.” Bell grinned mischievously.
Keisha rolled her eyes again. “No. There wasn’t any damage, so there was no need to do any of that.”
“Come on, Keish. You literally run into a fine ass man, you have an excuse to get his info, and you just leave without it?” April threw up her hands in irritation.
Ever since her divorce, Keisha’s friends were always trying to set her up. However, she had been on several horrifying dates, and she wasn’t so eager to jump back into dating again head first.
Keisha shrugged off their disapproving groans. “The man had to literally hit me with his car before he would do more than grunt at me. I don’t think he would’ve been interested in a date.”
“What about our annual V-day soiree? You’re coming this year, right?” Bell asked with a hopeful tone.
“Uh. Probably not.” Keisha grimaced.
Every year, her friends all got together to celebrate the lover’s holiday. They all brought dates, went to dinner and dancing. And every year she made up an excuse not to go.
“Listen, Keisha, you have got to get out more. You have plenty of time to find a date, or I will find one for you. Either way, you’re coming to the soiree this year.”
“Bell, I just don’t wa—”
Her sister cut her off before she could finish. “No. No more excuses. When you were married, it was your husband that didn’t want to come. Right after your divorce, it was too soon. It’s been nearly two years. You’re coming… even if I have to drag you there kicking and screaming,” Bell replied with finality.
There was nothing else Keisha could say to convince her sister, so she left it alone for now. “I’m going to help up front. Holler if you need me.”
Keisha headed to the front of the bakery where she tried to let the morning rush distract her from her conversation with Bell and April. However, her thoughts not only ran the conversation back continuously, but she couldn’t get the thought of her disastrous encounter with the gorgeous stranger out of her mind.
****
“Well, shit!”
Could this day get any worse? Keisha just wanted to crawl into bed and restart her day. But now she had to make sure that the other person wasn’t hurt and there wasn’t any damage to her car.
She made her way to the back of her car to inspect the damage. Who she came face to face with was beyond her comprehension. The universe must’ve been playing some cruel joke.
“Really?” Keisha huffed out loud.
“Sweet baby Jesus. Why have thou forsaken me?” The giant caveman looked to the sky.
“So all I got were grunts, and now you’re talking in biblical terms?” Keisha wondered if the man was some kind of weirdo. It would be just my luck… big, fine, and crazy!
She watched as the man heaved a deep breath. The plain long-sleeved black t-shirt stretched beautifully over his sculpted chest, and even with the cool temperatures, Keisha found herself heating up from the inside out. She was mesmerized by his flexing muscles, and clear blue gaze. She shook off the lust fog, but his intense stare was spellbinding.
“Are you okay, ma’am?” Now that he was addressing her directly, she noticed that his voice was deep and hypnotic, and she found herself slipping back into the fog.
“Uh… yeah, I mean, yes. I’m fine. Are you… uh… okay?” Keisha could’ve smacked herself for all the bumbling and stumbling she did. Less than fifteen minutes ago she was laying into him with all the sass she could find, and now she was stuttering like a teenager with a crush.
“Good. I’m Conner.” He held his hand out for a shake.
“Keisha.” She took his hand, and shook firmly.
Maybe this is his peace offering. Keisha thought to herself. She was normally a friendly person; she was just having an unusually bad day.
I’m friendly, and I will be friendly to this man. She gave herself a silent pep-talk.
“Let’s take a look and see if there’s any damage, Keisha.” Damn the way he said my name! Keisha watched his long strides that led him away from her, the warmth of his body left her feeling bereft, but the view of his tight ass encased in his loose fitting jeans was a sight to behold.
“Dear Lord, let me stop ogling this man.” Keisha mumbled to herself.
“Looks like there isn’t even a scratch. You didn’t cause any damage.” His smile and deep voice almost distracted Keisha from his words. Almost.
“What’d you just say?” Keisha asked placing her hands on her ample hips. “I didn’t cause any damage because you hit me.” Every man thought they could control her. She would not take the blame for something that wasn’t her fault.
“Look, lady…” Conner started but Keisha interrupted.
“Keisha is my name, not lady. And you hit me.” Her frustrations were rising with each passing moment.
“Keisha. Look. There isn’t any damage, but if you want to drag this out… I’ll be happy to exchange insurance information with you. We can leave it to them to figure it out.”
Even though he proved to be a jackass, blaming her for his obvious reckless driving; he was right, there wasn’t any damage to either her SUV or his pickup, so it was best to cut her losses. And she didn’t want to waste another second with this man, or on this situation.
“No, it’s fine. No damage… No problem.” Keisha took a deep breath. There was no need to get all upset, and be a bitch. The incident could’ve been much worse. “I’m sorry. There’s no need for the insurance company. I hope you have a better day.”
With those parting words she got back into her Durango, and carefully drove away.