The kitchen was a mess; she was about to cough up an obscene amount of money to get her faucet fixed; and it was hot enough to barbeque chicken on the ground, yet Ashanti felt strangely at peace.

Her eyes skipped to Luke who was silently mopping beside her. He’d rolled his shirtsleeves up to reveal his solid arms. His black hair flopped against his forehead, which was glistening with sweat.

She almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

Unfortunately, he was stuck with the honor of being her In Case Of An Emergency Friend, thus she called him whenever she needed major backup and felt very little remorse.

“What?” Luke stopped mopping and glared at her. “Why are you staring?”

She grinned. “Just thinking.”

“About?”

“Nothing in particular.” She studied him for a second and asked, “How are things going with the Frozen Coffee Girl?”

“What girl?” Luke asked casually. Too casually.

Ashanti wasn’t fooled. Not when she’d seen him falling in love with her own eyes.

Luke’s café was her favorite place to go when she was on a deadline. Nothing like the scent of coffee and green tea cookies to get her creative juices flowing.

One day, she walked in to find Luke smiling shyly at one of his customers.

She’d seen that besotted look a whopping number of three times since she’d known him—once for his primary school girlfriend, once for his high school girlfriend and once for a casual relationship in junior college that was doomed to fail.

Since they’d graduated university, his dating life was as dry as a piece of fruit left out on the beach. She was excited to see him showing interest in getting back on the horse.

“When are you going to grow some cahones and ask Frozen Coffee out?”

Luke’s back muscles rolled as he pushed the broom through the water. Ashanti only had one mop so she was sacrificing the broom for the cause.

“I’m not going to do that,” Luke said.

“Grow cahones or ask her out?”

Luke slanted her a look. “Guess.”

“Come on. It’s clear that you like her. And she’s into you too. I can tell.”

“Forget it.”

“What’s the problem?” When he said nothing, Ashanti guessed, “Is it because she’s black?”

“No.” He clenched his jaw. “Maybe.”

“Luke, we’re not in the eighteenth century anymore. You’re allowed to like someone of a different race. And this might shock you, but… you can even marry outside your race.” She bounced her fingers against her temple. “Mind blown.”

He tapped her with the soggy end of the broom. “This isn’t a joke.”

“Ew.” Ashanti danced away from him. “Watch it, Zhang.”

He set the broom down. “By the way, her name isn’t Frozen Coffee Girl. It’s Michelle, and she’s a teacher.”

“Oooh. You’re on a first name and occupation basis now?”

He rolled his eyes. “I can’t talk to you about these things.”

“No. Don’t stop.” Ashanti dropped her mop and strode over to Luke. “I’m sorry. I’ll be serious from now on.” She paused. “Is her being black really that big of a deal?”

Luke shook his head. “The thing is… I’m older now. More settled in who I am and what I want to do for the rest of my life. I’m ready for a serious relationship. You know, one that will likely end in marriage.”

“I’m not seeing the problem here.”

“The problem is I like Michelle, but my parents might not.”

“Which won’t go down well if you want to introduce her to them later,” Ashanti finished his thought. “Because your family is racist.”

“They’re not racist. They’re traditional.”

She waved her hand. “My dad is super traditional, but he doesn’t care what race my boyfriend is.”

“Your dad didn’t know who you were dating most of the time so that doesn’t count.”

Ashanti scrunched her nose and searched for a comeback. When she couldn’t find one, she gave in. “Touché.”

“Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself,” Luke said thoughtfully. “Michelle and I might never get to that stage.”

“Yeah, but it’s not fair that you have to ignore an entire race of women just because your family might disapprove. The majority of females in Belize are black. You take them out and your dating pool shrinks to the size of an eyeball.”

“An eyeball is bigger than you think,” Luke said. “Scientists have found that—”

She held a hand up to stop his nerd flow. “I don’t care. What matters is your happy ending, which I’m going to provide for you right now.”

Luke eased back. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

“In gratitude for your emergency plumbing services, I—Ashanti Christina Lane will grant you, Luke Jen Jitsu Zhang—”

“It’s actually…” Luke proceeded to say a name she did not understand.

“That’s what I said.”

“No.” Luke repeated the correct pronunciation that once again flew way past her head. “That’s how you say my middle name. Which is actually my Chinese name. There’s a silent ‘z’ and an emphasis on the last two vowels.”

She blinked slowly. “Luke, I’ve literally spent the last twenty years butchering your middle name. Another lesson won’t help me now.”

“Fine.” He eyed her. “Proceed.”

“As I was saying, I’m going to help you so your family doesn’t judge you harshly when you take Michelle, or any other black girl, home.”

“Oh yeah? And how are you going to do that?”

“I’m…” Her mind went blank. “I don’t know.”

“Okay then.” Luke went back to mopping.

Ashanti’s rubber boots splashed the water as she trudged toward him. “Wait. I’ve got it. How about you take me home and introduce me as your girlfriend.”

“What?”

“I’ll be the pioneer, going into the dangerous jungle to carve a path for the other beautiful black women who will follow. Your family can throw what they want at me. I’ll take it all and convince them black women aren’t the ghetto, ratchet, promiscuous characters they see on television.”

He put a hand on her crown. “Did that faucet hit you in the forehead?”

She swatted him away. “I don’t have a concussion, Luke. What I have is a good idea. And it works too because I have an advantage. Your family already knows me.”

“No.”

“No?” She gawked at him. “You’re just gonna shoot me down?”

Luke formed a gun with his fingers and pulled the ‘trigger’. “Bang.”

Ashanti bucked theatrically. “I got hit!”

Luke laughed. “Thanks for your willingness to brave the ‘dangerous jungle’ that is my family, but I’m good. You don’t have to repay me for today or meddle with me and Michelle.”

She pushed out her bottom lip.

Luke clipped her mouth. “I mean it, Ash.”

“Fine.” She shook her head to get him off. “But don’t come running to me when you start falling for Michelle and realize I might be on to something.”

“Let’s just get this place cleaned up. Okay?”

Ashanti grabbed her mop and focused on the floor.

* * *

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