Pleasurable Expectations

t w e n t y

The first three weeks of 2020 passed smoothly. I had acquired a manager for Malcolm, leaving me to take a step back and focus solely on his image. It was nice for someone else to be able to fill that role, allowing me to influence the route his image took and then take that step back. Malcolm was a great kid, but I wasn't trained to manage the athlete themself so much as the way the public views him.

I was surprisingly overwhelmed with the amount of time I had to myself in light of not taking on two jobs at once. The only thing I could think of doing instead of sitting at home binge-watching shows was to take a trip to the taqueria down the street. It was only a five-minute walk, leaving no real excuse for me not to go.

That's why I found myself sitting inside a freezing cold bus-turned-restaurant. The only thing providing some semblance of warmth was the scarf I had wrapped from my shoulders to my nose. I was rubbing my hands together in vain as my phone began to vibrate across the table, a call from Sienna revealed when I looked at the screen. I plucked my AirPods from their case, the joints in my fingers feeling as though they were unfreezing as they moved.

"What's up, Si?" I asked after getting myself situated.

"Not much, forreal. I wanted to ask you to do a huge solid for me."

I clicked my phone off and tucked it away in my jacket pocket, it being secured by me buttoning the pocket closed. "What's the solid?" I blew into my hands in the hopes that it would magically warm me up.

"Go on a double date with me?" Even through the overpowering hesitance, I could hear a whisper of hope.

"Explain, please."

"At the New Year's kickback, I guess I gave King my number." She phrased it as both a statement and a question as if the events were unsure to her. "Anyways, I got a text from him this morning saying basically that he wants to take me on a date when he gets back from Vegas."

Sienna continued to explain the situation to me, my attention being pulled from her when I heard my order called. I huffed and stood from my seat, glad to have my food and finally be on my way home where there is heat.

My boots clunked against the metal floor as I walked up to the counter to grab my chicken tacos. I smiled and threw out a quick 'thank you' before turning on my heel and heading on my way home. I stepped out of the bus and was greeted with the harsh white of snow, the piles reaching up to my ankle if not part of a paved path. I pulled my silk-lined beanie further down my head, it now covering my ears and a portion of my forehead.

"Never forget your gloves, Si." I tucked my exposed hands under my armpits, the white flurries cascading down making it a little worse.

"What?" She cut off in confusion. "Were you not listening to me at all?" She clicked her tongue, and I could imagine the look on her face, one of an unsurprised disappointment.

"I was! You were saying how King wants to take you out when he gets back from Vegas. You're nervous about going alone, so you want Jeremiah and I there as back up because we're friends already," I summarized with ease.

"Wow, that's a first." A small 'hmph' sounded. "But will you?"

"Sienna," I took a short pause to fix the scarf that had shifted the more I continued to speak. "How old are we?"

"Kiara, I'm deadass serious right now."

"So am I. But if you really feel like you need me there, I'm there."

My phone began to vibrate in my pocket, leading me to pull my hand from its cocoon of warmth. As I fumbled to unbutton my pocket, I rushed out, "Hold on, Si, someone else is calling me." Once I secured my phone, I flipped the screen, the name reading 'Manager Cameron.' "Malcolm's manager is calling me; I'll call you back." A quick goodbye was exchanged before I switched calls.