Lemon Cake

Chapter Thirty-Four

The remaining weekdays of June were a blur of lavish, elaborate events, and juggling guardian duties that Tulip almost forgot her date with Austin was on the last Saturday of the month, the only free one she and Niesha had after a twenty-eight-day sprint of busy schedules. She wasn't complaining. It was great for business to be busy but she needed a lazy day which was what she had from morning to noon. She and Sidney stretched out in the living room enjoying a marathon of riches; a Marvel marathon. From Captain America to Black Panther, they devoured as many superhero adventures as humanly possible by two in the afternoon until a reminder alert popped on her phone.

Her hand froze in the bag of gummy bears, and trains of thought crashed in her mind as she realized she had a date in a matter of hours. A date she hadn't even planned for. What type of shit was that? After she exclaimed her favorite four-letter words she grabbed her phone and hustled to her closet. That was two hours ago and eight outfits later and she was still in flowing with an anxious energy that enabled her usually concise decision-making. Thankfully, she had her best friend by her side.

"So, you don't know where you're going?" Niesha started as she toyed with one of the charms on her special bracelet and took in the state of Tulip's bed. She wondered what was left in the closet; maybe just scarves and hoodies. "But that it's going to be romantic and cultured."

"Yes," Tulip said twirling one of her freshly done goddess braids around her finger. Her eyes switched from side to side as she remembered the conversation she and Austin had while she was setting up place cards for a welcome home dinner party for one of Houston's elite families that had a dining room table that was big enough to fit a professional football team. "He said he wanted to surprise me with an experience to remember, his words, not mine. So...what do you think about this? Is this it?"

Tulip gripped her waist as Niesha scanned her frame.

"Uh...." Lines formed between Niesha's eyebrows once her sight linked back with hers. "Your boobs look great in the Fenty but I think you'd get arrested or at the very least a citation."

"I'm not finished." Tulip slapped her hip in frustration. "But the skirt? How does the skirt look? Is leather too hot?"

"I like it." Niesha tilted her head as her friend twisted from side to side to show off the black leather hugging the thighs and stopping inches above her knees. "And with this shirt..." She dug a pastel top from underneath a dress. "You'll be ready for any occasion."

"Niesha!!!" She screamed, dashing around the bed and grabbing her friend in a tight hug. "You beautiful, brilliant human being. I love you."

"I know." Niesha chuckled as she lounged across the bed, her eyes drifting to the closed door and pondering on the sight she saw on her way to the master suite. "So, why didn't you call me when your babysitter fell through and do people still get Mono."

Tulip shrugged as she stood in the floor-length mirror fiddling with the hem of the shirt that stopped just over the waistband of the skirt. "They do." She glanced over her shoulder. "I mean but she could one-hundred percent be lying but you know I don't blame her. It's a big ass Saturday and I wouldn't want to be spending it working if I had planned it off."

"So...you called Jasper."

Tulip spun on her bare heels, peering at her friend quizzically. "Are you jealous?" Her lips curved up. "Unlike Beyonce's song, you are irreplaceable. Jasper and I aren't friends but we've gotten more friendly since he and Sidney are been spending more time together."

A smile fully claimed her face reminiscing on the days he and Sidney spent together since the little girl expressed to her that she was bored with the Country Club and wanted more adventure. It was a heaven-sent seeing them with each other. He was never late in the morning and never came empty-handed with a coffee for her and a box of treats. They even shredded the dread of awkwardness that smogged around them at the beginning. It was like old times, with easy conversations, and infectious humor. She glowed in the mirror as she locked the hoop on her earlobes.