Source: #RelationshipGoals / iOne Digital
Continued from “He Wanted Me To Bag Him.”
Hakeem surprised me when he sent me a text message letting me know that he made it home safely and he had a great night with me. I was even more surprised I didn’t have the nerve to let Sasha know that not only did he not want to share his number with her, but I didn’t either. Hakeem told me to keep his number for myself and my very single and very interested behind did just that.
Hakeem’s last message to me let me know he was ready to show me another fun night. By the next day, I still hadn’t replied. I was still thinking about whether I was going to tell Sasha.
“Good afternoon Danielle. Still thinking about our fun night. Already ready for another. When else are you free?” Hakeem asked via text.
Instead of messaging Sasha about how torn I felt, I messaged our mutual homegirl who was at the gala the night we both met Hakeem. “Gen, you busy? I want to ask your opinion on something,” I messaged her.
“What’s up?” She responded.
I told her about Hakeem and how Sasha asked me to get his number for her, but I’d gotten it for myself instead.
“Girl! Are you going to tell her?”
I had no plans on it, but Gen’s reaction made me feel like I should. I didn’t though. I accepted Hakeem’s invite to hang out again.
“Would you want to do dinner?” Hakeem asked.
Dinner meant this man wanted to indulge in me. At least that’s what I told myself anytime I was asked to dinner. Dinners usually extend into drinks and into more. I smiled at the ask.
“Yes, dinner sounds nice. I want to try this new spot by the water. You down?” I shared the name of the restaurant with Hakeem.
“As a foodie, I am down. The menu is fine by me. Reservations are set. See you Thursday at 7,” Hakeem messaged.
“Looking forward to it!”
I decided I wouldn’t tell Sasha about Hakeem. I felt justified because he was the one who told me to keep his number for myself.
So there I was, sitting at the bar, waiting for Hakeem to show up to the spot. From where I sat, you could see the water glistening and lapping against the rocks.
“This is romantic as hell,” Hakeem said as he slipped up behind me.
I turned around to give him a hug and he received it, but only with half of his body. “It is, right?” I giggled.
Before I could hop down from the stool to properly hug him, Hakeem had already taken his seat on the stool. “Did you order already?” He picked up the drink menu.
“Nope. Not yet. You’re right on time. Let’s drink!” I said.
“I like that energy,” Hakeem waved the bartender over.
We talked. I flirted a lot more than he did. He drank a lot more than I did. And by the end of the meal, we strolled by the water. I slipped my hand through his arm and we chatted, but he mostly made corny jokes and was being silly in general. I couldn’t catch the vibe at all.
If mixed signals were a person, they would have been Hakeem. Every time I thought he wasn’t feeling me, he’d place a hand in the small of my back or compliment me or flirt with me. And every time I thought he was feeling me, he’d half hug me or take his hand away from me holding it. I was just about ready to hop off of the emotionless rollercoaster he had me on.
“What are you about to do?” I asked, practically ending our date. I was already back to the drawing board in my head.
“I still want to hang out with you,” Hakeem said, surprising me.
“Well, my homeboy Ralph invited me to his favorite late night hookah spot. Wanna come with?” I asked him.
“Def. Let’s go.”
Off we went. He held my hand in the cab and that was all it took for me to know that he actually was into me. So I was back into myself.
We got to the hookah spot and Ralph had a section all set up. We laughed, we hookahed, we drank some more, and had a great, late night. I liked being around Hakeem. I told myself with or without the mixed signals that we could always be friends, no matter what. (Just remember this little thought because we’re definitely coming back to this one.)
It was time to head home and Ralph started to call his Uber. I decided I should do the same. I drunkenly looked at Hakeem, “Where are you headed?”
“Your house,” He said with a smile. I couldn’t tell if he was serious, but Ralph’s very loud, “ooop!” made us all laugh.
“Is that right?” I looked at Hakeem in disbelief.
“That’s right,” he matched my look, raised his eyebrows, and tilted his head.
“Ok, Danielle!” Ralph exclaimed.
When we slipped into the back of the Uber, it didn’t take long for Hakeem to snuggle up to me. And then he placed a kiss on my neck. “Oh, ok, so maybe he is into me?” I asked myself.
Find out what happens next week.
