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After catching a shower and getting herself together, she found herself in a quieter part of the city away from the flashy nightlife of Miami, a cafe tucked between colourful city buildings. The glowing string lights brought a warm welcoming atmosphere. It wasn't anything like the usual sleek hotspots she had been accustomed too.
She was intrigued. "This is where I come whenever we're in Miami," Ja'Marr said as they slid into the booth by the window. "It's nice." She placed her bag in the corner beside her. "You sure this is your place?"
"Yeah, it's away from all the cameras, distractions. Just good food." She glanced at him, surprised. "You're telling me this is where you come?"
He grinned, seeing he kind of impressed her. "It's called balance, football's loud, life's loud, I gotta breathe for a second."
Nomi relaxed into her seat, most definitely charmed by the thoughtfulness of his choice. He ordered a tea and she ordered a coffee as well as getting a plate of pastelitos to share. their conversation shifted from light topics to more personal ones. Ja'Marr talked about the pressure of preparing for a game in the relentless Miami heat and the memories he had of watching games here when he was younger.
"So, what's your plan after football?" she asked, breaking the silence. She was genuinely curious. Most athletes had a long list of ventures they planned to explore after their careers, but Ja'Marr hadn't given much indication of what he was thinking.
His expression shifted, you could tell he was thinking "I haven't thought about it," he paused for a second. "I for sure want to make sure the community I come from is well taken care of, making sure kids have the resources I didn't growing up, it's pretty tough out there,"
Nomi raised her eyebrows in surprise. "That's really admirable,"
He shrugged, his smile returning as he peered down at the deserts menu. "I guess, it's just about showing up, like you do, it's what we both do, right?"
"Yes that's what we do, we show up." she nodded, feeling the friendship growing between them, it was so easy for them to talk.
"So what about you? What do you want to do after all this?" Ja'Marr intrigued, Nomi stared into the night sky in thought before answering "Ideally I just want to be able to take care of my family, they've done a lot for me I want to give it back,"
"I've also always wanted to have my own cooking show too, and have a cute little chunky baby or two." She opened up, allowing Ja'Marr to take a look into her mind.
"Does the baby have to be chunky?" He joked causing the girl to laugh. "Ideally!" She exclaimed.
"That sounds like something you could pull off though, you're interested in reading and cooking— give me a book recommendation," He began to pick at her mind some more. "Well I really enjoyed Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson, it's a good read."
