Chapter Fourteen #2
Cozart looked over at me with a devilish grin, turned the song and Summer Walker’s song Heart of Woman filled the speakers.
“Don’t get excited, just because I’m not playing rap doesn’t mean I don’t still plan on embarrassing you by playing R&B and singing every song on the ride there,” he laughed loudly and began to sing the song at the top of his lungs.
I groaned.
“Fuck that ball, it’s not worth a migraine. I’m getting out of here,” I unlocked the car door causing him to laugh hysterically.
“How are you going to get out when I don’t plan on stopping?” he laughed as he sped up the car.
“I’ll tuck and roll. If I get scratched up that’s fine. I have enough weight on me to cushion my fall,” I shrugged causing him to howl with laughter.
“You have the right amount of everything in all the places it needs to be,” he retorted causing my heart to skip a beat.
“I knew I should have just called my other date. He’s standing by the phone waiting on my call and I’m sitting here subjecting myself to bad singing. This is what they mean when they tell women to choose better,” I pretended to be mad and rolled my eyes.
He smirked.
“I bet you he ain’t better than me. I bet you, he doesn’t look this good and he couldn’t treat you as good as me. You are going to have more fun with me tonight than any other man you’ve ever dated, and I can put any amount of money on that,” he smirked and flexed his large bicep.
“You really are cocky.”
“Not cocky just confident. I’m HIM and you know it. The way you looked at me when you opened the door said it all,” he glanced over at me. Heat rushed into my face for the second time tonight and I sucked my teeth pretending to be offended.
“Don’t flatter yourself. It’s one thing to be cocky, but let’s not be delusional. I didn’t look at you no differently than the way I always look at you,” I lied.
“Woman, you almost swallowed your tongue,” he licked his lips at me seductively.
“I was chewing some candy when you walked up, so what you saw was me finishing it off,” I lied.
“What kind of candy?” he questioned catching me off guard. I didn’t expect the bastard to want to know the type of candy because I hadn’t thought the lie all the way through before I told it.
“Jolly Ranchers of course,” I retorted quickly.
“Which flavor?” he asked.
“Damn police investigator, if you must know, it was the blue raspberry one.” I smirked as I turned my face away from him and looked out of the window.
“HA GOT CHO ASS! If you had a blue raspberry Jolly Rancher, your tongue would be blue. I caught you in a lie. Just admit that I’m fine and you want me so bad,” he laughed loudly causing me to hit him on the arm playfully.
“Look at you trying to sneak and feel on my body. I don’t do that on the first date Ny’Airy my mother raised me right.
You haven’t even bought me a meal yet. Don’t even know a nigga’s favorite color.
Women these days just sexualize men and it’s so sad,” he pretended to be hurt and placed his hands against his temple dramatically.
I laughed so hard I felt like the muscles in my neck were ripping apart.
“There it is again,” he said, smiling to himself, “Be careful before I laugh you right out of that dress,” he flirted.
“Impossible,” I retorted and stuck my tongue out at him.
“Keep your tongue in your mouth before I put it in mine,” he retorted. The smile he was wearing had slipped slightly and I could tell that he was again being serious and not charming.
“I will.” I smirked as I turned away from him and tried to contain the feeling of wanting to jump out of my own skin. That feeling was reserved for Larry and Larry only.
The time it took to get to the venue flew by fast because it was filled with good music, laughter, and conversation.
I learned things about CO that I never would have imagined, even his embarrassing first kiss story.
I doubled over in laughter when he told me that he thought a tongue kiss was when you bit the other person’s tongue, so he almost bit his crush’s tongue off and she had to go to the emergency room to get stitches.
I told him a few of my own embarrassing stories and made him promise to never repeat them.
When GPS told us we had arrived we both looked around in surprise, the Mayor’s Mansion was breathtaking.
The driveway curved through perfectly manicured hedges before opening into something that looked like it belonged in a movie.
Valets hurried between luxury cars while photographers snapped pictures of guests stepping onto the carpet.
Crystal chandeliers glowed through the mansion’s floor-to-ceiling windows, casting warm light across the stone courtyard.
I blinked twice, “This is the mayor’s Mansion?” I asked.
Cozart nodded.
“So, this is where all of my tax dollars are going? Because I swear Atlanta has potholes that haven’t been filled since Martin Luther King marched down Auburn Avenue,” I quipped.
Cozart laughed under his breath while nodding in agreement.
After parking, he climbed out first before jogging around to my side.
The valet was already waiting when he opened my door.
“Good evening,” the young man smiled.
“Evening,” Cozart replied before helping me out of the car.
The second my heels touched the pavement, Cozart’s hand settled lightly against the small of my back.
It wasn’t in an inappropriate way, it didn’t make me feel like he was trying to grip my ass.
It made me feel protected, like if something were coming, he would jump in front of it before he got to me.
It made me feel safe. His touch steadied me as we started toward the entrance.
“You nervous?” he asked quietly.
“Is it that obvious? The last time I came to one of these things I was with my ex-husband. I have the worst social anxiety when I’m not around people I’m comfortable with.
I’m always worried about saying the wrong things, so I sort of get this resting bitch face that looks like I’m aggravated.
Larry always knew how to help without me asking,” I muttered.
Co leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Don’t be nervous, you’re with me. I’ve got you,” he assured me.
“That’s easy for you to say, you are a social butterfly, and you look like one of those Tyler Perry actors. You look like you belong here.”