Chapter 10
Chapter
Ten
Method
I didn’t realize how much not opening up was affecting things between Gina and me. I was used to people accepting that I didn’t want to talk about certain things and leaving it at that. Gina wasn’t having that secretive shit, though, and I couldn’t say I didn’t understand.
Sitting across from her at the dinner table, I was able to admire every beautiful feature of hers, features that had not only consumed my every waking thought but also invaded my dreams. I couldn’t expect to know everything about her and be unwilling to share myself the same way.
Keeping Gina all the way in the dark was making her question my intentions, and that was the last thing I wanted. If she wasn’t sure about anything else, I wanted her to know that I was into her one hundred percent, so if telling her about my family was the first step, then so be it.
“I’m a first-generation, American-born Somalian. My parents are both doctors. They came to the States as young college students with the dream of going back home and providing free health care to our people. I guess, as time passed, that dream changed.”
“Dreams change sometimes. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
I appreciated her saying something nice about my parents.
I sometimes thought telling that story made my parents sound like sellouts.
Maybe because that was the way I saw it mostly.
But hearing how simply Gina put it made me understand that dreams did change over time.
Just like we did as people, and that was okay.
“Yeah, once they had me, they decided to stay here and open their own hospital. They would still be able to provide healthcare to people who look like us, but not at the cost of their own family’s comfort, if that makes sense.”
“That makes perfect sense. Are you an only child?”
“I am. I guess that’s another thing we got in common.”
“Let me find out you want to be just like me when you grow up.”
“Nah, I don’t want to be just like you. I want to marry you.”
“And how do you know I want to marry you back? I don’t even know anything about you.”
“Trust me, You will. Besides, I’m already working on that.”
“And what exactly are you working on?”
“I’m working on making sure marrying me is the first thing on your mind when you wake up in the morning and your last thought before falling asleep at night.”
“That’s a pretty ambitious thought.”
“I’m an ambitious man.”
After I said that, the waitress was back at our table, asking if we needed anything else.
She was definitely earning her tip tonight because she kept our drinks refilled and was sure to check on us every chance she got.
It was a busy night, yet she was still making Gina and me feel like her most important customers.
I appreciated that since it was my girl’s birthday.
“You good, baby?” I asked to confirm with Gina before I told the server we were good.
Gina gave me a sexy ass head nod, keeping eye contact.
I relayed the message, but my eyes remained trained on her.
There was nothing in this world that I wanted to look at more.
I could spend all night sitting across from her and be completely satisfied.
Once we were alone again, I picked the conversation right back up where we left off.
I wanted to give Gina as many details about myself as she needed, to squash whatever conflict that lingered between the two of us.
I never wanted her to question where she stood with me, because her position was always at the front of any and everything that was going on in my life.
“Is there anything else you want to know about me?”
“Did you ever wish your parents had more kids?”
“Hell nah. I was spoiled. I don’t think I would have survived sharing my stuff with another kid I didn’t even want in my house. Besides, I was a mama’s boy, and I was already sharing her with my dad. There was no way I was about to share my mama with two people.”
Gina was about to fall out of her chair, laughing at me, and I was happy she was finally loosening up again.
I knew I should have told her about that engagement, but there was no doubt that small detail would have wiped that beautiful smile off her face.
The engagement didn’t really seem like a lie by omission, in my books, because to me, it wasn’t real.
My engagement to Lacy was simply a figment of my parents’ imaginations.
It may have been what they and even Lacy herself wanted, but now that I had experienced Gina, there was no way I would go through with it.
There was nothing that could convince me to even consider walking down that aisle with someone else.
I knew exactly who I wanted to marry, and she was sitting right in front of me.
“Do you have a best friend? I’ve seen you with some of your coworkers, but that’s about it.”
“They really are the closest thing I have to friends. I never been too big on hanging out with people.”
“Me either. I do want to get to know people here, though. I know the girls at the diner, but none of them are really my age.”
“I tell you what. A couple people from my unit get together for bowling on Thursday nights. You should come with me next time.”
“I don’t want to intrude on you and your friends.”
“You could never intrude on nothing I got going on. I want you to come. You can save me from my commander trying to drill me about shit I don’t want to talk about and get to know the people I spend most of my time with. It’ll be a win-win situation.”
“Cool. I’ll come then.”