Chapter 15
DANI
So, Lincoln’s a hottie. It’s hard to resist a Black man with a strong jawline like his. I could immediately tell he was an athlete the second he walked into the restaurant. And I could also tell he was a gentleman when Tyrell introduced us.
It helped me relax.
Actually, having Tyrell here helps me relax.
It’s weird how I haven’t seen him in so long, yet it hasn’t taken much to fall back into the easy friendship we had as teenagers.
Which is why I can’t help reminding him about the time we smuggled all of that candy into the movie theater.
Tyrell’s smile is instant. “And that old guy behind us got all shitty because the movie was boring as hell and we started a Skittles war.”
I snort, covering my mouth and giggling as I’m sent back in time to that obscure little theater.
I don’t know what possessed us to go there.
It was one of those artsy places that only showed foreign films. I think we were just bored and happened to be on that side of town. I can’t even remember why, but…
“I feel kind of sorry for him now.” I cringe. “At the time, I thought it was hilarious, but now I look back and feel so bad. He was just trying to enjoy his film, and we were laughing hyenas, making trouble behind him.”
“Sounds like you two got up to some mischief.” Chastity directs her comment to Tyrell.
Her smile is broad and flirty, and my insides shrink. But why? They shouldn’t. She’s so obviously into Tyrell, and that’s a good thing.
Focusing my attention back on Lincoln, I try to think of something to say. Conversation hasn’t exactly flowed since we sat down.
He’s sweet and all, but he’s obviously obsessed with football.
Giving him an awkward smile, I straighten my cutlery as I wait for my food to arrive and force out a question. “So, what else do you enjoy doing… other than football?”
He lets out a short laugh. “What else is there? Between that and keeping up with my homework, I basically have no life.”
I nod, wincing at his plight. Has college been like that for Tyrell too? I sneak a quick look at him. He’s nodding.
“Yeah, being a college athlete is a busy job,” he agrees with his teammate. “But we can still squeeze in a little fun. Like now.” He winks at me, then grins at Chastity. She blushes, and I straighten my fork again.
“Okay, so let’s pretend you had some spare time. What would you do with it?” I direct the question to Lincoln, because that’s who I’m supposed to be here for, although I’d love to know Tyrell’s answer as well.
Lincoln shrugs, his face pinching like the question is annoying.
I swallow and take a sip from my water glass.
“Uh… I guess I like to run?”
“Oh come on. That’s still a sports thing. Is that all you’re about?” Chastity challenges him.
“Pretty much.”
My eyebrows wrinkle and I glance at Tyrell, who’s frowning at him. “You told me you played piano as a kid. You like music, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I guess,” Lincoln murmurs, and I jump all over it.
“What kind of music do you like? I played piano when I was a kid, and I definitely went through a jazz phase.” I grin. “But then I hit my teen years, and it became all about punk rock and…” My voice trails off, the mildly bored expression on Lincoln’s face deflating me.
“I’ll listen to pretty much anything, and I don’t play piano anymore.”
“You been to any good concerts lately?” I cling to anything that might ignite a decent spark of conversation between us.
“Uh…” He scratches his forehead. “No, but I did get to the Basketball All-Star game recently. That was awesome.”
Great. More sports.
“I got to see Pink last year,” Chastity tells us, and I perk up, throwing my attention her way.
“Oh my gosh, I love her so much.”
“I know, right? She kicks ass! Her concert was so amazing. Like seriously, the best I’ve ever been to.”
I grin. “I’d love to see her live. Who else have you been to?”
This sparks a conversation that lasts until the food arrives. Thank goodness! Even Lincoln pitches in, finally admitting that he went to see Dua Lipa with his little sisters.
“Just to play bodyguard, you know?” He’s trying to play it off all cool, but I bet he loved it.
Part of me wonders if I should tease him, but… we’re not there yet.
Tyrell, on the other hand…
“Yeah, I took Lacey to see Ariana Grande a couple of years ago. We could only afford two tickets, and my mama’s not into that kind of music, so I drew the short straw.”
“Yeah, right.” I nudge him with my elbow. “I bet you loved every second of it.”
His lips twitch, and I crack up laughing.
“You did! You totally got into it. I bet you were singing louder than anybody by the end of the concert.”
“Maybe,” he mumbles, scratching his forehead and making me laugh while he fumbles with his cutlery and attacks the steak he ordered.
I smile across the table, but Lincoln’s not looking at me. He’s too busy devouring his Alfredo pasta.
Staring down at my chicken parmigiana, I say a quick grace in my head—a lifelong habit—then dig in.
The food is delicious, and I savor each bite while Chastity launches into a long engineering-related story that has Tyrell grinning.
“He is a hard-ass, but he’s a smart guy, so I don’t mind him so much.”
They’re talking about professors and throwing out names that mean nothing to me, and possibly Lincoln. He’s looking mildly bored again.
He’s wolfed down his food and is now just sitting there, staring at an empty plate. So I try to engage again.
“How long have you been playing football?” I’m not actually that interested in sports, but my parents always taught me to ask questions about others in order to spark conversation, and it’s clear that football is king in this guy’s life.
He shuffles in his seat, telling me about how he started playing when he was five.
“Wow. And you still love it?”
“Even more than I did back then.” His lips rise into a half smile. “I’d love to go pro, and I’ve got myself an agent already, but who knows. He’s already warned me how hard it is to get selected, so all I can do is keep playing my best and hoping.”
“What would you do if you didn’t get in?”
“Who the fuck knows.” His expression bunches with obvious stress.
“Well, what are you studying? I mean, is there an avenue there you can pursue?”
“I’m majoring in sports management, but I don’t enjoy studying that much. I’d rather be on the field, you know?”
“Yeah, well, you must love studying the game, though, right? I bet you have that playbook memorized from cover to cover.”
His lips curl into a slow smile, and he nods. “Yeah, pretty much.”
“I don’t know if I’ve ever been that passionate about anything, you know?” Except Atlas, but I don’t want to bring him into this right now. “Maybe music. Or… traveling? I’d love to see the world.”
“Really?” Lincoln seems confused by this answer.
“Yeah. Don’t you ever want to go overseas?”
He doesn’t seem too excited by the idea, and then he goes and kills it completely. “We live in the best country on the planet. Why would I want to leave it?”
My gut twists as I try to keep my voice light and amiable. “I don’t know… to experience other cultures. To enrich your life.”
“I’ve got everything I want.” He smiles, and now I’m scrambling to think of something else to talk about.
Tyrell is answering one of Chastity’s questions, and I try to tune in to what he’s saying.
“…and that about sums it up, I guess.”
“Wow.” Chastity smiles at him across the table. “You’re amazing.”
“No.” Tyrell shakes his head. “I’m nothin’ special.
” When he sees me looking, he says, “I was just explaining how growing up with a brother who has special needs is… well, it’s been challenging, but ultimately made us better versions of ourselves, you know?
You can’t be selfish when there’s someone who needs you like that. ”
“That does make you amazing, whether you want to accept it or not.” Chastity’s smile is dreamy, and I get it.
Tyrell has always been a great guy. A protector, yet so humble about it.
“Yeah, he’s great.” Lincoln lifts his chin to his buddy.
“Good brother, great football player, and an awesome study partner.” He grins.
“Actually, how are you all feeling about finals week only being a month away?” Glancing at his watch, he sits up a little higher in his seat.
“Time’s just ticking by, and I feel like I’m having to snatch every free second of studying that I can, you know? ”
Tyrell’s eyebrows dip into a deep frown as he stares across the table. I can’t quite read his expression. Is he pissed off or confused? Why is he reacting this way to Lincoln’s comments about studying?
He was always pretty studious at school. Does he not want to—
“I don’t want to be rude or anything.” Lincoln clears his throat. “But I’ve got a study schedule I’m really trying to stick to. You girls don’t mind if Tyrell and I wrap this up and hit the books, do you?”
“Oh.” Chastity blinks, checking her phone screen. “Yeah, actually that’s not a totally heinous idea, but…” Glancing up, she drinks Tyrell in. “Can we do this again sometime?”
“Uh…” He swallows and so obviously forces himself to nod.
Yikes.
Poor Chastity. She picks up his hesitation immediately, and the way her expression drops…
Oh shit.
“Sorry. I mean, I was just…” He closes his eyes, cringing, and I quickly jump in with a save.
“I’m guessing your mind has already shifted to the books. Are you worried about an upcoming exam?” I touch his arm, and he turns to give me a grateful smile. It doesn’t reach his lips, but I can see his eyes warm with relief.
“Yeah, I have one doozy that’s been keeping me up at night.”
“Oh really? Exam worry? Yeah, I get that.” Chastity laughs, but the sound is fake.
Lincoln rises from his chair. “I’ll go track down that bill, and then we can get out of here.”
“I’ll help you pay.” Tyrell jumps up, following him to the counter while Chastity and I gather our things.
“Well, that was going well until he made it blatantly obvious that I’m more into him than he is to me.” Chastity rolls her eyes.
“I don’t think that—”
“Dani.” She gives me a look that tells me to stop bullshitting her.
All I can do is sigh. “I’m sorry.”
“That’s okay.” She huffs. “I don’t think Lincoln’s that into you either.”
“Yeah, well, no huge loss there. I wasn’t feeling it myself. He was so friendly and bubbly when he first walked in here, but then he started droning on about football, and I think he saw my eyes glazing over. There was no going back after that.”
“Ugh!” Chastity rises from her seat, brushing a hand down her dress to straighten it. “Why does dating have to suck so badly?”
“I know, right?” I give her a sympathetic smile, surprised by how not bummed out I feel.
But I really don’t.
If anything, I’m feeling nothing. Or just… neutral.
This date wasn’t a winner, but it was fun hanging out with Tyrell and Chastity for a while.
Holding out my hand, I wait for her to reach for mine, then give it a squeeze. “You know the best part of this night for me?”
“What?”
“Getting to know you better.” I smile up at her, and she grins right back.
“Girl, yes. Thank you.” Pulling me into a hug, she laughs against my ear, squeezing me tight before kissing my cheek.
“All paid up.” Tyrell returns, looking between us and obviously trying to figure out what we were just talking about.
“Thanks for that.” I smile at him, then nod at Lincoln. “It was nice to meet you.”
“Yeah, you too.” He extends his hand, and I give it an awkward shake while Tyrell gives him another quizzical frown.
Shaking his head, he follows Lincoln out of the restaurant before walking us to Chastity’s car.
“Thanks for a great evening.” He raises his hand in farewell.
Chastity scoffs, opening her car door and slipping inside while I wince at Tyrell.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbles. “I didn’t mean to be rude. She just caught me off guard.”
“Don’t worry about it. You obviously weren’t feeling it.”
“But she’s really nice. I just…” He cringes, and I squeeze his arm to reassure him.
“It’s okay, Ty. I’ll find you a winner next time.”
“Should there be a next time?” He scratches the back of his neck.
“Hey, Jackson, let’s go, man!” Lincoln calls from beside Tyrell’s SUV.
“Comin’!” Ty lifts his hand before looking back to me and asking again, “Should there be a next time?”
I bite my lips together and force myself to nod. “We can’t give up so quickly. Good things take time, right? I’m in if you are.”
He studies me for a long beat, and I squirm in my heels until he finally nods, his voice all soft and rumbly. “Okay. I’ll, uh… try to find you a better match too.”
It’s impossible not to grin. Although this date wasn’t a winner, it was fun, and I’m up for it again… as long as he’s there to be my wingman.
“I look forward to it, Black Jack.”
His smile grows as he starts ambling backward, giving me a final wave before spinning around and jogging to his SUV.
I have to force myself to turn away from him and slip into Chastity’s car. She already has Pink playing and cranks up the volume on “Just Like A Pill” as we drive out of the parking lot.
I start humming along, then belt out the lyrics when we get to the chorus.
She lets out a half-hearted laugh before joining me, and we sing that tune at the top of our lungs as we drive back to our apartment building, both still very much single.