Chapter Four
A Real First Date
I changed my outfit four times.
The rust-colored wrap dress made my breasts look good but seemed too eager.
The black jumpsuit felt safe but made me look like I was attending a stylish funeral.
The green dress matched the bookstore, which felt like a lack of imagination.
I eventually returned to the rust dress.
My thick curls were gathered into a loose updo, with soft tendrils framing my face. I wore gold heels, gold hoops, and a delicate necklace that had belonged to Mama.
At six forty-five, Norelle FaceTimed me.
She answered before my face fully appeared on the screen.
“Turn around,” she demanded.
“I am a grown woman.”
“Turn around so I can inspect the fit.”
I sighed and turned in a slow circle.
Norelle screamed.
I held the phone away from my ear. “Have some decorum.”
“You look like a brown-sugar blessing.”
“It isn’t too much?”
“For LaKeith? You may need more fabric protection.”
“I’m hanging up.”
“Wait. Do you have condoms?”
“Norelle!”
“Adults prepare.”
“I am going to dinner.”
“Dinner has led to many pregnancies.”
“Goodbye.”
“Text me the restaurant, his license plate, and a picture of what he’s wearing.”
“You already know LaKeith.”
“Crimes are frequently committed by familiar people.”
I ended the call.
My stomach fluttered all the way to the restaurant.
LaKeith stood when I approached the table.
He wore a black button-down, tailored trousers, and polished shoes. The sleeves of his shirt hugged his arms. His beard had been freshly shaped, and a silver chain rested against the open collar.
I had expected him to look good.
I had not expected him to look like temptation packaged for retail distribution.
His gaze moved over me slowly.
“Wow,” he said.
I smiled. “Use your words.”
“I had words before you walked in.”
“That’ll do.”
LaKeith pulled out my chair.
“You look beautiful, Yandy.”
“Thank you. You clean up well.”
“You sound surprised.”
“I’m accustomed to seeing you covered in drywall.”
“I shower regularly.”
“I had hoped.”
The restaurant overlooked the river. Candlelight reflected across the windows, and low jazz played beneath the hum of conversation.
Once we ordered, LaKeith folded his hands on the table.
“You nervous?” he asked.
“No.”
“You’ve moved your water glass four times.”
“The placement has been wrong.”
“And now?”
I adjusted it again. “Still wrong.”
LaKeith smiled. “You can relax.”
“I am relaxed.”
“Your shoulders are touching your earrings.”
I lowered them.
He laughed quietly.
“Are you enjoying this?” I asked.
“Very much.”
“I could leave.”
“You won’t.”
“That confidence is going to get you hurt one day.”
“You wore that dress. I’m willing to risk it.”
The waitress returned with our appetizers.
LaKeith ordered steak and garlic mashed potatoes. I chose blackened salmon with crawfish cream sauce.
We talked about bad movies, childhood dreams, and the strange things customers left behind in bookstores.
I told him someone once abandoned a single shoe in the poetry section.
LaKeith stared at me. “Only one?”
“Only one.”
“What did you do with it?”
“I kept it in lost and found for thirty days.”
“Then?”
“Norelle planted flowers in it.”
“That sounds like her.”
“What is the strangest thing you’ve found during a renovation?” I asked.
“A wedding dress inside a wall.”
My fork stopped halfway to my mouth. “Excuse me?”
“It was wrapped in plastic behind the drywall.”
“Did it belong to a ghost?”
“The homeowner said the previous owner’s fiancée disappeared before their wedding.”
I stared at him.
LaKeith waited three seconds before laughing.
“You made that up!”
“You looked so invested.”
“I was preparing to ask whether the house was haunted.”
“I once found sixty-seven dollars beneath a bathtub.”
“That is less interesting.”
“I also found a raccoon.”
“Alive?”
“Very.”
“Did it attack you?”
“It criticized my work and left.”
I laughed hard enough to draw a glance from the next table.
LaKeith watched me with a soft smile.
“What?” I asked.
“I like your laugh.”
“It is available during business hours.”
“I want after-hours access.”
I lowered my gaze to my plate. “You are very direct.”
“I spent two months asking you to dinner. Subtlety wasn’t producing results.”
“Persistence can become harassment.”
“That’s why I never touched you, cornered you, or asked after you said you needed space.”
I looked up.
LaKeith’s voice remained calm.
“I teased you because you teased me back,” he continued. “Had you ever told me seriously to stop, I would have.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.” I paused. “That’s part of why I agreed tonight.”
His expression warmed.
After dinner, we walked along the riverfront.
Music drifted from a nearby lounge. Cars passed with bass vibrating through the pavement. Couples leaned against the railing beneath the streetlights.
LaKeith held out his hand.
I hesitated briefly before placing mine inside it.
“You’re quieter tonight,” he observed.
“I’m watching.”
“Me?”
“The situation.”
“What have you observed?”
“You chew ice.”
“That’s all?”
“You helped an elderly lady put on her coat.”
“She asked.”
“You tipped the waitress generously.”
“She worked hard.”
“You didn’t look at your phone during dinner.”
“Did you want me to?”
“No.”
LaKeith’s thumb brushed mine. “What else?”
“You make it difficult to dislike you.”
“I never wanted you to dislike me.”
“You enjoyed irritating me.”
“I enjoyed seeing you forget to hide.”
I stopped walking.
LaKeith turned toward me.
The city lights reflected in his eyes.
“I like the woman you are when you aren’t preparing to defend yourself,” he said.
“I’m the same woman.”
“You are. You’re also softer.”
“Soft gets mishandled.”
“Sometimes.”
“I cannot survive another Remell.”
“I’m not asking you to.”
“What are you asking?”
“A chance.”
The laughter faded from my chest.
LaKeith stepped closer, leaving enough distance for me to move away.
I stayed.
His hand settled gently at my waist.
“Can I kiss you?” he asked.
The fact that he asked did something tender to me.
“Yes.”
His mouth touched mine carefully.
For all his bold flirting, LaKeith kissed me with patience. His lips moved over mine slowly, giving me time to become comfortable with the closeness.
Then I gripped the front of his shirt.
His control slipped.
He pulled me against him, deepening the kiss as my heart raced. His beard brushed my skin. His hand curved over my hip.
The world around us blurred into music, river air, and the heat building between our bodies.
When we separated, LaKeith rested his forehead against mine.
“You still trying to ignore me?” he murmured.
“It was easier when you were across the store.”
“I can stand across the river.”
“That might help.”
“You’d miss me.”
I looked up at him. “Your confidence needs medical attention.”
“You kissed me back.”
“I was being polite.”
“Do that polite thing again.”
I did.