Chapter 7-Kenya #2
We were walking toward the front door when she stopped momentarily, taking him in from head to toe with a snarl on her face before shaking her head.
“Tobias, if I should’ve been, then I would be, but I’m not, and I truly thank God for that,” she said as she gathered her things that were waiting on the table by the door.
“Because you’re the one who wouldn’t know what to do with me.
” She turned away from him dismissively to look at me. “Boo, have fun and be safe.”
We hugged, and I opened the door to let her out, so Tobias and I could follow suit.
“Damn. Where’s my hug, Sydney?” He questioned with his arms stretched out.
“Tobias, do me a favor and go to hell,” she responded as she continued to walk out of my house without a second thought.
“Why do you give her such a hard time?” I asked as we walked out, and I locked the door.
He chuckled before responding. “Why wouldn’t I? She makes it too easy.”
“You can say that to anybody else, and they may believe you, but I think she may have been the one that got away for you.” I could see it in his eyes.
They may have dated a lifetime ago, but it didn’t change the fact that he didn’t know what he had back then.
Now that he realized it, it was far too late.
“Maybe she is,” he acknowledged with a shrug, “but we need to hurry up and leave so I can scope the restaurant and get a seat to spy on you and your future stalker.”
“Tobi,” I said, as I playfully punched his arm. “Why would you try to manifest that?”
“Damn, I’m just playing. I see why you and Sydney are friends, y’all are both disrespectful and mean to me.” Tobias playfully rubbed his arm, nursing the spot I’d hit.
“We aren’t mean, we just don’t allow disrespect to be directed toward us, and the last time I checked, that isn’t a crime.”
We got in our separate vehicles, and as planned, he followed me to my destination. Since he parked next to me, I didn’t have time to sit with my thoughts and emotions before I got out of the vehicle.
Needless to say, my nerves were all over the place, along with my thoughts.
Halfway across the parking lot, Tobias told me to walk in first and assured me that he would follow.
With a nod, I walked into the restaurant that Devon chose, looking fabulous, but feeling anxious.
Kenya, get it together. You walk into a courtroom less prepared than you are now and still walk out a winner.
I had to affirm myself because being anxious and unsure wasn’t who I was.
There wasn’t a hostess at the stand when I walked in, and I took that as permission to find him myself.
Where is he?
I knew what he looked like because of his profile pictures.
As I scanned the restaurant, I saw a tall, light-skinned, slender man with low cut curly hair, in a blue button down, with the sleeves slightly rolled up, and a pair of jeans.
Why isn’t he in a suit? I was a little turned off that he wore jeans on our first date, but I couldn’t make him change.
The closer I got to where he was, his intoxicating scent excited me.
Once I reached where he was standing against the bar, I reached up and placed my hand on his shoulder, prompting him to quickly turn around.
The harsh look on his face softened when realization settled in.
“Devon?” My voice was shaky and unsure.
Please say no.
“In the flesh.” He smiled and showed off two gold fangs that damn near made me gag. I couldn’t even appreciate how perfectly aligned and pristine his other teeth were because of the atrocity.
Oh, no! He is a thug! I was mortified. What kind of grown man has a grill? I thought to myself.
Not to mention the vast array of tattoos that covered his skin like he was a walking canvas .
How did I not see his tattoos in his profile picture?
The only thing that intrigued me about him was his hazel eyes that had speckles of green dancing in them.
The longer I stared at them, the more they pulled me in.
Kenya, snap out of it. I shook my head and observed the rest of him.
This was not the kind of man that I needed to be pulled into.
Everything else about him told me that he would be a waste of my valuable time.
We are going to be open-minded, remember? I internally reasoned as I tried to hide the look of disgust, which I was sure was covering my face.
I didn’t want to come off as being stuck up or bourgeois, but sometimes, I couldn’t help it.
Repulsion, conviction and apprehension warred within me, making my stomach churn as they intensely engaged in battle to see which would win, as I glared at him. Meanwhile, he openly admired my attire, his eyes lingering on each element with blatant appreciation.
He even had the nerve to lick his full lips, unintentionally sending a chill up and down my spine. Why am I reacting to this man instead of running away?
“Kenny, I know that I said I wasn’t going to interrupt your date, but since I know you’re in good hands, I’m about to head out,” I heard a familiar voice say from behind me. The intrusion was the only reason I tore my eyes away from my date.
When I turned around, Tobias was standing there, wearing a satisfied smirk.
“Tobias. Man, it’s been a minute. How’ve you been, dog?” Devon said as they engaged in some kind of handshake. I rolled my eyes.
“Staying out the way and out of trouble,” Tobias replied.
“Wait, the two of you know each other?” I asked, my eyes bouncing between the two of them. It was obvious that they did, but I needed to know exactly how.
“Yeah, from back in the day,” he said, momentarily looking my way before turning back to Devon. “Going clean is a good look for you, my dude,” Tobias responded.
Associates? What does he mean? What kind of associate was Devon to Tobias?
Kenya, stop! You know exactly what he means. Don’t be na?ve.
My mind went to Tobias’ checkered past and, naturally, I assumed the worst about this man.
As I watched Devon, taking in his appeasing features, I scolded myself for not seeing past his attractiveness in the first place. Good looks and his charisma were the reason we were standing here, but they weren’t strong enough to make me see our date through.
It didn’t matter how open-minded I wanted to be; I was not prepared to entertain someone who participated in any illegal activities.
Past, present, or future? None of it mattered.
Knowing that my gut was more than likely right about how they knew each other, I couldn’t allow myself to stay. Yet with all of that, there was still something about Devon that compelled me not to run.
Kenya, he said that he went clean, and you act like you have something better to do.
True.
It’s not like he’s unattractive, and you’re starving, so you should at least enjoy the meal.
Also, true.
But what if he is a thug who only wants you for your money?
But what if he isn’t out for my money? He’s a businessman.
Or so he says … What if his business isn’t as legal or clean as he says it is?
Exactly! Kenya, you should run. He can’t be your happy ending. You can look at him and tell he isn’t good enough for you.
Looks can be deceiving.
“ Beautiful,” I heard Devon say. His voice effortlessly claimed my attention, and I was pulled from my conflicting thoughts.
I looked around, only to realize Tobias was gone.
My head swiveled, and he was nowhere in sight.
A disorderly expression traversed my face as I schemed whether I wanted to make my exit before the night could really begin.
For whatever reason, my feet remained planted, and looked up to Devon, acknowledging his amused smirk.
“What?”
A throaty chuckle escaped his full lips before he bit down on the bottom one, looking down, then looked back up, bringing his hypnotizing orbs back to greet me. “I said that our table is this way.” He placed his hand on the small of my back.
Tingles rushed up and down my spine, and I wanted to race away from him and this foreign feeling, but something about him intrigued me and stopped me from faking a stomach virus.
It’s now or never … I nodded, giving him permission to guide me to the other side of the restaurant.
By the time we got to our table in a secluded area of the establishment, I decided to stay.
Sadly, I couldn’t pinpoint the reason … Maybe I can entertain someone who’s different and against the grain …
He was at least attractive, and I knew that he could hold a conversation …
Or maybe I’m just hungry . Either way, he had my attention …
for tonight at least. If nothing else, I could use the night as an icebreaker back into the dating scene.