Page 8 of In Just One Night
“What does he look like?”
“I can’t tell you all of that.”
I squinted my eyes as I looked at Hannah. “What do you mean?”
“It’s a blind date.”
The waitress returned with our food, so I halted what I planned to say. Once she made sure we were good, she walked away.
As I cut into my steak, I looked over at my best friend.
“Do you not remember that book we read about Ocean going on terrible blind dates? Are you trying to set me up for disaster?”
The three of us liked to read, but I hadn’t been able to as much since I had Paris. We read a book calledThis Love Isa Sure Thing, and the main character went on multiple blind dates, and they were all bad.
“True, but she also met her husband during that time,” Torryn reminded me.
“Yeah, but he wasn’t one of her dates.”
“London, you know I wouldn’t set you up with someone I didn’t think you would like. Just give it a try. The worst that can happen is you don’t like him but get a free meal. The best-case scenario, you can find that you do like him, and who knows.” She held her hands up in the prayer position and gave me her sad eyes.
The three of us had gone silent as we ate. They both knew I needed a second to think it over. I guessed it wouldn’t be so bad to dress up for a night.
I felt Hannah look at me every few seconds, but I figured I’d let her sweat a little.
Once I was done eating, I turned toward her. She looked at me with anxious eyes, and I giggled.
“Fine. I’ll go. If it goes bad, I’m kicking your ass.”
She squealed then hugged me. “Okay.”
We spent the rest of the time catching up on our workdays. I couldn’t believe I agreed to a date with someone I’d never seen before, but I’d done worse.
I didn’t know when the date would happen, but I was nervous and a little excited about it.
“Good morning, Mr. Lancaster.”
“Good morning, Jamal.” I gave one of my students a high five as he walked past.
Every morning, I stood outside and greeted every child that entered Sunshine Middle School. As the principal, it was important to me to learn every student’s name. I wanted them to feel comfortable in the school, with me, and the staff. I knew how tough middle school could be, and I wanted the kids to know that our school was a safe place for them. All the teachers and the guidance counselors shared the same values as I did. Of course, like anything else, we had fights, but not as many as the school I had come from.
I attended this same exact school when I was younger, so when the principal position opened, I applied and got it. There were a few things I had to change, but everyone seemed to have adjusted well.
Once the bell rang, I went back inside the school. I walked through the halls and made sure everyone had gone where they were supposed to be and helped any students that needed help. School had been in for a few months, and so far, the year had been going well.
When the second bell rang, I headed into my office to complete some paperwork.
“Good morning, Mr. Lancaster.”
“Good morning, Miss Cheryl.” Miss Cheryl had been the assistant principal for five years. I would have thought she wanted the principal position, but she said she was fine right where she was.
I proceeded to my office and sat at my desk. I looked around the room and was still surprised by what I had accomplished.
I left Sunrise Valley to attend Black Elm University in California, and I ended up staying out there until I got hired for this position. At first, I didn’t even know what I wanted to do with my life, then at some point, I decided on education. I started out as a teacher, but I wanted more, so I applied for the assistant principal position at my previous school. I’d done well for myself, and I was proud of being the principal.
I never thought I would return to Sunrise Valley, but I did miss home. My parents and my best friends were still there. I made friends in Cali, but it wasn’t the same. I even had a girlfriend, but when she caught me with my dick down another chick’s throat, she left my ass. I didn’t blame her, though. The shit was wrong of me, and I apologized, but she didn’t want to hear it. I fucked around a little afterward, but I never got into anything else that serious. I knew I needed to get my shittogether, because it wasn’t right to hurt her feelings like that. I loved her but got caught up. One day while I scrolled social media, I saw that she was in a new relationship, and she looked happy. I started to send her a message but never pressed send. There was no need for me to interrupt her life, especially because I wasn’t even in the same state.
Since leaving Cali, I hadn’t done much of anything but get my place together, work, and spend time with my people. I hadn’t even had sex since the night I returned home and went out to a restaurant. I remembered shorty was celebrating with her homegirl about something. We shared drinks, and later that night, we were in a hotel room. I still thought about her sometimes because she was something else. My dick got hard every time I thought about the way she talked to me through each nut.
