Page 10 of Book Bae

“What were we saying about zodiac signs?” I asked, squirming in my seat as I played with the chocolate mousse pie.

“You were telling me that I was arrogant, and I was letting you know that I’m far from that. What sign are you?”

“Sagittarius.”

“What if I were to say that all Sagittarius were impatient? Or that you never put your money where your mouth is? Not to mention, y’all say the most reckless shit ever. How would that make you feel?”

I scoffed. “I would say that I don’t know who you’ve been dealing with, but she ain’t me,” I replied, pointing my fork at myself.

“’S’all I’m saying about Leos. You can’t generalize people and put them in a box. Take time and get to know me. That’s what I would do with you.”

My face grew warm, and I steered away from that path. “I will admit that you don’t seem like the Leos that I’ve met in the past, so I won’t hold you accountable for their flaws.”

“Sounds personal.”

I turned my lips down and shook my head. “Not so much. Just a guy I once dated.”

He reached over and used my fork to slice off a piece of pie. When he held it up to feed it to me, I blushed again and dipped my head.

“C’mon. You gotta eat. Besides, it’s keeping your mind off negative thoughts.”

“You’re right about that. All those thoughts do is bring sadness,” I conceded before I accepted the pie.

“I don’t want to talk about the ones who did you wrong. I want to talk about you.”

“What about me?”

“Tell me about yourself.”

“About me. I don’t know, that’s kind of hard.”

“You haven’t taken out time to get to know yourself? Maybe that’s the issue in your relationships.”

“It’s not that. I just don’t think about myself like that. I think about other people.”

“You can tell me what you do and don’t like. It shouldn’t be that hard. Tell me your favorite foods and music, stuff like that,” he stated with a cajoling smile.

“Okay, let me think . . . I love my freedom. As much as I want to find that special someone and settle down, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. I don’t want to lose that.”

“And you shouldn’t. Not with the right man. Go on.”

“I love the outdoors, especially in the spring, summer, and fall. I go to a lot of picnics, concerts, and festivals during festival season.”

“What kind of festivals and concerts?”

“R and B and old-school concerts and arts festivals, food festivals, cultural festivals. If it’s a festival, I’m going.” I laughed nervously, and he crooked a lopsided grin at me.

“Old-school classics. That’s wassup. I like that too. I love Caribbean music, but I’m a fan of Sam Cook, Ray, Aretha, and Patti. Who are some of your favorites?”

“I love Sam and Ray too. Throw in some Aretha, and it’s all good. She was my mama’s favorite. Oh, and don’t forget about Clarence.”

“Clarence? As in Carter?”

“One and the same.”

“You don’t strike me as that kinda girl. You seem like you’re sweet and innocent.” His long lashes lowered as he seemed to regard me in a different light.

“Really?”