Page 21 of Pretty

“You good? You’re gonna strap in?” I asked.

“Yeah.” He buckled up as he left the lot.

“Did you know those people?”

“Uhm, no. Old boy has seen me around a time or two. You know how it is when folks think they know you.”

“You could’ve stopped and chatted.”

“Pretty, people can talk your head off. I’m just starving and trying to beat the rush of traffic that’s about to come.”

I nodded and relaxed in my seat. He pressed some buttons on the dashboard, and Anita Baker poured out of the speakers.

“I thought you weren’t a fan of R and B.”

“Didn’t mean that I couldn’t put together a playlist for you.”

I smiled at him, and I realized that this man was stealing little pieces of my heart, one action at a time. This wasn’t what I wanted, but my sister was right: It was time to move on and heal.

When we pulled up in a little parking lot to what looked like a small rundown house, I frowned. “What’s this?”

“Off the Bone. It’s a barbeque joint, and they’ve got the best food in the south. I promise you. I’ve traveled and sampled, and I stick with ’em.”

“I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve heard a lot about them through the years, but I never came through here before. I’m game to try it.”

He smirked. “Okay, Miss Bougee.”

I laughed as he hopped out and came around to my side to help me out. After he had been greeted by the staff and owner like he was family, we were seated on a couch with a table in front of us, and we ordered our food.

The entire establishment was set up that way—small tables that either had one or two couches pulled up to it. Our table had one couch—well, actually a love seat—so we were right there together. We talked about our favorite restaurants and experiences we had at different restaurants before my stomach growled after several minutes.

“Smells delicious,” I stated, looking around at some of the patrons who were finishing their meals.

“Wait till you taste it.”

“Thanks for coming with me to the concert tonight. I could have gone alone, but I didn’t prefer to. Not because I’m not comfortable taking myself on dates, but for safety reasons.”

A wide grin cracked his face. “So, you admit we are on a date.”

“I admit no such thing, sir.” I laughed.

The servers brought our plates out, and we dug in. I moaned several times before he looked up from his ribs, slowly licking his lips, and narrowed his eyes at me.

“What?”

He leaned forward and answered, “You’ve got every nigga in this place looking at ya li’l horny ass.”

“Huh?” I looked around embarrassed to find that quite a few men were watching me.

“Yeah. Like that. Now outside of those ribs, what have you enjoyed most about tonight?” he asked.

“Keith giving me the rose, and Kenny and Karyn singing a song together. What about you?” I asked.

“Aside from that moaning that you’re doing?”

I shoved him with my shoulder, and he laughed. “Aside from that.”

“Seeing the look on your face as they performed some of your favorite songs. You got so deep into it, and there was a sense of peace and enjoyment on your face.”