Page 20 of Pretty

Her eyes lit up, and she smiled. “You remembered those things I told you.”

“Why do you sound surprised? You remembered what I told you.”

“I guess I didn’t realize that I made a deep impression on you the way you made on me.”

“You definitely left your impression on me, girl.”

She blushed but quickly returned the subject to my original statement. “I’m a Lifetime Movie girl. Somewhere deep down, I love mystery, drama, and sappy romance, so I usually like cuddling with a warm, thick blanket, a soft pillow, light some candles, and a mug of tea to watch a good movie on the channel.”

“That’s wassup. Now, because you’re working on becoming my woman, tell me what I need to do to make sure that I don’t get on your bad side.”

She giggled and pointed her fork at me. “You just don’t quit, do you?”

“You won’t let me,” I replied, winking.

“Mm. Okay, what I don’t like is when people place limitations on me. Just because you restrict yourself with your limited beliefs and insecurities, don’t try to place me in your box I won’t fit. I believe the sky’s the limit, and I know that my Almighty God placed me without limits, because there’s no limit what He can do through and for me.”

“Preach, preacher!”

She smiled a warm smile that lit my heart and made me want to see it a thousand times over. “I also don’t like broken promises. If you can’t come through, say I’ll try, or we’ll see, but don’t promise me things you can’t uphold. If you promise, you’d better work your ass off to make sure you can complete it—excuses are unacceptable. Anything dull or boring, you can count me out. I won’t apologize. I’ll just extricate myself and find a better use of my time.”

“Why is that?”

“Life is too short. I don’t live for the flesh, but I do want to make the most use of my time on Earth before it’s all over. Life lived to the fullest—no regrets. That’s my mantra. Also, I used to say that I didn’t like being lonely, but being alone the last few years has taught me so much about myself that I didn’t know before. I know what I will or won’t tolerate.”

“Yeah, I don’t like being alone. I guess because I’ve always been surrounded by large groups of people. Sometimes, I’m cool with it so I can process my thoughts, but not for long. I also don’t like being confined in small spaces. It takes away my feeling of freedom. Kind of like how you feel about being bored, I don’t like repetition and routine. I need to change things up from time to time, keep it interesting.”

“Does that create a lack of discipline in your life?”

“Not at all. I hold myself accountable for all the things that I need to do, but I like being challenged. I think it’s important to know yourself. That way you know how to withstand the challenges and tests in life.”

“Sometimes those tests can break you. Over the last few years, I expected to be broken several times over, but I’ve survived.”

“And you’ll continue to survive. Stay strong and keep your head up, beautiful.”

She had mentioned again something that had changed in her life the last few years. It was hard, but again, I didn’t press her on the issue. I knew that in time, I would break her walls down and find out what hurt her so deeply, and I prayed that I could be the man to wash away her pain.

TWO WEEKS LATER

I swayed side to side as Keith Washington closed out the concert with his hit song, “Kissing You.” I had received a rose from him when he first came out on stage, and I held it close, inhaling the scent of his cologne.

Drew had snickered and called him a “corny-ass nigga,” but I felt that he was jealous more than anything. There were times when I thought maybe I shouldn’t have invited him to the concert because it was so intimate, and it felt like it was for couples. I had initially invited Chloe, but she had plans with her boyfriend that had her going out of town for the weekend, so the first person who came to mind was Drew.

We had enjoyed ourselves despite me sometimes feeling uncomfortable with the song selection and the singers telling us to tell our partners, “How you feel about them,” or “Look into that woman’s eyes, and let her know she’s your world,” and “Tell that man you can’t breathe without him.” Other than that, we had a blast.

Drew grabbed my hand in his large one as we made our way toward the exit. He had insisted we arrive a little later so that we didn’t have to fight traffic or crowds entering the stadium. I agreed with him since I didn’t care for crowds, despite the fact that I loved concerts.

As we exited, I continued singing the song. People were still in the stands swaying, but a few people were starting to leave their seats too. They probably had the same idea that Drew had: exit the stadium before the traffic started.

I noticed that he tugged his ballcap further down his head as we stepped out of the dark stadium and into the bright lights of the parking lot, but I didn’t think anything about it.

“Do you know what you want to eat?” he asked as he opened the door to his SUV and helped me inside.

“I’m not picky. I just want to eat,” I replied as he reached over me and buckled me in. That little action made me smile because it was so unexpected.

“Cool. I’ve got the perfect place for us to eat.”

I watched as he jogged around to the front of the car. I noticed a couple who stood outside of their car stop and watch him. The man pointed at Drew and then waved. When they started in our direction, he hopped inside and pulled quickly out of the parking lot.