Page 20 of The Need to Know

“Every once in a while if Paisley wants to roll up I’ll partake.”

“I’ma light one later, though. Remy got some good weed, like he get that shit from God Himself, and he came through with an extra gift for me,” Ezekiel admitted.

“Nice.” Okay, I was impressed by that. “By the way, smart move inviting me on your birthday.”

Ezekiel grinned. “Coincidence, I promise.”

“Why do I have a feeling your promises aren’t worth much?”

“They usually are.”

I was nice enough not to roll my eyes. That’s what they all swore. “So, how old are you?”

“Twenty-eight.”

“Old man,” I teased.

Ezekiel paused, studying me with worry. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-five, I’ll be twenty-six in October.”

He blew out a sigh of relief. “Had me worried for a minute there.”

I liked that he cared about that kind of thing.

Ezekiel stared at my chest and when I thought he was being lascivious, he took a sip of his wine and met my gaze. “So, which is it, the movie or the song?”

He was speaking about my Under the Cherry Moon tattoo. “Both? I’m a reluctant hopeless romantic, and I really like the idea of the song, about dying if you can’t live or love the right person.”

Ezekiel drank this in and bobbed his head. “And the movie?”

“Realistic.” When he popped an eyebrow at that, I went on. “Love doesn’t seem to work out most times in real life, so it felt fitting.”

“You never know.”

“You a romantic?” I questioned.

Ezekiel shook his head. “Nah, definitely not. My folks have been married for thirty years. My pops real loyal with it, he never stepped out, he remembers things about my mother, and makes her really happy. They the type that only have a love built for two, but when I came along they doted on me. As soon as I left the crib, though, shit resumed. I know it’s a lot of broken hearts out here, but I look at them and know that love and all that is possible.”

“That’s sweet,” I said. My parents were practical and mechanical. It was hard to believe they’d ever been happy and fun like they claimed.

I took my phone out of my clutch and checked the time. It had only been a little over half an hour. Paisley would kill me if I told her I wanted to leave.

“Got somewhere to be?” Ezekiel asked.

I felt lame for admitting the truth. “I usually am a homebody. I’d rather stay in and watch TV and hang out with my cat. Judge away.”

Intrigue lit up Ezekiel’s face. “You have a cat?”

“Yeah,” I said defensively.

He raised a hand in a placating motion. “Nah, it’s cool. I have a cat, too.”

Okay, that was unexpected. “Really?”

Ezekiel laughed at my surprise. “Trust me, it was definitely spur of the moment.”

“That’s how it was for me and Scorsese. I noticed a nest of kittens by my house one day and that night it was storming really bad and I got scared. It turned out to be a blessing, though. He’s the best.” I gathered my phone to find a picture, and then I cringed at the action. “Oh God.”