AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m proud of you too. You do one hell of a job and I’ll gladly take your help.”
“My pleasure.” I said.
JD and I weren’t the type to talk about our feelings or to rehash the past, but I was glad that we had. I knew JD had always wondered why I hadn’t fought harder to be CEO of Bennett Liquor, but I just never wanted it. Certainly not as much as Walker did. I was glad that JD could see that, or at least he understood my decision better now.
“Enough stalling. Why did you really come to see me today? Did something more happen between you and Hope?”
“Actually, we’re going on a date tonight,” I said proudly.
“Dang man, you move fast. Congrats. I mean it only took like five years for you to work up the courage, but better late than never.”
“Thanks for your support,” I said and rolled my eyes. “Actually, she asked me out.”
“Even better. How did you work that?” he asked as he crossed his arms under his chest.
“I called her to talk about the picture and see what she wanted to do about it. She apparently had talked to her sister, Faith, and they agreed it would be best if we just went with it.”
“Went with what?” JD asked.
“Us dating,” I said.
“So, are you two dating, like did she ask you out and you’re now officially an item? Or are you just going out because it’s easier as you said to go through it then not?”
I opened my mouth to answer JD and then stopped. I thought for sure it was that we were dating and we were going to actually try it for real. Thinking back on the conversation with Hope, we never did say what it was one way or the other.
“By your silence, I can tell you didn’t discuss it with her. Were you just so happy a girl actually wanted to go out with you that you got tongue tied?”
“Maybe,” I said, sheepishly.
JD was trying to tease me, but it was exactly what it had been like. I had felt nervous and out of my element talking to Hope. She made the conversation easy, but I had felt that so much was riding on how it went. It was a bit of pure luck and the fact that Hope was already open to the idea of us going out that it had gone so well.
I felt bad that I wasn’t honest with her. I should have just told her I wanted to go out with her. We didn’t need to do it under the pretense of keeping up appearances, but if she needed to in order to go out with me, then I would use it. It wasn’t that I was exactly lying to her, it would be better for my family, and even her, if we did go out, but it wasn’t the whole reason.
“Are you going to tell her how you really feel?”
“You mean that I’m in love with her? That I have been for some time. Yes, it’s going to be the first thing I tell her when she opens the door,” I said.
“You don’t have to get testy with me. I mean tell her that you want to actually date her, not because of me or some stupid picture of you two. I mean, do what you have to do to get the woman to go out with you, but eventually you’re going to have to get out of the friend zone and into the bed zone.”
“Did you just say bed zone?”
“You know what I mean,” JD said.
“It isn’t all about sex, you do know that, right?”
“I would hope that factors into some of it,” he said.
I immediately thought about what it would be like to have Hope in my arms, to feel her body next to mine, to know how soft her lips were when we kissed.
“Good to see you’re thinking about that too,” JD said when I didn’t answer him.
“One step at a time.”
“All right. So, whatisyour next step? What do you need help with?”
“Dinner suggestion. Some place nice, but not too nice. Easy but semi-romantic,” I said.
“What part of the city do you want to go to? Are you looking for a place with a nice view? Ambiance? Food? Privacy? What?”
