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IMANI
We sat in silence.
In actual silence.
For the entire date.
I had always thought that Kai was the quiet one, but besides shit-talking, I didn’t think João actually had much to talk about. If he wanted, he could’ve gone on and on about Landon or Kai or someone in Redwood that he hated, but he didn’t bring any of that up tonight.
And it seemed like he was kinda, sorta nervous.
João Rocha, Poison’s leader and the baddest boy at Redwood Academy, was nervous.
My lips curled into a smile at the mere thought. I cut into the last of my steak, pulling the meat apart from the fat, and shoved it into my mouth, moaning softly at the taste. Lately, Allie and I had been having nothing but milkshakes and fries. This was a change.
I stared at him and smiled.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
“Don’t piss me off, Imani. What the hell do you want?”
I shrugged and took a bite of food. “You know you’re supposed to talk on dates.”
“I didn’t want to go out. You forced me.”
“If you didn’t want to go out, then why are we at a fancy restaurant?”
João clenched his jaw and growled, not responding to me.
“I didn’t know how awkward you really were, João,” I teased, grinning across the table at the gang member dressed in a suit with his dark brown hair tousled and his eyes filled with so many secrets.
“I’m never bringing you on a date again,” he said between gritted teeth.
“Too bad I already have another one planned,” I said back to him. “My treat next time.”
João cut his eyes up to mine and placed his fork and knife parallel on his plate to signal that he was finished with his food.
Impressed, I raised my brows and leaned forward. “You do know that means that you’re finished with your food.”
“I’ve done this before,” João said.
“You’ve brought other girls on fancy dates like this?” I asked with a tinge of jealousy.
João’s jaw twitched. “My father was a rich asshole.”
“So, that’s a no?” I asked, kicking my legs back and forth underneath the table and grinning like a madwoman, my jealousy suddenly fading away. “Am I the first person you’ve been on a date with?”
Instead of answering me, João grabbed a random waiter and handed him his card. “Pay for our bill. Be fucking quick. I want to get the fuck out of here.” When the waiter shuffled away, João grabbed his drink and took a sip.
Maybe I was the first person he’d been on a date with.
That would explain why he was so awkward about it.
A couple moments later, the waiter came back with a check to sign. João scribbled his signature on the page and stuffed his hands into his pockets, nodding to the exit. I followed after him, curling my arm around his and grasping his large bicep.
“Thank you,” I said.
