Can't Let Go - A Contemporary BWWM Romance (8 page)

Exercising
more self-control in one week than I had in my entire life, I managed not to
text or call Kevin again that entire week. It was the longest week ever, but I
knew come Friday, seeing his gorgeous face would be worth it.

I
scrambled to get home as fast as I could and immediately threw off my clothes
and took the hottest bubble bath I could stand. I had a good three hours to get
ready for our big date, but I wanted to take my time and enjoy it. I wanted to
unwind. It had been such a long week.

After
soaking in the tub until my fingers and toes had pruned up, I climbed out and
wrapped myself in my plush, white robe. I wrapped my hair in a turban and
slathered my face and neck with my best moisturizer.

“LaLa?”
I called out the bathroom door when I heard some noise on the other side.

“Yeah,
I’m here,” she called back. “Not for long. Just grabbing some things. I’m
staying at Demarius’s tonight.”

I
rolled my eyes and laughed. I’d never seen her so smitten with anyone before.
Good for her.

“Okay,”
I yelled back. I’d be getting ready solo that night, but that was all right.
LaLa tended to Bogart the music sometimes. I could listen to whatever I wanted
and not worry about her judging me or turning it to a different song. “Have
fun.”

I
heard her rustling around in her room. Then I heard her footsteps travel down
the hall until the front door opened and closed. She was gone.

I
switched on some cheesy eighties
internet
radio
station on my phone and danced around in the bathroom as I put my face on. I
was going for a smoldering look that night, complete with a smoky eye and
lip-plumping gloss.

I
dried my hair until it was voluminous and then ironed some lose barrel waves
into it. I was going for sexy, catwalk,
lingerie
model
that night. I hoped he liked the va-va-voom version of me.

I
slipped into a short, slinky black dress with a plunging neckline and added a
simple pair of diamond stud earrings. They were from Antoine, actually, but
Kevin didn’t have to know that.

One
spritz of my uber-expensive perfume later and I was good to go. I glanced at
the alarm clock on my side table. It was 7:45. He was going to arrive at any
minute, and I could hardly stand the anticipation. Two weeks had been two weeks
too long.

I
switched my belongings from my big leather bag into a black satin clutch and
took a seat in the living room as I waited. No sooner did I sit down was there
a knock on the door. He was early, which was a nice surprise.

I
shot myself a glance in the mirror, placing a rogue hair back where it
belonged, then opened the door.

The
look on his face was priceless when he saw me, and the arm he was holding a
dozen pink roses in quickly fell to his side. His lips curled into a sweet
little smile as he walked in.

“These
are for you,” he said as he handed me the flowers.

“Oh,
thank you,” I said. “How nice of you. You didn’t have to do that.”

I
leaned in and kissed his cheek as I retrieved the bouquet from his hands.

“I’ll
be right back,” I said as I clicked my way to the kitchen. My heels were going
to be a bitch to wear that night, but they were perfect with my dress and I
refused to change. I just hoped we weren’t going to do a lot of walking.

I
put the flowers in a vase and returned to Kevin, who hadn’t left his spot by
the front door. His hands were resting casually in the pockets of his black
dress slacks. He looked so sweet just standing
there
waiting for me.

“Ready?”
I said with a huge smile on my face. I didn’t mean to act so excited, but I
could hardly contain myself.

Outside,
his car was parked right by the front door. It was a black Crown Victoria with
tinted windows.

“On
call this weekend again?” I asked. It was clearly his work car.

“Yeah,”
he said. “Fingers crossed we don’t get interrupted tonight.”

His
car smelled like a million different things, stale food, leather and cologne
among them. I couldn’t put my finger on one singular scent to save my life. It
was obvious that he pretty much lived in the thing.

As
we rumbled along from stoplight to stoplight, we finally landed at a quaint
little Italian place on the south side of town.

“I
rarely come out here,” I said as he found a parking spot. “I always forget
about all the little restaurants over this way.”

“Have
you ever been to Lessandro’s?” he asked.

“Nope,
never.”

“Oh,
my gosh
,” he said as he rubbed his stomach. “It’s
amazing. You’ll love it. I’m drooling now just thinking about their
breadsticks.”

The
hostess seated us at a quiet little table by the front window. It was definitely
a casual place that didn’t require a
stunning,
low cut
dress—or diamond earrings, for that matter—but it was nice.

“Kevin!”
an older, balding Italian man yelled from the back of the restaurant. “Haven’t
seen you in a while.”

His
accent was authentic Italian, and Kevin stood up to hug him. The old man cupped
Kevin’s face and kissed each cheek. It was adorable.

“Who’s
this
bella
you got here, eh?” he
asked as he smiled at me.

“This
is Rashida,” he said. “Rashida, this is Giuseppe. This is his place.”

“Nice
to meet you,” I said as I extended my hand.

Giuseppe
pulled me to a standing position and wrapped his meaty arms around me, giving
me a bear hug. He was one of the most genuine strangers I’d ever met.

“What
are we having tonight, eh?” Giuseppe asked.

“Let’s
start with the calamari,” Bennett said as he turned to me. “You like calamari?”

I
nodded. I hated calamari, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. I could choke
down a few bites if I had to.

“I’ll
take the classic lasagna,” he continued.

“Mwah,”
Giuseppe said as he kissed is fingers. “Excellent choice. Mama will be happy.”

“May
I please have the chicken
parmesan
?” I asked. “With
grilled zucchini on the side?”

“Yes,
bella
,” he said as he took our menus
and walked away.

“See
what I mean about this place?” he said. “Not only
is
the food incredible, but the service. You can’t get this kind of service
anywhere else in town.”

“They
treat you like family,” I replied. “That’s a good way to keep your customers
coming back.”

Giuseppe
dropped off a warm basket filled to the top with fresh, buttery garlic bread.

“Oh,
Rashida,” Kevin said as the steam rolled off the top of the bread. “You’ve got
to try these.”

I
reached in and grabbed a slice of bread, nearly burning my fingers, and placed
it on my bread plate.

“I
better let it cool a bit,” I said. He’d already begun noshing on a slice, burnt
tongue be damned.

Our
food came out in record time, most likely because of Kevin’s apparent VIP
status, and we went to town. Giuseppe even gave us a bottle of white wine to
share, on the house.

Two
glasses later I was starting to feel a little bit of a buzz, and I could tell I
was losing a bit of self-control.

“Were
you at Haiku last Saturday?” I blurted. I couldn’t resist. My filter had
vanished after my second glass of wine.

He
stopped mid-bite, and looked up at me.

“Yeah,”
he replied.

“I
thought I saw you,” I said. “I was there with LaLa and her new boyfriend,
Demarius. Well, I don’t know if they’re dating. They’re together twenty-four
seven, so it seems that way.”

“Ah,
I see,” he said as he resumed eating.

“Did
you see me?” I asked. I knew I should’ve stopped while I was ahead. He probably
thought I was trying to pick a fight.

“I
don’t think so,” he said. I could tell he was lying, but I knew better than to
say anything. It didn’t matter. We were there on a date now. I’d said what I
wanted to say.

“So
how was work this week?” I asked, changing the subject. “I can definitely tell
wedding season is upon us at my job. My inbox has been flooded with engagement
and wedding announcements all week.”

“Same
old,” he said. “Hunting the bad guys and putting them right where they belong.”

“Your
job must be so interesting,” I said as I gazed across the table at his gorgeous
face. “Something different every day.”

“You’d
be surprised at how mundane it can get,” he said. “And when you just can’t
crack a case… days like that suck. But the days when we find the perp, nothing
compares to that.”

“Well,
I’m still fascinated by what you do,” I said. “It’s a tough gig. Nothing fluffy
like what I do.”