The Realest Ever (22 page)

“Me neither,” Roland said.  “I’ll call you around eleven, and you can let me know where to pick you up
at.”

“Alright.”

“Thanks for calling,” Roland said.  “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

≈≈≈≈≈≈≈

Roland called the next day at 11 am sharp.  Kyra gave him her aunt’s address, and he said he’d be there at 12:30.  Kyra had butterflies in her stomach as she got dressed.  She still wasn’t sure if she should go out with someone she worked with – even if they only worked together for two minutes a day. 

When Roland knocked on
the door, Kyra ushered the kids into her room and told them to stay there until she left.  She answered the door wearing a black skirt with a sleeveless blouse.  She didn’t think she looked all that special, but Roland’s eyes widened as he admired her from head to toe.  Kyra smiled.  Donovan used to look at her like that, when she first got back to town.  Not anymore, though.

“Kyra, you look amazing.” 

Roland reached for her hand.  Kyra was confused, but she offered it.  Roland brought it to his mouth and kissed it softly.  Kyra blushed.  She didn’t think anyone had ever done that to her.

“What a gentleman
,” she exclaimed.

Roland had a nice build, not particularly muscular, but he
wasn’t fat at all.  He wore a collar shirt with black Dockers.  His shirt was rather tight.  He had it tucked in with the top three buttons open.  Kyra had a good view of his chest, which was strong and smooth, but she thought his style was a little flashy.

Roland’s skin was dark and beautiful.  His baby ’fro was perfect, as usual.  He wore a moustache with another tuft of hair on his chin, but not a full goatee.  He
sported aviator style sunglasses.  He sleeves were rolled up, revealing an expensive watch on one wrist and an equally expensive bracelet on the other.

Kyra couldn’t help but tell him, “You look a lot different than you do at school.”

Roland smiled.  “Different good, or different bad?”

“I… don’t know yet,” Kyra said.  She was a simple girl.
  Most of the men from her past who dressed like this were pimps or drug dealers.  But Roland’s income was legit.  He worked his ass off, five to six days every week.  Kyra wondered if she was on a fault finding mission.  “Different good,” she decided.

Roland was still holding her hand.  He led her down the two porch steps. 

“You look just as good as you do in school,” he said.  “Have I told you how beautiful you are?”

Kyra smiled and looked away
coyly.  “A couple of times.”

“Well you are,” Roland said.  He walked her to a new Chrysler 300 and opened the passenger door. 

Kyra’s jaw dropped.  Now this was too much.  “I’m sorry, but what do you do for a living?”

Roland laughed.  “You know what I do for a living.  I met you while I was working, as a matter of fact.”

“But this car, your jewelry.  Do you have a side job?  Something
illegal
?”

“No
pe.”  Roland shook his head.  He looked surprised that she would ask.  “I work hard, and I don’t have a wife or any kids.  I grew up with nothing, so now I like to have nice things.  There’s nothing wrong with that.  I told you, I got paper.”

“And I told you
, I don’t care about your money.”

“Loosen up,
please,” Roland said.  He spoke softly.  “You wanted to know if I do anything illegal.  I’m telling you I don’t.  I won’t say anything else about money, if you’ll get in this car and let me treat you like a queen.”

After a noticeable pause, Kyra said,
“Okay.”  She tried to let go of her hang-ups.  She took a seat in the Chrysler and admired the style and elegance.  Donovan’s truck was nice, but this automobile was sleek and beautiful, with so many lights and dials on the dashboard, it could’ve been a cockpit.  Definitely built to impress.  And that wasn’t counting all of the after-market bling Roland added to his whip.  Exactly how much did he spend on this car?

Would you
stop that
?  Kyra shook her head.  Not only was she comparing Roland to Donovan at every turn, but she had him on the defensive for the way he chose to spend his money.  She agreed to go out with him, so the least she could do was give him a fair shake.

Roland
entered the vehicle and took a seat next to her.  Kyra reached and touched his arm.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s cool,” Roland said, his smile bright and genuine.  “Wanna see one of my money clips?”  He laughed and said, “Gotcha,” when Kyra’s mouth fell open.  After a moment she laughed, too.

≈≈≈≈≈≈≈

He took her to Cattleman’s steakhouse in the historic stockyards section of the city.  The restaurant was top notch all the way.  Kyra couldn’t believe she was being wined and dined by two handsome men in two consecutive days.  Roland ordered a two pound T-bone steak called The Cowboy.  He suggested Kyra try
The Cowgirl
, but she opted for filet mignon with corn on the cob.

Roland asked her an assortment of getting-to-know-you questions, but Kyra didn’t tell him much about her past.  From
her queries, Kyra learned that Roland was from Waxahachie, and he was the oldest of twelve kids.  His mother and father were still together, and all of his brothers and sisters graduated high school.  Some went to college.  Kyra was thoroughly impressed.

The more Kyra got to know him, the less she
thought of Roland as a showboat.  He was sure of himself, and he was proud of the things he’d accomplished.  But he was down to earth.  His modest upbringing gave him an appreciation for the finer things in life.  He liked to eat good foods and drink exotic wines and take vacations to locales his parents never even dreamed of.

But as
interesting as Roland was, Kyra found herself thinking about Donovan again.  She remembered what he said about Kyra taking him to an upscale steakhouse.  Cattleman’s might have been the best one in the area.  Kyra was a little chagrined that she wasn’t sharing the experience with her best friend.

When she realized
her thoughts had wandered to Donovan again, Kyra pushed him out of her mind and looked into her date’s brown eyes.  Roland really was handsome.  His confidence pushed his attractiveness up another couple of notches.

“
Do you like working at the school?” he asked.

Kyra nodded.  “
Yeah.  I’ve only been there a couple of weeks, but I can already tell I want to stay there for a while.  What about you?  Do you like your job?”

“It’s alright,” Roland said.  “The pay is good, and I get to meet interesting people, like you
.”  He gave her a warm smile.

Kyra returned his
smile, but she wondered how many
interesting people
Roland met on his route.  He told her it was rare that he was attracted to the women who signed for his packages, but Kyra would be a fool to think she was the only one.

“I want to open a business,” Roland said.  “That’s my
dream.”

Kyra raised an eyebrow.  “What kind of business?”

“A restaurant.  I love food.  And I love making money.  I’m going to combine the two.  I’ve been taking classes at the community college.  Once I finish my business degree, I’ll give it a shot.”

“How do you have time for school?” Kyra wondered.  “I thought you were always working overtime.”

“I am,” Roland said.  “I can only take two classes a semester, sometimes just one.”

“What kind of restaurant do you want to open?  Soul food?”

“No.  Why does it have to be soul food?  Because I’m black?”

Kyra giggled.  “Yeah, I guess so.”

“That’s the problem with young brothers and sisters today,” Roland replied.  “Everybody’s scared to think outside the box.  For your information, I want to open a pizza joint.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.  That’s the one style of food black people haven’t perfected yet.  I want to put my stamp on the industry.  I already have a lot of great ideas nobody’s ever heard of, like pig’s feet pizza with hot sauce and my world famous chitlin loaf.”

Kyra
couldn’t help but frown. 
Ewww.  Gross
. 

“Nah, I’m just kidding,” Roland said.  “It is gonna be a soul food restaurant. 
I didn’t wanna tell you, after you guessed it.”

Kyra cracked up.  “You need to stop.”

“I love seeing you smile,” Roland said.  He put his forearms on the table and leaned forward.  “Miss Reynolds, I had a real nice time this afternoon.  I would love to spend more time with you.  I find you very attractive, and intriguing.  I know it’s only our first date, but I sense a connection here.”

The i
ntensity of his gaze made Kyra’s heart flutter.  Roland looked like he wanted to climb over the table and devour her.  Kyra thought she might want to let him.

“Okay,” she said.  “I would
like to see you again, too.” 

≈≈≈≈≈≈≈

Roland pulled into Aunt Ruth’s driveway forty minutes later and put his car in park.  It was bright and sunny outside.  Kyra had a wonderful time, but she wasn’t ready when Roland leaned in for an unexpected kiss.  She turned at the last moment, and his lips encountered the back of her jaw.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said.  “I thought, never mind.  I was wrong, and I apologize.”

He didn’t look too apologetic, but Roland had his sunglasses on again, and Kyra couldn’t see his eyes.

“I
t’s alright,” she said.  “I didn’t…”  She looked down at her hands.

“You don’t kiss on the first date,” Roland deduced.  “I can dig it.  Pardon my manners.”

“It’s okay,” Kyra said.  She looked up at him.  “Maybe next time.”

“As long as I have a next time to look forward to, I’m good,” Roland said.

He hopped out of the car and went around to open Kyra’s door for her.  She felt like a princess as he took her hand and helped her out.  If there was one thing she could say about Roland, it was that he was a certified gentleman – which is why his next move was so startling. 

Kyra was
willing when Roland reached to give her a hug in lieu of his thwarted kiss, but she pushed him away abruptly when his hands began to slide down her sides, towards her butt. 

“Whoa.”  Kyra wore a half frown, half smile, still trying to keep it lighthearted.  “Slow down there, boss.”

“I’m sorry,” Roland said.  He stuffed his over-eager hands into his pockets.  “Kyra, your body is amazing.”  He devoured her with his eyes while shaking his head.  “I swear I didn’t mean to do that.  I wasn’t going to touch – okay, yeah I was, but that wasn’t my intention.  My hands were literally drawn to your cakes.  I am so sorry.”

Kyra wasn’t impressed by his flattery, and she was confused by his boldness.  What kind of man gets rejected when he goes for the kiss, but
he still tries for a little grab ass?  Interestingly, a part of Kyra was attracted to his daring.  Roland saw what he wanted, and he went for it, even after he’d just been told that he couldn’t have it.

She
chuckled.  “Alright, I’ll let that slide.  Goodbye, Roland.”

“Good day, Miss Reynolds.”

Kyra knew he was watching her ass as she walked to the door.  She looked back anyway.  Sure enough Roland hadn’t moved an inch.  Kyra shook her head, but she couldn’t wipe the grin off her face.  This man wanted her,
badly
.  But Kyra sensed Roland might be one of those love ’em and leave ’em type of guys.

≈≈≈≈≈≈≈

She debated whether she should tell Donovan about her date or not.  Kyra was eager to talk to someone.  Donovan was the most likely candidate, but she worried he might get upset.  But Kyra didn’t know why that would be the case.  It wasn’t like Donovan wanted to be with her.  In fact, Kyra wouldn’t even have gone out with Roland if Donovan hadn’t insisted. 

She
called him at 7:30 while she was washing dishes from Sunday dinner.  When Donovan answered, Kyra heard dogs barking in the backyard.

“
Hey.”

“Hey,” she said.  “You walking the dogs?”

“Yeah.  What’s up?  Did you have a nice day?”

“I did,” Kyra said.  “I… 
I went out with Roland.”  Kyra felt her heart thudding.  She felt like she was confessing to an illicit affair.

Donovan stopped dead in his tracks, not sure he heard her right.  His dogs were trying to go after a wily squirrel.  Donovan yanked the leashes a little harder than he meant to, and Doc a
nd Wyatt came to an immediate halt.  They looked back at him with confused expressions.

Donovan’s breathing was
ragged.  He hoped Kyra would think it was from his run.  “You did what?” 

Kyra’s heart shot up her throat.  Now she
really
felt like she was telling her boyfriend she cheated on him.  Donovan said,
You did what
? but Kyra heard,
YOU DID WHAT
?!