“Did you forget what happened at Hatari?” Jana asked.
He chuckled low, sending a shiver down Jana’s spine. What would his face look like if he were here with her right now? Would he have a private smile? Or would his brows be furrowed in confusion? “I’ve honestly thought of little else,” he said.
And there it was. He’d been as preoccupied with thoughts of that night as she’d been. Jana could feel a heat burning inside her. He still wanted her. “So then…”
“My answer is yes. Let’s have a date. Me and you,” he said. Jana could practically see the smile in his words.
“Okay. That’s good. I’ll ask Mom what evening she’s free next week to babysit. You’ll be back Friday, right?” Jana sounded awkward, but she wanted to scream with joy.
“Yes. I’ll be by to pick up Imani around four. I was thinking I would take her to see that new movie with the trolls…since I know you won’t want to.”
Jana chuckled. “Appreciated. Mom will be here on Friday, but I’ll be out. I have an orientation meeting at Think.”
There was a pause before he spoke. “Jana, yougotthe job?”
She grinned. “I did!”
“That’s…that’samazing. Congratulations!”
“Thank you. So, I’ll see you at Kamila and Rohan’s wedding reception on Saturday?”
“Yes. Babysitter is lined up.”
“Okay. I need to go now.”
“Good night, Jana.”
He disconnected the call, and that was it. She knew that they would talk more later, and they would say everything that needed to be said in person…but that felt a tiny bit…anticlimactic. But later, when Jana was about to get ready to turn in for the night, a text came through.
Anil:You still up? I have something I need to say.
She tensed, worried. Was he going to give her hell for torturing him for so long then simply asking him out? Or was he going to back out?
Jana:I’m here.
Anil:Okay. Thank you.
Anil:That’s what I needed to say. Thank you for giving me this chance. I hope you never regret it.
Jana smiled as she curled her feet under her.
Jana:I don’t think I will.
Anil:I’m looking forward to coming back. Good night, Jana.
Jana:Good night, Anil.
She turned off her light. She wasn’t sure she remembered what it felt like to go to sleep smiling, but she was all about the new experiences lately.
Chapter 26
The next few days were…strange. She texted with Anil pretty much daily, although they didn’t talk about their upcoming date. Jana told him that Imani’s daycare teacher had called her to say that Imani had told the whole class that her favorite animal was a dick. Thankfully, their daughter then showed the class and the very disturbed teacher a picture of a dik-dik. Jana and Anil laughed together at that. Overall, everything seemed normal, which was what was weird, because they had never been normal before.
On Thursday, Kamila and Rohan returned from Spain, and the #BridalBrigade group chat immediately resurrected. After a few cheers andI miss you allGIFs, dik-dik pics started filling the feed again. Jana laughed, then placed the not-safe-for-use dildo from Amsterdam on her coffee table and snapped a picture of it. She sent the group chat a warning message that she was about to send a NSFW pic, then sent a picture of the dildo. That had been the ongoing joke while they were in Tanzania—threatening to send a dick pic, then sending an adorable dik-dik pic. But Jana upped the ante and sent an actual dick. Or, at least, the painted dildo.
After laughs, cheers, eggplant emojis, and a lot of innuendo, Kamila called Jana asking if the dildo meant the shipment from Tanzania was in. Jana said yes and told her she could bring her the boxes Friday evening. Jana knew Kamila wanted some of the souvenirs to decorate the wedding reception on Saturday.
On Friday around three, after giving Imani a big hug and kiss since she would be at Anil’s for the week, Jana headed over to the Think Canada office to meet with Dr. Lopez and the rest of her new colleagues and to sign her offer letter. It was a warm day, so Jana was wearing cropped black slim pants with black heels and a cream blouse.
