“Fuck no,” he said.
Her lips curled at the edges, and Jamal’s mind instantly conjured that kiss he’d stolen in her workshop. He recalled the taste as if it had just happened.
“Good,” Phylicia said. Then she turned her eyes back to the road ahead.
Jamal knew he should pay more attention to the road, too, since he was the one driving, but his eyes continued to stray to her profile.Gorgeousdidn’t do her justice. With those high cheekbones and elegant neck, she wassopast gorgeous. She was stunning. Striking. Sexy.
And she’d just asked him out.
“So, what kind of date will this be?” he asked. “Are you doing this just because you want me to experience more jazz music, or is this adatedate, as in we sit and share a meal that doesn’t come on a disposable plate?”
After a slight pause, she said, “I was hoping it could be adatedate.”
Jamal lost a bit of the air from his lungs.
“I know I’m the one who asked for the hands-off rule,” Phylicia continued. “But when we were at Mya’s for the game on Sunday, she said something that got me thinking. We are both two single adults, in a town that doesn’t have many single adults our age. What’s wrong with the two of us going out for a night on the town?”
“Not a damn thing,” Jamal said with a smile he couldn’t hold back if he tried. “So, when will this date happen?”
“When are you available?”
“Right now,” he answered without hesitation.
Her head flew back, her sharp laugh reverberating around the truck cab. “I doubt there are any clubs open right now.”
“Tonight, then?”
“You want to go to a jazz club on a Wednesday night? Wouldn’t Friday or Saturday be the more traditional date nights?”
“To hell with tradition,” Jamal said. “Don’t make me wait until the weekend, Phylicia.”
She twisted a bit in her seat, turning toward him. “Okay,” she said. “I guess it isn’t unheard of to go out in the middle of the week. The clubs should be less crowded.”
“So will the restaurants.”
“We really don’t have to go out to dinner,” she said.
“If I’m taking you out on adatedate, I’m buying you dinner. That’s non-negotiable.”
She rolled her eyes. “Will you insist on opening the car door for me and pulling out my chair, too?”
“I can do that,” he said. “I had the finer points of being a gentleman drilled into me at a very early age.” He slid a sly smile her way. “It wasn’t until high school that I learned when it’s okaynotto be a gentleman.”
A decidedly wicked smile drew across her lips. “Hmm…maybe I’ll get to see both sides to you tonight.”
His stomach pulled tight, and the breath that was on its way out of his lungs stalled. Jamal was pretty sure he wouldn’t notice if a nuclear bomb erupted right in front of him, and if it wasn’t for fear of running them off the road, his tongue would be in her mouth right now.
Hopefully, he would get the chance to experience that tonight.
He pulled into the driveway of Belle Maison and Phylicia hopped out. She walked around to the bed of the truck, but Jamal stopped her before she could grab any of the items they’d picked up from the salvage yard.
“I’ve got this,” he said. “Why don’t you go home and get ready?”
“Is this your polite way of saying that I’ll need extra time to get prettied up before you take me anywhere?”
“You don’t have to do a damn thing to yourself, Phylicia. It’s impossible for you to get any more beautiful.”
Her smile turned even more wicked. And playful. And kissable.
