Kenny set his chopsticks beside his plate, then rested his elbows on the table. He so wanted to tell Larissa that she was a spoiled brat, used to getting whatever she wanted, because her father doted on her.
“What gives you that impression?” he asked.
She lowered her eyes. “You came out and said in not too many words that you didn’t want me to come here.”
“That’s because there were things I’d planned to do by myself while my mother was on vacation.”
“Had you planned to have a girl over?”
A slight frown furrowed his forehead. “Is that what’s bugging you? You think I’m involved with another girl?”
Larissa met his eyes. “Yes.”
“What gave you that impression?” Kenny questioned.
“You didn’t want me to touch you at the barbecue. You even told me to stop.”
“That’s because I couldn’t move without you clinging to me. What were you trying to prove to the other girls? That I was your boyfriend?”
“No, Kenny. I wasn’t trying to prove anything.”
“Are you always so clingy with other guys?”
A secret smile parted her lips. “Only with those I like. And you have to know that I like you. A lot.”
Kenny wanted to tell Larissa that she couldn’t have been more obvious. It was something Frankie and Ray had confirmed when he told them about her. “And I like you, Larissa, but nothing’s going to come of it, because you’ll be heading for Atlanta in a couple of weeks.”
“True. But can we see each other before I have to leave?”
“That all depends.”
“On what?” Larissa asked.
“My job.” Kenny told her about working in a restaurant kitchen in East Harlem.
“You’re kidding, aren’t you?” she questioned, her expression mirroring shock.
“Why would I kid about that?” He was hard-pressed to keep his increasing annoyance with Larissa out of his voice with each passing minute.
“Because it appears to be so beneath you to work in some kitchen.”
“And what would be better than working in a kitchen?” he asked, raising his voice. In that instant, Kenny knew he was close to losing his temper. Something he rarely did.
“I could get you a position working at one of my father’s car dealerships. He would be able to adjust your hours depending on your class schedule.”
“Why would I want to work for your father when I work for my family? Yes, Larissa. The restaurant belongs to my uncle’s family.”
A rush of color suffused her gold-brown complexion. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“No, you didn’t,” he said facetiously. “That’s because you don’t know anything about me, Larissa.”
Larissa knew Kenny was right. She knew nothing about him, and that made it difficult for her to get close to him. Sheknew he wasn’t who her mother wanted her to get involved with. She had preached to her relentlessly about what type of man she wanted her daughter to marry. He had to be a college graduate, someone from a good family, and he must be a professional. The year her mother hosted a sweet sixteen celebration for her, Larissa decided it was no longer who or what Gladys Rossi wanted for her; it was who Larissa wanted for herself. And right now, she wanted Kenneth Russell, because she’d found him to be a challenge. And there was nothing she liked better than a challenge.
Peering at him through her lashes, she decided on another approach. “Why don’t you tell me about you, so I can stop making a fool of myself.”
Kenny smiled. “You’re not a fool, Larissa. And there’s not that much to tell you about me.”
“I’m interested in whatever you choose to tell me.”
