“I got the night covered,” he says, quiet.
“No pressure or expectations. Only us.”
He holds my eyes,
and he smiles again.
“If you wanna dip at any point,
“say the word, aight?”
I swallow, trying to stay upright.
“Okay.”
He lifts our joined hands
and kisses the back of mine.
Then he turns
and starts walking in the other direction,
away from the bar.
“Wait—what?”
I spin around to keep up.
“Where’re we goin’?”
He tosses a grin over his shoulder.
“It’s a surprise.”
I squint. “Wasn’t The Clover the plan?”
“The place I work?”
He laughs, checks his watch.
“Nah, that was the rendezvous point.”
He steps off the curb, hailing a cab,
moving through the world
as if it’s on its knees for him.
He looks back at me again.
“C’mon. My dream girl, remember?”
His eyes hold, sincere.
“You really think I’d take you somewhere basic?” He raises a brow. “A bar?” His grin returns. “It’s you. Do I look stupid?”
A cab pulls up in seconds,
