“Got it.” He nodded, obediently.
In the car, Blossom took a deep breath. She wasn’t sure why she was nervous because the date wasn’t that deep. The more she thought about it, Blossom concluded that more than likely, she was afraid of wasting her time. Her first conversation with Tech hadn’t been a super long one, and they had texted a few times, but it wasn’t like she knew him. He didn’t give off creep vibes, but she elected to meet him at the restaurant rather than giving him her address.
He seemed mature, and Southern Smoke was a very upscale restaurant, so he got points for that. Calling Fancy to distract her and calm her nerves wasn’t an option because she was performing an emergency C-section. Before she could think about who else she could call to pass the time on the drive, she got an incoming call. Upon seeing Cedric’s name, the eye roll that occurred was a reflex.
Even before the separation occurred, Blossom and Cedric only talked when it concerned the children. She had to heal and take accountability for the part she played in the dissolution of the marriage, but Blossom was no longer resentful. She wasn’t upset, and she was in a good place. Cedric still did for the boys, and he spent time with them. That was all she could ask for. When they were in one another’s presence, she could smile and be polite. Cedric, on the other hand, had a stick up his ass. He walked around with an attitude like he’d been donewrong. Blossom felt like she kissed his ass enough during their marriage. Coddling and appeasing him after the marriage wasn’t going to happen.
“Hello.” Her tone wasn’t super friendly, but it wasn’t snippy or rude either.
“Hey. So, I’m getting married, and I’m adding my fiancée and her daughter to my insurance. With me, them, and the boys, it will be well over $1,500 a month taken out of my paychecks. So, I was calling to see if you could add Creed to your insurance. It would be even better if you can add both the boys. I have been paying their insurance since they were born.”
The audacity was at an all-time high, and she was stunned. So stunned that for a few seconds, silence hung between them. “Um, so you want to drop your children from your insurance, so you can add your fiancée and her child?” Blossom asked for clarity. The question garnered a sarcastic laugh from Cedric.
“Sure, make me seem like the bad guy. For eighteen and thirteen years, I’ve paid their insurance. You wanted to have a career. You make good money. Shit, you got more than me. You can’t add them to your insurance? I tried to be the man and provide. You didn’t want that.”
“Oh my God.” Her voice rose several octaves. “You are still bat shit crazy. Don’t even worry about it, Cedric. I got them. Just make sure your new boo and her kid are straight. I got mine.”
“That’s that cocky shit right there. Being single, lonely, and horny isn’t a flex.”
His words made Blossom’s jaw slack. She’d never been interested in trying to prove anything to Cedric since they broke up. It didn’t matter to her what he thought, but she was in a rare mood. “I am very single, but lonely and horny aren’t accurate words to describe me. I’m out right now with company, and the dick might just come later,” she lied. Blossom had no plans of sleeping with Tech no matter how well the date went.
“So you think being a hoe is cute?”
A loud laugh pushed from Blossom’s throat. One that she was certain had Cedric foaming at the mouth. “Which one is it? Now, you said being lonely, horny, and single isn’t a flex. I simply let you know that I’m not lonely or horny. I could have been with one man since we divorced. How does that make me a hoe? You thought you were the only one that moved on? Ohhh, you thought there were plenty of other insecure men out here, and that the only men I’d encounter were ones like you? Nope. Real men do exist. Men that aren’t threatened by a successful woman.”
“Yeah, you have to be around somebody, and I’m going to let you go. Obviously, the nigga got you feeling yourself. No real man that works and takes care of home wants a woman spending more time outside the home traveling and working than she does inside when she doesn’t have to. Fuck outta here.”
Running her tongue across her top row of teeth, Blossom chortled. “You have a good night, and don’t forget to take my kids off your bum-ass insurance.” Blossom ended the call with a roll of her eyes.
She knew the bum-ass insurance line had Cedric pissed. It annoyed her that years later, she was still letting Cedric and his immature ways upset her. Going a date with negative energy wasn’t ideal. Even if she didn’t have high hopes for Tech, she wanted to give him a fair shot. Lowkey, she felt sorry for Cedric’s bride-to-be. Blossom was sure the woman thought she had a prize, but little did she know, she was about to marry a controlling, narcissistic, gas lighter.
Pulling into the parking lot of the restaurant, Blossom gave herself an internal pep talk. There didn’t have to be a love connection between her and Tech for it to possibly grow into something fun. Ty was the only man she’d been with since her divorce, and she was ready for something different. Blossomknew she wasn’t a hoe but even if she decided to be, hoe well. Too many of her years had been spent unhappy because the man she was married to felt threatened by her living her dream.
She never cheated. Prior to him, she’d only been with one other man. Blossom was damn near forty and had only been with three men in her life. Fuck Cedric and his opinion of her. If she wanted to have sex with two or three more men, that was her business. Blossom didn’t even realize she was frowning until she flipped the visor down to check her appearance.
Inhaling deeply through her nose, she held the air in for a bit before releasing through her mouth. Repeating the steps two more times, Blossom closed her eyes and attempted to calm her nervous system. Her phone rang, making her lids part. Seeing Tech’s name, she answered. If he had flaked on her she was simply going to hang up and block him. Her tolerance level for bullshit was zero.
“Hello?”
“Hey. I’m at the restaurant. I did valet. If you want to meet me at the stand when you get here, I’m up here.”
“Okay, here I come.”
Blossom had been so irritated with Cedric that she forgot complimentary valet was available to anyone dining at the restaurant. It had been easy to find a park, and she didn’t have to walk far, so she wasn’t tripping. After exiting the car, she smoothed her dress and sauntered toward the entrance. Blossom had only taken a few steps when Tech came into view. He was even more handsome than she’d remembered. Her knees buckled when she realized that he was bowlegged.
“My God,” Blossom muttered under her breath.
Cedric was handsome in a clean-cut way. Blossom had never dated a man with any kind of street swag, and she had to admitthat Tech’s aura alone turned her on. Add in his looks, the way he dressed, and his charm, and it would take a lot of effort on her part to stay true to her word and not have sex with him after the first date. Dressed in dark denim jeans and a button-up shirt with Clarks or what they used to call Wallabees on his feet, Tech had that old school swag that she found insanely sexy.
“You look nice.” He gave her a one-armed hug. “Smell good too.”
“Thank you. You look nice yourself.”
Tech held the door open for Blossom, and she eased past him, leaving her scent dancing behind her.
With a lick of his lips, Tech gave Blossom’s backside a quick glance. Having self-restraint and not pushing up on her was going to be hard. Blossom stopped at the hostess stand with Tech right behind her. He gave the hostess his name and as she grabbed two menus, he placed his hand on the small of Blossom’s back. It had been a long time since he had been on a date. Tech wasn’t sure if touching so soon was politically correct, but he was who he was.
Once they were seated, Blossom’s gaze swept over the menu. “Have you been here before?” she asked without looking up.
