Getting off the phone with Troy, all I could do was shake my head. Checking the time, I saw that it was a little after four-thirty p.m., so I went to Mariano’s to get some flowers for Ava and wine for later tonight. I remembered Ava mentioned that she wanted to try some Stella Rosa wine. Who knew that there were so many different flavors for it!
I didn’t recall her saying a specific flavor, but I did know that she loved peach flavored drinks from all the times we ate lunch together at work. I grabbed a couple of the peach favored bottles and a large bouquet of flowers mixed with sunflowers. I knew that she liked sunflowers because occasionally she would keep a vase of them in her office on her desk.
Once I was done at the store, I headed home so that I could shower and change. By the time I was done getting dressed, it was after six-thirty. I wanted to make sure that I smelled extra good, so I decided to put on some Guilty by Gucci cologne, then headed out to my car so that I could make it to Bob Chinn’s on time. Bob Chinn’s was a pretty busy place and the line/waiting list to get in would fill up rather quickly. Thankfully, I was proactive and had a reservation, so I didn’t have to worry about how busy they were gonna be.
I didn’t want to miss my time slot because they only gave a ten-minute grace period due to the fact that they always had people anxious to get in. Pulling up to the valet parking station, I checked the time and saw that it was five minutes to seven. I had made pretty decent timing. Getting out of my whip and handing my keys to the valet driver, I pulled out my cellphone to see ifAva was here yet. Looking around to see just as suspected, it was pretty busy. Groups of people were standing around on the patio of the restaurant and there was a long line of people waiting to be put on the waiting list.
Noticing that she hadn’t called or texted me yet, I decided to give her a quick call.
“Hey love, just checking to see how far out you guys are,” I said when she answered the phone.
“Hey Kev, we just got off the freeway and should be there in ten minutes or less.”
“Okay, sounds good. I just got here myself, so I can wait for you by the valet if you want.”
“That would be good. I’m so hungry!”
“Me too! How is your sister doing?”
“She’s good. We’ll talk about it when we get there.”
“Looking forward to it. See you soon, beautiful.”
Putting my phone back in my pocket, all I could do was shake my head and laugh to myself. Thanks to Troy and his crazy ass baby mama, tonight was about to be a long night for me. That was exactly what I was trying to avoid. Less than ten minutes later, Ava and her sister pulled up to the valet. When Ava stepped out of her sister’s car, I got a little weak in the knees. Ava was such a beautiful woman. She was about five-foot-five, curvy yet toned, medium brown skin with long natural hair that she’d sometimes style straight or curly. Either way, she was a very gorgeous woman.
Today she had her hair straightened, and it looked sexy as hell as it hung just above her butt. Her facial features looked almost exotic to me. She mentioned that her mom was biracial, and her dad was African American causing her to have some of the most beautiful features. Her eyes were big and brown, and her lips were full; not too small and not too big, but perfect.Justin was a damn fool to have let her slip from his grasp, but I was glad that he did.
From the very first time that I saw her I was instantly attracted to her. Over time and after getting to know her, my attraction grew, and every time I saw her face or inhaled her sent, I felt myself falling for her more and more.
I always tried to be respectful while around her at work because we worked at a high school. Out of respect for the environment, I was able to flirt with her but not make it too obvious because we were surrounded by teenagers and nosey ass co-workers. I did, however, make it known to her that I was interested no matter if she was single or not. No matter what her circumstances were, I always made it a point to let her know that. I couldn’t help myself.
I was just over the moon that she had chosen me to confide in when things went left with her and her now ex. I made it a point to be there for her because she did not deserve to be treated the way he treated her. I could tell that it affected her confidence, but I was determined to make her feel that she was wanted, and desired.
When it came to Troy and what he had going on with Dawn, I didn’t really care about what happened between them. But, being that Dawn and Ava were so close, the last thing I wanted was for my cousin to do her sister wrong. I wanted Ava badly, and I didn’t want anyone or anything to come between that. I didn’t want to get caught up in the mix if things didn’t work out with Troy and Dawn.
Hell, I didn’t even want Ava in the mix of it either because she had shared with me on numerous occasions that her sister didn’t like her ex. At times, it made her feel conflicted and stuck in the middle. I didn’t want her sister to have any ill feelings toward me because of what my cousin did, so I didn’t mind helping him make things right between him and Dawn.
“Ava!” I gawked as Ava headed my way. “You look amazing,” I greeted as I looked her over as she walked up to me. She had on a cute off the shoulder romper shirt thingy. I had never seen her dressed up like that before, and it had me damn near salivating. Handing her the flowers I had purchased I took her other hand and kissed the back of it. The whole time not breaking eye contact with her. “These are for you.”
“Oh my God! I love these! Thank you so much!” She blushed as I looked from her eyes to her lips. Just as I was about to lean in and take her lips into mine, in the background we both heard her sister clear her throat.
“Aht-ummm, you know you guys should go get a room,” Dawn said, causing me and Ava to chuckle. “There’s a hotel right down the street, you know.”
“Don’t start your shit, D,” Ava said.
“Hey Dawn, you look beautiful tonight as well. We should head inside,” I said as I led the way through the crowd of people.
Once we made it inside, I walked right up to the hostess to check in, then we were headed to our table. Dawn and Ava sat next to each other, and I sat across from Ava. I was cool with it just being the three of us, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t uncomfortable. I knew I was about to be tossed twenty-one damn questions or more about Troy’s ass and what he had going on with his baby mama. After our waiter took our drink orders the badgering began.
“So, Kev, can I ask you a question, and you give me an honest answer?” Dawn asked.
I knew exactly where this was about to go. Taking a sip from my glass of water, I kept it real with them both. I couldn’t wait for the waiter to bring my Jack and Coke.
“Of course. What’s on your mind?”
“Did you know your cousin had a kid and a woman?” Dawn asked as Ava took a long sip of her Bahama Mama.
The waiter walked up and placed me and Dawn’s drink on the table, then placed a basket of hot garlic bread in front of us.
