“The weather almost made me decline Garth’s invite to brunch, but I’d been wanting to try this place out, so I agreed. Meeting you made coming out in the cold worth it,” Chuck said.
“That’s sweet. Thank you, and I really appreciate y’all footing the bill. You really didn’t have to do that.”
“It’s the least I could do. Black women aren’t celebrated or congratulated enough. You should be proud of yourself for pivoting.”
“I am.”
“Can I get your number and we continue this conversation on the phone? I don’t want to keep you out in this cold longer than needed.”
“I knew this was coming, and I hate to disappoint you.”
“Are you in a relationship?” he asked.
“No, but my life is in shambles, and I’m trying to get it together. I’m not trying to add dating to the mix.”
He nodded, and I prayed this wasn’t about to go left.
“That’s cool. I understand. Maybe we’ll run into each other again when your life isn’t in shambles.”
We laughed.
“Maybe.”
He walked away, and I sighed with relief. I went to hug Mena before getting into my car. I didn’t pull off until Mena had gotten into hers. Before I made it to the expressway, my phone rang, and my display lit up with Mena’s name.
“I didn’t give him my number,” I said when I answered.
“Me either, girl. I got things I’m trying to accomplish right now, and the last thing I need is a nigga distracting me.”
“They seemed nice, but they always do in the beginning.”
“Exactly. Those niggas probably got three baby mamas and four kids.”
We talked until she made it home, and I still had about thirty-five minutes to go. Today was a good day.
“Aye, bruh. Where you at?”Maison, my brother-in-law, asked when I answered my phone.
“Headed to have dinner with Livvy. Wassup?”
“About to meet some of the fellas at the lounge. You’re hardly ever in town when we meet up, so I just wanted to extend an invite.”
“Cool. How long will y’all be there?”
“Shit. A few hours at least. Hit me up when you’re done with dinner.”
“Bet.”
His name disappeared from the display on my dashboard, and the music resumed. I was about five minutes away from the restaurant where I was meeting Livvy. We’d been fuckingaround on and off for almost a year, but we had no title and weren’t exclusive.
Livvy was beautiful, had good pussy, and was cool to chill with most of the time, but for reasons I hadn’t been able to put my finger on, she irked my nerves when we spent more than a few hours together. Thankfully, my work schedule as a pilot kept me too busy to give her too much of my time, and she was cool with how things were between us.
It wasn’t every day that you met a Black pilot. We were too few and far between, but it was slowly changing. I became interested in aviation in middle school, and for my fourteenth birthday, my parents gifted me flying lessons. From there, I was hooked, and when I went to college atSouthern Illinois University in Carbondale, I majored in Aviation Management.
The university’sSchool of Aviationwas considered one of the best and nationally ranked. I couldn’t have asked for a better educational experience to help me reach my goal of becoming a commercial pilot.
Last night was the first night I’d slept in my bed in several nights because my routes had kept me away from home. Thankfully, I had the next few days off before my next scheduled flight. I didn’t have any plans for the evening, so when Livvy asked to meet up, I agreed because I was hungry.
I arrived at Perry’s Steakhouse & Grillein Oak Brook, where Livvy worked part-time and had just finished her shift. I sent her a text to let her know I’d arrived, and she replied that she was in a booth in the back. A few minutes later, I leaned down to her level to hug her before sitting across from her.
