Jamari polished off the rest of his drink and added more to the glass. While he did that, I took another sip of mine. With the vibe I had with this man, I could sit and talk to him all day if I wanted to.
"Are you hungry? I can order some wings and fries," he offered.
I tried not to show how surprised I was, but I managed to keep it in check.
I smiled. "Sure. As long as it's buffalo."
Jamari hummed. "What other kind is there?"
We shared another laugh. I was glad I had the courage to talk to Jamari when I did, but now I didn't want to leave him alone. Even when he was standoffish, the liquor had him socializing with me. I loved that a lot. If I wanted to keep him talking, I had to keep liquor in his system. That was something I could do.
"Are wings your favorite food?" I asked him, picking up his bottle of Hennessy and pouring myself a glass of it.
Jamari's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing. "Nah, they aren't. My favorite food is lasagna."
"Oh, yum. It's been a while since I had lasagna. Do you know how to make it?"
"Man, do I? You might as well say I invented it from the way I make it," he bragged.
I smiled slightly. "Maybe one day, you'll cook it for me." Yes, I reached, but I wanted to see if I had him where I wanted him.
Even in this bar, with a crowd of people around us, it was only just the two of us. I felt lost inside Jamari's bubble. Truthfully, I wanted to stay there too.
"What about you? What's your favorite food?"
"Hot dogs with extra onions. Also, my favorite drink is Pepsi." My mother used to always tell me when I drank dark sodas to drink hella water too. I made sure I did that.
"Mine is orange juice. Favorite color?"
"Red. Yours?"
"Blue."
I chuckled. "That sounds about right."
We were silent for a while, enjoying our drinks. We then talked some more, and before I knew it, it was time for me to clock out.
Jamari surprised me again when he walked me to my car. I wouldn't be leaving without getting his number.
"It's always dark as hell out here," I complained, watching my surroundings.
Jamari chuckled. "Why are you checking your surroundings? I got you and won't let anything happen." With that, he grasped my hand in his.
I felt safer with him than I had ever felt before. As much as I wanted to squeeze my hand in his, I didn't.
"Will I be too forward if I ask for your number?" I questioned.
He scoffed. "Now you're worried about being too forward after you're coming after me every time you see me."
I dropped my head, hiding a smile as if he could see it in the dark. "When I see something, I go after it," I asserted.
Jamari grunted. "Yeah, I see. Nah, you're not too forward in asking. Once we reach your car, I'll give it to you."
The way he said that had my juices flowing. If he wanted to give it to me in another way, I'd be down for that, too.
When we reached my car, I pulled my phone from my pocket, and Jamari gave me his number. As soon as I stored his number in my phone, I sent him a text.
"Now you have my number. Make sure you store it."
