I scrambled out of the bed, wrapping myself in the sheet. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Lamar was covering himself with the comforter.
I cracked the door, smiling when I saw Aaliyah. “Heyyyyyy.”
“Hey,” she said distractedly. “We have to be gone by noon. The cleaning crew is here.” She swept her eyes down my sheet-laden body. “I’ll have them start downstairs.”
“We’re packing up now.”
She gave me a look as she walked toward the stairs. “Mm-hmm.”
Laughing, I closed the door and spun around.
“We have to go,” I announced.
Lamar took a shower while I quickly packed, and then he packed while I showered. We were walking out of the bedroom thirty minutes later.
“Are you hungry?” I asked as he opened the door of his SUV for me.
He grabbed my ass as he helped me inside. “Hell yeah.”
I waited until he walked around and climbed in the driver’s side seat.
“Do you want to find a place that is more of the vibe of the place you took me to in Spring Hill? If so, we could go back to my place, and I could change.” I gestured to my jeans and T-shirt. “Or do you want to eat something right now?”
“Let’s eat now, and then we can change and go somewhere nice for dinner.”
I nodded. “Okay, I know just the place.”
I hadn’t had beef in a month, so I gave him the address, and then I sent a text to my aunt with a photo attached.
“I have to make a call,” I told him. “Do you mind?”
He reached over and squeezed my thigh. “Nah, you’re good.”
I went to my aunt’s contact and then pressed the button.
“Hello?” she answered.
“Aunt Addy!” I greeted her. “How are you?”
“I’m good now! I’ve been wondering how the party went, and I’ve been waiting for a picture of you and your date.”
I glanced over at Lamar and smiled. “I sent you a picture. Check your phone.”
“Hold on.” Seconds ticked by and then she gasped. “You look beautiful! And that’s Lamar?! Goodness gracious! You two look good together. When I told you to get back on the horse, I didn’t realize he’d be a stallion!”
I burst out laughing. “That is a wild thing to say.”
“I can’t wait to meet him.”
“I’m sure he’d like that.”
“And I haven’t seen that smile on your face in a long time. Maybe on your graduation days. But it is really good to see you smiling like that. You just look so happy! Everything you’ve been through… you deserve to smile this big and be this happy. I know y’all had a good time!”
“We did! It was a great party and”—I looked over again—“I had a great date.”
He smiled as he switched lanes.
“You two look good together,” Aunt Addy stated. “Is that still your friend, or is he your boyfriend yet?”
