“Oh, you don’t even know.” He let out a light chuckle. “Tomorrow can’t come fast enough. These next couple weeks are necessary.”
“You have two weeks off? After being so busy, what are you going to do with all your time?”
“Well, I thought my vacation was going to start on Monday, but turns out, I have a real good day planned for tomorrow.”
I smiled, staring out the window at the visitors walking toward the building. “Oh, really? What are these plans?”
“You’ll have to wait to see.”
“Oh, I like the sound of this.”
“Good. I think you’ll like it.”
“I have no doubt that I will. It’ll be the highlight of my week.”
“What have you been doing since the last time I saw you?”
I shifted in my seat. “Like I told you the other day, my aunt and I have just spent the week talking, watching TV, catching up.”
“But you haven’t gone out in Chance?”
“If the mall counts. But my plan was to not do much in Chance. That’s how it always is when I visit. What about you?” I changed the subject quickly. “You’re the one with two weeks off. What are you doing with it?”
“I got a trip planned with the boys next week. We’re flying out on Monday, spending ten days in Dubai.”
“Oh, I love that! Special occasion or just because?”
“My boy Erickson is getting married, and he’s always wanted to go, so that’s what we’re doing for his bachelor party.”
“That’s going to be a good time.”
“Almost as good as the time we’re about to have tomorrow.”
I bit my bottom lip and ignored the butterflies that rippled through my belly. “Well, now you gotta come with it. You’ve just raised the expectations for tomorrow.”
“Cool. I look forward to exceeding them.”
All I could do was grin.
“But look, my mom just came in here like my break is over,” hecontinued with a laugh. “So I’ll hit you up later. And I’ll definitely see you tomorrow.”
“Take a picture of the finished product. I’d love to see it.”
“I got you.”
We said our goodbyes, and I sighed contentedly. The warmth that filled me cleared my mind and gave me the reset that I needed. He made me feel like everything was okay.
“Everything is going to be okay,” I whispered as I got out of the car.
7
The botanical gardens tour forty-five minutes outside of Spring Hill was such a great surprise and a perfect way to spend Sunday morning. As much as I enjoyed learning about the flowers, walking and talking with Lamar through the gardens was the highlight. For lunch, we went to a Jamaican restaurant with the best oxtails I’d ever had in my life. Even though he made it clear that this one was a date, it felt the exact same as last week—effortless.
Everything between us was still comfortable and easy, flirtatious and fun. We’d spent four hours together, and besides his hand on the small of my back or our fingers brushing as we walked, we hadn’t really touched. Our lips never met, but there were moments when I would be speaking and it felt like he wanted to kiss me. Our bodies never connected, but there were moments when we naturally gravitated toward each other. All day, every single lingering look, drawn-out laugh, playful teasing, and entertaining story felt so incredibly intimate.
And that scared me.
“… and that’s why I sayLove and Basketballisn’t a romance—it’s a psychological thriller,” I deadpanned.
