The man looked up first. I already knew his name was Marcus. Knew he worked in the same field as me. I didn’t dig too deep. only seen his name and occupation on the dating profile.
“Can I help you?” he asked, sounding annoyed.
I ignored him.
My attention stayed on her.
“I’m working on a development in South Central,” I said, holding the card where she could see it. “Luxury units. I’m looking for an interior designer who understands restraint and doesn’t decorate for applause.”
Her face didn’t change much, but her eyes did. Just a small shift. Enough interest to satisfy me.
But her irritation came in.
“Excuse me. I’m not on business hours.”
I smiled a little. “I know.”
I set the card down by her water glass, then laid the rose across the edge of the table.
I finally turned to him.
“I paid for y'all dinner.”
He frowned. “What?”
I adjusted my watch and looked back at Sade. “Yeah. Enjoy the rest of it.”
He sat up straighter. “Hold on. You paid for our table?”
“I paid for several. Yours just happened to be one of them.”
Sade’s mouth twitched a little at that. Not a smile. Not quite. But it was there.
I caught it.
That was all I came for.
“You should call,” I told her. “If you care about the community you grew up in.”
I walked off before either of them could drag it into something else.
When I sat back down, Camille was returning, heels clicking against the floor, face brighter now, liquor seeping through her polish the way I knew it would. She slid into the booth and reached for her glass.
“Did I miss anything?” she asked.
“Nothing worth repeating.”
She pouted, then smiled.
I looked at Sade once more out of the corner of my eye; they were gathering to leave.
She had picked up the card.
She wasn’t reading it. Just holding it between two fingers, and then she dropped it back down on the table.
By the time dinner was over, Camille had leaned all the way into drunk. Her words were slower. Her hand stayed on my dick under the table too long. I walked her out because I was raised to. Sade was already gone, but when I looked at the table, she had left my card and rose on the table.
I knew she did before I even walked past and saw it.
