“Sit your impatient ass there and wait for a nigga to open the door.”
“Why are you like this?” I sighed dramatically and dropped back against the seat as he opened his door and climbed out of the car. I watched through the windshield as he walked around the front of the SUV, looking fine as fuck. The closer he got, the bigger my smile became.
“Come on.” He opened my door before holding out his hand, and I slipped my hand into his. The second my heels hit the pavement, I looked around. We weren’t in any of the typical date places. I figured we were going to dinner, maybe a movie, but this was neither.
“Wait.” I paused for a second. “The botanical gardens?” I stared at the lit-up sign in front of us. “I didn’t know they were open this late.”
“Most things open when you have enough money.”
“Is that right?” I laughed as he led me toward the entrance.
The front doors opened before we reached them, and a staff member immediately greeted us.
“Good evening, Mr. Knox.”
“Evening.”
“Everything is prepared. Just continue straight through the conservatory.”
“’Preciate it.”
“Everything is prepared?” My eyes widened the second the employee disappeared. “Are we the only people here?”
“Maybe.” KO shrugged, like renting out an entire botanical garden happened every day.
“You rented out the botanical gardens for our date?”
“Bad, you asking too many questions,” he said as we stepped inside, and my mouth immediately dropped open. It was so beautiful. String lights wrapped around the trees and hanging vines, and hundreds of flowers surrounded us. There were white roses, blue hydrangeas, lilies, orchids, and a bunch of flowers I couldn’t even name. The entire space looked magical, like something straight out of a movie.
“Oh my God.” The words slipped out before I could stop them.
“It’s nice, right?” KO looked entirely too proud of himself.
“Nice . . . This is beautiful.” My words trailed off as small, framed photographs of us came into view. I glanced at them as I walked. They were our memories. Pieces of us I’d buried in the back of my brain or the back of my closet. I slowed, then my steps stopped completely.
“Wait.” My eyes landed on the first one. A picture of KO and me inside my old apartment, back before everything fell apart. “Oh my God.” I picked it up carefully. I hadn’t seen this picture in forever. “Where did you get this?”
“Nia.”
“You went through my closet?” My mouth dropped open.
“Nia went through your closet.”
“You sent her.”
“It was for a good cause.” He shrugged, and I kept walking, stopping to look at all the pictures of us. Every memory wasthere. Our first concert. My first sleepover at his place. Random selfies I’d forgotten existed.
“KO. This is . . .” My voice cracked with emotion, because this wasn’t just flowers. This wasn’t money. This wasn’t even a date. This was effort, the kind of effort that nobody, not even my mother, had given me.
“Keep walking.” His fingers slipped through mine, and we kept moving down the path until we reached a small sitting area in the center.
“Good evening.” I turned to see a bald man standing nearby, holding a notebook. I looked at him and then back at KO, confused. “Hello. I’m Dr. Sy.”
“I got us a therapist,” KO said. He didn’t even let me ask.
“A therapist?” I repeated.
“Yeah.”
