shaking his head as he watched Aliyah leave the room.
A short time later they arrived at the airport, takeout orders from an organic café in hand. Stan greeted them cheerfully. “Breakfast for me? Terrell, you shouldn’t have.”
“Good. Because I didn’t.” They laughed. “Give me a minute to heat this up and get situated, all right?”
“Sure. Just let me know when you’re ready.”
Ten minutes later they were in the air, speeding toward Paradise Cove...and reality.
“That was delicious.” Aliyah finished off the last of her egg white omelet and swiped her mouth with a napkin. “Everything about this weekend was oh-so tasty!” She reached over and placed a hand on Terrell’s arm. “Thanks again for inviting me out. It was just the date I needed. The last few months have been busy—securing the job, finding a house, moving across country. And that’s after a jam-packed schedule, four years of killer courses to get my degree.” She sighed, looked away. “And everything else.” A second, and then she turned back to him. “I didn’t realize how long it had been since I totally relaxed and enjoyed myself. But I was able to do that with you.”
“I’m happy that you’re happy, and enjoyed myself as well.”
She pulled out her phone and they were both soon busy texting, answering messages and emails that last night had been ignored. Casual conversation flowed in between, making the forty-five-minute flight back home seem much shorter.
They landed. He walked her to her car, shared a quick kiss and hug. Terrell opened her door. “I’ll see you tomorrow, right?”
“How so?”
“Your son. The center. Our tutoring and activity program?”
“Actually, no. I came to enroll him and scope out the place. Since everything I saw met with my approval—” she paused, giving him a slow once-over “—Lauren, his babysitter, will likely handle it from here on out.”
“Then when am I going to see you?”
“Soon.” She got into her car, gave a quick wave and was gone. He watched her car turn on to the street and speed away, and wondered why his heart seemed to go with her.
He knew just who to call for the answer, and wasn’t surprised when just as he thought this, his phone rang. That whole twin-radar, two-halves-of-the-same-whole sort of thing. He tapped the speaker button. “Tee.”
“Hey, Tee.” It was his sister, Teresa.
“I was just getting ready to call you.”
“I know. What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into this weekend?”
“No trouble, sis.”
“That’s not the vibe I’m getting. Who is she?”
“The mother of one of the new students at the center. Her name is Aliyah.”
“All right, Silky.”
“Ha!” It had been a while since Terrell had heard this high school nickname. “What made you call me that?”
“Hearing that Cindy was divorced and living back in PC. Remember that cheer she made up after hearing that was your nickname?” She adopted a high-pitched voice. “Terrell Drake, with all the moves, a voice like silk and twice as smooth.”
“Please, sis. Spare me the memory. Crazy that you brought it up, though. I ran in to her while meeting Aliyah for dinner.”
“Was she pushy, as usual?”
“She basically invited herself to join us for dinner. What would you call it?”
“Ha! Cindy was in love with Silky.”
“Girl, stop.”
“What about the rule we made? Don’t reach where you teach!”
“I wasn’t reaching.”
“What, she kidnapped you?”
“She gave me a second chance to make a first impression, which led to a third one.”
“What was her first impression? Never mind, just start at the beginning and tell me everything.”
“Well, sis, it all started when I turned the corner and saw this wonderful behind.”
“Oh, Lord.”
“Perfectly proportioned on this amazing body.”
“And you just had to have her phone number.”
“As one of the center’s volunteer faculty, it was my duty to follow up on the new enrollee and make sure all had been handled properly. That’s all...”
“Oh, so that’s what was on your mind? Duty? I thought it was booty.”
Terrell could only laugh at the truth. He continued, filling her in on how he got busted and why he felt he at least owed her dinner. How cool and down to earth Aliyah was and how conversation flowed.
“Before the first date was over, I knew I wanted a second one. She did, too, but not in Paradise Cove.”
“With Cindy’s tactless antics, who could blame her?”
“I was glad she felt that way.”
“Unlike all the others in PC, who’d make sure your date was somewhere public where everybody would know they’d been with a Drake.”
“Well, you know.”
“Unfortunately, yes, I do.”
Terrell chuckled. “Anyway, last night we went to San Francisco. Dinner, concert, a night on the hill. I’m driving home from the airport now.”
“Sounds like a top-tier Drake date. What didn’t she like?”
“She loved it. Said it was the best time she’d had in a while.”
“Oh, so now you’re afraid she’ll stalk you at the center, wanting exclusivity?”
“No, exactly the opposite. She made it clear that this was just a sex thing, basically—wouldn’t even accept my invitation to Sunday brunch.”
“Wow, Tee, she sounds like you!”
“I knew you’d say that.”
“Because it’s true!”
“The way she dismissed me, so casually, made me feel like a used piece of meat. I need to call every girl I sent home after the deed was done and apologize.”
“No apology needed if that’s all they expected. Clearly that’s what your girl thought last night. But from the sound of your voice and the words left unspoken, you might be the one who ends up stalking her!”
