NAOMI COLE—JUNE
A CALL FROM DANTE after a long day of work had not been what I was expecting, especially when we stuck to texting one another, but I definitely wasn't complaining.
"Hello?" I practically sang as I picked up, immediately wanting to scold myself for sounding so interested. I wanted to give the allusion that I wasn't so excited about his call and actually had something to do for the night instead of moping around my apartment.
"Naomi," he replied, his voice sounding much deeper over the phone as he dragged my name out. My heart began pounding at that very moment. "You free tonight, sweetheart?"
"On a Thursday night? Dante, are you crazy? I have so many plans."
"Can I take you to dinner?" He simply replied, ignoring my sarcasm although I could hear the slightest bit of humor in his voice. "At six?"
"Yeah, that works."
"Perfect. It's semi-formal. I'll send you the place."
With that, he hung up and left me with a goofy grin on my face as I still reveled in the sound of his heavenly voice.
"Fuck. I need to get ready."
***
STEPPING OUT OF MY car, I couldn't push away the thoughts that had infiltrated and now plagued my mind. Was my dress too short? Would he be angry that I showed up in such a sexy dress at such a fancy place?
"Naomi," I heard him speak from somewhere behind me in that sonorous voice of his. Just the sound of him made all those thoughts seem to dissipate as though they were scattering away from him.
I spun around to face Dante, a grin growing on my face as soon as my vision landed on him. I hadn't even needed to force the smile—just the sheer fact that he stood in front of me in that wonderful outfit as his brown orbs scanned me.
The fact that this man was devastatingly sexy wasn't a secret—and was probably an understatement—but by some means his current state only made him even more tempting. I couldn't say I was surprised to see him in a deep blue button up paired with charcoal dress pants because he was only ever dressed fancily, but something about the way that shirt clung to him made me want to drool.
"You look...breathtaking," I spoke, surprising my own self and Dante with that comment. I watched as his eyes popped open for a second before that lazy smirk of his appeared again. He made it look so effortless. "Okay...I didn't mean to say that so...out of the blue."
"Well it reflected your true thoughts...I'm guessing," he replied, approaching me quite slowly as he maintained eye contact. Suddenly I felt as if the temperature had jumped to like three thousand degrees.
"Right," I squeaked out just as he stopped just centimeters away from me, craning my neck to look at the guy. He was quite tall.
A moment of silence ensued as we just looked at each other—blank expressions on our faces although our minds were probably racing as we drank each other in. I was sure that we looked like lunatics to all the people passing by us.
"Let's go inside," he finally spoke, backing away from me and allowing me to feel like I could breathe for the first time in those few minutes.
We fell in step with one another and walked into the restaurant that I had passed on occasion, but never paid much attention to. It was out of my price range most times, but I had just got a massive paycheck so I guess this was my special treat—if Dante would even let me pay.
"Table for Mancini," he informed the hostess as I took in the decor and environment of the establishment.
It was definitely upscale, as all the guests and employees were dressed in very fancy attire. In addition to that, the artwork that filled the walls definitely came with high price tags and the rest of the decor just screamed 'rich'.
We were led to a booth near the back corner of the restaurant where we had a blissful view of the bustling city and the lowering sun between the skyscrapers. It was quite honestly the idyllic setting.
"Something about you looks different," he joked, taking it even farther as he pretended to inspect my face as he tapped his chin.
"You like it?" I asked, pointing to the feed-in cornrows I now had. It was a style I had never tried before, but I was beginning to love it.
"I hadn't even noticed that. I was thinking about how that mark on your nose from your phone is gone"
He let out a resounding chuckle as I rolled my eyes at him and let out a frustrated groan. I wouldn't let him know that I really did enjoy these little corny jokes he made.
Our waitress came back with our complimentary bread and took our drink orders before we delved into conversation.
"I should have asked this before, but when's your birthday?" I questioned as I popped some of the bread in my mouth, letting a hand run over some of my braids.
"Are you gonna try to analyze me based on when my birthday is?"
"Maybe."
"September 3," he replied. "What does that mean about me?"
"You're...a hard worker and a perfectionist," I spoke, narrowing my eyes as I examined him. Sure, it was just a broad speculation, but I felt accomplished when he nodded his head.
"When's yours?"
"October 27. Best day of the year."
We chatted a little more as we waited for our food. I couldn't ignore the weird feeling in my belly as he made sweet comments about how good I looked. It was definitely flattering.
"I'm relieved you didn't take too long to settle on a choice today, sweetheart," he remarked, referencing my indecisiveness just days ago. "What changed?"
"You think you're funny, don't you?" I jested, raising my brows at him as he copied my mannerisms. A staring contest ensued until I couldn't handle it anymore and burst out into laughter.
Our waitress looked at me suspiciously as she placed our entrees in front of us and refilled our glasses of wine. Digging in, I wasn't shocked that it was delectable after the sparkling reviews I had read about this place before we showed up.
"Naomi," he spoke, clearing his throat as he brought his eyes back up to mine. That same bright expression he had on his face just seconds ago was replaced by a more sober one. "I actually wanted to talk to you something."
My stomach dropped as my mind became overrun with those nagging thoughts once again. I began to wonder if this was his way of ending this between us. Maybe he thought I was too young and immature for him. I mean, I couldn't even be around the guy without somehow almost managing to—and sometimes succeeding to—hurt myself. As much as I had doubted that we would even make it to this many dates, he was starting to grow on me and I was really enjoying his time.
"Okay."
"So, my business partner and I found ourselves a little too stressed at work and someone suggested that we look into getting an intern," he started, allowing me to calm down instantly. This conversation was clearly not taking the ominous path I thought it would be. "And I know you're looking for an internship so I...suggested you. It would be paid and you would simply have to take notes in meetings for us, help us write grants and proposals, and whatever other small tasks there may be."
He paused as his eyes searched my face as if he were trying to gauge my emotions. "Would you be down to interview for it tomorrow? We would just want to see if you fit the position."
"Um...yes!" I replied excitedly, watching as his face lit up for just a nanosecond to match my jubilance. "I've been having such a hard time having internships...this is like a saving grace. Thank you so much."
The grin on my face wouldn't leave for the rest of dinner, both because of the fact that he wasn't ending whatever was going on between us and because of the offer. If I got this internship—which I was sure I would because I was that magnificent—it would definitely give me the foundation to figure out what I want to do with my life and be what I need to graduate.
But I couldn't push away that nagging feeling in the back of mind as I wondered about what would happen if things didn't go well between him and I and we still had to work together. Or if things did go well, but the work/relationship dynamic somehow messed that up.
I guess we wouldn't know until we tried.