Page 51 of Intercept My Heart

“And I’ll gladly accept. Hell, these clients have been working me to death, so I’m overdue for a full rubdown. Now, get ready for your date and call me as soon as you finish.”

“How do I look?” I swirled in my outfit so Tamia could see a 360-degree view of the entire outfit in the camera.

“Bitch, you look fine as fuck! You might want to get a plan B because that man is gonna want to lock you down and make you his baby mama tonight.”

“Thank you, friend. I have no plans to give it up on the first date, but I hope I don’t mess this up. It has been so long since I’ve been out with a man. What if he thinks I’m boring?”

“Well, I hate to break it to you, best friend. You are a snoozefest ninety-nine percent of the time. If you end up in arelationship with a baller, we’re gonna have to get you outside. Otherwise, they are gonna be asking if you’re his sister.”

“Mimi! How can you say something like that?” I shrieked, even though she wasn’t lying. I enjoyed going out, but being a single mom with two kids made things difficult for me.

“It’s the truth, but we’re not even gonna get into this. You have a date to go on. After that, you need to open those results.”

“Goodbye, wanch. I’ll see you later.”

“Bye, heffa!”

I still hadn’t heard anything from Dinero, which kind of had me on edge, wondering if he had read the results yet. Therron offered to pick me up, and since I didn’t want to drive, I decided to allow him to do so. He sent me a text, letting me know he was outside, which kind of turned me off a bit. I guess I assumed he would come to the door. I shrugged, brushing it off for now, as I didn’t want to write him off when I hadn’t been on a date in ages.

When I walked to the car, I slowed my stride to give him the opportunity to get out, but he never moved a muscle. Once I got to the door, I stood there until he rolled the window down.

“Is something wrong with the handle?” he inquired with genuine concern.

“No, it’s fine.” I opened the door for myself and then took my seat. His car reeked of weed and some other miscellaneous odor. There were fast food bags and trash in the back seat, which took me by surprise. I expected him to be a lot cleaner since most professional athletes hired people to clean their cars and houses.

“Do you have an air freshener in here?” I asked.

“Naw. You can roll the window down if you need to. I planned to take you to this really expensive restaurant, but it turns out you need a reservation to get in that bitch. I ain’t have time for all of that shit, so we’re gonna hit up the Juicy Crab.”

Originally, I intended to turn my phone off so I could give him my undivided attention, but I was frantically texting Tamiato see what kind of an emergency I could fake in order to get out of this date. I loved seafood as much as the next person, but it wasn’t a place I would take someone for a first date. He seemed somewhat put together whenever he came into the office, but as I glanced over to his graphic tee and hoop shorts, I realized we were on two different pages on what dating in your thirties looked like.

Mimi:

Bitch, do you want me to call you with a family emergency.

When we got to the restaurant, my stomach began to growl. Even though this wasn’t the place I would have chosen for my first date, I was glad that it was something I actually ate. The moment we sat down, Therron began asking a bunch of questions as if we were doing an interview.

“I’ve been living here for several years, and my children love the school district so much that I don’t think I’ll be leaving any time soon.”

“So where is yo’ baby daddy at? Is he in the picture? ’Cause I really don’t do that whole stepdaddy thing when there’s a father around. Drama isn’t my thing. Plus, I don’t want another man raising my kids, so I can understand if he isn’t cool with that.”

I tried to hide my feelings about his comments, but I was the type to wear my emotions on my sleeve.

“That’s an interesting take. I believe in setting boundaries when it comes to parenting. Blended families are becoming more common these days, so I believe there should be discussions about expectations being set prior to getting serious in a relationship.”

“You never answered my question.”

“It really isn’t something I care to discuss on the first date. I don’t introduce men to my children right away, so when or if the time comes, we can sit down and discuss all of those things.”

“Oh, you must still be fucking him. Or you’re one of those bitter broads.” Therron chuckled, pulling out his phone to check it for the twelfth time this evening. I glanced around to see who he was talking to because there was no way that was what he took from what I said.

“No, I never said that. I thought you wanted to take me out so you could get to know me. Let’s stick to that for now, and anything else you need to know, I’ll gladly inform you about at a later date.” This would be the first and last date, so he had nothing to worry about. If it weren’t for the fact that I was starving, I would have ordered an Uber and got the fuck out of here.

The waitress who took our orders finally brought out the food, and I couldn’t have been happier. The sooner we finished our food, the sooner we could end this travesty of a date. Therron asked more questions, and I kept my answers short and plain.

“Do you have anything to ask me? Or have you already done your research on me?” he asked with an arrogant smirk on his face. Before I could respond, Dinero’s number flashed across my screen. I thought I’d turned my phone off, but I must have made a mistake.

“Hey, I need to take this. It’s about my kids. I’ll be right back.” Without even waiting for him to respond, I got up from the table and stepped outside to answer the call.

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