She shrugged as I turned into the student parking lot where she’d parked. I had to do something to help her. I didn’t know what I would do that wouldn’t offend her though. Maybe we could talk tonight, and I could learn more about her, and she could learn more about me. I didn’t want her to think that I was looking at her as a charity case. Now that she knew of my connection to Noah, that would probably be the first thing that came to her mind if I tried to move too quickly.
I parked next to her then got out to help her out. Once she was standing, I leaned over to hug her, and she wrapped her arms around my neck. “Thank you for today, Chozen. This was everything, but your thoughtfulness was worth even more to me. I nearly lost my shit when I saw you standing next to that scooter. Believe it or not, that meant more to me than lunch.”
Acts of service.That was her love language. I would definitely keep that in mind. I was pretty sure she liked other things, too, but that was what was important to her right now. I pulled away from her and met her gaze. She had to be mine. This stare down was intense.Friends my ass.If what I was reading was true, she was as attracted to me as I was to her. I would work hard to show her that I was the real deal.
She cleared her throat and pulled away from me. When she unlocked her car, I opened the door for her. Before she could get in, she grabbed my hand and squeezed it. I smiled and asked, “Can I call you tonight?”
“Yeah. You can call whenever. If I can’t answer, I’ll call you back when I can.”
“Okay.”
I licked my lips and watched her as she stared at them. If I thought she would let me, I’d kiss her on those big, beautiful,soft-looking muthafuckas on her face. I had to get away from her because I could feel my dick getting hard. She smiled and got into her car, and I closed the door. Taking a step back, I watched her crank her engine and smile as she did so. She was happy, and it felt good to know that I had something to do with that.
If I had my way, I would make sure that smile stayed on her beautiful face. The way her cheeks lifted and nearly caused her eyes to close when she smiled was everything. She started backing out of her spot, and before she could take off, she waved at me. I gave her a head nod and smiled then made my way back to my car. God had put me in this position in life to be a blessing to someone else. That someone else would surely be her.
“You had to stay after class for something?” my mama asked.
I smiled, and I could feel it reach my soul. My smiles had been so fake lately, but every moment with Chozen today made me feel glad to be alive to experience it. He was showing me that I was important to him already.How could that be?I was on a high I couldn’t possibly come down from. A day that started out so rough ended up being one of my best days since the amputation. When people went out of their way to show you they gave a damn, you couldn’t help but be appreciative.
“One of my classmates took me to lunch, but let me start from the beginning. You know how I was feeling this morning.”
She nodded. “Yeah. I could tell you were in a lot of pain.”
I nodded. “When I got to school, I was dreading having to walk to class. This guy I take a business class with saw me andapproached me, asking if I needed help. We only first talked to one another Monday when he picked up my cane for me. I asked him to carry my bag, and Mama, this nigga scooped me up like it was nothing and carried me to class.”
Her eyebrows hiked up in surprise. “He carried you? And you let him?”
I chuckled. “I protested at first, but he wouldn’t put me down. I wasn’t going to fight him and cause him to drop me either, so I succumbed to the help I needed. I broke down crying in front of that man.”
I slowly shook my head as I thought about the moment. “He kissed my forehead, and we talked for a little while since I was early. Of course, when he picked me up, he felt my leg shift, but somehow already knew about my leg. That lets me know that he’s been paying attention to me. Anyway. He asked to take me to lunch. I told him I would think about it. When I got out of class, that man was standing there with a powerchair.”
She brought her hands to her chest. “Did he not have class?”
“He was there early to work out. His first class wasn’t until nine thirty.”
“How did he get a chair so fast?”
“I’m getting to that, woman.”
She chuckled as I continued. “We have our business class together at eleven and ended up sitting side by side. Before class started, he asked me about lunch, and I agreed. I thought we were going to go somewhere on campus, but he literally begged me to let him take me to STK Steakhouse. I told him I needed to get here to pick up my son, and he assured me that we didn’t have to be there long. When we got there, the parking lot was empty.”
“Empty? At what time? They are usually jumping from open to close.”
“Right! It was twelve thirty, right in the middle of the lunch rush. So he helped me out of the car, and we walked in. When the hostess brought us to our table, Noah and his brother, RJ, were waiting on us.”
“Not my baby, Noah! You know I love that man!”
I laughed so hard. My mama used to be all in that man’s business. She was one of Noah’s biggest fans. That was why I was so starstruck. I grew up watching her love that man. His music was fire, so it wasn’t hard to like him.
“Noah and RJ are his cousins, Mama. So, I didn’t want to rush, but at the same time, I knew I had to.”
“Shiiiiid! You would have told me that, me and X would have been on our way to meet yo’ ass!”
“Well, umm, . . . Chozen is really feeling me, but I don’t know about?—”
“Chozen? That nigga name is Chozen?”
I slowly shook my head. “Yes. He said his mama named him that because she said he was chosen for greatness. It’s spelled with a Z though.”
