Damn.He was educated. He already had two degrees and was getting a third. I would have never guessed that, judging by his gold chains, grill, and attire. This was exactly what the cliché statement meant when it said not to judge a book by its cover. Suddenly, I felt embarrassed, and I wasn’t sure why.
“I umm . . .”
He stopped walking and grabbed my hand. When I stared up at him, his gaze and soft smile eased all my nerves.
“I somewhat started this time last year, but health issues made me have to withdraw. So this is my first time going to school.”
He glanced at my cane and asked, “Is that why you walk with a cane?”
“Yeah,” I said, glancing down at the hideous shoes I wore.
I began walking again because it seemed he was studying me. That made me slightly uncomfortable.
“Well, that’s cool that you came to school to gain more education. That takes a lot of courage to do when you’ve already been in the workforce and started a family. How old is your child?”
“He’s three.”
“A boy.” He smiled. “You never said what you were majoring in.”
“I’m getting dual degrees. Business and finance.”
“Oh, that’s cool. Maybe we can study together sometimes.”
I smiled as we walked past Blake U Food Court. “Maybe so.”
“You hungry? I would love to have lunch with you. We can go wherever you want.”
“No, I better get to my mama’s house to get my baby. You’re really nice, Chozen, but I’m not interested in pursuing anything but my degrees.”
“Not even friendship?”
I gave him a one-sided smile. He was trying hard. “Is that all you want? Just friendship?”
He stopped walking and grabbed my hand again. “I’m not a liar, so I will tell you that friendship isn’t all I want. I just figured we could start there, and if you still ain’t feeling me, we can just stay there.”
The heat rushed to my cheeks and flooded my entire body, including my panties, when he licked his lips and smiled.Jesus.I took a deep breath and slid my hand from his. If I said I didn’t want to climb this tree and swing from the limbs, I would be lying my face off. However, I had to stay focused. These niggas weren’t going to deter me from accomplishing what I came here for.
“We’ll see, Chozen.”
I started walking again as students passed us. A couple of them gave him a head nod. It felt like it was taking forever to get to my damn car. This leg was slowing me down big time. I tried picking up my pace and stumbled, nearly busting my ass. Chozen reached out to steady me. I was so embarrassed.
“You can give me my bookbag. I got it from here. I really appreciate you.”
He frowned and adjusted my bag on his arm. His stare had my body heat scorching as it flowed to what was in my panties. He had me feeling things I hadn’t felt in a long time. I couldn’t allow that. I was grateful we only had one class together. I wouldn’t be able to focus on what I was supposed to be learning if we had more. I had a feeling he would try to sit next to me Wednesday.
“I told you I wanted to carry it for you. That wasn’t because I didn’t think you could do it yourself. That was so I could spend time with you, Azari. You’re so gorgeous, and so far, I love everything about you. I ain’t got nothing but time.”
I nodded, and we kept walking. When we got to the student parking lot, I saw my lil bucket in the handicap parking spot, then said, “That’s my car over there.”
He nodded and went to it. I used the remote to unlock the doors, and he set my bag in the passenger seat then turned to walk with me to the driver’s side. After opening my door, he said, “So, I guess I’ll see you Wednesday, huh?”
“Yeah. Thank you.”
“No problem. Consider this my job every Monday and Wednesday.”
I smiled at him as he smiled back. He seemed really sweet. Friendship was probably as far as this would go. Love and relationships weren’t for me anymore.
“Be careful,” he said, then closed my door as I nodded.
