Page 44 of For the Lover in You
"You're welcome," I replied, walking out of the room.
Mila shut the door softly behind her. We stared at each other. I fought to stop from reaching out for her, picking her off her feet, and slamming my mouth into hers. I wanted to toss her onto her bed and have her screaming my name, not caring if we woke the entire complex up. Instead, I moved the small piece of hair out of her face. Her eyes fluttered. I leaned over and placed a soft kiss on her cheek.
"I'll see myself out. Have a good night, Mila."
I didn't wait for her response, as I headed out of the apartment, wishing I could stay longer with Mila wrapped in my arms.
I sat at our normal booth at Justine's with Owen and Vance. Justin was hosting a karaoke event tonight, and everybody in town was here. People were lined up to get on stage and sing their hearts out. It didn't help that the diner was running five-dollar drink specials and a dollar wing special. Justin knew what he was doing to keep the money flowing and the customers returning. Since the night was packed and busy, Justin had all of his staff working tonight, including Mila. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't keep my eyes off Mila. She wasn't our servertonight. All of her tables were on the other side of the restaurant. Tonight, all staff were dressed in black tee shirts and black bottoms. Mila wore black biker shorts and her black Justine's shirt. She had her short haircut, styled, and a bit of makeup on her face. She was astonishing, even though she was running around crazy.
She walked past our table for the tenth time tonight. I studied her as she made her way back toward the kitchen.
"That's a damn shame," Owen declared.
I looked over at him and Vance. Vance was laughing.
"What now, man?" I asked.
"You've been eye-fucking Mila since you walked in here. Give that girl her face back."
Vance nodded. "Owen's right. Just go speak to her or something."
"Y'all are doing too much. I'm vibing. Plus, we already spoke to each other," I stated, grabbing my beer and drinking it.
"Okay then, go have a conversation with her. At least ask her how her day is going, 'cause clearly you want to, and there ain't nothing wrong with that," Vance advised.
Owen scoffed. "If you're giving out advice, make sure you do the same with Chasity. Both of you niggas kill me acting like y'all scared to let a woman know how you feel."
"Man, please! Make sure you take your own advice. Don't think we haven't noticed how you keep checking your phone. Don't worry, Trina will call you soon," I joked.
Owen didn't know, but Vance had mentioned to me that Owen and Trina had been texting each other nonstop since that night at Mila's. Owen accidentally sent Vance a message intended for Trina at midnight. The way Vance described it, the text was flirty. Vance asked Owen about it, and Owen tried to downplay it, but from the accidental text, it was more there.
"Man, fuck y'all. We're just cool. I'm helping her figure out some legal shit. That's it, that's all."
Vance and I looked at each other with a smirk. Owen instantly caught it.
"You know what? Fuck y'all. I need to go make a call real quick."
I sucked my teeth. "You ain't talking to no client at ten o'clock at night. Just admit you're calling Trina."
"Tell Trina we said hello!" Vance shouted.
Vance and I erupted in laughs as Owen flicked us off, heading out the door. I looked at Vance.
"You know he's right, though. Chasity is an amazing woman. Don't let her slip through your fingers." I nodded toward Chasity at the bar. "Just go say, hey, and then ask her out."
I could see Vance considering what I said. His eyes bounced from the bar back to me.
"Do it, Vance. Do it," I encouraged.
His eyes bounced again. He grabbed his glass of liquor and chugged it. "I'mma do it."
He jumped up from his seat and headed to the bar.
"There you go, Vance! Do your big one!"
I watched as Vance took confident, huge steps to the bar, looking on as he waited for Chasity to walk toward him. Whatever he said had her smiling from ear to ear. He grabbed one of the bar stools and took a seat. I couldn't help the smile on my face. I was happy for Vance.
My attention was diverted to Mila as she cleaned off the table across the restaurant. Then, once she finished, I watched as she headed out of the restaurant to the back. I finished my drink and snuck out back. When I made it outside, she sat on the curb, scrolling on her phone and drinking a bottle of water.
