Page 17 of The Friend Zone
The night immediately lost some of its shine.
“Oh. This is what, your second date?”
“First. I don’t count the bookstore since that’s where we met.”
“He’s from New York, right?”
“Mhmm.”
“What kind of work does he do?”
“He’s in between jobs right now. I like him because he has diverse interests,” she continued, “and we talk about everything. We read the same types of books too, but I don’t want to say too much.”
Something in her voice made him pay closer attention. Over the years, he’d heard Dana talk about her various boyfriends or men she slept with, but the conversations were always in passing, and she never seemed to get too attached to the men. In fact, she barely tolerated them most of the time. She spoke about this guy in a different way. Not flippantly but with genuine interest, which made his gut tighten.
Omar stuffed his hands in his pants pockets. Dana was smart as hell, and most of her exes were smart—professors, doctors, scientist types. This man sounded like he was more of the same. Someone she met in a bookstore and struck up a conversation with about old novels and history books. Nothing like Omar’s dumb ass, a jock who spent most of his academic life doing the bare minimum to get by.
“Why don’t you want to talk about him?” he asked.
“I know this sounds silly, but he’s the first man in a long time who’s made me feel… something. I don’t want to jinx it, but I’m kind of… ecstatic.”
Ecstatic. Huh. She’d never used that word before in reference to a man. A ball of dread settled in his belly.
“I thought you were going to take a break from men for a while,” he said.
“I was, but he made me reconsider. Anyway, this is completely brand new. We might go out tomorrow and have a horrible time and hate each other and decide to never see each other again. For now, I’m excited to see what happens.” She lifted her right shoulder in a negligent shrug.
He should say something—share encouraging words, wish her the best. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to do it, though Dana deserved a good man.
“I’m going to head home. I’ll catch up with you later,” he said.
“G’night. Drive carefully.”
Omar went back to his SUV but sat in the lot, unable to leave. He needed to be near Dana for a little bit longer, and he needed to think. How many more times would he have to stand on the sidelines and watch her get involved with other men? It was getting to the point where the mere mention of another man made him ragey. And who the hell was this new guy, and what made him so special?
The light downstairs went off and a minute later one upstairs went on, and his imagination went haywire. He imagined her disrobing, taking her time to release each of the buttons on her dress, one by one. Would she change into night clothes or sleep naked, like he did?
Omar swore and started the vehicle.
“Go home,” he muttered and pulled out of the lot.
9
“Ican’t believe I went on a nighttime tour of a cemetery,” Sheldon said, shaking his head.
Laughing, Dana sat across from him at their table, on the patio bar of Six Feet Under Restaurant Pub and Fish House, giving them a good view of Oakland Cemetery across the street.
“Tell the truth, did you like it? Did you learn a lot?”
He nodded, smiling across at her. “Yes to both.”
“Then my job is done.”
At the bookstore, Sheldon gave her his number and encouraged her to call. When she finally did and agreed to meet up, he asked for a restaurant recommendation, and she suggested Six Feet Under. They served popular seafood options like fish tacos, fish and chips, and oysters and offered a good beer selection. But the food wasn’t the only reason she suggested they come here.
Across the street from the restaurant was Oakland Cemetery, a 42-acre Atlanta landmark built in 1850. Famous Georgians buried there included Maynard Jackson, the first Black mayor of the city, Carrie Steele Logan, a former enslaved woman who established the first African-American orphanage, and Margaret Mitchell, Pulitzer Prize-winning author ofGone With the Wind. Since Sheldon was a history buff, she figured he’d enjoy the tour.
“I have a feeling whenever I’m with you, I’m going to learn something,” he said.
