Page 16 of After Him, There Was You
“Good evening,” Tara greeted as she opened the door looking like a breath of much needed air.
“You look amazing,” I complimented, admiring the sleeveless, crimson red cocktail dress she seemed to be poured into and the complementing red and black heels which had her standing a little taller than she would have on an average day.
“Thank you, Zane. You look mighty dapper yourself, she complimented, modestly taking in my appearance which I chose to keep more on the casual side, opting to wear a red and blue printed blazer, a black collar shirt, and a pair of dark tailored jeans.
After a few moments of taking each other in, Tara retrieved her purse from near the doorway and then locked up. Walking the short distance to my car, I opened the passenger door for her to get in, making sure to reach for the envelope to hand it to her before she did.
“What’s this?” she questioned, hesitantly accepting the gift.
“Open it and see.”
Doing as I instructed, she tucked her purse under her arm to open the envelope.
“Oh my God! Zane, are you serious?” She questioned holding the tickets in the air, jumping up, wrapping her free arm around me. “I tried to get tickets, but they were sold out.”
“They are sold out, but I still have a few connections here,” I noted, taking delight in how jovial she was. Her joy made the call I had to make earlier in the day more than worth it.
“It’s two tickets. Are you going to go with me? This could be our second date.”
“Only if you want me to,” I answered because while I wanted to accompany her to the New Version concert, I planned on us having a slew of dates before her favorite R&B group made their stop to North Brooke Port on their reunion tour. “However, I don’t want to wait for that to be our next date.”
New Version had to be the hottest group out when we were in high school, and Tara knew all of their songs by heart. Her enthusiasm let me know she was still a fan.
“I’m sure I can manage that,” she flirtatiously noted through intrigued eyes.
“While I would like to stand here all night and take in your beauty, we have reservations,” I advised, taking a step back and motioning for her to get into the car so I could walk around and do the same.
Driving to King of Hearts for our scheduled wine tasting, I was amazed at the connection we had, even though we hadn’t hung out with each other since we graduated high school it was as if no time had passed. Though we were both very different people, we still had a level of synergy that was refreshing to have. There wasn’t the awkwardness I expected to experience after years of being apart.
Due to our reservations, we were seated by a hostess in an intimate part of the venue and were provided with five differentwines and two charcuterie boards, which I ordered ahead of time.
“What do you have planned now that you’re a retired professional athlete?” Tara inquired, looking at me intently, seemingly making me her primary focus in the moment.
“Basketball has always been my first love, so naturally, I’m going to fall into coaching. The week after I moved back, I accepted a position at North Brooke Port Academy as the new basketball coach.”
“Really? I knew we were looking for a new coach… but… wow… I guess we’ll be seeing each other a lot. I’m Ms. Morgan the sixth grade Language Arts teacher,” she introduced, extending her hand out in my direction making me chuckle.
Accepting her soft hand into mine, I lifted it to my lips instead of shaking it as she intended.
“I look forward to working with you,” I noted before proceeding with caution. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Yes, Zane, ask me anything?”
“Are your mind and your heart open to getting married again?”
“Yes,” she answered without hesitation in a convicting tone. “I feel like I still have love to give, and I want to share the rest of my life with someone. My kids will be adults soon enough and at this point of my life, I refuse to be an old and lonely cat lady, so while I’m not rushing embarking on the journey of marriage, I hope to have it one day, again.”
“What about kids?”
“More kids?” Tara questioned and I nodded in confirmation. “It’s ironic you ask me that because I was thinking about that a few weeks ago.”
“What are your thoughts?”
“Well, I’m only thirty-four, so technically, I’m young and healthy enough to have more kids. Honestly, it depends on if the man I end up with wants to have them or not.”
“Yes.”
“Yes, what?”
