Page 44 of Saved By A Small Town Country Boy
“Oh, okay. Thanks. See you next week.”
“See you.” Jennifer disappeared from the doorway, and I turned my attention back to my computer screen that had been turned into a screensaver picture of Prada. I really have to figure out a way out of this mess.
Powering off the computer, I got up from the desk and gathered my things. Before heading to Khalif’s house, I’m going to make a stop by the house to take a shower.
Stopping by the front door, I set the alarm on the building and exited. Hitting the fob on my truck, I got inside and pulled off. As I pulled into the driveway, my mouth fell to my lap. The big tree in front of the house is covered in toilet paper. Tissue is all on top of the roof of the house. Reese was on a ladder, pulling it from up there. The entire front yard looked as if an eighteen-wheeler dumped a whole load of toilet paper out there.
“What happened?” I asked her when I got out the truck.
“Creed,” was the only response she gave me. No one can convince me that they didn’t like each other for them to be acting like huge ass kids and be pranking each other back and forth like this. The sooner they realized they had feelings for each other, the better.
“Do you need help?” I had a little time where I could help her before I had to get dressed and get back out the door. With all this tissue, I know it was gon’ take her hours to get it cleaned up.
“Do you have something else you need to be doing?”
“I got a date with Khalif in a few hours, but I got time where I can at least help you get half of this up. You’ll be out here all night trying to clean this mess up.”
Placing my things on the porch, I grabbed one of the big black garbage bags and stuffed it with tissue. For the next hour, I helped Reese clean the front yard. I had three large bags of tissue filled by the time I decided I was going to go into the house to take my shower.
Prada was sitting at the front door when I got inside. Since Reese wasn’t done cleaning the yard, I didn’t even bother to let her out the door. I didn’t want her to get in the way. “I’ll let you out after I take a shower. Okay?”
She followed me down the hallway to my bedroom. Since I didn’t know what Khalif had planned, I didn’t know what I wanted to wear for the night. I’d searched my drawers and the closet for something, tossing clothes everywhere ’til I decided on this yellow spaghetti-strapped dress. It’s fall, but it’s still kinda warm out. Pretty soon, I’m going to have to go shopping for some winter clothes. When I packed up some of my things, I hadn’t realized I was going to be gone this long and only brought summer clothes with me. Being here had me not wanting to go back home. I also thought of that being an option as well—to just run like I’d done from home, but I didn’t know if Mitchell would take it out on Khali or not. That’s a risk I wasn’t willing to take.
Tossing the dress onto the bed, I went into the bathroom and started the shower. It took me about forty minutes to handle my hygiene. Once I was done, I came out and lotioned my body before getting dressed. I was in between hairstyles, so I’ve been wearing my hair in its natural state in a wash and go.
I didn’t too much feel like being bothered with makeup today. I’m pressed for time anyway after helping Reese. My faceis clear, and it glows naturally, so I didn’t necessarily have to wear makeup.
When I came out of my bedroom, Reese was already in the house. Prada was at her dog bowl eating, which led me to believe that she’d already taken her outside.
“You look nice,” she said when she looked over her shoulder from the kitchen sink.
“Thanks.”
“I got Prada. You can gone for your date. I want to hear all about it when you make it back home.”
If the date goes well, I’m sure I won’t be coming back home tonight. Reese knew that. Every chance that I got to stay the night with that man, I took it. Cuddling with him was one of the best feelings in the world.
“Okay. Thanks. See you later, Prada.”
Exiting the house, I got into my truck and pulled off.
When I turned into Khalif’s driveway, I saw him outside underneath the huge oak tree in his front yard. He’d set up a blanket with some battery-powered candles. Getting out the truck, I strolled over to him. The closer I got, I took in everything he’d set up for me.
A picnic. I don’t ever remember going on one before, especially not at night. He has wine cooling in a bucket of ice. A fruit tray and charcuterie board. “Hi,” I spoke.
“Hey.” He handed me a bouquet of roses and sunflowers. It’s the most beautiful arrangement I’ve ever seen in my life. I’m not certain what’s gotten into him, but from the looks of things, our little fun was taking a more serious turn.
“They’re beautiful. Thanks.” I took a whiff of them and placed them down on the blanket. Removing my shoes, I sat down and he did the same.
“How was your day?” he asked.
“Work was fine. When I got home, I had to help Reese clean up the front yard. Your boy tp-d the house.”
He chuckled. Whenever I could get a laugh or smile out of him, it warmed my heart. I remember when I first came around, he wouldn’t smile for nothing. I almost felt as if he didn’t have teeth.
“I keep telling him that he just needs to tell her that he’s in love with her.”
“Ha! I knew it!”
