Page 9 of Taste The Smoke
Smiling, she groaned. “I’m getting hungry just hearing about all that great food, and I love 7-UP cake.”
“I’d be more than happy to bring you a slice, since Mom sent me home with enough leftovers to last a few days.”
Kenya was so tempted to take him up on his offer. More than that, she wanted to know if the attraction she’d felt the night before was real and not just a fluke.
“Speaking of leftovers, I hope you aren’t cooking today. You’re supposed to be taking the day off, remember?”
“No, but I’m taking them for lunch tomorrow. My mom is here and we ordered in.”
“Then I won’t hold you. I need your address, though.”
“I’ll text it to you when we hang up.”
“Sounds good. I’m really looking forward to seeing you again, Kenya.”
“Same here. I’ll see you on Wednesday.” Kenya disconnected and closed her eyes briefly. She was excited about the date, but apprehensive, as well. Then she remembered she was supposed to text him her address, and sent the information. Noting the time, she said, “We still have a good fifteen or twenty minutes before the food arrives, Mom, so I’m going to store a few more boxes.” She made a move to stand and her mother waved her back down and sat next to Kenya.
“Oh, no, honey. You sit right there and tell me all about this Alonzo. Is he the guy you met last week at the conference and went out with last night?”
“No.”
Avis lifted a brow. “No? Then when did you meethim?”
“Last night at the bar where I wassupposedto meet Greg, who had me sitting there for twenty minutes before calling to let me know he wasn’t coming because he didn’t have room in his life for someone with a disability.” He’d said a few other things about him liking to be on the go and not having time to slowdown to wait for her. He needed a woman who could keep up with his active life. She decided not to share that part with her mom, especially with the fire in her eyes. Kenya placed her hand on her mother’s. “It’s okay, Mom. Really. I called Phaedra to tell her and I got a little teary. Alonzo happened to be sitting at the bar and noticed. He came over to see if I was okay.”
Her mother sat up straight and a smile curved her lips. “Really? And now he’s asking you out on a date?”
“Actually, I invited him to join me last night.”
“What? I don’t believe it. That sounds more like something your sister would do.”
She laughed. “Because she was the one who badgered me to do it after hearing his voice. I had a really nice time with him, though. He seems…I don’t know…different. It was like we’d known each other for much longer.”
“I see. How old is he?”
Kenya shrugged. “I have no idea, but I’d put him somewhere around my age or a year or two older. We didn’t really get into any of those details.”
“I hope he wasn’t there just to pick up a woman and capitalized on what he thought was your vulnerability. I don’t want to see you hurt again.”
“I don’t, either. And from what he told me, the reason he ended up there was because the woman he had planned to have dinner with deliberately tried making him wait. He overheard her talking about it to a friend when he assumed she was getting dressed.”
“What kind of nonsense is that? I don’t know about these young women today, playing all these games with men, then crying about not being able to find a good one. Just ridiculous!” She shook her head in disgust.
“I agree.”
“So where’s this first real date going to be?”
“I have no idea.” Kenya had been so caught off guard, she’d forgotten to ask. “I figure we’ll go out for dinner.”
“I was watching your expression, baby. I know Brad did a number on you, and you’ve kept yourself out of the dating game for six long years.” She held up a hand when Kenya started to speak. “Hear me out, Kenya. Yes, I know you’ve gone to dinner with a few men here and there, but I know you haven’t let yourself truly enjoy those dates. You said Alonzo was different. When you go out with him next week, I wantyouto do something different. Enjoy the moment. Don’t think about what happened in the past or what could happen in the future. Justbein that moment with him. Can you do that for me? You have such a beautiful heart and it’s full of love. That love is meant to be shared with the right person. But you won’t know it unless you allow yourself to feel again.”
Her emotions rising, she nodded. “I’ll try.” It was the best she could do. She didn’t even know if her heart was capable of giving that love to someone again.
CHAPTER 3
Aweek later, Alonzo sat in his office finishing up some supervisory work so he could be ready to leave for his date that evening. While he and Kenya had talked or texted several times, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her and wanted to see her. He glanced up from laptop when he heard a knock on his office door. He grinned and rounded the desk. “Well look who decided to show up at work.” He’d worked with Raven Montgomery from the time she joined the state of the art rehabilitation center almost a decade ago as a new physical therapist.
“Keep talking and you won’t get those butter cookies I brought you. You sound as bad as David.” David was another one of the senior therapists.
