The Nicest Guy in America

by Angela Benson

  “Why?” she asked, but the look in his eyes made her add, “Don’t answer that. I think it’s time for me to say good night.”

  “Running scared, Ms. Washington?”

  “Hardly, Mr. Stevens. Unlike you, I need my beauty rest.”

  He grinned then and she knew she’d spoken the wrong words. “So you don’t think I need any beauty sleep? That’s the first positive thing you’ve said about me since you met me.”

  She stepped away from him and opened her car door. Then she slid in and looked up at him. “Don’t be so sure. It could be that no amount of sleep will make you look better.” She started the car and he started laughing. She had a smile on her face as she backed out of his drive.

  ~ ~ ~

  Reggie stood in the driveway long after his laughter subsided. Now that Ms. Washington was no longer in his presence, he was able to look objectively at his recent actions.

  What in the hell are you doing man? he asked himself. Why are you pursuing this woman?

  He wanted to offer the excuse that he wasn’t pursuing her, that he was only trying to prove to her that he was one of the good guys. But he knew his motives were more complicated. Ms. Kimberla Washington intrigued him. There was a distance in her eyes, a look of aloneness that reached out to him. She’d masked it pretty well in the beginning, but he’d seen it as he stood close to her tonight. When he’d looked down into her eyes, he’d seen her struggle with that aloneness. But instead of struggling to let it go, it seemed she was struggling to hold onto it. And he couldn’t let that happen. He wanted to see her smile a smile that involved her whole body. He wanted to hear deep, full laughter bubble forth from her throat.

  Reggie turned and went back into his house. Ms. Washington was going to be a challenge, he knew—she wouldn’t succumb easily to his charm—but he was assured she was worth the effort. She deserved to have that distance and aloneness erased from her eyes and he was the man to erase it.

  Chapter 11

  Kim saw Reggie, Luther and Nate as soon as she, Leslie and Tam stepped off the elevator for their triple date Saturday night. They looked like three male models standing there in the crowded hotel lobby. All three men wore jackets and matching slacks—Reggie’s blue with a red shirt and string tie; Luther’s black with a black high collar shirt, and no tie; and Nate’s tan blazer with a white shirt and standard tie. They could have been posing for a hunk calendar.

  “They’re here,” Kim said to her friends. “See them over there.” She pointed to the guys.

  “Yes, girl, I do see. You did good this time,” Leslie said. “Are you sure I can’t have Reggie? He looks good enough to eat.”

  Kim took pride in Leslie’s appreciation of Reggie’s good looks, though she knew she had no right. “If it were left up to me, you could.”

  “But he’s not interested in you, Leslie,” Tam added.

  “Doesn’t matter,” Leslie said. “I want the one on the left anyway. He looks like my kind of guy.”

  Kim wasn’t surprised Leslie chose Luther. She had no doubt he’d pick her as well. “That’s Luther,” she said. “He lives with Reggie.”

  “Hold up a minute,” Leslie said. “Are you saying the brother doesn’t have his own place?”

  Kim shook her head. “Obviously not. He’s living in Reggie’s house.”

  “Maybe I’ll give you that one, Tam,” Leslie offered. “A brother who doesn’t have his own place usually doesn’t have a job.”

  “Too late,” Tam said. “He’s a little too flashy for me. I’ll take the other one. Nate. Right, Kim?”

  “Uh uh, that’s Nate. I think you’ll like him, Tam. He seems really nice.”

  “Does he have his own place?” Leslie asked.

  “I guess so,” Kim answered with a shrug. “But I never really asked. It doesn’t matter anyway, Leslie. We’re just going out to have some fun. You don’t need to know the guy’s net worth.”

  Leslie mumbled some reply that Kim refused to acknowledge. She glanced in the men’s direction again and saw that they still hadn’t spotted them.

  “My hair is okay, isn’t it?” Leslie asked as she fiddled with the curly strands feathered around her race. All three had gone out earlier and gotten their hair done.

  “We’ve told you fifty times your hair is fine,” Tam said. “Give it a rest, Leslie.”

  “Well,” Leslie said. “You know sisters can’t hook-up a hair-do like the brothers. I knew I should have asked for a brother.”

  “Whatever,” Kim said, dismissing her friend’s babbling. “Now, let’s meet the guys.”

  “Wait a minute, Kim,” Leslie said, grabbing her arm. “I need to check my makeup one more time. Let’s stop by the restroom.”

  “Les-lie.” Kim was beginning to feel like a college student on one of those dreaded group dates. She wondered if she, Leslie and Tam would still act this way when they were fifty and getting ready for a date. She hoped not. Heck, she wanted to be settled down with grandkids when she was fifty, not still dating. “There’s nothing wrong with your makeup.” Leslie was notorious for being late and Kim didn’t want to get hung up in the restroom with her. “Besides, we don’t want them to think we went to too much trouble.”

  “That’s the whole point of makeup,” Leslie said. “To make you look like you didn’t go to any trouble.”

  “Whatever,” Kim said again. “Come on, let’s go meet them. The sooner we get this evening started, the sooner it’ll be over.”

  “Look, Kim, you’ve got to have the right attitude if this evening is going to work,” Tam said. “I want to have some fun and we won’t if you’re going to have an attitude all evening.”

  “I don’t have an attitude,” Kim said.

  “Well, you’ve got something,” Leslie agreed. “I just hope it’s not catching.” She hooked arms with her girlfriends. “Show time, girls,” she said. “Let’s do this.”

  ~ ~ ~

  “You guys remember the plan, right?” Reggie asked Luther and Nate. He wondered what he’d been thinking when he’d agreed to Kim’s suggestion of this triple date business. Obviously, he hadn’t been thinking at all or he would have nixed the idea immediately. Every time he, Nate and Luther got together they reverted to their elementary school days and ways. Not exactly the way to impress a lady.

  “You’ve gone over it a hundred times,” Luther said sarcastically. “I think we have it.”

  “That’s right,” Nate said. “Luther and I take our dates in my car and you take Kim in yours. We’ve got it, man, so you can calm down. She’s really got you going in circles, doesn’t she?”

  “I just want to be alone with her,” Reggie said. “Let’s not make more out of this than there really is.”

  “Whatever you say, man,” Luther said. He turned to Nate. “And I get the first pick of the women. Don’t forget.”

  Nate shrugged. “I don’t know. With all these rules, I may forget my name.”

  “Wouldn’t be the first time, I’m sure,” Luther mumbled. “Now describe them one more time for us, Reggie.”

  Reggie really couldn’t remember Kim’s friends in much detail. He’d focused his time and attention on her. “Let’s see, Leslie is the short one, cute, about five-four, really thin, big flirt. Tam’s the taller one, she’s heavier than Kim, cute, kind of quiet.”

  “Okay,” Luther said, rubbing his hands together. “It looks like it’s going to be me and Leslie. No giant-sized wallflowers or church mice for me.” He poked Nate in the side. “You get Tam, old buddy. She sounds about your speed. I hope the two of you don’t bore each other to death.”

  “Remember,” Reggie said. “You guys are to be on your best behavior. These women will be reporting back to Kim and I don’t want anything you do to reflect badly on me. I’m trying to clean up my reputation, not flush it completely down the toilet.”

  “We’ve got it, man,” Luther said. “We’ll be perfect gentlemen.” He poked Nate in the side again. “Did you get the roses?”

&n
bsp; “What roses?” Reggie asked.

  Nate shook his head. “You’re trying to make a good impression and you come to pick up the woman empty-handed? It’s a good thing I left our roses in the car. Otherwise, we’d show you up.”

  “You guys brought roses?” Reggie cursed himself for not getting a gift for Kim. He wouldn’t have gone the roses route, though. Too predictable. Too common. No, he should have gotten something that she’d always associate with him. Unfortunately, he’d spent most of his time trying to figure out how to keep his date from turning into a group picnic. “How many?”

  Luther tugged at the lapels of his jacket. “One each. A perfect rose for a perfect woman.”

  Nate chuckled. “That’s the oldest line in the book. Please don’t use it. They’ll think we’re corny.”

  Luther shook his head. “No, they won’t. They’ll think we’re gentlemen. Trust me,” Luther said. “I know my way around women. The roses will add the perfect touch. And the line may be old, but it’ll work.”

  Reggie wondered again if he’d done the right thing by bringing Luther and Nate along. Maybe he should have asked some other friends. Luther and Nate were turning into Dumb and Dumber right before his eyes.

  “Whatever you do,” Reggie pleaded, “don’t embarrass yourselves or me. The key word for tonight is good impression.”

  Nate grinned. “That’s two words.”

  Luther laughed at the lame joke and Reggie turned his head to look for Kim and her friends. Just when he thought they hadn’t come down yet, he saw them headed their way.

  “Here they come,” he said. “Follow me and act sane.”

  Reggie greeted Kim with a kiss on the cheek that he knew surprised her by the brightness he saw in her eyes when he pulled away. “You look great,” he whispered, taking in the red column dress that hugged her body and whose thigh-length front slit showed off her long legs. The pearls she wore on her ears and her wrist matched the pearls that were woven into the bodice of her dress. He took her hand in his and smiled at Leslie and Tam. “Hi, ladies. You’re looking lovely tonight,” he said because they did. Tam wore a purple scarf dress with a V-neck column while Leslie wore a daring black mini dress.

  Reggie introduced the women to his friends and waited for Luther to say something stupid, but his friend surprised him when he said, “We’ve heard a lot about you ladies, but we think Reggie was holding out on us. He didn’t tell us you were beautiful.”

  It was a line, Reggie thought, but it wasn’t outrageous and the smiles on the women’s faces indicated they appreciated it. They did look nice, though not as nice as Kim. But then, he freely admitted his bias.

  The two couples then paired off rather easily with Luther taking Leslie’s arm in his and Nate and Tam sharing shy smiles. Reggie was feeling a little bit better about the prospects for the evening by the time they left the lobby.

  ~ ~ ~

  Kim was relieved when Leslie and Tam easily paired off with the man of their choice. It would have been a bit awkward had the men had other choices in mind. Since the evening was warm they waited outside while Reggie and Nate went for the cars.

  “Reggie tells me you’re moving to Atlanta,” she overheard Luther say to Leslie.

  She turned to Tam. “So what do you think of Nate?” Tam lifted her shoulders slightly. “He’s seems nice enough. Kind of shy, but I think I like that.”

  Kim was about to respond when Nate drove up. Luther immediately took Leslie’s hand and helped her into the back seat.

  “Are you ready, Tammy?” Nate asked.

  Tam turned to Kim, then back to Nate. “I guess so, but what about Reggie and Kim?”

  “Ah,” Nate said awkwardly, “Reggie will be around with his car. We couldn’t all fit in mine.”

  Though Kim kept a smile on her face, she silently cursed Reggie Stevens.

  Nate turned to her. “He’s pulling up now.”

  “Are you okay with this, Kim?” Tam asked.

  Kim looked at her friend and decided not to ruin everyone’s evening. She touched Tam’s arm. “Go on. I’ll see you when we get to The Club.”

  Kim watched as Nate opened the door for Tam, then handed her a single rose before she got in. A simple gesture, not very original, but Tam’s smile told her it had paid off.

  “Ready?” Reggie asked, bringing her attention to him.

  She turned around and had to stop herself from smiling at him. He looked too good for words. “I don’t know about you, Reggie Stevens.”

  He took her arm and led her to the car. “What did I do now?”

  “You know what you did,” she said easing into the front seat of his Maxima. This car was definitely more Reggie than that sports car she’d seen Luther driving.

  Reggie closed her door with a smile on his face. “You’re a hard woman, Ms. Washington,” he said. “You’ve got to be a little more trusting. Give a man a break, will you?”

  She flashed him a low wattage smile. “I’ll think about it.”

  Reggie chuckled, then walked around and got in on the driver’s side.

  “So when did you decide we’d go in two cars?” she asked after he pulled his car out into street.

  “Right after I counted six people. Don’t you think we would have been a little cramped in here?” He raised a brow in her direction. “I guess I should have thought about the fringe benefits before I made that decision though. With six of us in the car, you wouldn’t be able to hug your car door. What’s wrong? Are you afraid of me or something?”

  Kim thanked God he didn’t know how close to true his words were. She had good reason to be afraid of Reggie. The man was lethal. So lethal he almost made her forget what a rat he was. “What’s to be afraid of?” she returned.

  “Why don’t you slide away from that door, then.

  Kim moved a couple of inches away from the door. From the way she was behaving, a person would think she was out on her first date.

  He cut another glance in her direction. “A little closer,” he urged.

  “This is close enough. How long before we get to this club?”

  “It depends on which route I take.”

  She took comfort in the fact that she could see Nate’s car ahead of them. “Have you forgotten why we’re going out?”

  “To have fun?” he suggested.

  “I can think of other ways to have fun. In case you have forgotten, we’re going out so that you can show me that you’re a true nice guy. I have to tell you though, Stevens, you’re off to a bad start.”

  “But the night is young. I have plenty of time to redeem myself.”

  “Or to dig yourself further into a hole,” she murmured.

  “I heard that, Ms. Washington. Why don’t you relax and enjoy the evening? Forget about the article for now.” He inclined his head toward the dash. “There are some CD’s in the changer, the iPod’s connected or you can turn on the radio.” When she didn’t move to do either, he added, “Unless you want to continue this wonderful conversation we’re having.”

  Kim had to fight not to laugh. She leaned forward, pushed the button for the CD player, and scrolled through his CDs. Johnny Taylor, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The O’Jays. She looked over at Reggie. “How old are you, again?”

  “What?” he asked, looking at her.

  “Don’t you listen to any music recorded since 2000?”

  He laughed, then leaned forward and clicked on the iPod. Herbie Hancock joined them. “Not all my music is Stone Age. I just like quality music.”

  “So now you’re a music critic? Are you planning any articles on the downfall of the music industry?”

  “I don’t think so. I’m through with writing articles. Look at the trouble that first one got me in.”

  The sincerity in his words caught her attention. “You really don’t like all the publicity, do you?”

  He shrugged. “Not really. I’m basically a quiet person and having my photo plastered across the newspaper every other day and reporters camped out i
n my front yard kinda upsets my life-style. I’m glad things have quieted down.”

  “Hmmm.”

  “And what does that ‘Hmmm’ mean?”

  “Nothing,” she said.

  “Come on, Ms. Washington. No need to hold back anything now. I think it’s a little too late for that anyway.”

  She knew he referred to her alleged quotes in the paper, so she guessed his point was valid. “I don’t know,” she began. “But I’d think there’d be an upside to all this attention.”

  “You’ll have to tell me what it is, because I don’t see it yet. Unless you’re talking about meeting you. In that case, you could have a point.”

  Reggie definitely knew his way around women. If she didn’t know him better, she’d think he was serious. “You’re on the right track, just with the wrong woman.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning I’m sure a lot of women have responded to your article.” She had gotten her share of mail from male and female readers of her article. She’d received a packet of letters addressed to her in care of the magazine from Jim today, so she knew Reggie had to have received his share as well. “Am I right?”

  “Now what makes you think women would respond positively to my article when you didn’t?”

  She smiled a syrupy smile. “Not all women are as wise as I am.”

  “Good one, Ms. Washington. You’re pretty good at this, aren’t you?”

  “This what?”

  “Flirting.”

  “I’m not flirting with you.”

  “What do you call it then?”

  “Conversation or some semblance of it. But definitely not flirting.”

  “If you say so.”

  “I do, and stop trying to change the topic. About the letters. You’ve gotten a lot of them from women, haven’t you?”

  “Jealous?”

  “Please. I’m trying to get some information for my article.”

  “Then where’s your notebook? You don’t want to forget something and misquote me, do you?”

  She tapped her forefinger on her head. “My notebook’s up here. Don’t worry. I won’t misquote you.”

  They were quiet a few minutes, and then she noticed that Nate made a right turn while Reggie kept going straight. “I think you missed your turn.”