He picked up another piece of bread. “I was really angry with God, so the pastor spent a lot of time with me and really ministered to me. Their love and concern had a lot to do with me getting saved. I guess I shouldn’t be so hard on them. When I first got saved, it was great. But then, the more I started learning about God and the closer I got to Him, I sorta outgrew them. Don’t get me wrong. I got saved there. But as far as real growth and taking it to the next level . . . I couldn’t get what I needed there.”
The waitress bought their orders. Quinton blessed the food so fast, Shara could barely understand what he was saying. He tore into his food. The smoky barbeque scent of his ribs smelled so good that her stomach churned. She picked at her salad.
He finished his first rib. “I guess God knew what I needed spiritually when he brought me here. I’ve grown so much hearing Pastor Kendrick in the short time I’ve been here. Not so much in knowledge—I got that from school. I’ve grown in spiritual intimacy. I guess you know what I mean. You’ve been at Kingdom Builders for how long?”
“Huh?”
Quinton put down the rib he was eating. “Why are you doing this to yourself?”
“What?”
“Pretending you’re a salad girl like Keeva when you can barely concentrate on what I’m saying because you’re so busy staring at my food.”
Shara’s eyes flew open. She couldn’t believe Quinton busted her like that. She knew the look on her face gave her away. They both laughed.
“You want some of mine?” He taunted her, waving a rib under her nose. “Umm umm. These are some of the best ribs I’ve ever had.”
“You are evil, Quinton.”
“Why I gotta be evil? You the one frontin’. Tell the truth. You’d rather be eating these ribs than that salad.”
“Okay, you got me. Now can you stop waving those ribs under my nose?”
Quinton stopped the waitress. “Excuse me, ma’am. My friend is not enjoying her salad. Can you bring her the same thing I’m having?”
The waitress nodded and took the salad away.
He looked at Shara. “What’s that all about?”
Shara shrugged like a little kid caught in the act of some mischief. “What?”
“You’ve been acting totally disinterested in me for months. But now, you pretend to be a salad girl and you’re not really a salad girl.”
“And? What’s that supposed to mean?”
He grinned. “That you like me more than you let on.”
“Whatever, Quinton.” She looked at his ribs. “So, are you gonna eat those or what?”
He put his hands over his plate to block her view. “Unh uh, you wanted to order a salad and be cute. You gets none.”
“Quinton!”
Shara grabbed another piece of bread and smoothed butter on it, this time eating it almost as fast as he had. Quinton laughed watching her eat it.
After a few minutes, the waitress brought her food. She taunted him. “Aahaa. I got a whole fresh plate. And you can’t have none.” Shara tore into the ribs. She froze when she felt Quinton staring.
“I knew it. Not only are you not a salad girl, you could probably eat me under the table.”
Shara laughed and finished off her first rib. “Yeah, I could take you.” She picked up another rib. “I don’t know, though. You can put away a lot of food.”
“That’s what my momma always says.” He ate some of his macaroni and cheese.
She liked the look in his eyes when he talked about his mother. “What’s your mom like?”
“She is the most incredible woman you could ever meet. You wouldn’t think that if you just met her. She’s an ordinary, hard-working, single mother. But she loved us so much. She worked herself to the bone making sure our needs were met. She wanted so much for us, but I’m not sure she knew how to push us in the right direction.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, my mother isn’t very educated, so I’m not sure she knew how to help us get ahead. She just knew she wanted more for us than she had.”
Shara smiled. “You love her a lot, huh?”
“She’s my world. I wish I could get her to move down here—her and my brothers.”
“She doesn’t want to?”
Quinton shook his head. “She loves her church. Plus, my baby brother is . . . you know, ‘there.’ ” He looked down at the table.
Shara didn’t know what to say. Quinton was obviously still in a lot of pain over his little brother’s death. Shara could see it in his eyes the few times he had mentioned it. She wiped her hands on her napkin and reached across the table. She softly stroked the back of his hand.
He looked up at her and smiled a little. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be.” She continued moving her fingers slowly, tracing the veins on the back of his hands. She rested her hand on his. She propped her chin on her other hand and they sat there looking at each other for a while.
The waitress appeared and started to pick up Shara’s plate. “Are you finished with this, ma’am?”
Shara grabbed for her plate. “No!”
Quinton laughed. “Look at the salad girl, now.”
She let go of his hand and started eating her ribs again.
He looked hurt. “Gee, nice to know where I stand.”
Shara laughed, not putting the rib down.
They bantered back and forth until they both finished their food, and then wiped their hands with the wet-naps the waitress brought. Quinton reached over and wiped some barbeque sauce off Shara’s chin. “Messy, messy.”
“I think I broke all the girl rules tonight. You’re never supposed to eat barbeque with your hands on a first date.”
“I don’t see you as much of a girl-rules girl.”
“I’m not. That’s why I ate barbeque with my hands on the first date.”
He looked at her with a slight smile on his face. “So does your qualifying this as a first date imply that there might be a second date?”
“Maybe.”
“How ’bout a third?”
“Don’t push your luck.”
He winced. “Ouch.” He reached for her hand. “Seriously though, when I told Terrence to leave you alone because you were with me . . .”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s just say I was speaking by faith.”
Shara blushed. “You so silly.”
“Why I gotta be silly? Brotha pouring out his heart and you’re stepping on it.”
“I’m not stepping on your heart.”
“Then how ’bout that third date?
“We haven’t even had the second one yet.”
“I know. But I don’t want to have a second unless I know there’s gonna be a third.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t think my heart could take it.”
Shara traced circles around his knuckles. He had large, strong hands. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. She didn’t pull back.
“Okay.” She bit her lip.
“Okay, what?”
“The third date.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
The waitress brought back Quinton’s credit card he had given her when she brought the check. He came over and pulled Shara’s chair back.
“Are you going to be such a gentleman on the third date?” Shara asked as they walked out the door and to his truck.
“Yep, and the fourth, fifth and sixth too.”
“Now wait a minute. I didn’t say nothing ’bout no fourth, fifth, and sixth dates.”
“I know. But after the third date, I won’t have anything to worry about.”
“Is that so, Quinton Mercer?”
“Yep.”
“Okay, we’ll see.”
He helped her up into the truck. He kissed her hand again before closing her door. When he got in, he smiled as she said, “If you’re this much of a gentleman on the third date, I may have to strongly consider that fourth, fifth, and sixth date.”
<
br /> Shara lay back in her seat listening to the music.
“What was that for?” Quinton looked at her with that twinkle in his eye.
“What?”
“That loud, long sigh you just gave.”
“Did I?”
“Yep.”
“I guess that’s how I’m feeling. Good food, great music, comfortable car. Hmmmm.” Shara sighed again.
“Is that all?”
“I guess the company’s not too bad, either.”
“Not too bad, huh?”
“Yeah.” She smiled.
“Tired? Ready to call it a night?”
“Honestly, no.”
“What you wanna do?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where do you like to go?”
“Honestly, nowhere. I’m a pretty boring individual.”
Quinton rubbed his chin. “So you’re telling me that I’m going to have to get pretty creative for this second and third date.”
“Yep.”
Quinton nodded. “Okay, I’ll have to do a little research, then.”
They drove in silence for a while, neither one of them wanting to end their evening.
“We could get some coffee,” Shara said.
“Sounds good. Where?”
Shara directed him to Joe’s Coffee shop in East Atlanta Village. It was one of the places Keeva had taken her on one of their many recent outings. Shara liked it because it lacked the austere bourgie flavor of most of the places Keeva took her. It was eclectic with retro furniture and abstract art on the walls.
Quinton ordered a latte and Shara a mocha. Quinton also ordered a large piece of red velvet cake he said was calling his name. “Share it with me?”
“Sure. It does look good.”
Shara followed Quinton over to a comfortable looking couch with a coffee table in front of it and sat down next to him. Her eyes widened as he opened six packets of sugar and dumped them into his latte. “Have a little coffee with your sugar?”
“What can I say?” He gave her his best Kool-Aid smile. “I like sweet things.”
“Is that so?”
“Yep.”
“You’re such a flirt.”
“So I’ve been told.”
They chatted and flirted while sipping coffee and nibbling at the red velvet cake. Shara felt like she was high and wondered if it was from the caffeine and sugar or Quinton.
One of the employees started mopping the floor. Shara looked at her watch.
“Oh my, it’s almost midnight. We must have lost track of the time. I guess we better go before they kick us out.”
Quinton frowned. “I hate going back to Mother Hobbs house this late at night. I know I’m not a kid, but it seems disrespectful. Did she get upset when you would come in late at night?”
“I never came in late,” Shara said.
“So most of your dates ended at a decent hour? I’m flattered.”
Shara lowered her eyes. “I didn’t go out with anyone while I was living with her. Quite honestly, I haven’t gone out with anyone in a real long time.”
“Then I’m really flattered. Would I be pushing it to ask why not?”
“Hadn’t met anyone worthwhile I guess.”
“Now I’m beyond flattered. You better stop before I get the bighead.”
Shara smiled. “Since we’re asking personal questions, what about you?”
Quinton finished off the cake. “My last relationship ended not too long after my basketball career did. What a coincidence.”
“Coincidence?”
“My girlfriend, well fiancée actually—was a trip. We hooked up in my senior year at Arizona when it was real obvious I was going pro. She was always there as long as I was making the money and on top of my game. I guess I should have known something was up when she couldn’t make it to my little brother’s funeral.”
Shara’s eyes widened.
“I know. Not cool at all. That’s when her true colors started showing. She was all of a sudden busy all the time. She never listened when I needed to talk. When I hurt my knee, she hardly even came to the hospital. She broke up with me not too long after I announced I was quitting. Found out later she was seeing one of my teammates. They’re either engaged or married now.”
“Wow. That’s deep. You haven’t been out with anyone since her?”
“I’ve had a date here and there. Like you said, though, I didn’t find anyone worthwhile. I guess I couldn’t find anyone I could vibe with on all levels—mental, emotional, and spiritual. You know?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I know.”
One of the employees cleared his throat. Quinton stood. “I guess that’s our cue. I better get you home.”
The ride back to Mother Hobbs’ house was too short. The light was on in the living room when they pulled up.
“Uh oh, I think she’s waiting up for me,” Quinton said.
Shara shook her head. “No, she always stays up late on the weekends watching a movie or reading. She’ll be going to bed in about half an hour.”
They lingered in the truck for a little while longer, talking and listening to music. When Quinton noticed the light go off in the living room he said, “I better get inside. I don’t want to disturb her. You’ll have to let me pick you up next time. I don’t like you out driving this late.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m not too far away.”
He walked her over to her car where they lingered for a second, facing each other. Quinton held both of her hands and stared at her face.
“Why do you always look at me that way?” Shara asked.
“Because you’re beautiful.”
Shara could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks. Quinton didn’t bother to stop staring at her. He let go of one of hands and stroked her cheek softly.
“Thanks,” he said.
“For what?”
“For finally going out with me and for such a good time.”
“Thanks for waiting . . . and for a great time.”
He bent and kissed her. His lips seemed even softer and sweeter than they had been that morning and they lingered much longer. He stepped back, biting his bottom lip. He held the door as she got in her car and didn’t go inside the house until she was almost all the way down the street.
When Shara got home, there were four messages from Keeva. On the last one, Keeva screeched that she couldn’t believe how late it was and Shara still wasn’t home. “All right, Shara. I can’t hang anymore. Call me tomorrow. Love you, girl.”
Shara went straight to bed and fell into the sweetest sleep she’d ever had.
Chapter Thirty-Three
“Okay, tell me everything.” Keeva showed up at Shara’s apartment unannounced late the next afternoon. They sat on Shara’s worn couch so she could share the details of her date. Shara felt like a high school girl as she relived the evening for Keeva.
“Shara, you look so happy! I can’t believe this. Girl, he is so sweet. You’re so lucky.”
“We had a good time and all. I don’t know about being lucky.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I don’t know where things go from here. I don’t know what happens next and I don’t want to be all goo-goo eyed about it.”
“Too late for that.” Keeva smiled. “Take it slow, go with the flow. In a couple of days, he’ll probably call and you guys might even go out again next weekend.”
Shara couldn’t imagine waiting a couple of days for him to call. She sighed and steered her thoughts to something else. “So what’s this about you putting Mark out at night now?”
Keeva sat up. “I told him that I wanted to be celibate until I got married.”
“You did? Oh my goodness! And he accepted that?”
“For now. I think he thinks it’s a phase I’m going through and will eventually get over.”
“I’m proud of you, girl. I know that that was hard to do. Especially since you guys have been together for so long.”
�
�Honestly, it wasn’t hard at all. I don’t know if it’s me, or being depressed, or what. The sex thing doesn’t do it for me anymore.” Keeva paused for a second. “It’s just become a physical act. No romance or love, just, you know.”
Shara looked at her blankly. “Actually, I don’t know.”
“Oh, wow.” Keeva’s eyes widened. “I never thought of that. I guess you don’t . . . Wow.” She thought for a second. “That means you’re a . . . you’ve never—”
“No, I’ve never and I don’t plan to until I get married.”
“Wow. A real-life virgin at twenty-six.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. I think it’s cool. I wish I had waited ’til I got married. Sex is totally overrated. I mean, I guess it’s special if you’re with someone you’re in love with, but—”
“You’re not in love with Mark?”
Keeva put her hand over her mouth. “Did I just say that? Oh my God. I can’t believe that came out of my mouth. Of course I’m in love with Mark.” She paused. “Aren’t I?”
Keeva got up and walked over to Shara’s dining table. “I was, when we first got together. I think. I mean . . . I don’t know, Shara. This is all your fault. You got my head all messed up. I thought I was in love ’til you said all that stuff about what love really was. I kept telling myself you had watched too many movies and had no idea what love was. I had to keep saying that so I wouldn’t have to accept the fact that maybe I’m not in love. I have a long-standing habit.
“When I think about you and Quinton and how you guys seem to be so perfect for each other; how you guys have so much in common and believe in and stand for the same things; how he believes in your dreams and you believe in his dreams and your dreams are so intertwined; I see how he looks at you and how you look at him and how sweet and kind and gentle and attentive he is . . . I don’t know. Sometimes I wonder if that’s how relationships are when you start out and then after you get used to each other, all the magic fades. I mean, do you think it can really be beautiful like that forever?”
Keeva bit her lip. “And then I try to remember whether our relationship started out magical and beautiful like that. I mean, the sex was great back then, but . . . I don’t know. I wonder if I could ever have something like what you and Quinton are building.”
Dance Into Destiny Page 23