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23
We had to flip a coin to decide where to go that night. I wanted to check out Coda, a little jazz club that was pretty popular. I had heard they served good food and wanted to see if all the hype was true. Renee wanted to go to the bar at the Sable Inn for a few drinks and light appetizers, reasoning that we had plenty of food to eat back at home. She won.
The atmosphere was laid back with some old-school R&B sifting through the sound system. We sat at a table in a corner and chatted mostly about her day at work, and then we both fell silent.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked, as I sat there staring at her.
“How beautiful you are and how lucky I am to have you.”
She smiled. “Thank you, Zo.”
“You’re welcome, Doc. I can’t stop looking at you. I mean, that dress? Damn, you are looking so sexy right now!”
She giggled. “I’m glad you think I’m sexy, baby.”
With a wrinkled brow, I said, “Think? I know you’re sexy. You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen in my whole damn life! Don’t you know you’re sexy?”
She shrugged.
I sat there for a second, tilted my head to the side, and asked, “Didn’t your husband ever tell you that?”
She averted her gaze and shook her head. “No…or at least not after I gained this weight, not that I was ever a small person. But after our marriage began falling apart some years ago, I started gaining and I really think it turned him off.”
I sat up straight and frowned. “He said that to you? That he was turned off by you?” Man, I should’ve let Rell beat his entire halfling ass!
“No, but…I don’t know. He didn’t exactly make me feel desired. I mean, we still had sex up until a few months before I left, but it didn’t feel like…”
“Like you and me?”
“Right. It definitely didn’t feel like you and me.”
“Then it’s good you got rid of his dumb ass, because what you and I have? That’s how love is supposed to be.”
“Yeah…”
“Doc, you could gain a thousand pounds, and I’d still want you and find you sexy as hell.”
She looked at me, her eyes shining with what I was sure were tears.
“I love you, Doc, and not just because you turn me completely on at all times. I love you because you are the kindest, most intelligent woman I have ever met, and shit, you don’t judge me. You didn’t break and run when you found out about my past. That means a lot to me, because I know a woman like you has every reason to run from my used-to-be-a-thug ass.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think my ex-husband ever even got as much as a traffic ticket, but he was a horrible person and he treated me like shit for most of our marriage. You? Your past might not be squeaky clean, but you have been good to me, have loved me like he never did, and I’m thankful for that.”
I leaned in and kissed her on the lips, then the neck. “I’m thankful for you, Doc. Always will be.”
I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and she leaned into me. “Zo, can I ask you something?”
“Yeah, baby. Anything.”
“Why’d you want me to drive your car to my mom’s house today?”
“I don’t know. You didn’t like driving it?”
“No, I mean, I did. It’s nice, Zo, but there’s nothing wrong with my car other than the fact that it’s been sitting in your driveway for weeks.”
I shrugged. “You’re my lady. Just wanted you to ride in style. Not saying that your car is trash or anything, but…”
She sat up and swatted my arm. “No, really. Tell me the truth. You insisted that I drive it. Why? I mean, I get why you want Rell to drive me to work, and sometimes I’m so tired, I know it’s best he does, but other than that, I can drive myself in the car I’m still paying on.”
