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“Of course you can, that’s actually why I made two pies instead of one.”
Oden eyed me, a playful, suspicious expression on his face.
“How did you know I liked this kind of food? Have you been stalking me?”
No way was I copping to Googling him and learning about his affinity for black women. No. Fucking. Way.
Shrugging, nonchalantly, I said, “I wouldn’t be much of a stalker if I told you, now would I?”
His throaty laugh filled the air, and as I looked at him, I finally noticed the bottle of wine in his hand.
“You brought wine?”
Oden nodded. “It’s the same kind we were drinking when we went out to dinner the other day.”
A few days after our rooftop date, I’d mentioned how much I liked the red wine, and now look, Oden had taken it upon himself to bring some. I loved the thoughtfulness he was constantly exhibiting. In the past, this had been what I craved from men—men who acted like I was asking them to go all Christian Grey and buy me my own publishing house or some shit like that.
“Thank you, that was so sweet of you. Here, I’ll show you where the glasses are. We can have some with dinner.”
While he expertly uncorked and poured two generous glasses of wine, I started making his plate.
“I’ll take some of everything, please,” he said, replacing the cork in the bottle.
“You got it.”
We settled in the dining room to eat, where I blushed up a storm at Oden repeatedly complimenting my cooking skills. If he kept this up, I was never going to let him leave. What woman wouldn’t want a thoughtful, complimentary, handsome-ass man who had a wicked tongue?
That last thought hit me hard. I didn’t want to get carried away, so I would have to be blunt and find out what exactly we were doing here. Our relationship as boss and employee was one thing, but what, if any, relationship did we have outside of work?
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Oden asked around a mouthful of potato salad. As big as he was, I wasn’t surprised he had the appetite of a bear.
“Huh?” I asked, blinking out of the reverie I’d gotten lost in.
Assessing me for a moment, he pressed, “What’s wrong, Kerenza?”
Well, might as well get it the fuck over with. I wiped my mouth and put my fork down slowly, stalling for a few seconds to gather my nerves.
“Listen, I like you,” I admitted.
I had more to say, but the smile that settled on Oden’s face temporarily sidetracked me. You would have thought I’d just told old boy he’d won the Powerball.
“I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to hear you say that,” he said, still grinning.
“Heh,” I laughed. “Well, I’ll take that to mean you like me, too?”
“I wouldn’t phrase it quite that way, but, yes, I do. Very much.”
There was that intense, possessive look again. I gulped and reached for my glass of wine.
“Then what are we doing here? Dating? Just hanging out? Or, gearing up to be fuck buddies?” I asked.
Oden’s eyes widened, an amused expression settling on his face.
“How…how about you tell me what you want? I want to do whatever makes you happy.”
Well…I hadn’t been expecting that response. I eyed him suspiciously. I couldn’t help it. Due to my past relationships and…situationships, my trust was shot to hell.
Which was why I’d learned to be upfront about intentions. That way, no one had to lie to me and hurt me.
