Page 16 of Intercept My Heart

Drake’s family weren’t as well off as mine, but they weren’t broke either. Drake and his sisters always dressed nicely, so I found it odd that Ciera and Charae came to school with their hair undone most days. Lately, she’d been putting more effort into how she looked now that she was working. I loved seeing the transformation because, if we were being honest, she put every girl in our school to shame. Not only did she have outer beauty, but her insides seemed to match.

“See! You’re over here trying to cheat!” Charae shouted when I knocked down all the pins with one try. The arcade included a bowling alley, so I decided to test her skills.

“I don’t have to cheat, baby. I’m good at everything I do.” Winking at her, I nodded for her to go next. This was her last round before our game ended. I’d already won, so I stood there with a victorious grin on my face.

“Whatever.” She stuck her tongue out and then grabbed her bowling ball. She didn’t do bad for it to be her first time playing. I still couldn’t believe she’d never been bowling before. My mom was in one of those leagues, so I went with her almost weekly. It was one of the ways we bonded.

“Alright, now that I’m done beating you, let’s get some food.” I reached for her hand, and she hesitated for a second. When our hands locked, we cashed out our tickets and picked from the little prize section. Since I had more tickets than Charae, I put all ours together and let her pick what she wanted.

“I want candy instead of a prize.” The girl behind the counter helped her pick out everything she wanted. She smiled as the girl filled her bag with candy, eliciting a chuckle from me.

“You’re over here acting like you’ve never had candy before.” I laughed until I noticed the embarrassment on her face. I felt like a complete idiot when I realized I’d offended her.

“I’m ready,” Charae whispered softly. I went to open her door, but she rushed to it before I could.

“Do you have any allergies? Wagos has a lot of seafood, and I know a lot of people are allergic to?—”

“You can take me home.” The words crushed me, but I kept it cool.

“What’s going on? I thought we were going to hang out. I wanted to take you to my favorite spot.” I’d never been through anything like this, and I needed to figure out a way to fix it.

“I’m not hungry.” As if on cue, her stomach started growling.

“Come on, Rae. Look, I’m sorry for what I said back there. It was supposed to be a joke, but it was insensitive. I’ve been looking forward to taking you out all week, and I won’t be able to function if I let you go with us being on bad terms. Let me at least feed you, and then if you still want to go home, I promise I’ll take you.” I’d never begged a girl to do anything in my life, but I had to try.

“Fine.” That was all I needed to hear before I drove to the restaurant. I needed her to know I was serious about getting to know her.

Dinner went a lot smoother, and I was grateful for that.

“Here, you gotta put the sauce on it.” Reaching over, I poured the yum yum sauce over her food. Charae stuck with chicken hibachi while I got chicken, steak, and shrimp.

“Taste it now,” I urged, hoping she liked it as much as I did.

“Umm, this is the best thing I’ve ever tasted before.” Charae moaned. I loved that she enjoyed her food so much because I was nervous.

“I told you it was slammin’. It’s one of my favorite places to eat.”

“Next time, I’m going to get the shrimp too. Those two they gave me on the side were a tease.”

“Here, take some of mine.” I put a few shrimps on my fork before adding them to her plate.

“I wasn’t saying that so you could give me your food, Dinero.”

“Do you see how much food I have left? Don’t even worry about it.”

“Thank you. I’ve had a really good time, despite our little hiccup earlier.” Her hands reached up to mess with her ponytail, so I knew she was nervous again.

“I know we’re still getting to know one another, so all I ask is you have patience with me. I may not always say or do the right thing, but it’s not intentional. Don’t ever be afraid to express yourself when you’re around me. If I do something you don’t like, tell me.”

“Okay, and thank you.” Our eyes locked for a moment longer. I wanted to know what her story was. There was so much sadness behind her eyes, and it tugged at my heart. I didn’t know the full story, but I knew she deserved better than what she had been given.

“I should probably be getting home soon. I didn’t exactly tell anyone I wasn’t working today.” I nodded in understanding. I requested the check as well as our to-go boxes. When Charae started digging in her wallet, I stared down at her.

“What are you doing?”

“I wanted to make sure I had my money when she came back with the check.” I gazed at her for a moment longer, trying to figure out where this girl came from. I’d taken a few girls out toeat, and none of them had ever brought a purse or a wallet with them.

“Naw, it’s on me. You can save your money for another time.”

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