Page 141 of Curvy Girl Summer

“I wanted something that matched your energy.” He leaned forward a little more and rested his forearm on the bar top. “So, I asked for roses because it’s a classic and you’re classy. I picked yellow, so they’d be different and stand out like you do. I had them wrapped in brown paper because they match your eyes. And I brought flowers to the bar because you have my attention and I wanted to put you on notice.”

“Wow.” I bit my lip and nodded slowly, contemplatively. I didn’t know what to say. “Thank you,” I whispered.

“Thank you for meeting me tonight. And for choosing this place.” He stared at my mouth. “I like it a lot.”

There was a lot of intensity in the way he looked at me and in his touch. The way his body was positioned toward me, with his long legs almost trapping me at the bar. The way he leaned close enough that I could smell his cologne but not so close as to violate my personal space. The way his eyes held mine and then lingered on my lips before returning to my eyes—and then doing it all over again. It was the way he licked his lips before each sentence. The sexual attraction between us was strong.

It was that mixture of sexy and dangerous that was typically a precursor to bad decisions.

It was hot.

Hewas hot.

But there was something about him that felt like he would blow my back out and ruin my life.

“Of course. I’m glad we’re here tonight,” I told him.

“When I got here, they said they have someone coming to perform live in a little while.” He leaned closer to me. “Me. You. Livemusic.” He licked his lips. “That sounds good to me. What about you?”

Oh, this could be promising…

I nodded. “Yeah. That sounds good.”

Without taking his eyes off me, he lifted his hand to signal he was ready to place an order.

“What can I get you?”

Ahmad’s deep voice made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

I froze.

Refusing to turn my head and look at the man taking our order, I just stared at Ty.

“Yeah, let me get a Malibu sunrise and a Long Island, please,” he ordered. “And do you think our table will be ready soon?”

“Yeah, give me a minute to check on it. You need anything else?” Ahmad asked.

“Aaliyah?” Ty asked.

I shook my head and turned to look at Ahmad. “No, thank you,” I answered, my voice faltering a bit. “But we appreciate it.”

Ahmad held my gaze for a second too long before he nodded. “Okay.”

My stomach fluttered.

He looked good with his fresh lineup and trimmed beard. He was wearing another one of his tight-fitting shirts that I gave him shit about, but I couldn’t deny how good they looked on him. Between his handsome face and sexy build, Ahmad Williamson always caught my eye.

But we are just friends,I reminded myself.

I squared my shoulders.

This is uncomfortable.But I was glad I kept the date at Onyx because if the energy was weird with Ahmad, seeing me on a date with a man should get us back on track.

He glanced at my date. “I’ll be right back with your order.”

My heart was racing as I shifted my focus to the flowers in front of me. Pretending the roses had my full attention, I tried to get myself together.

“They are quite beautiful, aren’t they?” Ty asked.

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