Page 14 of Can I?

I kissed her cheek then went to the table. “I’ve been working hard so I could have a three-day weekend. I’m exhausted now, so I’ll probably sleep the whole weekend away.”

She chuckled. As I thought about things, I figured I could take her out tomorrow or Saturday for dinner. My plan was to chill with Asad at the rodeo. I didn’t tell Ashanni, but I was supposed to be going to Birmingham too. I wasn’t necessarily going for Milana. Red Squared and Carter Legend were competing. Finding out she was going only made the trip that much sweeter. I really wanted to see her in her element, but I was so damn tired now I didn’t know how I would function. Maybe the food I ate earlier played a part in that.

“Why did you need a three-day weekend? You had plans?”

“I was supposed to be going to Birmingham with Asad to watch Red Squared and Carter Legend do their thang. Now I don’t know if I wanna take the trip. That’s over eight hours.”

“Yeah, it’s a long drive. When were y’all planning to leave?”

“Tomorrow morning and come back Sunday.”

“You should go and enjoy yourself. Is Asad driving?”

“Yes, but we were going to take turns driving. He was going to take the first leg.”

The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to go. I needed to know what he and Ashanni talked about. He wouldn’t tell me at the diner. He didn’t want anyone to overhear our conversation. Knowing Milana had my number was a plus as well. Asad had said that they all usually kicked it together after the rodeo, because Mrs. Tiffany was close to Mr. Red, Mr. Legend, and Mrs. Shana.

“Okay. If I go, you have to promise me to take time to yourself Saturday and go get your nails and feet done.”

I took out my wallet and pulled out three one-hundred-dollar bills and extended them to her. Her eyebrows lifted, and she looked like she wanted to cry. “Ferris, that’s a lot of money. I can’t take that.”

“Yes, you can. You deserve this and more. Go get your nails and feet done. Please?”

She let her spoon go and came to me as I stood from my seat. She hugged me tightly and took the money. “Thank you, baby.”

“If I find out you did anything else with this money that wasn’t specifically for you, I’m gon’ be on you when I get back. Don’t even tell him you got this money. You hear me, woman?”

She chuckled and went back to her pot. “I hear you, Ferris. I’m gonna go to Tic Tac and get my nails done. I may even take myself to lunch at TRUST Downtown Bistro. I’ve been seeing their ads on Facebook, and that food looks delicious.”

“What do they serve?”

“Seems like a lot of stuff. The ad I saw was seafood, but I also saw boudin balls, greens, mac and cheese, red beans, and fried chicken. So they probably sell a lil bit of everything.”

“Oh, okay. I’ma have to check them out when I don’t feel like driving to Nome. Jen and Chrissy’s Diner be jumping from ten to two.”

“They still going, huh?”

“Yes, and the food has gotten even better.”

“I’ll have to make a trip out there one day.”

She made it seem like Nome was hours away. It was only twenty minutes from my house and probably thirty minutes from theirs. I supposed I’d gotten used to driving it over the years. Just that fast, my mind went back to Milana. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I sent Asad a text.I’m gonna go. I’ll meet you in Nome.

He was going to be following behind Mr. Red. It would make sense to leave my vehicle out there in case he wanted to hang around Nome when we got back. Before I could slide my phone back in my pocket, it chimed. I figured it was him texting back, but it was a number not saved in my phone.

Hey, Ferris. It’s Milana. I just wanted to let you know Ashanni gave me your number. I won’t have time to talk until Sunday evening because I’m going to a rodeo this weekend. I hope you’re cool with that. Talk to you soon.

She included a smiley face emoji. I was shocked to hear from her. As Ashanni had warned, I wasn’t expecting to hear from her until Sunday or Monday. Well, now that I was going to the rodeo, I would definitely do whatever I had to do to be with her Saturday night. Wherever she was going afterward would be where I was going.

“Mama?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“I’m interested in someone.”

She dropped her spoon and turned to me with her eyebrows lifted. “You just full of surprises, huh?”

I chuckled. “Her name is Milana Semien. She’s related to Legend Semien, and Tiffany Henderson is her mother.”

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