Page 21 of The Friend Zone
“His most popular songs are, I admit… questionable…but,if you listen to all the tracks on his albums, he covers a wide range of topics, from politics to police brutality. Don’t get caught up in the visuals.”
In all honesty, Dana knew rap was an underappreciated art form, and rappers were as varied as performers in any other part of the music industry.
“Fine. I have to admit he won me over a teeny tiny bit with the hit on his last album, ‘Without You.’”
“That was written about his wife. Rumor has it, the song got them back together.”
“Let’s hope he keeps his penis in his pants so they can stay together this time,” Dana said dryly.
Omar laughed softly. “I’m staying out of their personal business. I have a complimentary ticket and can invite up to nine people to sit with me in VIP, so you can bring your girlfriends. You in?”
She thought for a moment, then replied, “I’m in. I haven’t been to hear live music in a while, and it might be fun. Can Tamika and Layla bring their fiancés?”
“The more the merrier. Matter of fact, bring your new guy too, since he’s so damn special.”
Dana frowned at his cutting tone. “Okay.”
“By the way, how was your date?”
Tracing her finger down the stem of the wine glass, she replied, “We went on a night time tour of Oakland Cemetery and then went to Six Feet Under for dinner and drinks. It was nice.”
“Nice? You blew me off for nice?”
“I didn’t blow you off,” Dana said defensively.
He actually sounded annoyed, which came as a surprise because Omar was usually pretty chill. What was going on with him?
“You do anything else?” he asked.
She considered the question, wondering if he were fishing for information on whether she’d slept with Sheldon. They never discussed those topics with each other—at least not in detail. She saved the talk of her sexual exploits for her best friends, Tamika and Layla. Talking to Omar about having sex with another man didn’t sit well with her, and she definitely didn’t want to hear about the women he slept with. Besides, she already had a pretty good understanding of his activities and abilities from the details in past online articles.
“Nope,” she replied.
I turned him away at the door because I couldn’t stop thinking about you.
“A’ight, well… I’ll see you on Friday night. Maybe we can arrange for you to have more than a nice time.”
Wow, he was really salty tonight. Could he be jealous? If so, was he jealous as a friend who wanted to spend time with her, or as a man who viewed her new beau as competition?
“I appreciate it. Text me the details.” Dana shifted and bumped the caddy with her knee. “Oops.” Her wine glass wobbled, and she grabbed the stem to keep it from falling.
“What happened?”
“I’m in the bath and almost knocked my wine, candle, and phone into the water. That would have been a mess.” She laughed at herself.
There was silence on the other line for a while, then Omar asked, “You’re in the bath… right now?”
She paused at the oddly strained sound of his voice. “Yes.”
“Bubble bath?”
The air evaporated from her lungs. Why was he asking her that? “Yes.”
“You been in the bath the whole time we been talking?” His deep voice went lower as it filled with incredulity.
Her skin prickled, and her heart started racing. “Yes.”
Omar fell silent, but she heard him breathing and stared at the flickering light of the candle, waiting for him to speak. To saysomething. The entire time, her heart thumped beneath the tightening nipples of her breasts.
