Page 9 of The Heart of a Capricorn
“See you at seven, Chauncey,” she said in a singsong tone.
I nodded and left her office. I didn’t want to run into any of the other ladies, especially the chick from the other night, so Itook the steps. Since Lyric agreed to the date, I needed to finalize the details.
After finalizing everything, I took a nap and chilled around my room until it was time to get ready.
I scrubbed my body from head to toe twice, then I got dressed for the evening. Even though it was later in the day, the heat was still in full effect. Once the sun went down, it might cool off some, but not much.
“It’s only dinner. Don’t get ahead of yourself and get fresh. You’ll scare her off.” I stood in the mirror giving myself a pep talk as I put the finishing touches on my look for the evening. When I packed, I didn’t consider going on a date, so I almost packed nothing but shorts, jeans, and tees, but something told me to pack something a little more formal, and I was glad I did. Maybe it was the universe speaking to me, and it knew something I didn’t.
It was ten minutes to six by the time I got ready. I sent a text message to my connect at the place where I reserved dinner, and they confirmed everything was good to go. I sprayed my cologne, put my phone in my pocket, and made sure I had my room key before leaving the room.
Lyric’s room was two floors below me, so I headed to the elevator. I rubbed my hands over my pants legs because I was nervous. I tried to calm my rapidly beating heart as I rode the elevator down. By the time I got to Lyric’s room, it was two minutes before seven. I hoped she was ready, but I would wait ifshe wasn’t. Our reservation time wasn’t strict, but I didn’t want to get there too late either.
When I got to Lyric’s room, I tapped on the door with my knuckle. It only took a few seconds for her to open the door, and when she did, my pulse raced.
“Damn, you look good.”
Lyric wore a cream strapless dress that stopped a little above her knees. She had on tan heels that had a strap that went around her ankles, but I still spotted that gold anklet. In her hand, she carried a brown and tan circular bag. A gold watch and gold accessories adorned her arms. Her hair was bone straight, and it fell right below her breasts.
She smiled and looked down at my shoes, then slowly let her gaze travel the length of my body.
“You look good, too, and you’re punctual. I like that.”
“There was no way I would keep a beauty like you waiting. Plus, I know you are about time. You were gracious enough to bless me with some of your time, so I didn’t want to waste a minute.”
Lyric’s eyes sparkled as she blushed. She stepped out into the hallway and let the room door close behind her. She pulled at the handle to ensure it was locked, then looked at me.
I put my arm out so she could hold on to it while we walked the short distance to the elevator.
“Thank you for being considerate.”
“I always will be when it comes to you. You smell good as hell.” I inhaled the sweet aroma of flowers on her skin. I couldn’t tell what kind of flower it was, but she smelled like the Garden of Eden. Fresh but forbidden.
“And so do you.”
Lyric had the kind of voice that made you listen. It was commanding and powerful. At least that was how I viewed itwhen I heard her speaking to her colleagues. But now, it was soft, but that power was still there.
“Thanks. I rented a car for the evening. Are you hungry?”
“Yes. I haven’t eaten since lunch. I didn’t want to get anything when I was done with work, because I didn’t want to ruin my appetite.”
We made it outside, and the car service I rented for the night was at the curb waiting. I didn’t know how the night would turn out, so I figured a driver would be the best idea. I also wanted to be able to enjoy the sights with Lyric. I’d been to Vegas before, but it seemed like every time I went, there was something new to see.
I opened the door for Lyric and waited until she got inside before sliding in next to her.
“This is nice.” Lyric’s eyes wandered around the spacious, luxury car.
The Maybach Pullman was the perfect car to give us the space, comfort, and privacy that I wanted.
“I had to pull out all the stops for you,” I told her with a wink while I got comfortable. Once we were ready, the driver pulled away from the curb. “So, tell me about your day. How is the project going?”
“So far, it’s going well. Everyone on the team is pretty sufficient, so I’m confident we’ll be able to handle it with no issues. How was your day?” Lyric slightly shifted her body toward me.
“It was good. I didn’t do much but chill out. One of my homeboys is out here with me, but he did his own thing. You know us guys will go somewhere with the fellas but still do shit on our own.”
Lyric giggled. “I know, and there is nothing wrong with that. We both know how important alone time is.”
A comfortable silence fell over the car as we both took in the Vegas strip. The place we were headed to wasn’t far from the hotel.
