Page 82 of The Late Hit
When I picked out my outfit, I wanted to go with something sexy but still me. He’s seen me in so many outfits, but I wanted to stand out tonight. And the red dress I picked out is perfect. It’s tight and hugs my curves in all the right places. The girls look fantastic thanks to the sweetheart neckline that transitions into spaghetti straps that criss-cross in laces down my back, giving my skin the perfect exposure. Lifting my foot, I step into black, square-toed lace-up heels and bend down to tie them. I left my hair down in loose, beach waves with a neutral smokey makeup look. Chloe’s right. I look damn good. I feel sexy.
Quinton set up our entire date. Which is such a relief. Not that I’ve dated, but even just planning girls’ nights, it gets annoying to be the one to constantly plan every detail. Sometimes, a girl just wants to be surprised with a little “wine and dine” date. He’s picking me up around six for our dinner reservations. Quinton Boyd has some weight in the city. He was able to pull some strings and get us a table at a fine-dining oyster bar and chophouse. He won’t tell me what he has planned after dinner, just that there will be more to the night.
“No, Brynn, it’s not too much.” Chloe makes her way to stand next to me.
She’s looking at me through the mirror, and I swear her eyes are getting misty.
“Don’t you start crying. I’m going on a date. It’s nothing big.”
“I know. I’m just happy to see you happy. You deserve to be happy, Brynn.” She wraps her arm around me, and I turn to hug her. “It’s your time. I’ve been waiting on you two idiots to admit your feelings.”
I laugh and pull away from her. We stare at each other. Is this something that your mom is supposed to tell you? This moment we are having, aren’t I supposed to have that with my mom? It’s weird to not have any relationship with the woman that gave me life. I would give anything to be able to pick up the phone and FaceTime my mom while I get ready for a date. It’s been almost seven years since I’ve been on one.
What would my life have been like if I had a strong mother-daughter relationship? Would she have been beside me through the grieving process? Would she have seen how I blamed myself and encouraged me to move forward? Tell me that it was okay to love again? I guess I’ll never know.
I shake myself from my thoughts. I don’t want tonight to be tainted, not after he claimed me in front of everyone on the quad yesterday. He must’ve seen how insecure I felt. I won’t even say jealous, because I’m not jealous of Keisha. But hearing her call Q’s name and then start strutting over to us put me on the edge. Quinton and I have a past with a lot of people on campus. I just want people to know we are now off-limits.
Making herself comfortable on my bed, Chloe settles in to watch me add the finishing touches to my outfit. I layer a simple gold necklace with my gold ‘B’ bar necklace, gold hoop earrings, and one more swipe of a nude shade lipstick.
“Have so much fun tonight,” she says, scrolling through her phone.
Before I have a chance to respond, the doorbell chimes. A smile immediately spreads across my face.
“Oh my gosh, look at you,” she says, hopping off my bed and rushing toward the door. “You’re smitten.”
Reaching down, I grab my clutch from my desk. “Would you stop? I’m just excited for some seafood.”
“Uh-huh, I’m sure that’s what you’re looking forward to.”
The two of us make our way down the stairs, but Chloe jogs ahead, which isn’t hard since I’m wearing heels.
She reaches for the doorknob, and as she opens the door, she turns her head and says, “B, aren’t oysters an aphrodisiac?”
I hear Q laugh at her, and my face turns as red as the dress that I’m wearing. Taking the final three steps, I come up beside Chloe as she finishes opening the door to reveal a hot-as-sin Quinton.
“Goddamn,” Quinton rasps out at the same time I say, “Holy hell.”
It’s safe to say we are both very pleased with each other. Quinton is standing in front of me dressed in all black. He’s like a Black James Bond. Black, skinny-cut dress pants that taper at the ankles, a black dress shirt with the top three buttons undone—sans undershirt—and a black suit jacket. Fucking fine.
“Hi, thanks for picking me up.” The words fly out of my mouth quickly. Grabbing his arm, I start moving him backward. “We need to leave right now.”
He resists my pushing, coming to a halt and stopping me. Warmth spread through my body, igniting a fire in my stomach as wetness pools between my legs.
“What’s the hurry? We’ve got time.”
Peering up at him, my eyes trail him from head to toe again.
“No, no we don’t. Because if we stay here, I’m stripping you out of these clothes, and we will be late. And I didn’t spend all this time getting ready to show up at a fine dining restaurant with sex-mussed hair.”
Chloe and Quinton laugh at my outburst. We haven’t had sex, yet that comment just proved how ready I am for us to take things to the finish line.
“Guess that’s my cue to go,” Quinton says to Chloe before following me down the steps. We don’t get very far before he stops me. “You look beautiful, Wilder.”
Leaning up, I meet his lips for a quick kiss. “You clean yourself up pretty well too, Quinton Boyd. Can’t wait to see your fashionista style come out when you make it to the NFL.”
“You’ll be on the sidelines,” he murmurs.
Then we make our way to his parked car.
