Page 28 of Shooting for his Heart
“My best friend is actually married to Azriel Nichols.”
“Oh, really? I’d love to shake his hand. That man has made me a hell of a lot of money in fantasy football.”
“He’s all right. I liked him, too, until he dragged my girl all the way out to Seattle.”
“I was pissed about the trade, too, but he’s doing well in Seattle. I can’t blame him for wanting to upgrade. He wasn’t getting the love he deserved in Georgia.”
“I don’t know about all that football stuff. I just know there’s no way I would choose to live somewhere where the sun barely shines.”
“I agree.” I chuckled, nodding.
We finished our food at about the same time, and I looked up as Vonnie reached for another egg roll.
“These are so good. I feel like a little pig just eating everything in sight.”
“I don’t know about that. I love a woman with a good appetite.”
“Well, you would love me,” she said, never looking up from the task of dipping her egg roll into the orange sauce that came with it.
I think I already do.
If it weren’t for our working relationship, I would have put the press down and pursued Vonnie openly. On paper, she wasn’t even my type. I preferred my women soft-spoken and demure. Being married to Clarissa had taught me everything I didn’t want in a woman. While Vonnie wasn’t rude and obnoxious like my ex-wife, she was just as loud. Not egregiously so, but she easily stood out.
Vonnie would be the first thing anyone noticed or heard when they entered a room because, more than likely, she would be laughing and talking. That usually didn’t work for me, but for some reason, when it came to her infectious laughter, I couldn’t get enough of it. I wanted to know what made her so happy and bottle some of that joy for myself. Hearing Vonnie laugh made me laugh. Seeing her smile made me want to smile. Whatever she was doing, I wanted to be a part of it. Wherever she was, I found a way to be near. As if something was drawing us together, we had ended up at the very same restaurant out of maybe thousands in the city. I couldn’t get enough of her—even the universe knew it and was conspiring to keep her close.
“Care for dessert?”
“I actually want to try beignets while I’m in New Orleans. I was going to look up a spot after I finished here.”
“I know a great place if you don’t mind going into some seedy areas.”
She laughed at that, but I was deadass serious. I was about to take her deep into the trenches. I pulled a few bills out of my wallet as I stood and reached for her hand.
“Obviously, you don’t know where I’m from. Seedy is my middle name. The strip club I worked in was in the heart of the hood.”
“Tell me more about this past life as a stripper.” I grinned.
“See… I didn’t say that I was a stripper. I said I worked in a strip club.”
“What were you then… a bouncer? A pretty little thing like you couldn’t have scared anybody up in there.”
More of that laughter I loved followed my comment as I led the way out of the restaurant. The crowd outside had grown, and I was glad I found Vonnie before she was subjected to the infamous wait time.
“I was actually a makeup artist for the strippers.”
“Oh, damn. I wonder if they’re looking for a replacement. That sounds like my dream job.”
“You’re a mess. You know that?”
“So, I’ve heard. Back to you, though. How did you become a makeup artist for strippers?”
“Well, when Iwasa stripper, some of the girls started asking me to do their makeup. It started catching on, and when I gave up dancing, they asked me to keep coming on the weekends to make them look good.”
“See? I thought you said you weren’t a stripper.” I shook my head but couldn’t hide the apparent smile that split my lips.
“I didn’t say I wasn’t a stripper. I said I didn’ttellyou that I was.”
“It was misleading.”
