Page 31 of Falling for Autumn
“Wow. I wouldn’t have ever guessed that. Which philosopher is your favorite?”
“I can’t really say that I have a favorite. They all have views that bring enlightenment and harmony into life. You can take something from all of them.”
“Well, whose views most align with yours?”
“Honestly, all of them. Socrates gets deep, though, and you have to be in the right mental space to read him.”
“How did you get into it?”
“In my early twenties, I just decided that I wanted to learn more about myself. I wanted to look beyond the scope of my small world and get deeper into life and the meaning of it all so that I could determine the type of man I wanted to be. I wanted to make sure that whatever impact I left on others was meaningful.”
“That was very insightful of you. Most young people are focused on partying and living their best lives.”
I was ready to change the subject because it was getting too deep. We needed to have the conversation, but not right here. “How’s your Mongolian beef?”
“It’s wonderful. The beef is tender, the sauce is sweet and tangy, and the vegetables are sauteed to perfection. They’ve still got just enough crisp to them without being too crunchy, and they aren’t wilted. You want a bite?”
“Sure.”
She picked some up using her chopsticks and leaned toward me. I opened my mouth and let her feed me. It was delicious. I chewed slowly, licking my lips as I kept eye contact with her. Autumn watched me and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth slowly.
“Stop that.”
“What?” I asked.
“Seducing me.”
“Am I?”
“We said we were going to have this date night to spend more time building our bond and not focusing on sex.”
“Ain’t nobody said nothing ’bout sex,” I replied, spearing a piece of chicken from my plate and forking it into my mouth. Again, I chewed slowly and groaned my satisfaction.
“October,” she whimpered.
I laughed. “Damn, a man can’t enjoy his meal because ya ass is horny. How is that my fault?”
“You know what you’re doing,” she replied, teasing me as she pulled another piece of broccoli into her mouth and sucked the stem.
“Okay, you win. Tell me about your greatest love affair.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Besides this one?”
“Good answer, ma.”
She chuckled. “I would have to say Jason Carroll in the second grade. He used to practice writing my name in cursive. He bought me a matching candy bracelet and necklace for Christmas, a candygram for Valentine’s Day, and he beat up Preston Wright, who always used to bully me. On the last day of school, he told me that he would never forget me and that he would always love me.”
“Damn. A li’l nigga was getting deep to be eight, wasn’t he?”
“I think he was sweet.”
“How come you not rocking that li’l nigga’s ring and name?” I asked with a chuckle.
“He moved away. He knew that he was leaving, and that’s why he was telling me goodbye on the last day of school.”
“Let me find out that li’l nigga lurking somewhere trying to find you.”
“Well, he did look me up on social media a few years ago. He was married with kids, but he just wanted to check to see how my life turned out.”
