Page 28 of Reserved for Him
I smirked when she opened the door and stepped back inside. I heard her press the buttons, then a few seconds later she came out again.
“All set.”
“Thank you.” I put my hand on the small of her back and led her down the steps.
Ever since that shit with her ex, I had been taking her safety seriously, and that was why I connected her with someone I knew that owned a security company. I reached out to him myself because I wanted him to personally do the job, even though he usually sent someone else. I didn’t doubt that he didn’t have good dudes working for him, but I trusted him, and I wanted to make sure shit was the way it was supposed to be.
“Why didn’t you keep your car in your driveway? We could have just walked over there,” Junicia said as I opened my car door for her.
I waited until I got in the car and started it before I responded to her. “Because this is our first official date, and Iwanted to treat it as such. If I lived anywhere else, I would have had to pull into your driveway. Sit back and let me treat you like my passenger princess.”
“Well, okay then.” She giggled as she put her seat belt on.
Junicia’s ex was trash, and I wanted her to see that I wasn’t anything like him. We had been having a good time, but I knew she still had her guard up a little, and I didn’t blame her. My guard was up a little as well. She had her own money, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t try to use me for mine. I didn’t see her being that type of person, but it was still too early to tell.
“How was your day?” I asked.
“Busy as usual. Some days I love it, and others, not so much. I don’t know what else I would do, though. I have to stay busy, and I love talking to other people. How was yours?”
“Maybe you should think about other things you want to do. If you ever become unhappy, then leave the job. No job is worth your peace. Just like no person is worth your peace, either.”
Over the last two weeks, she filled me in on some things about her ex, and I knew she was unhappy for a while. I wished I had said something to her sooner, but I believed everything happened when it was supposed to. She needed to see him for what he was on her own time.
“You’re right about that. I’ll have to think about what else I could do because nursing and all aspects of it is all I know.”
“I get it, but you don’t have to have the answer now. Maybe take a vacation. Sometimes a break helps.”
“It has been a while.”
It had been a minute since I took a vacation as well. Maybe she and I could do something together. I kept that thought to myself, but things were progressing faster than I would have imagined. I needed to know she was fully done with her ex before I took things any further than they already had. The dudewas in jail, but who knew what would happen once he got out. It wasn’t like he had to serve a lot of time.
“Think about it and see.”
“I will.” She smiled and turned up the radio when a song she liked came on.
Typically, I would have said something about someone touching my radio, but I let her slide. Her being in her little music zone helped me from having to talk too much. That was something I appreciated about her, though. She didn’t expect me to talk all the time.
If she asked questions or initiated a conversation, I was all for it, but a lot of times we just let the music or the television provide entertainment, and it didn’t seem to bother Junicia at all.
The rest of the ride to the restaurant was spent listening to the music. Every other song Junicia would sing along, and even though she could barely hold a tune, I liked listening to her enjoy herself.
When we arrived, I pulled up to the valet. The attendant opened the door for her before I could get around to it.
“Thank you,” she said as she stepped out. She smiled at me when I reached my hand out for her to grab.
It was cold, so I rushed us inside.
“Hello. We have a reservation for Brown,” I told the hostess when we entered.
“Hi, yes. Your table is ready. Follow me.”
I let Junicia walk ahead of me, but I kept my hand on her back. Men were looking at her as we walked through the restaurant, so I had to let them know she was taken. Technically, she was single and could do what she wanted, but they didn’t need to know that.
The table was located near a semi-secluded corner to give us a little privacy. It was an upscale restaurant, so nobody would bother us anyway.
I pulled the chair out for Junicia, then helped her out of her coat before draping it on the back of her chair. Once she was settled, I took my jacket off and put it on the back of my chair before sitting down.
“Thank you,” I said to the waitress as she put the menus down on the table.
