Page 13 of Finesse
My heart is jumping but my feet remain firmly planted. “What’s one of your favorite songs from the eighties?” I ask.
“Hmm…so many…” His tongue darts his lips and I’m jealous of the simple action. “The one that stick out is “Mama Used to Say” by Junior. Our maid played that song often and I just have sweet memories of her and that time. She played a lot of soul music and she always played that particular song. She was in such a great mood and would be smiling as she dusted. I even helped her clean until my mother not-so politely reminded me that Cindy was being paid to clean and not me.” He rolls his eyes. “My father convinced my mother there was no harm in picking up a broom and learning some good old-fashioned hard work.”
“What was it like growing up as a senator’s son?” I ask. “You must’ve had a lot of…” The word comes to mind but I don’t want to say it and proudly wave my SJW card. “…opportunities.”
Cameron grins. “Being the senator’s son does come with a lot ofprivilege, yes.” He replies and my shoulders relax. “You’ve seenForrest Gump? That part where Forrest’s mom fucks the principal to get Forrest into his school? Let’s just say that was a regular occurrence with my father.”
I’m disgusted at what I hear, but I’m not shocked. Cameron’s father is a very attractive man. He’s physically fit with sandy blond hair, and light eyes. He has a five o’clock shadow that he wears with pride and has a smooth demeanor that would make the toughest woman weak.
He’s also great friends with another attractive senator, Jay Edwards. The conservative Karens go crazy over them. Even some of the liberals ones as well.
“What about your mother?” I ask. “She couldn’t be that cool with your father’s proclivities?”
Cameron smiles and shakes his head. “My mother is not going to let anything get in the way of her Manolos and money.”
I always scoff whenever I hear women say they would leave in the case of infidelity but I always feel those women are leaving broke men. If a woman is used to a life of privilege, she’s not giving up that up no matter how much side ass her husband gets. “When emotions become loud, money becomes louder.” I mention and Cameron nods.
“And you finally understand how the world works.” Cameron takes the meat off the grill and fixes my plate. “You can be angry on social media all you want, but if you don’t have the money to back it up, you’re just an angry fool behind a keyboard.”
We sit in comfortable silence as we enjoy our food, sharing it with each other. Our conversation is nice and light. We talk about movies and our favorite TV shows. We get into a playful debate on which Aunt Viv was the best.
It’s easy between us; maybe a bit too easy. It feels like I’ve known him forever, and not just a week. But I’m not trying to look too much into anything. As comfortable as I am with Cameron, I still don’t know anything about him.
And who knows if this would really work. There’s a bit of an age difference between us and we’ve come from two different backgrounds. The check comes and we’re done. Cameron takes out his wallet and I see a wad of cash flash before my eyes. He counts out five twenty-dollar bills and hands it to the server.
“Keep the change.” He smiles and the server is grateful.
I know it’s more than enough for the meal, but it seems odd he would be carrying that much money on him.
I know some men love to brag about how much money they have and claim they’re ballers, but it seems like Cameron doesn’t have to brag about any of it. I’m still unnerved at seeing that much money and how easily he was with it. Rich people problems.
“Are you ready to go, baby?” He puts his wallet away.
“Yes,” I scoot out of the booth and Cameron grabs my hand. He helps me stand and smiles at me. His eyes are so beautiful, with a sparkle that always tells me he’s up to no good. “Are you taking me back home?”
“I can if you want.” He pauses for a beat. “There was something else I wanted to do, but only if you’re up for it.”
Now I have to do it. “I’m game.”
~~~~~~
I wasn’t expecting the end of my first date with Cameron meant I would be blindfolded and led somewhere. I clearly trust this white boy too much if I’m totally cool with all of this without freaking out too much about it. Now I see why white women in those Lifetime movies aren’t as stupid as I thought they were.
“We’re almost there, Tay.” He directs me as he walks me through somewhere.
“Where are we going?” I ask for the umpteenth time.
“Just a few more steps.” He promises. “Don’t worry, we’re somewhere safe and public with lots of security.”
He didn’t have to tell me any of the last part but I know he did for my reassurance where we were going and what was happening. He wanted me to know that despite this second half of the date being his idea, I was still in charge of everything.
It was the most comforting lie he would ever have me believe.
We walked a short distance and suddenly stopped. Cameron briefly pulled away to talk to someone and came back a short time later. “I’ll help you down now.”
“Help me down?” What kind of date is this? “I don’t put out on the first date.”
“It’s not that type of date, Tay.” He assured me. “Unless you want to…?”
