Long As You Know Who You Belong To by jwppublishing Read Free Book Online Page A

the flowers.”
    “No doubt. You ready to go?”
    “Yeah, one second.” I walked over to the concierge
desk. “Brent, could you take these up to my place, put them in some
water, and set them on the foyer table? There should be some vases
underneath the kitchen sink.” I handed him the bouquet.
    “No problem, Miss. Buckley. Have a good night.”
     Kimani and I walked out of my apartment
building and approached his Range. He opened the door for me, and I
slid in while he walked around and hopped in on his side. We pulled
off with some Miguel playing on low and the sunroof open displaying
the starry sky.
    Kimani glanced over at me and smiled.
    “What?” I asked, starting to feel shy again under his
gaze.
    “Why you seem so nervous? You were bold as fuck when
we met at my brother’s party, and now you’re all quiet.”
    I giggled. “You’re going to laugh if I tell you the
real reason.”
    “Try me.”
    “I’ve never been on a real date.”
    He was quiet. A perplexed look fell over his face and
when he could afford to take his eyes off the road to look at me,
he did. “What you mean you’ve never been on a real date?”
    “I’ve never been. Like when a dude picks me up, takes
me to do shit, pays for it, and takes me to the crib. I’ve never
been on a date.” Having to break it down like that was
embarrassing.
    “Why not?” he asked.
    I opened my mouth to speak, but what was I going to
say? That I was a reformed hoe who no one respected enough to ask
out on a real date? That I was better known as a one-hitter-quitter
in most niggas books? The fact that I had already admitted that I’d
never been taken out was embarrassing enough.
    “You know what? It don’t even matter. You’re going to
have your first official date tonight, and I’ll make it one you
won’t forget.” He winked at me.
    Surprised but elated that he didn’t further press the
issue, I smiled and relaxed against the soft peanut butter colored
leather seats.
     
****
             
“Kimani! What are we doing? We can’t go in here. It’s closed!” I
looked at him like he had fucking lost it when he dragged me to the
entrance of the Santa Monica Pier. It was damn near midnight, and I
just knew this nigga wasn’t about to have me doing no illegal
shit.
    The date had been hella bomb so far. He’d taken me to
Mastro’s in Beverly Hills, and their food was delish. After dinner,
we roamed around Beverly Hills until we found a bar we liked and
stopped in to talk and grab some drinks.
    I’d learned a lot about Kimani, and I was definitely
impressed. He’d told me all about his life growing up with Grey in
Detroit and the death of his girlfriend that lead him to
California. He’d put in a lot of work to make it in the modeling
world—taking gigs with little known designers, building his
portfolio, and doing practically taking anything he could just so
that he could get the attention of a modeling agency. When he
signed on with Stephanie Diego, she’d told him that his charm and
personality would get him more than a few print and runway gigs.
Now he was pursuing a career in acting. I found myself feeling
proud of this man that I had just met. We were a lot alike, and I
was really enjoying his company.
    “Girl, stop being such a damn scaredy cat,” he
laughed.
    A few moments later, a man walked up to the gate,
unlocked the padlock, and ushered us in. Confused, I stepped past
the gate and instantly the whole pier lit up. Kimani took my hand
and led me to the cotton candy stand, where there was a man
standing behind the counter.
    “What is all this?” I asked.
    “When you said that you had never been on a date
before, I knew I had to make this shit live. I know some people
that know some people that like making a little money on the side,
so they let us come to enjoy the pier after hours.” He laughed and
I joined him. “But seriously, I can’t understand why the niggas
you’ve messed with before never noticed how special you