Page 28 of Love & Vendettas
“Here’s my number and my name. Call me sometimes. I’d be interested in having Bible Study with you.”
I turn my hand around when she finishes and look at the number and then the name.
Bayleigh.
14 – BAYLEIGH – DINNER & A MOVIE
TWENTY-NINE YEARS AGO
I don’t know what the suit, glasses, and Bible were all about, but there was something about Zaire that got my attention the minute he stepped foot on that bus today. Not that those things weren’t peculiar and stood out on their own for a boy his age.
But I saw through the façade. He was cute as hell with his dark, chocolate skin. He’s tall, muscular, and quiet. There’s something about the quiet ones that always has an underlying sense of danger, an edginess to them.
Zaire might look like a nerd, but something tells me that he’s not. I was trying to be all flirty and cute today. That’s so far from who I am.
I’m used to guys stepping to me, but he didn’t do that. And I usually shy away from them anyway because I haven’t always been comfortable in my skin. My body seemed to have matured far quicker than my mind did, and it wasn't easy to get acclimated to the attention that guys gave me.
Something about Zaire, though, told me that I should approach him and not be scared. I wanted to know who he was, and I had the sense that he wouldn’t step to me first.
So, when the phone rang that evening around six, I jumped for it before my brothers could get to it. They were always on the phone, waiting for some fast girl to call them. My brothers could talk a girl out of her panties faster than a rat could snatch cheese from a trap.
“Hello,” I greeted shyly, looking at the caller ID.
Nora Grace Knight. I wonder if that’s his mom’s name.
“May I speak to Bayleigh?”
“And he’s got manners,” I tease shyly.
He laughs. “I thought it was you but didn’t want to assume anything. Sometimes, you call a girl’s house with the wrong approach and get cursed out.”
“That happens to you often?”
“Nah.”
“Mm. So, are you going to tell me about the Bible and suit getup or what?”
“What’s got you so interested in the Bible and my suit?”
“You do. I mean, you stand out with that, and I wanna know why.”
“What if I told you it wasn’t a getup, but that’s who I am?”
“Then I’m even more interested in knowing who you are.”
“Word?”
“Word.”
“Maybe we can hook up this weekend and discuss it?”
“Where?”
“I’m thinking the mall. Catch a quick movie and a bite to eat. Maybe go bowling afterwards.”
“What are you taking me to see?”
“What do you want to see?”
