Cambry pumped her hand into the air in excitement. "What did you have in mind?" she asked, trying to sound calm.
"I'd like to take you to dinner at this great restaurant I know of," he told her.
"What is it?" Cambry asked him.
"I'd like to surprise you," Brooks replied. "If you don't mind."
"Hmmm," Cambry said, hesitating for a moment. "That sounds great. What kind of restaurant is it? How fancy do I need to dress? And what time should I be ready?"
She could hear him laughing on the other end of the line. "It's not really fancy. Tennis shoes wouldn't be out of place there. But trust me, the food is fantastic."
Cambry was surprised to hear that. Most of the men she had dated always wanted to take her somewhere fancy where they could show off their class. "Okay," she finally said. "I'm fine with that. What time should I be ready?"
"I'll pick you up around seven?" he said.
Cambry nodded even though Brooks couldn't see. "That's perfect."
"Great," Brooks said. "I can't wait."
They hung up and Cambry squealed. Jenae stood at her bedroom door, waiting to hear a report about the conversation. "What did he say?" she asked.
"He asked me out for dinner," Cambry told her. A large smile crossed her face as she stood and began to rummage in her closet for what she should wear.
"And where is he going to take you?" Jenae asked. "That way I'll know what to help you pick out to wear."
"Well he wouldn't tell me," Cambry said as she pulled out a pair of her skinny jeans that showed off her ass. "When I asked how fancy I should dress, he said tennis shoes would be fine."
"Tennis shoes?" Jenae said, helping her dig in the closest. "We're not doing that."
Cambry shook her head. "No, I'm not wearing tennis shoes on a first date."
Jenae moved out of the closet with a pair of red pumps and a sparkly, red top. "You should wear this," she said, laying the top above the pants on the bed. "And these red heels to match."
Seven o'clock rolled around and Cambry was reading and waiting for Brooks. He showed up right on time, knocking on their apartment door in a pattern. Cambry was excited and felt butterflies flutter through her stomach. "This is it," she whispered to Jenae before she opened the door.
Brooks stood on the other side, one hand in one of the pockets on his dark blue jeans. He wore a darker grey, button-up shirt that emphasized his muscular arms and chest. "Wow," he said when he saw her. "You look stunning."
A smile broke across Cambry's face. "Thank you," she replied. "You look nice as well."
He held his arm out for her to wrap hers through and she accepted, shutting the door behind her. Brooks led her out of the apartment building to a dark blue sports car that was parked out front. "Is this your car?" she asked. Nodding, Brooks opened the door for her. Once she was seated, he closed the door and walked to the driver's side before climbing in. She waited until he was on the road before saying, "How does a bartender afford a car like this?"
He chuckled. "The truth is, I'm not just a bartender. During the day, I work with my father as a senior partner in his company."
Cambry's jaw dropped. She had assumed that his only job was at the club. "What is your father's company?"
"We own several different clubs, the one we met at last night being one of them," Brooks said, shifting his manual shifter in the car.
She was in shock. Cambry certainly hadn't realized that Brooks was wealthy, but it turned out he was, in fact, very wealthy. A few moments later, he pulled the car up in front of a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that resided in between two larger companies. Having never heard of it, she felt nervous about what the food would taste like, but she decided to try to have a positive attitude about it.
They walked in and she saw that there were only about ten tables, but only one of them was being used. Brooks led her to one in the corner and a moment later a man came over and set two waters and two menus on the table before them. "Brooks!" he exclaimed, holding his arms out to the side.
Brooks stood and wrapped his arms around the man, pulling him into a hug. They clapped each other on their backs for a second. "It's good to see you again," Brooks said when he pulled away.
"It's been far too long!" the man said. "And who is this lovely young woman?" he leaned over and placed a kiss on the back of Cambry's hand.
"This is Cambry," Brooks told him, smiling. "Cambry, this is an old family friend, Nicola. He owns this restaurant."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Cambry said with a smile.