“No, momma,” she whined.
“Nevaeh, don’t you take that tone with me. What did I say?” I looked at her sternly.
“Okay. I’ll go play,” she pouted as she went off to her room.
“So how was it?” Lorraine pressed.
“Let’s go in the kitchen while I make us a pot of coffee. I had a really great time.”
I filled her in on the juicy details of our luncheon, including the hand kiss in the parking lot as we said good-bye. As I recounted the afternoon, my mind raced a mile a minute. I hadn’t had that nice of a date in my entire life—and all we did was sit and talk over a meal. It was obvious that I had the hots for Dale.
“If I didn’t know you any better, I’d say that you’re doting over him,” Lorraine said as she poured creamer into her coffee.
“Well, he was amazing, and I had an awesome time. He was just so… different. He’s not like anyone I’ve ever met; not even close!”
“So do you foresee going out with him again?”
“It’s funny you asked that. He actually told me that he wanted to see me again soon!” I was as giddy as a high school girl who’d had her first kiss.
“Well let me tell you what I found out while you were on your date,” Lorraine said, matter-of-factly. “I did some research on the computer and you were right when you thought he was rich. He’s not just loaded, he’s a freaking billionaire!”
“Oh my God! Are you serious? I was out with a billionaire?” My mouth suddenly went dry as I sat in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? Please tell me that you’re messing around. You’re playing with me, aren’t you?” I couldn’t get over what she heard.
“I’ll show you. Come here, I might still have it up on the computer.” We walked over to the desktop and Lorraine pointed to his name on the list of the top United States billionaires.
“Oh my God!” I gasped. “If I would’ve known that he was a billionaire, I would’ve dressed much nicer. I can’t even imagine this.” A smile began to return as I played with the thought of going on a date with a billionaire.
“It’s fantastic to see you smiling. I hope things work out in your favor; you deserve it.” She commended. “I like seeing you so happy.”
“I promised him that I’d call him later,” I said, sipping her coffee. “And I intend to do just that.”
“I think you should,” Lorraine added.
Suddenly, I realized something. “Lorraine, what am I going to do if this actually turns into something? How am I going to explain this to my family? And how am I going to tell him that I might not be able to introduce him to my family?”
Lorraine shrugged. “Sounds like you have a problem on your hands. I don’t even know where to start with ideas on how you could break the news to your family,” she sipped her coffee. “I think Terrance will take it the worst since he’s the baby and all.”
“I know. God, why does this shit have to happen to me? I finally find an amazing man who would be perfect for me, and Nevaeh, but he’s white.”
“I’d say you have your work cut out for you. Maybe you should slowly introduce the idea to him that you might not be able to date him? Maybe see if you can shake him, but I’d hate to see you do that.”
“To be honest with you, I don’t know if I should. Why would I want to fuck up a good thing? It’s not every day a girl has a billionaire who won’t take no for an answer knocking on her door to take her out.” I frowned. Only this would happen to me.
“Well, it’s only been one date. You never know how things will turn out. Maybe he isn’t the right guy for you. Just because he’s got money doesn’t mean he’s the perfect man. You still don’t know how Nevaeh will react to him.”
“I know,” I said contemplating how I was going to work all this out.
After I played with Nevaeh and fed her dinner, I thought about calling him. I couldn’t get him out of my mind no matter what I was doing. Nine o’clock wouldn’t come fast enough.
“Nevaeh, honey, it’s almost time for bed. Let’s get your jammies on so you can go to sleep,” I said. The faster I get her in bed, the sooner I can call Dale.
She didn’t last 10 minutes after she brushed her teeth and laid down. I quietly shut her bedroom door and went into my room to call him. At first I was worried that it was too late to call him but figured I’d give it a shot.