Winifred

I was up waiting for Elijah to come scoop me for this all day date he’d planned for us. He refused to give me a single detail about what our day would entail despite me bugging the hell out of him for the past couple of days. I sat on my couch, brimming with anticipatory energy, when my phone rang.

I picked it up to see that it was Roni calling.

“Yes, Veronica?” I answered, smiling.

“Do we know where we’re going yet?” she asked and I cracked up.

“Girl, I am still at home. He just let me know he’d be pulling up in a few. I promise when I know you’ll know. Why in the world are you up so damned early harassing me anyway?”

She was currently on a multi-day trip on the west coast, so a smooth two hours behind our time.

“Just getting in,” she said and I gasped.

“At six a.m.? Where the hell you been?”

“Remember Derek?” she said.

“Buddy you used to always see when you were out that way?”

“Yeah,” she said and I could hear the grin in her tone. “He called me up out of the blue and well… I needed some dick so I heeded the call. I had to get out of the jam quickly though because after we were done he was talking some shit about me moving out here and letting him take care of me.”

Knowing her history, I knew exactly why that didn’t fly with her. She’d been in a relationship with a guy about ten years her senior a few years back that took a wild, controlling turn. Thankfully she had the good sense, and an older brother who wasn’t with the shits, to get out of that situation. Ever since then she’d been a little cautious about who she let get close to her, much preferring to keep her dalliances carefree and breezy.

“Aw naw,” I groaned.

“Safe to say I blocked that number before the uber pulled away from his crib,” she said with a titter. “Hence why I’m up at the crack of dawn tryna live vicariously through you.”

Right after she said that my doorbell rang.

“Oop, sounds like bae has arrived. Keep me posted, sis. Love you.”

“Love you more,” I said, rising as I hung up with her and headed toward my front door.

When I opened it, I stutter stepped briefly because gahdamn . Elijah stood on my porch looking handsome, with a fresh line up, his golden brown skin glistening under the morning sun. He was dressed simply, in a pair of gray Essentials sweatshorts, paired with a matching tee. On his feet were a pair of Cool Grey 11s.

“Good morning,” he crooned, stepping all up in my space, giving me a simple kiss as he pulled me into him by the waist. “You ready to roll?”

I nodded. “Just need to grab my bag.”

“You look good, baby. I see you matching my fly,” Elijah commented as I came back toward him.

I’d put on a simple gray T-shirt dress, paired with flat sandals and a cropped, distressed jean jacket. We were in that time of year where the weather could go either way, so I was dressed for whichever way the mercury slid. As we got into the car I couldn’t help but attempt to ask one more time, “You sure you just don’t wanna tell me what the plan for today is?”

“Now where would the fun be in that? Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the passenger princess life today, knowing that everything we do has been especially curated with you in mind.”

I huffed a little, but could resist grinning as I rolled my eyes. Twenty minutes after we backed out of my driveway, we pulled up to one of my favorite breakfast spots, Le Creperie.

“Starting off on the right foot, huh?” Elijah said with a sly grin before informing me not to touch my door.

Once he came around and let me out, I couldn’t help giving him a smart ass comment. “I guess you did alright or whateva.”

Breakfast was delicious, filled with us quipping back and forth as I tried to wear him down and he remained solid in his resolve to not tell me a damn thing about the rest of the day’s adventures. When we were back in the car, and on the highway, Elijah connected my phone to his car, telling me I had the very important job of being the DJ for our journey. Since I was forever musically stuck in the nineties, most of the trip was soundtracked via the sounds of my favorite R&B groups and singers from that time period. When Jodeci’s “Love U 4 Life” shuffled on, Elijah said, “Oh, turn that up, love. That’s my shit.”

“What you know about Jodeci?” I asked.

“What you mean? This is a classic,” he replied, immediately harmonizing along with K-Ci, sounding good as hell.

Immediately, I stopped the music, gawking at him as he just cheesed broadly.

“Now wait a damn minute! You been holding out on me? Why do you sound like that ?” I asked in an awe-filled voice.

“I can hold a note or two, nothing major,” he said. “But, ay, cut that shit back on. You disturbing my flow.”

I shook my head, doing exactly as he’d asked, as I mumbled to myself about his flow. Briefly, Elijah tore his eyes from the road and said, “I already told you that you didn’t know everything about me. That’s the beauty of a day like this one. You’ll learn quite a few things as we roll.”

I couldn’t do shit but sit there and stare at his profile as we moved along, wondering just what other things he planned on revealing to me as the day marched on. About an hour and a half into our journey on the highway, we pulled off at an exit, and I frowned because we appeared to be in the middle of nowhere. When he navigated us into a gas station, saying he had to pay his water bill, I went in as well to grab water and some snacks since I still had no idea how much longer we’d be in the car.

I was standing in line, waiting to pay, when Elijah reappeared, took the items from my hands and told me to go wait in the car. I didn’t give him any pushback, something that surprised him if the look he gave me when I handed everything over was any indication. Once he was back behind the wheel and handed me the bag of goodies he’d added a couple things to, I asked, “Can I at least know how much longer we have ’til our destination?” Instead of using his in-car navigation system, he’d kept an earbud in one ear and was getting the directions fed to him like that. Ingenious, yet annoying at the same damn time.

“Probably another two hours,” he shared and I groaned.

We’d long left civilization and were driving past what seemed like infinite farmland, making the view along our journey very monotonous and boring. Granted he and I had been entertaining ourselves via the music and conversation here and there, but two more hours of this was gonna take me to the brink.

“I probably should have told you I’m not a good road trip companion,” I confessed. “I’m already getting a little bored.”

Elijah laughed then told me, “Yeah I already figured that out. I’m too far gone off your ass for it to be a check in the negative column though, so I just need you to work with me here. I promise it’ll be worth the ride.”

“If you say so,” I murmured, grabbing my phone to shoot a text to my girls.

We’ve been in this car for forty days and forty nights and I’m still no closer to knowing our destination.

Roni: You’re so annoying, it’s barely been a couple of hours.

Why are you even awake to see this?

Kenni: Young Eli should have consulted us before planning this because we could have warned him.

Roni: OMG, remember when we did the wine weekend in Galena?

Kenni: Baby she acted like those lil two and three quarters hours were gonna kill her. How many damn stops did we end up taking for her to “stretch her legs”?

You bitches do realize I can see this, right? ??

Roni: You act like we didn’t clown you TO YOUR FACE during the drive there and back, sis.

Kenni: Yeah you really need to work on your road trip patience, babe.

Why did I ever come to y’all for solidarity? ??

Kenni: Have you at least been paying attention to what highway y’all are on? Maybe that’ll give you a clue to the final destination.

Girl I ain’t seen nothing but farmland for the past hour. My eyes are crossing to the point where I can’t even look out the window anymore. I’ma just share my location with y’all. If either of you has an idea, put me up on game.

Freddie has started sharing location.

Roni: LOL, no. While I am just as anxious as you are to know where you’ll end up, I won’t be ruining that man’s surprise. Lay back, close your eyes, and enjoy the ride.

Kenni: What Roni said.

Y’all suck.

With those words I put my phone down, uninterested in their replies as my phone buzzed a few more times after I discarded it.

“I’m taking a nap,” I said to Elijah, with a slight hint of annoyance in my tone.

He chuckled and told me to enjoy it. I hadn’t really planned on napping, but my playlist descended into the quiet storm portion and the rotation of the tires on smooth highway road was like being in a damn rocker. I soon found myself lulled into sleep, only awakening when the car appeared to slow down. I opened my eyes to see we were now off the highway and on a state route and I’d been out for just under ninety minutes.

“Welcome back, baby. You feeling better after your nap?” Elijah asked teasingly.

I groaned then laughed. “Shut up. I don’t do road trips well.”

“So I’m learning. I’ll tuck that tidbit in for future reference. Good news for you is that we’re just about fifteen minutes out.”

“From the damn middle of nowhere?” I quipped, drawing another laugh from Elijah.

“I can’t wait until we get there and your attitude shifts quickly.”

“If you say so,” I replied.

We drove for a few minutes longer when a sign near the side of the road caught my attention, making me squeal in excitement.

“No you didn’t!” I yelped. “No way, no way, no way!”

Elijah said nothing, just cut his eyes at me briefly as we pulled into the main drag of the small town I’d been trying to visit ever since I read an article about it years ago. Dubbed “Big Things Small Town”, this place held a random collection of oversized versions of a lot of commonplace items. I screeched aloud when I saw the oversized Minion as we turned into a parking lot.

“Elijah,” I said, my voice trembling as I felt tears cresting in my lids. “How did you…” My words trailed as I fought not to let the tears drop.

He parked and turned to me with a smug grin in place. “I listen when you talk, baby. Even if it’s your random ramblings during your post-sex high. I looked this joint up when you mentioned it, thought it’d be an interesting diversion at the least, and put a pin in it for something we could do when the time was right. C’mon, let’s go see the world’s biggest toothpick and whatever the hell else these white folks with too much time on their hands have constructed in this place.”

I got out of the car like a giddy little kid, immediately grasping his hand into mine as we took ourselves on a walking tour of all the big items in their downtown.

“This is insane,” I murmured as we approached the gigantic birdcage. “Get a picture of me in here, Elijah!”

I climbed into the cage, grinning like Lil Magic as he snapped a series of closeups then stepped back to get a full body shot of me in this massive cage. He was my ready photographer, taking pictures at the drop of a hat with me near or in all of the gigantic structures. As we climbed the stairs into the world’s largest mailbox, I was filled with so much emotion. Never in all of my years of dating had a man been so attuned to my interests that he planned something so simple yet poignant. I turned to Elijah, throwing my arms around his neck to pull his face down to me so I could whisper, “This is the best first date ever.”

His hands settled at my waist with a quick squeeze before he replied, “Glad you’re enjoying yourself. I’d do anything to keep that smile on your face, .”

We spent maybe an hour total, wandering through the streets of the town, and a nearby village that also held a couple of big things, before we were back on the road.

“One more destination and then we’ll be on our way back home,” Elijah said.

I bounced giddily in my seat, my former preoccupation with how long it took to get here and back no longer at the forefront of my mind. A little over half an hour later we were pulling up to a winery fashioned to mimic Tuscany. We did a wine tasting and had a late lunch there, enjoying some bomb ass pizza and a super delicious lemon Italian cream cake. Elijah even purchased a few bottles of the wines that were my favorite during the tasting for me. He hadn’t indulged in the alcohol since he was driving, but said he trusted my judgment enough that he was certain the wines I liked he would as well.

We walked back to the car to head home and I stopped Elijah from opening my door, bringing his attention to me once again. I pressed a soft kiss to his lips, pulling back with a huge grin.

“Thank you for today. The planning, the intentionality, none of it went unnoticed. You’re an amazing man, Elijah Woolford. And when we get home? You’re getting all the milk you can handle.”

Elijah threw his head back in laughter before pinning me with a fiery stare. “Guess that means I better make good timing on the way home, huh?”

“Mmmmhmmm,” I hummed.

“My OG wants you to come over for dinner,” Elijah said and my eyes bugged for two reasons.

The first being we were at work, albeit in the breakroom, and he’d casually dropped that bomb on me in a regular tone. Though I’d shared with the girls that he and I were seeing one another, we hadn’t exactly “come out” at work. It took less than half a second for me to no longer care about anyone overhearing that when the words he’d uttered finally sank in.

“You want me to meet your mom?” I replied.

His response was a smirk before he said, “Grandmoms and technically you’ve already met her.”

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever, smartass.”

“So should I take that as a yes?”

I paused before giving my answer, feeling uncharacteristically nervous about the situation. I didn’t have the best track record with parents. Elijah immediately sensed my discomfort as his brow furrowed and he laid a hand atop mine that rested on the table.

“No pressure. For real.”

I brought my eyes to him and he quickly shuttered the disappointment clearly displayed there since I’d yet to speak up.

At my prolonged silence, Elijah spoke up again. “Don’t worry, I’ll just tell her no.”

“No!” I blurted, maybe a little too loudly since the couple other folks in the break room discreetly tried to see what was going on. I cleared my throat before speaking again.

“Tell her yes. I’d love to have dinner with your family.”

My grin matched the one that slowly unfurled on Elijah’s face as he continued to play it cool.

“Aight, bet,” he said, entwining our fingers as he spoke. “You’re off this weekend, right?”

I nodded.

“Sunday after church work?”

Now I was the one whose brows furrowed. “You go to church?”

“In the pew at Sweet Honey in the Rock on the Side of the Crossroads of Life Missionary Baptist every Sunday I’m not working, baby. OG would have my ass if not.”

“Not you cussing while telling me you’re a choir boy,” I replied with a titter.

“You don’t believe me? Coz I can come scoop you before services and we can turn this into an all-day thang.”

“I need you to chill out on me, Eli,” I said with an eye roll. “I believe you. Besides, I have a standing appointment with Bedside Baptist on the Sundays I’m not working. Can’t let down Pastor Pillow and Deacon Comforter.”

Now he was the one shaking his head at me. “Can’t believe I be laid up with a heathen. OG raised me better than that. Aight, I gotta get back, but I’ll see you later?”

“You better,” I replied.

Quickly he raised our still entwined fingers and dropped a kiss on the top of my hand. “Later, baby,” he said, using a finger to caress my cheek before he walked toward the exit for the breakroom behind me.

Since my back was to the door, I didn’t realize Kenni must’ve been entering the break room as Elijah exited. She sat down at my table with a broad grin stretched across her face.

“Oh, are we out at work now?” she asked, eyes sparkling with glee.

I just rolled my eyes.

“Okay, wait. Can I just say something?” Kenni piped up again.

“We both know you’re gonna say it regardless, Kendall Rene, so just spit it out.”

“Not the first and middle. I’m shaking in my sensible shoes. Ooooooh,” she said, waving both hands in the air, making us both fall into giggles. “But nah, seriously, I don’t know how I didn’t notice it before but you’re sparkly, friend. And not just in the getting good dick glow kinda way. I can’t put a finger on it, but I know I’ve never seen you like this. And that’s a good thing because you deserve happiness, baby cakes.”

“Awwww, thanks boo. I can’t front like I’m not a little nervous about what folks will think if word gets around here that Elijah and I are seeing each other, but if I’m being totally honest? Just the idea of letting other folks’ perceptions ruin what we’re building right now makes my chest tight.”

“Man, fuck what anyone else has to say. If that man treats you well, is making you smile, that’s all that counts.”

“Even if it’s his grandmother? Girl, he done invited me to family dinner on Sunday.”

Kenni raised her brows. “Oh Young Eli making them intentions known. Score one for the pup,” she said with a cackle.

“Chill on the age, jokes, babe,” I said, hoping the words sounded lighter to her ears than they had my own.

“Oop. Message received,” Kendall said. “So family dinner, huh?”

“Mmmmhmmm. After church and errthang.”

“ You’re going to church?”

“Uh uhn, don’t do me like that. You know my issues with that whole organized religion thing.”

I’d grown up with parents who weren’t overly involved in church, definitely more of the EMC kind of folks—Easter, Mother’s Day, Christmas. Jaeden’s father Christopher, though? His people were ultra-religious. Daddy was a deacon tryna make his way to pastor, mother was on the usher board. When the news came out that I was pregnant, amongst other things that Chris dabbled in, they’d called me everything but a child of God who’d come into their son’s life and led him down a road of damnation. If only they knew, he’d been easing on down that motherfucker for years before he’d met me. I shook my head, clearing it of the thoughts of those people .

“Don’t get too in your head about that, Freddie,” Kenni said as if she’d seen the road down which my thoughts had begun to travel on my face. “His grandmother seemed nice in those two seconds we interacted with her. I’m sure things will be fine.”

“I’ll reserve judgment until after this family dinner. Speaking of family, chile we were all the way wrong. That little girl we saw with them was not his daughter, but his niece. Elijah’s a twin and she’s his sister’s baby.”

“Whaaaaat?”

“Mmmhmmm, explains why that baby had his exact face but feminized.”

“That’s so cute that he was spending his day with his granny and niece. You know you’ll have to report back and let me know how everything goes on Sunday.”

“You know I will. But hey, I thought you were off today?”

“Girl, so did I but I got a call asking if I could take this flight today. The life of a first officer,” she said with a sigh.

Kenni’s career as a pilot was a fairly new adventure. Between the three of us, she was the newest hire to the airline having come on board about three years ago. Before that she worked in corporate America as an accountant. She’d fallen into a life of boredom and complacency until she had enough and made the career shift. She and Ron had actually bonded first since they found themselves on multiple flights together early on in Kenni’s tenure. Since Ron and I were friendly outside of work already, she introduced us and we hit it off immediately. I’d been a lone wolf for much of my life, not really good at making friends, but Kenni and Ronni were more like sisters than friends to me. They’d seen me at my best and worst, Ron especially since we’d known one another longer.

“You know you’re loving every minute of it,” I replied with a sly grin.

“And am,” she confirmed.

“Alright girlie, I gotta get back to it. But I’ll talk to you later,” I said, rising and giving her a hug.

“I told you that you didn’t need to bring anything,” Elijah groused.

“And I told you that I was raised better than that. You don’t just show up to folks’ houses without a little something for the host. Now, grab this damn cake carrier and let me in.”

“Yeah, Lij, grab the damn cake carrier and let her in,” a feminine voice teased from behind him.

Elijah stepped aside to reveal a shorter, thicker version of himself while grumbling, “I thought I told you to stay in the kitchen with OG and Lady Bug.”

“And you should know that I’m never listening to you,” she shot back before making her way over to me. “Now who do we have here, rudeness…”

Elijah groaned again before introducing us. “, this is my pain in the ass twin, Elisha. Sha, this .”

“Please call me Freddie,” I insisted as she approached with a hand extended. “I don’t know why your brother insists on calling me by my full name.”

“He’s annoying like that,” she said with a grin, not letting go of my hand as she led me back to where I assumed the kitchen was.

“Damn, Sha, is she your girl or mine?” Elijah grumbled behind us.

“Shit, the way lil baby is letting me lead her, you might wanna ask her that question.”

I laughed at their back and forth as we walked into the kitchen to see the little girl and older woman he’d been with when me and the girls ran into him as well as an older gentleman.

“Pumpkin, stop antagonizing your brother,” the older woman said, turning from where she’d been stirring something in a pot.

“Yeah, you better listen to OG,” Elijah said, placing my cake carrier on a side counter before grabbing me away from his sister.

“Hey, it’s the pretty lady from Uncle Lij’s phone,” his adorable niece chimed in, making my grin stretch a little wider.

His grandmother wiped her hands on her apron before striding over in our direction.

“, right?” she said, giving me an assessing glance.

“Yes, ma’am, Mrs. Woolford,” I replied instantly, a little intimidated by her until she gave me a broad grin.

“Nice to see you again, honey. I thought this boy would never bring you around. And what do we have here?” She nodded toward the cake carrier.

“Elijah insisted I didn’t need to bring anything, but my mama would be spinning in her grave like a rotisserie if she knew I showed up to your house empty handed after being invited. It’s just a pound cake with lemon glaze. Nothing too fancy,” I replied with a shrug.

“Peanut, did you tell your lady friend that pound cake was my favorite?” his grandmother gushed.

My brows lifted as Elijah proudly responded, “Nah, she did that all on her own. C’mon, baby, lemme introduce you to Pops.”

His grandfather was a man of few words I quickly learned as he greeted me briefly then immediately went back to watching TV. Elijah told me not to take it personally and he’d explain later.

“Mrs. Woolford, is there anything I can help you with?” I asked.

His grandmother looked back over her shoulder and smiled. “Oh no, baby. We don’t put guests to work in this house. But thank you so much for offering. Naya, baby, you finished setting the table?”

“Yes ma’am,” she chirped.

“Pumpkin, Peanut, y’all know the drill,” Mrs. Woolford said and the twins snapped to action.

Elijah led me to the dining room, encouraging me to sit while he handled business. He ushered his grandfather into the room then disappeared into the kitchen to help his sister and grandmother bring in the food. After their grandmother said a quick blessing over the food, everyone dug in, filling their plates with the pot roast, mashed potatoes, lima beans, greens, and yeast rolls. I took my first bite and my eyes rolled to the back of my head with delight. The roast was fork tender, melting onto my tongue like butter.

“Shit good, right, baby?” Elijah murmured with a grin.

“Mrs. Woolford, everything is divine,” I raved after I finished the bit in my mouth. “It’s been a minute since I’ve had some good home cooking like this.”

“Oh, you don’t cook much?” she asked, staring at me intensely.

“It’s just me at home since my son’s away at school, so all of my meals are either super quick or take out,” I replied honestly.

Her brows raised at the mention of my son, leaving me to wonder just how much about me, if anything, Elijah had shared with her.

“Oh you have a son? And he’s away at school… like college?” she asked with a brow still peaked.

I nodded and smiled proudly. “Yes, my Jae’s finishing up his third year in undergrad at Howard, majoring in education.”

“Mmmm,” was all she said as a hush fell over the table.

The only sounds heard were the scrapes of utensils and quiet chewing until his grandmother spoke up again.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you, ?”

“I don’t mind at all. I’ll be forty-one in a little over a month, actually.”

“Is that right?” she murmured.

“Okay, bro, I see you with the cougar trap,” Elisha chimed in, making Elijah groan, “Chill, ShaSha.”

I damn near choked on the piece of roll I’d just popped into my mouth at her calling me a cougar. The rest of dinner continued in a strained sort of silence and I felt hella uncomfortable in the situation. I hadn’t known what to expect coming into this situation, but sitting here now watching a warm reception transition into a frosty gathering left me uneasy. And my uneasiness wasn’t allayed when Mrs. Woolford asked to speak with me privately. Elijah tried running interference, but she wasn’t hearing it. I wasn’t one to back down, so I gave him a reassuring smile as I trailed her into the kitchen to retrieve my dessert for everyone to enjoy while she and I had our little chat.

We sat at the small table in the corner of her kitchen, her eyes appraising me for a brief moment before she spoke.

“I try to stay out of Peanut and Pumpkin’s business for the most part, but you have to understand I’m a little… concerned. Especially considering your son is nearly the same age as my Peanut.”

I cringed internally, but met her words with a confident smile. “I wholly understand your concern, Mrs. Woolford, because I shared those same concerns myself when Elijah tried his hand at pursuing me. I want to be clear when I say that, he pursued me . And I had my misgivings, but something tells me you know just how determined he can be when he wants to achieve something.” That granted me a small smile. “Elijah is… wise beyond his years, raised well with a good head on his shoulders. Beyond that he is a kind, generous, and thoughtful man. In the time that he and I have spent together, I’ve come to really enjoy being in his presence. And I’m certain I have you to thank for that.”

“What has he told you about his mother?” she inquired.

“Not much,” I replied honestly. “We’re still in the beginning stages of really getting to know each other beyond the surface level…”

“Eliza had the twins at seventeen. Then we lost her before her twenty-fifth birthday. I’m certain you can do that math and understand why I’m a bit… cautious about whatever this is you and my grandson have going on.”

“Respectfully, Mrs. Woolford? Elijah’s grown enough to know what he wants. I understand you may have your misgivings because hell if Jaeden came home with someone who was damn near my age, you best believe I’d be pulling her aside for a little woman to woman chat. But I want to be very clear when I say to you that I have no underhanded motives when it comes to Elijah. As I said before, I really enjoy his presence in my life and have grown pretty fond of him the more I get to know him. And I hope that as we come to know one another better, you’ll view our relationship with less of a critical lens.”

“Only time will tell I suppose,” she said, then stood and made her way back to the dining room.

I took a beat, released a breath, then stood, hoping whatever that was wouldn’t trickle down into what Elijah and I were now starting to build. I hadn’t lied to her once. The age thing had been very awkward for me in the beginning, however Elijah had proven to me that it was truly just a number. But it wasn’t lost on me that his grandmother had brought up his mother and her age for a specific reason. One that had me second guessing giving into Elijah so quickly.

“You good, mama?” Elijah asked, appearing outta nowhere.

I cringed at his usage of that particular pet name. “Can you… not call me that?” I said, instead of answering his question. “I… um, think I’m gonna get outta here. Let you guys enjoy your family Sunday. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“What did OG say to you because if I need to…”

I cut him off, pressing a finger to his lips.

“There’s nothing you need to do, Elijah. I just… I need a moment, okay? So I’m gonna take that and get back with you later, alright?”

“Aight, lemme walk you out…”

I shook my head. “Not necessary. I can see myself out once I say goodbye to everyone.”

He wasn’t hearing that because after I expressed my gratitude for dinner and said my goodbyes, he was on my heels, trailing me to the driver side of my car. He blocked the door before I could open it, pulling me against him, forcing eye contact. “Don’t let whatever OG said undo everything I’ve done to get us to where we are. Hit me up and let me know you got home safe, aight?” He then leaned in and took my mouth in a torrid kiss, not letting up ’til he got his fill. The kiss rendered me momentarily stupid until he stepped back, pulling me with him before he opened my door for me. I slid into the seat and strapped myself in before he closed the door and rapped on the roof of my car twice before striding off. As I pulled off, I saw him standing on the curb in my rearview until I made a turn that took me off their street.