Wrong for Me

04|swans and sloths

NAOMI COLE—MAY

AS VERONICA AND I neared our normal cafe on Monday morning, I couldn't ignore that nagging part of my brain that hoped Dante just so happened to be there. I was acting as if I couldn't easily dial his number.

"How old did you say he was?" She inquired as we stepped into the cafe, which wasn't as crowded as usual.

"Thirty-eight," I told her with a worried expression on my face, waiting for her response. It was a pretty big age gap—the only thing holding me back from letting this go any farther. We were in two completely different parts of our lives which could definitely pose some potential problems if I progressed with him. He had a full career while I didn't even know what I wanted to do with my life.

"Fifteen years," she hummed, letting the words hang in the air between us for a while. "At least it's not twenty. I think you should still go for it, he clearly doesn't seem to have an issue with it, so why should you? And it may cause some problems, but what relationship doesn't have problems?"

"You are officially employed as my voice of reason," I laughed as we inched up farther in the line.

I couldn't help but to let my eyes scan the cafe for his face—for those caramel colored eyes and that tan skin. Realizing that he wasn't there, I chastised myself for even expecting him to be. He clearly didn't have the caffeine addiction that I found myself with.

***
AFTER A LONG DAY of taking two final exams, I was more than glad to finally be finished with my classes for the summer. Having the summers free was the great thing about graduate school—even if I did have to work on finding an internship while also balancing my job.

Seated alone in my apartment after Veronica left to meet some friends from class, I couldn't get rid of the feeling that I should be enjoying my evening as well. Finally coming to my conclusion, I stood from the couch and marched confidently into my room. Without hesitation, I began to type in those ten digits written out in Dante's stunning handwriting. My finger hovered over that glowing green button that seemed to be taunting me until finally I pressed it and listened to the sounds of the ringing.

On the third ring, just as I was beginning to regret my decision, his sultry, deep voice sounded over the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey...this is Naomi," I replied, listening as he hummed over the phone in understanding. I could practically see that smirk of his on the other end.

"Naomi, what a surprise. You calling for a redo of Friday night?"

"Not a redo but...well, are you free tonight?" I questioned, biting down on my bottom lip as I waited for his response. It was Monday night, quite a weird time for me to call and ask that, but I tried nonetheless.

"I am in a hour. You have something in mind?"

"I do. Um...I heard about these bikes in the city that you can rent and ride around the park in. I understand if you're not interested...it's kind of a dumb idea now that I think about it, but—"

"Naomi," he spoke, thankfully putting my rambling to a stop. "Let's do it. Tell me where to meet you and I'll be there."

A smile grew on my face at his words, glad that he didn't find my suggestion juvenile or something he was completely adverse to doing. I gave him the details of where to meet me in a hour before finally hanging up and rushing to get ready.

***
I DIDN'T KNOW IF it was possible or not to look cute for a bike riding date, but I would like to think that I looked pretty cute. I had pulled my hair up into a large puff, slipped into a pair of black leggings that made my ass look amazing, and a slightly cropped workout shirt that showed just a hint of my stomach.