Steady Love

Four

"Hey." Nehemiah said as he allowed True into his home.

True smiled. "Hey."

"I can—umm—I can take your coat and purse and put it in the closet—if that's okay with you." Nehemiah offered once he closed and locked the door.

"Yes, thank you." True said.

Nehemiah helped her take off her coat and took her purse. He hung both items in the closet and escorted her to the kitchen.

"I made chicken Marsala with mashed potatoes and Caesar salad. Is that okay?" Nehemiah said.

True nodded. "That's perfect."

"Okay, cool." Nehemiah replied. "Would you like some wine?"

"Yes, thank you."

Nehemiah opened the wine bottle with the corkscrew and poured some into the wine glass. He passed it to True who gladly accepted it. "You look pretty tonight. I'm not sure if I told you already." He said.

True smiled. "Thank you. You look nice tonight as well."

"Thank you." Nehemiah said as he smiled back. "Oh—you can sit right here and I'll fix our plates."

Nehemiah pulled out one of the chairs to the kitchen table and True accepted. He placed his glass of already poured wine on his side of the table and went to fix their plates.

"This looks good." True said once Nehemiah placed her plate in front of her.

"It tastes as good as it looks too." Nehemiah told her as he sat down and sipped his wine.

"I bet I could say the same thing about you." True teased, making Nehemiah choke. True began to laugh as she watched him freak out a bit. "I'm joking. I just wanted to see your reaction."

Nehemiah cleared his throat. "You got me good."

True giggled. "So, who taught you how to cook because Rashad can't even scramble eggs without burning them."

"My foster mom." Nehemiah said, causing True to be a bit confused. "Uhh, my dad made my mom give me up when I was eight—well they abandoned me."

"Why?" True asked.

"My mom cheated while my dad was in jail and she ended up getting pregnant with me. She kept me a secret from him and ended up giving me his last name. Long story short, he got out when I was six and told my mom that she had to get rid of me or he was going to leave." Nehemiah explained. 

"Oh, wow. I'm sorry." True said. "If you don't mind me asking, do you have a relationship with your parents now?"

Nehemiah shook his head. "Not really. Rashad and Olivia tried to get us to do an intervention after my foster mom passed away two years ago, but that went left. I kinda spazzed on everybody. But I'm glad my mom gave me up honestly. My foster mom was the best thing that ever happened to me."

"I'd say she did pretty well." True said with a smile.

Nehemiah smiled back. "Thank you."

"So, how did you, Rashad, and Olivia stay close?" True asked.

"They would walk over and spend time with me. We lived only a few streets away from each other." Nehemiah answered.

"That's great." True said.

Nehemiah nodded. "Enough about me though. I want to get to know you. You're very mysterious."

True giggled. "Ask away."

The two of them continued to talk as they ate. After they finished dinner, Nehemiah revealed that he made dessert for them, which was strawberry shortcake. They ate their dessert and continued to talk until they realized it was almost two in the morning.