I N S T I N C T I V E

(Nineteen.)

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Three Weeks Later

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Ramona and Dwight sat across from one another at the restaurant table. Tonight, they were out to dinner with Brittany, Gwen, and their boyfriends, Brian and Lamar. It wasn't often that the women saw Dwight, and it was quite and interesting experience whenever they were brought around. Ramona always tried to involve her friends into her love life in some way. She could never completely shut them out, even if she was dating. She also didn't want Dwight to feel left out either. However, this was the first time Dwight was meeting Brian and Lamar.

While Dwight and Ramona were sitting at the table, Gwen and Brittany headed to the bathroom together. "Coming, Ramona?" Asked Gwen. She shook her head. "No, I'm good." She replied. "Are you sure?" Brittany asked, signaling with her eyes for her to come with. "Um...I suppose I also have to go...we'll be right back..." She said, then standing up and giving a smile to Dwight.

Dwight grinned, watching her walk away. Once the women were gone, Lamar leaned across the table. He was a dark skinned man, tall and fit with a mustache and pierced studded ears. He placed his elbows on the table cloth.

"Hey, man." He said to Dwight. Dwight stopped in the middle of eating his Lasagna, then slowly putting the fork down. "Yeah?" He asked. "So tell me, how in the fuck did you manage to tame a woman like Ramona?" He asked. Dwight seemed to be caught off guard at first.

He let out a single chuckle. "Oh, I don't know. We just met on the train and we're working on the project together as you know..." Said Dwight. "Shit, I ain't never seen her act this damn affectionate with a man." Said Brian. "I ain't never seen her with a man, period." Said Lamar, and the two men began to laugh.

Dwight stared at the both of them. "Well, brother, either you must be putting it down right or being a yes-man, because that's the only way you can make something last with her ass." Said Lamar.

Dwight licked his teeth. "I think we gravitated towards each other because we're similar. Both of us went to prestige universities and have great successful careers. She's also intelligent and extremely diligent. And when the hard day is over, she's extremely loving and affectionate." Said Dwight.

"Alright, man. We're just talking shit. It's good you got her, man. That's good." Said Brian. "We've just known Ramona for a long time, and she just seems to like to be the one in control. It's like, if a man dates her, will he be able to even be a man?" Said Lamar.

Dwight scoffed. "I still feel like a man, in my own opinion." He said. "She's a woman who knows what she wants and doesn't wait for it to be handed to her. She's exactly my type, and I plan to keep her." He continued, taking a sip of his champagne, then crossing his legs.

Brian put his hands up in playful surrender. "Alright, alright now, I got you, brotha'." He said. The two men then started to chuckle. Dwight wasn't the type of man to encourage these sorts of jokes. But he did let out a single chuckle. It was locker-room talk. That men do amongst one another about women in private. Guys always said the most immature things back when Dwight was young. He hated it.

The men noticed Dwights hands around his champagne glass. More specifically, his fingernails that shined with a glossy top-coat. Brian furrowed his eyebrows. "Hey, yo, are your fingers painted?" He asked. Dwight looked at his hands, folding his fingers towards him and looking down at them. "Painted? No, man, they just have the clear coat on top of it. It's for strength." He said. The men exchanged looks.