Cleo scanned the restaurant, her eyes settling on an almost empty dining area. Only she, Ticket, and an employee were left. The employee, stationed at the register, stared at their table, clearly waiting for them to finish so she could finally go home. Time had effortlessly slipped away during their conversation, two hours past closing, unnoticed.
She glanced out the window in front of them, and the darkness outside jolted her back to reality.
"Shit," she muttered, frantically searching the plate-filled table for her phone. The screen displayed 11:36 pm, and thoughts of JJ flooded her mind. "I gotta go, can you take me home?"
"What business you got at 11 at night?" Ticket raised an eyebrow, his tone curious.
"My brother."
"Aw, the ten-year-old grown man?"
Her lip twitched, a protective instinct flaring up at the negative mention of her brother.
"Okay now, Ticket," she warned, "You can laugh at me or whatever, but he's off-limits. Don't joke about him."
"I ain't joking, though," Ticket replied, "You worry about him too much and don't give him enough credit. I get why you act like that, but he at the age where he wanna to be independent, trust me."
"Right," she rolled her eyes. "It's a crime to want to make sure he okay?"
"So, call him."
"What?" she asked as if he were speaking a foreign language.
"You worried? Pick up your phone and call him."
Cleo was taken aback, the simplicity of the instruction catching her off guard. She shook her head but unlocked her phone, her fingers navigating to JJ's contact as she pressed the tiny phone icon under his name. She shot a quick glance at Ticket as the phone rang in her ear; he sat in an extremely self-satisfied manner, as if he were about to win a nonverbal bet they had just made.
"Hey, JJ, you okay? Did you finish that algebra homework?"
"Yes, Clay," JJ replied into the phone, clearly annoyed. "I'm tryna watch TV."
"Okay, well, straighten up the table and do those few dishes in the sink. Did you shower already?"
"I already did, and yes, I showered. I'm good, Cleo, go back to your date."
"My date?!" she whisper-shouted into the phone, earning a smirk from Ticket. "I'm just doing something for uh, for the store."
"With that same man you were trying to avoid at church? I'm good, Clay, bye."
"JJ—" she started as her brother hung up.
"He straight, aint he?" Ticket asked, clearly looking for the satisfaction of proving her wrong.
"Where do we need to go after this?" she asked, ignoring his question.
Ticket pulled out his black leather wallet with a wide grin on his face, using his fingertip to separate a single hundred-dollar bill from the rest of the stack and setting it on the tabletop in between two plates. She watched as he slid out of the booth, her eyes fixating on the vein in his neck that had been taunting her all night.
She followed his lead, placing the strap of her purse over her shoulder and also sliding out. Ticket stepped to the side to allow her to pass first. She made eye contact with the remaining employee who was mopping near the entrance. As they made their way across the slippery tile, Ticket's hands gently settled on her hips from behind, steadying her.
"Have a great night," the hostess sneered at them sarcastically.
Ticket's BMW was right in front of the door, so the cool, night air only affected them for a few seconds as they shuffled to the car. He didn't start the car right away, which Cleo didn't notice because she was scrolling through her Spotify ready to connect her phone to Bluetooth. The silence within the vehicle eventually grabbed her attention, causing her to look up at Ticket, whose eyes were already locked onto hers.
