FREDDY PRINCE

Chapter two

Later that evening, Freddy returned home to his bachelor's pad. It was a large 4,200-square-foot warehouse loft with a red brick undertone. It was heavily splashed with earthy colors throughout because it reminded him of his mother. He kept the place dim, and the air spritzed with his favorite alpine scent to top it all off.

For a lot of reasons, he found comfort in his darkness. It always helped him relax after a long day of fighting for change. Though he wished he had a special lady to come home to at the end of a long day, the last relationship he tested out ended up being one of the worst experiences of his life. So, he stayed single and enjoyed the peace of being alone.

Intimate love was tricky for Freddy. He seemed to always catch the women who either had a lot of baggage or the ones who were so afraid to lose him; they became overly obsessive. Just thinking about a relationship made him cringe.

After pouring himself a drink from one of the many bottles of alcohol in his home bar, he went upstairs to prepare for the night. He didn't have any specific plans; Freddy just knew he didn't want to stay inside another night. It seemed like all he did was drown himself in work and help other people figure out their lives so much, that he never took a moment to breathe. But that night, he vowed to relax and take in all of his success.

"Shonnie Mitchell." He chuckled when he answered her call. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Fredrick Prince." She replied with enough flirtation in her voice to break a heart. "Should we meet up for drinks? I feel like I owe you one for my questions earlier."

"I think you owe me more than just a drink. But, sure. Where to?"

"Meet me at our spot in an hour. I got you."

When he hung up the phone, a risky smile slid across his face. Every time he and Shonnie got together, things always started friendly. But somehow some way, they always ended up with them in the bedroom. It was a bad habit he wanted to break away from for years, but every time she came through, he couldn't resist.

Figuring they would end their night with a nightcap, Freddy lathered up in the shower and threw on a fresh pair of slacks and a button-up. He thought about wearing what he already had on, but he knew how Shonnie was. She was personable and loved everything to coordinate. And since his suit was already picked out for the day's events and not strictly for their meet-up, he knew she would have something to say about it. So, he changed.

"Mr. Prince, good evening. Your date is already seated and waiting for you to join her."

"Thanks," he smiled. "She hasn't had too many cosmos already, has she?"

"No," the host laughed. "I think she's waiting for you."

Using her position at the mayor's office, Shonnie got them last-minute reservations to Varia. It was a nice Italian restaurant in the city that had some of the best lasagna Shonnie had ever tasted. Freddy loved that place as well because it was the first fancy restaurant his mom took him to when she first started making an impact.

"There's the most handsome man in the world." Shonnie smiled and stood to greet him. "I just knew your ass would be late tonight. Where's your sidekick?" she asked, referring to Mo.

"I don't know," Freddy chuckled. "Probably somewhere enjoying the one free night we have. How are you?"

When he embraced Shonnie and kissed her on the cheek, he wondered if those were things he could do for the rest of his life. They had a lot of chemistry and things in common, but when he thought about them being in a relationship, he always thought their ways of thinking were just too different for anything long-term.