My Saving Grace

Chapter 33

It wasn't until the week before Thanksgiving that the four of us—Chase, Gwen, Antonio, and myself—were able to get together. Chase's schedule had been packed so I hadn't seen him since the night we'd had dinner with his girlfriend.

During our phone call the previous week, I'd offered to host him and Gwen for dinner at my house, but he'd politely declined, saying he didn't want Antonio and I to go through all the trouble of cooking. So instead, I'd made reservations for a Korean BBQ restaurant in Hollywood.

To my surprise, Antonio had never tried Korean BBQ before. How could one live in California and not have eaten Korean BBQ? When I'd attended college in Minnesota, it was one of the foods I'd missed most.

I guessed his food palate wasn't as diverse as I'd originally thought.

It was nearing six o'clock, and Antonio and I were both getting ready in our bedroom. My eyes lingered on his naked torso as he threw on a white polo over his dark washed jeans. Side note, I loved when he wore white because it emphasized his tan complexion.

"What are you staring at?", he asked playfully, directing his gaze at me.

"Nothing. Just making sure you didn't put your shirt on backwards."

"Sure," he said, drawing the word out. "Have you decided what you're wearing yet?"

"Nope."

He strode over to where I stood in our walk-in closet, his eyes roaming over my multitude of dresses before landing on the one that hung at the very end.

"I like this one on you," he stated, pulling out my black maxi dress with ruffled short sleeves.

"Why?"

"I don't know. I just do." He shrugged earnestly.

"Fair enough." I smiled, shooing him out.

After changing into my dress, I put on a light layer of makeup, opting for just mascara and lipstick. My hair was in a loose bun with natural curls framing my face, and for the final touch, I put on a pair of silver teardrop-shaped dangly earrings.

Grabbing my purse and denim jacket, I headed downstairs, where Antonio was leaning against the garage door swiping on his phone. He'd thrown on his khaki military-styled jacket—my favorite jacket on him.

At the sound of my footsteps, his head lifted, and he grinned in awe.

"Wow, you look beautiful."

"You look like quite the lady-killer yourself, Professor. And trust me, I'm not gonna look like this after I stuff myself with all-you-can-eat beef."

He chuckled, placing a hand on my back as we headed out to his car.

Currently, I was going through a Bollywood music phase, so during the drive, it was all we listened to. I had no idea what the lyrics meant, but I absolutely loved the beat.

"I didn't know you were into Bollywood music," Antonio remarked during "Bom Diggy," aka, the anthem of my college years.

"What can I say? I'm full of surprises."