“Sounds good. We will be there,” Samuel replied.
* * *
Both Samueland I changed for dinner. He changed into a pair of black slacks and a black shirt that he wore partially open. He wore his black Gucci brogues. I put on an oversized black sweater, black leggings, and my red thigh high boots.
“Where did these come from?” Samuel said looking down at my boots.
“My closet. You like ‘em?” I asked turning around.
“I like them a lot.”
“Good, I wore them for you.”
“Don’t play with me. We will have dinner right here,” he said while pulling me to him by my waist.
“Don’t worry. I got you covered tonight,” I winked.
“And keep those boots on,” Samuel added.
After a short drive, we arrived at a gated neighborhood. We were buzzed in and proceeded through the gate. The houses were massive with perfectly manicured lawns and ambient lighting around them. There weren’t many cars in front of the houses, but the few that I saw were expensive.
“You like this neighborhood?” Samuel asked while Brick pulled up to the front of a Tudor style brick house.
“I like the security for sure. I would like to see it in the daylight.”
We were greeted at the door by Charlene who had changed into a long African print skirt with a crop top. She was still sporting the bangles and the rings, but she didn’t have on any shoes. She looked comfortable.
“Come in and welcome,” she said stepping to the side.
“Do we need to take off our shoes?” Samuel asked.
“No, absolutely not. I don’t mind if you do but it’s not a requirement,” Charlene smiled.
“We brought wine,” I said while offering her the bottle of wine we ordered from room service before coming.
“Thank you,” she smiled. “Follow me.”
We followed her past a double staircase to the back of the house. Where Wesley was in the kitchen with another man whom I assumed was the chef.
“You made it,” Wesley smiled. “Come on into the dining room while Chef finishes up.”
Wesley was dressed in a pair of jeans that rode low on his waist with a white v-neck t-shirt tucked in. I had a slight flashback to him on the cover of the sports magazine. We followed them into the dining room that was decorated with silver and white striped wallpaper and white furniture. It reminded me a lot of my office’s color scheme.
“So are you going to tell me the story of how I saw you a few months ago and now you are engaged?” Samuel said while he and I occupied seats across from Wesley and Charlene.
“You know I went home to convalesce after the surgery. Well, Charli was there, and after some begging and pleading on my part, she gave me another chance,” Wesley said smiling at Charlene.
“Wesley and I dated in high school and then broke up in college,” Charlene clarified, “I went through a very amicable divorce, and he’d broken up with his previous thing, so we gave it a try.”
“But I had to beg. Don’t let this docile creature fool you. She made me work for it,” Wesley smiled.
“You are living in Ragston, Charlene?” Samuel asked.
“It’s Charli, please and yes. I moved back there from Arizona after the divorce. My family is in Ragston. I also have an inn that I am opening after the World Series is over. It was slated to open earlier, but I can’t have a grand opening without Wes.”
“After the World Series, huh?” Samuel said.
“Yes. We’ve made it this far. I believe we are going all the way. I will speak it until it’s a reality,” Charli smiled.