Free Your Love Is King by Adrienne Thompson Page B

marching band in college and, uh, my favorite color is brown.”
     
    “I bet it is,” I said under my breath.
     
    Chris grinned. “What was that?”
     
    I shook my head. “Oh, nothing. Does your son live here in St. Louis?”
     
    “Um, I don’t know. It’s kind of a long, complicated story. Too long for fifteen minutes.”
     
    “Actually, it’s more like twelve minutes now.”
     
    “Okay, where’s your daughter?”
     
    “In Atlanta, at Spelman.”
     
    “That’s good. Great school.”
     
    “What school were you in the band at?”
     
    “Grambling.”
     
    “You went to Grambling?”
     
    “Yep, on a minority scholarship.”
     
    “Get out of here! Are you serious?”
     
    He nodded. “Dead serious. Still go visit for homecoming.”
     
    I raised my eyebrows. “Wow, you never cease to amaze me, Mr. King.”
     
    He leaned closer to me. “And I’m just getting warmed up, Ms. Meadows. You have no idea the things I can show you.”
     
    I smiled and looked away from him. I could feel my cheeks heating up. “Um… were you telling the truth before? You’ve really never dated a white girl?”
     
    “The truth and nothing but the truth.”
     
    “Why?”
     
    He shrugged. “Just my preference. I love black women. Always have.”
     
    “I see.”
     
    “Mm-hmm. So, what’s your favorite thing in the world?” he asked.
     
    “That’s easy. Music.”
     
    He smiled. “I love music, too. It’s good we have that in common. Are you a musician yourself?”
     
    I laughed. “Not unless you count playing the clarinet in junior high school. I wish I was one, though.”
     
    “Maybe I could teach you one day.”
     
    “Trumpet?”
     
    “Or piano or guitar.”
     
    “You play those, too?”
     
    “Yep.”
     
    “Okay. Well, maybe so, then.”
     
    He smiled and nodded. “I’d be glad to. Who’s your favorite singer?”
     
    “Sade. Yours?”
     
    “His purple majesty, himself. Prince!”
     
    I laughed. “Ah, so you’re a Prince fan, huh?”
     
    “ Always . The man knows how to get his point across, you know? You ever listened to ‘Adore’? The man is talking some serious stuff. By the end of that song, you feel like he took you to church!”
     
    I grinned. “I’ll have to listen to that one again.”
     
    “Yeah, you should do that. So, what’s your least favorite thing?”
     
    I thought for a moment. “Hmm, people who lie. I hate being lied to. That really gets on my nerves.”
     
    “Okay, I’ll remember that. Not that I’m in the business of lying, anyway.”
     
    “Good to know. What about you?”
     
    “My least favorite thing? I guess that would be sleeping alone.”
     
    I smiled. “Hmm, I see. Do you sleep with a teddy bear or something?”
     
    He looked me in the eye. “No, I don’t.”
     
    “So what do you do?”
     
    “I hug my pillow real tight and pretend it’s you.”
     
    I wrinkled my brow. “Um, is that a come-on, Mr. King?”
     
    He licked his lips and shook his head. “Unh-uh. It’s the truth. Ever since we met, I’ve imagined what it would feel like to hold you and touch you.”
     
    He leaned closer, and once again, I could feel his warm breath on my lips. I raised my hand to my chest, trying to hide its rapid rise and fall.
     
    “R… really?”
     
    He nodded. “ Really . You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life,” he whispered.
     
    I dropped my eyes, suddenly feeling shy. “Um, th… thank you.”
     
    He moved his head and kissed me on the cheek. I released the breath I’d been holding.
     
    He stood and reached for my hand. “Come on, let me walk you back inside before I get you in trouble.” That statement definitely had a double meaning.
     
    He walked me to the employee entrance and kissed my hand, then he pointed to the rose he’d given me. “That’s a friendship rose, or at least that’s what the florist said. The next time I give you a rose it won’t be yellow.”
     
    “How do you know