Free AFRICAN AMERICAN ROMANCE: A Thug to Remember (Hood Alpha Male Pregnancy Romance) (African American Urban Contemporary Short Stories) by Lady Keisha Page B

night.” I realized what I’d said seconds after it came out of my mouth. “Shit, sorry, I didn’t—”
    “No, really, it’s fine. It’s kind of nice to hang with someone who isn’t just looking for a few more pills to pop.” He threw back the last of his drink, then gestured towards mine. “Can I get you another?”
    I glanced down at my almost-empty beer, swilling the last few dregs around the bottom on my glass. I kind of wanted to stay, but I knew I didn’t want to get stuck with his braying bunch of revellers. “Nah, it’s cool. I should probably be getting home now, anyway. I’ve got an interview to prepare for.”
    He held his hands up. “Hey, work comes first. Can I get you to the door?”
    Damn, he was such a gentleman. More than any of the middle class kids I’d dated for the last few years. I cocked my head at him, weighing up the pros and cons of what I was about to do in my head. Screw it, I thought, it wasn’t every day you met a hot, alpha, charming man-about-town, even if he was dealing drugs.
    “Can I leave you my number?” I asked, my voice a little higher than usual. He looked taken aback, but kind of pleased.
    “Course you can. Here, put it into my phone.”
    He pushed his smartphone across the table towards me, and I tapped out my cell number then handed it back.
    “Alright, I’ve got to go now. But you call me when you get a chance, okay? Maybe we could hang out somewhere a little less loud.” I was surprised at the brazenness of my words. I thought that level of flirting was saved for student bars.
    He raised his eyebrows at me. “Will do, Madam.” He stood up, and placed a hand on my waist, guiding me to the exit. His fingers gently traced my skin, and I felt shivers travel from the bottom of my spine all the way up to my neck. His hand was warm and firm on me, and I could see a couple of girls shooting my jealous looks from the bar. I guessed that they were more likely hanging around him for his drugs than his sparkling wit, so I didn’t let them bug me.
    Randy pushed opened the door for me, and, with one last grin, sent me off into the night. I wobbled slightly on my heels, pulling the ponytail out of my hair and letting it fall loose around my shoulders. Maybe it was the fact that I’d just given a drug dealer my phone number, but I was feeling a little more wild than normal.
    When I got back to my apartment, I made up a box of Mac and Cheese into the microwave, and grabbed myself a big glass of water to stave off the hangover.
    Had I seriously just done that? Much as it was kind of exciting to have brazenly hit on Randy, I wasn’t genuinely expecting him to call me. He was probably just looking for someone to flirt with, like me, someone he could just hit on for an evening for an ego boost. But who knows, maybe he would find my number the next day and call me up and…then what? I wasn’t sure how one went about actually dating a drug dealer, but I would be expecting champagne and limos everywhere we went. Or…or maybe just him. I had felt more than a little flicker of chemistry between us, although that could have been the beer or the atmosphere in the bar. I resolved to push him to the back of my thoughts until he gave me a reason not to.
    When I woke up the next day, I was mercifully hangover-free, my body just a little achy from wearing heels all night long. Stretching my tired muscles, I yawned, and ran over the events from last night. When I remembered Randy, my stomach curled in on itself slightly, my body clenching with the excitement of what had just gone down. But, as I’d promised, I peeled myself from the covers and started prepping myself for an interview I had at Stone’s Marketing, a small but quickly growing copywriting venture uptown.
    Dragging myself through to the bathroom for a shower, I allowed the hot water to wash away all my memories of last night, and click me back into professional Renee mode. The last thing I wanted was for the people I