a shower and to get dressed. Excitement filled her as she mulled what to wear on her date with the tall, handsome, candid man. A dream tiptoed into her mind, woolly around the edges, and pulled her under into a watery world of nothingness…
Sweet slumber… here I come…
CHAPTER EIGHT
Diamond in the Rough
‘Homegrown,’ a hidden gem off the beaten path, was Aries’ favorite spot for breakfast. Most folks didn’t seem to know about it, nestled as it was in a strip mall on Memorial Drive in East Atlanta. The ingredients were always fresh and the breakfast a delight to the taste buds.
Lauren had just called him to let him know she was running a bit late, so he sat in his truck leisurely smoking a cigarette, listening to ‘Friends in Low Places,’ by Garth Brooks on a static-filled A.M. station. It wasn’t long before a blue Honda pulled up alongside him, the windows slightly tinted and the muted sounds of music coming from it. He didn’t know what song, but he was far more concerned about the woman than the tune. Smashing the cigarette in his ashtray, he turned the engine off and got out of the truck, slamming the door behind him.
Before Lauren could even unlock her door, he was standing there, bending down and waving at her. The woman was fiddling around in her purse, and when she turned to face him, the poor thing jumped in her seat, screamed, then broke into giggles. He wished her window hadn’t been rolled up so he could hear the sound better. When she got out the car, purse slung over her arm, he gathered her in his arms and kissed her on the cheek.
“I scared you a moment ago.” He chuckled, replaying her reaction in his mind and getting a kick out of it. “Did you sleep all right last night? It rained pretty hard.” He steered her towards the restaurant with a gentle nudge to her waist.
“Yes, you did scare me. I was distracted but as far as the sleep,” she sighed, “not really. I was up all night going through those books!” She rubbed her eye and yawned.
“You needed your beauty rest. Now why would you do something like that?” They got into a short line of folks waiting to put their name in for a seat. There was plenty of loud chatter and people sitting up at the counter stuffing their faces with waffles and eggs. He recognized a few and gave them a little wave. “You were at Benjamin’s house for far too long as it was. I thought you’d go home and clonk out. I sure as hell did.”
“Guess I was too excited about some of my finds to just fall asleep. It was worth it though. I got a lot of work done. Tomorrow I can place some of the books on the shelves to sell. Thank you again for letting me take so many. I don’t feel right about getting them scot-free, but I appreciate it all the same.”
He shrugged.
“We had a deal and besides, like I told you, you did me a favor, too. Despite the fact that I don’t have the same joy from all that stuff, it’s still just nice to know that they’re with someone who will appreciate them.” As they waited to be seated, he grabbed a couple of menus and leaned against a wall with Lauren right beside him.
“I’ve never been here before. It smells good though.” She took one of the menus from his hand and began to read it.
“It’s one of Atlanta’s best kept secrets. Garden fresh food, just like my grandmother used to have.”
“Did your grandmother live out this way?”
“She lived in Brooks, Georgia… middle of nowhere. She had a little house with a wide porch on acres and acres of land that was nothin’ but wildflowers and tall grass. Beautiful. I spent a lot of time out there, ’specially with my friend Owen who lived about half a mile away. He and I were about the same age and would play together. We were both only children so it seemed we kinda gravitated towards one another. We’d ride our bikes, roll around in that field, play with our army men, trucks, stuff like that. We didn’t have a bunch of fancy toys, but what we did have, we loved.”
Her lips curled as she regarded him. Perhaps she could relate? He hoped to find out the answer to that gem soon. “There was an old,