alternate universe. He’d once read a book in school about a boy who’d gone back in time and this felt like that. No knights or round tables. But going for ice cream and meeting a girl’s parents? Felt about the same.
“You two young people have so much fun,” Snookie said, her ruby lips curving into a plump smile and her dark eyes twinkling. “I remember when Cornelius took me for root-beer floats at Frostop. Those were the good ole days.”
Alicia rose up on tiptoe and kissed her daddy’s cheek before grabbing Tre’s hand and pulling him down the aisle, calling out goodbyes to all the folks tossing good-night her way. Seconds later, they burst out the door, the cold air wrapping round them with icy fingers. Stars overhead winked as headlight beams illuminated the asphalt lot outside the old church off Airline Highway.
“Brrr, it’s cold. Come on.” Alicia hurried toward the silver-blue car sitting near a cyclone fence covered in a tangle of dead vines, pulling her keys out and unlocking the doors. He had no clue what kind of car it was. Wasn’t new, and looked like a Honda or a Toyota. Not flashy, but not a clunker.
He slid inside as she cranked the engine and turned the heater to High.
“Good Lord, it was hot up in there, but the cold creeps in fast,” she said, fiddling with the channels on the radio. She pushed several presets until she found Kanye, and the bass thrummed low, mimicking the confused emotions rolling in his gut.
This was a mistake.
A preacher’s daughter, ice cream and going to church didn’t reflect his swag. Hell, Crazy Eight would laugh himself dead if he could see Tre dressed up in a monkey suit going for ice cream.
The lights in the car dimmed to black and Alicia’s hand found his thigh. He reared back in the seat as she turned, leaned over and kissed him.
Her lips were soft and tasted like strawberry lip gloss, and her quick, light hands moved up his chest to twine about his neck and brush against his closely shorn hair at the nape of his neck.
It was all he needed to pull her tight against him and take over. Her hair had been pulled back into some bun thing at her neck and her small skull fit the span of his hand perfectly. He nipped her mouth open, and then took full advantage of the warm mouth offered to him. He slid his left hand around to cup her waist, stroke her back, impeded by the jacket nipped tight at her waist.
“Mmm—” she said, breaking the kiss and capturing his hand before he could move around front and unbutton the scratchy wool. “Wait. Uh, we in the parking lot of my daddy’s church.”
He inhaled and then exhaled. “Damn, girl.”
She laughed. “I’ve been wanting to kiss you since I saw you holding that baby girl on that bus bench.” Alicia settled back into the driver’s seat and shifted the car into Drive.
Tre couldn’t stop the smile that came to his lips. “You a surprise, Lee Lee Laurence. Why your name different than your daddy’s anyway?”
“Because I was married for a year.”
“Married?”
“Yes, but now I’m divorced.”
“Divorced?”
“You going to repeat everything I say?” Alicia shook her head. “It was a dumb idea I had when I was eighteen. I’m twenty-one now...and divorced.”
“Fine. You’re divorced. So we going for ice cream?”
She slid her light brown gaze to him as she pulled out of the parking lot. “What you think?”
He didn’t know what to think. He only knew what he hoped—that his divorced angel would give him something wonderful to think about in the weeks to come. That she would make him forget about the shithole that was his life for a few hours. That she would smile and love him and give him something good to hold on to. “I think I need something stronger than ice cream.”
Her grin got bigger. “Here’s the thing. I’m a Godly woman and I don’t mess around with men who are looking to hit it and quit it. You get me?”
“Yeah. I get you.”
“Good. So we going to have some fun. Maybe not the fun you want, but it’ll be the fun you get. Because I ain’t no ho. And then you going to come to church tomorrow morning and show me and my daddy that you a good man. You can bring Kenzie, too, ’cause we got to talk about her and how me and Aunt Evelyn going