The Realest Ever - By Keith Thomas Walker Page 0,57

now I like to have nice things. There’s nothing wrong with that. I told you, I got paper.”

“And I told you, I don’t care about your money.”

“Loosen up, please,” Roland said. He spoke softly. “You wanted to know if I do anything illegal. I’m telling you I don’t. I won’t say anything else about money, if you’ll get in this car and let me treat you like a queen.”

After a noticeable pause, Kyra said, “Okay.” She tried to let go of her hang-ups. She took a seat in the Chrysler and admired the style and elegance. Donovan’s truck was nice, but this automobile was sleek and beautiful, with so many lights and dials on the dashboard, it could’ve been a cockpit. Definitely built to impress. And that wasn’t counting all of the after-market bling Roland added to his whip. Exactly how much did he spend on this car?

Would you stop that? Kyra shook her head. Not only was she comparing Roland to Donovan at every turn, but she had him on the defensive for the way he chose to spend his money. She agreed to go out with him, so the least she could do was give him a fair shake.

Roland entered the vehicle and took a seat next to her. Kyra reached and touched his arm.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s cool,” Roland said, his smile bright and genuine. “Wanna see one of my money clips?” He laughed and said, “Gotcha,” when Kyra’s mouth fell open. After a moment she laughed, too.

≈≈≈≈≈≈≈

He took her to Cattleman’s steakhouse in the historic stockyards section of the city. The restaurant was top notch all the way. Kyra couldn’t believe she was being wined and dined by two handsome men in two consecutive days. Roland ordered a two pound T-bone steak called The Cowboy. He suggested Kyra try The Cowgirl, but she opted for filet mignon with corn on the cob.

Roland asked her an assortment of getting-to-know-you questions, but Kyra didn’t tell him much about her past. From her queries, Kyra learned that Roland was from Waxahachie, and he was the oldest of twelve kids. His mother and father were still together, and all of his brothers and sisters graduated high school. Some went to college. Kyra was thoroughly impressed.

The more Kyra got to know him, the less she thought of Roland as a showboat. He was sure of himself, and he was proud of the things he’d accomplished. But he was down to earth. His modest upbringing gave him an appreciation for the finer things in life. He liked to eat good foods and drink exotic wines and take vacations to locales his parents never even dreamed of.

But as interesting as Roland was, Kyra found herself thinking about Donovan again. She remembered what he said about Kyra taking him to an upscale steakhouse. Cattleman’s might have been the best one in the area. Kyra was a little chagrined that she wasn’t sharing the experience with her best friend.

When she realized her thoughts had wandered to Donovan again, Kyra pushed him out of her mind and looked into her date’s brown eyes. Roland really was handsome. His confidence pushed his attractiveness up another couple of notches.

“Do you like working at the school?” he asked.

Kyra nodded. “Yeah. I’ve only been there a couple of weeks, but I can already tell I want to stay there for a while. What about you? Do you like your job?”

“It’s alright,” Roland said. “The pay is good, and I get to meet interesting people, like you.” He gave her a warm smile.

Kyra returned his smile, but she wondered how many interesting people Roland met on his route. He told her it was rare that he was attracted to the women who signed for his packages, but Kyra would be a fool to think she was the only one.

“I want to open a business,” Roland said. “That’s my dream.”

Kyra raised an eyebrow. “What kind of business?”

“A restaurant. I love food. And I love making money. I’m going to combine the two. I’ve been taking classes at the community college. Once I finish my business degree, I’ll give it a shot.”

“How do you have time for school?” Kyra wondered. “I thought you were always working overtime.”

“I am,” Roland said. “I can only take two classes a semester, sometimes just one.”

“What kind of restaurant do you want to open? Soul food?”

“No. Why does it have to be soul food? Because I’m black?”

Kyra giggled. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“That’s the problem with young brothers and sisters today,”