Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 109178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
“You’re lying!” She cackled, then jammed her fork into a slice of tender brisket.
“No, I’m for real. This really happened. My whole family was there, and the turkey was only chasing my cousin. Roman couldn’t have been no more than fourteen. For some reason, it had its anger directed at him exclusively. They went around and around some trees until finally, it caught up with him. He tripped, and that was the end. It was attackin’ him. All you saw were feathers.”
“Your grandfather had turkeys as pets, or was he raising them for food?”
“Not either of those. See, it was a wild turkey. It just popped up outta nowhere, but my grandfather lives around a bunch of woods so there’s all sorts of wildlife back there. Deer. Coyotes. Bobcats.”
“What were y’all doing while this turkey was being a menace to society?”
“We were laughing and not much help at all.” She snorted and shook her head. “Our parents were inside the house, not payin’ much attention ’cause it was just us kids outside playin’. Somebody called for Grandpa eventually. I don’t remember who. He came tearing outta the house with his shotgun to settle this once and for all, but then my sister started cryin’ and begged him not to shoot it. He gave in to her little girl tears,” he chuckled, “and decided to try and shoo the bird away by throwing stuff instead. Some of the rocks and what not hit Roman in the process, and that made us laugh even more. He was screamin’, ‘Ahhh! Ahhh!’” His laughter floated from his throat as his complexion deepened. Nadia could barely speak for a bad case of the giggles seized her stomach and squeezed. “The turkey finally turned him loose and ran off. Roman got to his feet, a few scratches here and there, and said, ‘It’s okay. We’ll see your ass come November on the damn table. Right next to the taters.’”
She burst out laughing again, almost to the point of choking. When they quieted, they settled down and enjoyed their food.
“Mmm, this meat is thick and juicy… so good. Suckin’ it right off the bone.” After she uttered the words, she realized her mistake. She’d done it again. Their eyes locked, and they both started laughing again. “Lennox, your mind stays in the gutter. Mine is only in the gutter for work—I don’t mean that shit, but yours is authentic and true!”
“Hey, you were laughin’, too!” That vein of his popped out in the middle of his forehead as he chuckled all the harder. She sat there watching him lick his fingers, wishing he was licking on her, too. She loved that he didn’t weave anything about her personal profession into a tawdry play on words, seedy jokes, and sexual innuendos. He acted as if it was never even on the radar. She was just a regular person, sitting across from him, enjoying a meal. She loved that. She loved that a lot.
They finished their feast and she dismissed herself to go to the ladies’ room. As she walked, she noticed some of the older songs that were playing in the restaurant were ones that had been popular around the same time they’d met and were working together. It was rather uncanny, a coincidence perhaps, but of course, maybe Truth BBQ always played tunes like that? She used the restroom, washed her hands and dried them, then returned to the dining area.
“I went to the bathroom while you were gone, then paid the bill and got us some refills to go.” He pointed to her cup filled with Sprite.
“Thank you, partner.” Wrapping her hand around the Styrofoam cup, she slurped some from the straw and walked out. He helped her back into the truck and when he got inside himself, he removed his jacket and tossed it in the back. He was wearing a nice short sleeved Polo shirt, the buttons open and a gold chain tucked beneath it. She glugged noisily on her drink. When she went to put it down, she noticed the water bottle she’d been drinking from earlier in their date was in the way.
“Where can I put this, Len?” He glanced in her direction as he expertly pulled out of the tight parking spot. Taking it from her hand, he set it in the cubby area of his door.
“Can I listen to something?” She pointed to the radio.
“You don’t have to ask.”
She leaned in and began to switch to various radio stations, finally landing on ‘Bad Habit,’ by Steve Lacy.
“What movie are we going to go see tonight?”
“No movie tonight.”
“Oh, well… okay. I had a great time.” She shrugged. “Thanks for dinner. What are your plans later? Work?”
He shot her a glance, his brow raised as if in bewilderment.
“Huh? I said no movie… the date isn’t over. We’ve just gotten started. Nah, I took off from the club tonight. I plan to entertain you all night long. If you can hang, that is. We’ll see.” A sexy smirk spread across his face as he made a fast left turn.