To Have and To Hold

Chapter Six - Its a Date

Tariq's POV

I just put Leah to bed and I'm exhausted. She's so full of energy. It took me two hours, two glasses of milk, two bedtime stories and some dancing to get her to sleep. Leah is just three years but she is like a ten-year-old; she's too smart for her age.

I fall on the sofa and look at the clock on the stereo, it was 9:56 pm. I remember I planned on calling Andrea put I'm wondering if it's too late.

"Short man, yuh see the remote?"

I look up at uncle Harry who is coming out of the kitchen.

"It's on the fridge top," I answer.

"Leah gone to sleep?" he asks as he retrieves the remote and switches the tv on.

"Yea, finally."

"A your pickney that. The same way you did stay," he says smiling.

I've been living with my uncle for as far back as I could remember. He's my mother's brother and he's taken care of me ever since she died when I was two. I have no clue who my father is, but my uncle has been that to me.

"Mi a go mek a call," I tell him as I leave to go on the verandah of our family home in Patrick City.

I look up Andrea's number and dial, it starts ringing.

Andrea's POV

I am half asleep on the sofa watching some documentary when my phone rings. I hope it is not Neandra asking me to pick her up from anywhere because I'm not leaving the house for the rest of the night. She'll have to call On Time taxi services.

It's not Nea, it's Tariq. A rush of nervousness suddenly comes on and I put the phone back on the sofa beside me. What are you doing? You have been waiting on this call for a whole week, I silently chastise myself. I quickly answer the phone to avoid missing the call. I don't want to have to call back.

"Hello"

"Hi Andrea, I thought you were going to ignore my call."

Count on this man to hit the nail right on the head.

"I was away from the phone," I lied.

"Yea, sure you were," he says sarcastically.

I decide to ignore it. There is no sense in reaffirming a lie.

"I answered, didn't I? Is there something you wish to say?" I ask.

"Hmmm, getting straight to the point. I like that, Andrea."

There was something sultry about the way my name rolled off his tongue. I could get used to hearing it.

"I will be making reservations for us at the restaurant at Devon House for Saturday night, what time is better, 7:00 am or 8:00 am?"

"Seven would be better," I say. He got me to agree to a date just like that.

"Good. Send me your location so I can pick you up at six. I know you don't like being late and neither do I," he says.

"Can your BlackBerry accept WhatsApp?" I chuckle as I ask.

There was a slight pause and I thought, maybe that was a bit insensitive, suppose that was what he's able to afford.

He laughs, "Good one Andrea. It actually cannot, that's the reason I have WhatsApp on my other phone. A Samsung."

I relax a bit, I am glad he has a sense of humour.

"It's nice to hear your voice, Andrea, we should do this more often."

"Sure," I say and I meant it. I could get used to hearing his voice over the phone. It was hella sexy.