Dripping Exclusives

(4) Lessons

Z A N I A

A week later...

I sit on the edge of the bed, holding the phone up to watch him drive. For some reason he wanted to stay on the phone while he drives to my building. We've been on the phone for about four hours like we weren't going out on a date in a few minutes.

We've been doing that a lot lately. Ever since our first date, it's been amazing chemistry. Apart of me can't help but wonder if this is him playing his part or is he genuinely interested.

   Does it matter?

    "I'm outside, love", he laughs at my straight face. The drive from his building to mine is two minutes due to us living close on campus. "Coming", I hang up and grab my clutch off the nightstand. Along with a bouquet of roses.

   I thought about making him a basket of his favorites but it's too similar to what he gave me. This would definitely catch them off guard. One of the biggest things I noticed is that he thinks the woman is the only one capable of being appreciated. He neglects himself in the process, the thought of a woman catering to him means that he's less than.

   I want to change that narrative.

     Walking outside, I smirk seeing him raise his eyebrows at the big roses. I open the door, smiling wide as I hand them out to him.

    I try to keep from laughing as Cameron awkwardly takes them out my hand. "Appreciate it, this shit is so different", he stares at the bouquet in confusion. "Like do I take a picture with them or something", he stares at me in curiosity.

   "I mean there for you, do what you want", I giggle. "Okay give me your phone so I can put the address in your phone", he doesn't say anything. Cameron simply passes the phone over and I type in the address to our destination for the night.

      We carry casual conversation. Mid sentence, he stops once he realizes where we are. "How did you manage to get us to a winery", he raises an eyebrow at me. "Nigga you're not even twenty-one", he points out and I grin.

   "Just know I have connections", I say in effort to be mysterious. In actuality , my cousin happens to work here. She's at the front, responsible for booking appointments and checking I.Ds. I asked her about dating ideas and this was her first recommendation despite the fact that i'm underage by a year. "I'm not even gone ask anymore questions because this shit is nice", he holds my hand as we walk inside.

     "Zania! Lovely seeing you here", my cousin whispers pretending that she's in complete shock to see me. "Y'all have a good night", she skips over the motion of checking our identification.

   "Thank you", I mouthed to her and she gives me a thumbs up. "Ma, this shit is beautiful", Cameron squeezes my hand in awe. His eyes widening at the endless shelves of wine. "Are we trying all of these?"

    "Nigga no", I laugh at the pout on his face. "This one in particular let's you pick eight samples to choose from, provides dinner and you can choose a bottle to take home with you", I explain to him, he pulls me in closer, giving me a peck on the lips.

     "Thank you, thank you in advance"

     The past hour, we spent time in a brief presentation about the history of the winery before being led to the wine tasting. "You before, sweet, bitter, something bubbly?", I look up at him as I skim over the options.