It’s not you, it’s me. I mean, really me.”
“Pipe down over there, the show is starting.”
Cici flushed and then turned to face the stage as Don Pedro came on and Much Ado About Nothing started. Hoop wanted to take her hand and lead her away from here but he noticed that Cici sank back into her seat, took a sip of her smoothie and was entranced by the play. She watched it carefully, laughing at times, and even though this was one of Hoop’s favorite Shakespeare plays, he watched her instead of the action.
When the production was over and they filed out of their seats, he knew she was ready to leave.
“I have that dinner reservation,” he said.
“I know. I’m hungry.”
“Then come and eat with me. We can talk and get to know each other better. No pressure or anything. Just a guy and a girl.”
“But we’re not just a guy and a girl.”
He took her hand in his and started walking on the path that lead to Central Park West and the restaurant he’d booked. “Tonight we are. Just for tonight. We never had a real date.”
“No we didn’t,” she said. “I really liked you.”
“I know. I think it freaked me out a little,” he admitted. He wished it hadn’t but he knew that he liked things, relationships, to be light and uncomplicated and Cici had felt even then like she’d demand more.
“And it’s not freaking you out now?”
“Nope,” he said. “Not tonight. I think you need a night out and I could use one too.”
“Okay but this is just one night. That’s it. Dinner and then I get a cab home.”
“Dinner and then we can see what happens.”
She nibbled her lower lip and narrowed her eyes at him. “What do you want to happen?”
“I have no idea, Cici. You are always throwing my carefully made plans into chaos, so I never know what to expect.”
“Just dinner. That’s it.”
He nodded, but he knew he wanted more. Even as he was making small talk about the play, he was very aware that Cici was different. And one dinner date was never going to satisfy him.
But she wasn’t in a place for anything more. And Hoop would respect that. He would be the friend he knew she’d need. He worked with foster kids and with their birth mothers’ pro bono, trying to bring together families that were broken. He knew how complicated it could be and wanted more than that for Cici.
“Why are you watching me?”
“Just trying to remind myself that you need a friend and not a lover,” he said.
She tipped her head to the side, studying him. “Let’s start with the friend and then we’ll see about the other.”
“Well, friend, why do you love Shakespeare?” he asked.
“Why do you?” she countered.
“When I was growing up, someone gave me a copy of The Tempest. It was addictive. I loved the story and it gave me something to do at night. I was a bit of a troublemaker for a while and had a curfew so if I broke it…I’d go to jail.”
“You were a bad boy?”
“Yes, but not as bad as I could have been. And that’s not as glamorous as it might seem.”
“I was a good girl. If there was a rule, I followed it. Actually, if I even thought something might be a rule I didn’t break it.”
“I can see that,” he said. “But you’ve got a wild side too.”
“Don’t we all,” she said smiling.
“I’m not sure about that. I really don’t anymore,” he said.
“Well, I’m not sure I’m all that wild. It’s just sometimes…well, I get to the point where I can’t follow one more rule. So I end up doing something like playing hooky from work and going to a baseball game or flirting with a guy in a club or…” she patted her stomach. “Sleeping with a guy that I shouldn’t.”
He squeezed her hand. “I had a couple of one night stands trying to forget you.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. I feel like I’ve tried everything to get you out of my head,” he said. “But you just won’t leave.”
She didn’t say anything else and they exited the park and he led her to the restaurant he’d chosen. It was a pop up Asian fusion place that was run by Alfonso, the first kid he’d been a big brother to. That had been almost ten years ago. Alfonso was an up and coming chef and Hoop was proud of the man that he’d become.
“A pop-up?”
“Yes. Do you mind?”
“No. Not at all. Iona wants us to do something like this leading up to Christmas. She thinks that we can make money by having more than one location. But I’m not really sure how to monetize it.”
“Well, I know the chef and he runs this place like a small business. If you’d like, I can introduce you and you can chat with him about it.”
That would be a good idea. Hoop didn’t want Cici to feel pressured by this date, and their talk as they’d walked over had made him realize he hadn’t really thought this through. Granted, Cici was a very different woman than she had been the last time they’d hung out together, but he also hadn’t seen her as anything more than a sexy woman he was obsessed with. Her life was complicated and he could easily see himself falling for her. But he’d always promised himself he’d stay single.
He had no idea how a good relationship worked. He’d seen other couples make it work but he’d always known it wasn’t for him.
Cici was going to need a man who wanted more than a few months of sex and some friendship when he moved on. And Hoop wasn’t too sure he could deliver that. Hell, he knew he couldn’t.
He led her up the steps of the restaurant where Alfonso’s partner, Lulu, was doing the front of house service.
“Hoop. It’s been too long since we last saw you,” she said, coming over to give him a hug. Lulu was tiny, not even five foot tall. She had long brown hair that she wore in a thick braid down her back. She had her nose pierced with a small sparkling gem and she wore heavy eye make-up that made her look exotic.
“It has been too long. I have been meaning to stop by but the job has been crazy,” Hoop said. “This is my friend Cici.”
“Hello, Cici. Nice to meet you,” Lulu said. “Fonz thought being a lawyer wasn’t going to be your thing. Too many office hours.”
“He was right, but I do like the work so it’s not that bad,” Hoop said.
“You sound like me, dude,” Alfonso said as he came in from the back of the restaurant. The place was small and could only seat ten customers. There was a couple in the corner and another party of four eating appetizers near the window.
Hoop and Alfonso hugged and when Hoop stepped back he drew Cici closer and introduced her to Alfonso. He thought about how lost he’d been when Pops had stepped into his life and how he’d passed it on by helping out Alfonso when he’d been in the same place.
He kept in touch with both men, and with the other kids he was a big brother to and he liked it. It was enough for him.
But as Cici was talking and he watched Lulu and Alfonso he wondered if he was missing something.
“Ready for dinner? I’ve got a new dish that is going to blow you away,” Alfonso said excitedly.
“I’m ready.”
“Me