The coach says a couple of words to Ovaughn and they waste no time and at the next dead ball Ovaughn is checked into the game at shooting guard. His small cheering section goes wild for him as he walks onto the court to play alongside the rest of the normal starters. The ball is checked in and the point guard immediately gets him the ball to allow him to get a rhythm going in the game on his first possession. The PF pops out to set a right pick against Ovaughn’s defender and then rolls hard to the basket just as he has some space. Unfortunately, Ovaughn’s nerves are getting the best of him, and he throws a terribly off target pass on the pick and roll and turns the ball over. He immediately puts his hand on his forehead, and he can hear some of the crowd start to boo. He’s not far from the team's bench but not looking up to see his friends trying to get his attention in the moment and Kennedy says, “He can’t see me!” Duc immediately tries to call out his name repeatedly but can’t yell loud enough to be heard over the crowd. That is until Carlos, who is now completely engaged in the situation with everyone else, joins in with his loud piercing voice. A voice that Duc normally thinks is annoying and obnoxious. It was just enough for Ovaughn to look up in their direction to see Duc standing up with his arms stretched upward. Duc didn’t do anything except point his attention toward Kennedy who was also standing up. They briefly caught eyes and Kennedy mouthed to him “you got this'' to which he took a deep breath to compose himself and nodded his head to her before running down court to get back on defense. She gave him all he needed to focus himself and get his head back in the game. She understood that feeling being an athlete and their emotional bond had already made her someone he leaned on for comfort and stability.
The next offensive possession Ovaughn runs his defender off of a couple of screens to spot up for a catch and shoot 3 on a pass from Spence and he knocks it down. Seeing the ball go in the hoop is all he needs to get his confidence back as well as quiet the remaining boos from the crowd. From that point on Ovaughn is completely comfortable on the court. Only being up 3 after his shot both he and Spence start to attack the basket to draw the defense and get easier shots for teammates when theirs isn’t available. He also eventually gets the pick and roll game working with the PF leading to 5 assists for him and some open jump shots when they start playing the PF too closely. His confidence even shows on the defensive end with him getting a couple of steals on two bad passes. He finished his best game of the season with 16 points including a highlight dunk from a pump fake at the free throw line that got his defender in the air and cleared the lane for him. The most important thing for Ovaughn was getting the win even though it was a closer game without the star guard on the court. Above all else he wanted to feel like part of the reason they won and was proud of the victory because it was the most minutes he’s played all year, finishing out the entire half after not playing much in the first half. The coaches apparently felt he did well also because following the game they informed him that he would be starting for the two remaining games next week before the team was excused for Christmas. This was indeed the opportunity that his friends had been speaking into existence and he couldn’t wait to let them know. But before that the team was going to eat together, as they usually did to celebrate victories, before going out to party on this final Friday of the semester.
Although he is enjoying being celebrated by his teammates, Ovaughn quickly finishes his food and leaves the restaurant which is a small spot located just a couple of blocks off campus. He is so excited to get back to his friends to share in his joy, he is jogging back to campus alone in the dark. Since the game was one of their earlier ones for a weekday it isn’t even 9:00 PM yet so his first stop is going to be to see Kennedy even though he knows his friends are waiting for him to get back so they can go out. As he approaches her dorm, he calls up to her room with his cell phone to let her know he is downstairs. By the time he is walking up to the front door of the dorm she is coming outside. She stops on the dorm steps a couple of steps above him, so they are face to face and she immediately wraps her arms around his shoulders and gives him a huge embrace. “I told you it was going to happen.” She pulls back and looks him in his eyes.
“I’m starting the last two games before Christmas break,” he answers, trying to hold back a smile.
“I’m so proud of you! You’re going to kill this shit! This is just the start.”
Now he is smiling hard. “I was about to mess it up if not for you.”
“Nah. You did that. Don’t take away from what you accomplished. You were great and you earned these next two starts. Period! I’m here to support you just like you do when you come to my meets and always will be, but YOU put in that work. Don’t belittle it.”
Then Kennedy realizes that she is supposed to be leaving this weekend like most of the students and gets a startling look of shock on her face, which has Ovaughn asking what’s wrong. She replies “I can’t leave Sunday. I can’t miss your two starts. I have to call my parents and tell them I’m driving back next week.” She brought her car back to school from N.C. after Thanksgiving since it was only for three weeks before she would return. Ovaughn tries to convince her it is okay and that he doesn’t expect her to change her plans and be stuck on an empty campus for his games on the following Monday and Thursday, but she isn’t having it. The Monday game is at another school in Atlanta. The Thursday game is another home game. Kennedy doesn’t want to miss a moment.
“I know you’re right,” she tells him. “There will be other games and I’m 100 percent sure this won’t be your only time starting but this is a milestone for you. And I’ll be mad at myself for missing something that I feel is that important in your life. I know you can do it alone. I WANT to be there when you do….I love you.”
For a moment they stand in a silent shock that she actually said the word “love” until Kennedy gives him a vulnerable look as if asking for him to not leave her hanging.
“I already know you love me babe,” he says with a smile.
“Am I that obvious?”
Ovaughn then leans in, and they kiss as passionately as they had the very first time they kissed. They don’t even budge from those steps as they kiss, completely losing awareness of all surroundings. That is until a group of girls come out of the dorm. “Y’all niggas need to go to a room or something!” They instantly burst into laughter.
Kennedy rubs the lipstick from his lips that rubbed off from her and they begin to talk about the separate plans they already have with their friends, with it being the last Friday night of the semester. Neither of them wants to leave each other but they both know they should go hang out with their friends this last time before they leave for the holiday. Kennedy double checks which club Ovaughn is supposed to be heading to, telling him that if their spot is weak, they will come there too. They kiss a couple more times and start to turn away from each other, still grasping hands. Just before they let go Ovaughn grabs her hand tighter. “Kennedy. You know I love you, too.”
For one of the few times since she’s known him, she doesn’t have a witty comeback. All she can do is smile from ear to ear.
They say their goodbyes and Ovaughn rushes towards his dorm knowing the fellas are still waiting for him and he still has to change clothes. It’s just after 9:00 PM by the time he gets into his room and, just as he expected, the fellas are all there between their two dorm rooms. When he walks in, they all go crazy yelling and giving him his props on the game. They have already started drinking and immediately pour him a drink as he tries to change his clothes so they can get going. They are in no rush though. That is except for Carlos who is always trying to go out these days. They map out who will be in each car between Duc’s SUV and Chris’ car and head out to a club across town that is closer to one of the larger universities in Atlanta that is historically more lenient on checking people’s IDs at the bar. The crowd is a mix of multiple schools in Atlanta, so they enjoy just getting outside of their typical crowd from time to time and it’s normally a good turnout. This night does not disappoint with the club being packed and the guys making sure Ovaughn always has a drink if he wants one. They are even more inspired to have a great night before beginning to part ways that weekend and they party the night away until the club closes.
As the weekend continues the fellas begin to leave campus to head home for the Christmas holiday. Rob and Tim departed as soon as they can on Saturday. Both being anxious to get back to the familiar surroundings of the D.C. area and more specifically P.G. County Maryland. Duc and Jairus wait until Sunday to depart in part to have another day to hang out with their friends and in part for women. Jairus wants to spend more time with Lisa who isn’t leaving until Sunday due to her flight being cheaper that day and Duc wants the opportunity to hook up with a female friend before being home for weeks with no options for female companionship. Mike is local to Atlanta, so he just sticks around until Duc drops him off at home on his way out of town Sunday. The same applies to Chris but he has a car, so he is coming and going as he pleases anyway. By Sunday evening Ovaughn is the only one of his friends still at the dorm. That is fine for him since Kennedy works out another ride for her friend and is sticking around Atlanta to see his first two starts for the basketball team. Since she is sticking around for both games, Ovaughn adjusts his plans so that he can ride back to N.C. with her, and she won’t be alone. He also sees this as an opportunity to introduce her to his mom when she drops him off in Charlotte. But that isn’t until the weekend. For now, he is focused on the game for Monday as well as having some uninterrupted time with Kennedy this upcoming week.
Monday’s game eventually arrives and is scheduled for that afternoon. The opponents are one of the predominantly white institutions in the Atlanta area located on the other side of the city. As the team goes to the locker room after the pregame shoot around the coaches remind them that Ovaughn will be starting in place of their star guard who will be down for three weeks with a sprained ankle. Ovaughn knows these next two games are his chance to get some real time and even secure the starting spot for the rest of the games he will miss. Unfortunately for him at least a week of that time will be off due to the holiday, but he’ll take any opportunity he can get to prove himself. Spence immediately comes up to him following the news and tells him to just play his part and things will work out fine. Ovaughn is unsure what that is supposed to mean but he’s sure Spence wants to roll right into that star role since this is his last year on the team. It doesn’t bother him, especially since he feels like he wouldn’t even be on the team if not for Spence, but he also doesn’t want to mess up this chance to show the team what he can really do.
As the teams come out of their respective locker rooms to start the game the first thing Ovaughn notices is how much smaller the crowd is than any other games they have had this season. Even though he can tell that the other team's side is much larger than theirs. All he cares about is that Kennedy found her way there and was securely seated a couple of rows behind their team. And to his pleasant surprise so were Mike, Carlos, and Chris. That support is all the motivation he needs to get him through the game with him starting off just as strong as he finished the last game. Only this time he found Spence trying to take control of the game as the remaining captain on the court. Spence forces things at times trying to prove he can carry the offense in the absence of their normal scoring leader. He didn’t leave Ovaughn many opportunities to create his own shots. He was still able to take advantage of the open shots the offense created for him going 3 of 5 from 3 point and 6 of 12 overall with a few good fastbreak plays between him and the point guard as well as another 4 of 4 from the free throw line. Unfortunately, the team loses the game due to them getting out of the offense too often as Spence continually tries to take over when they get in trouble, but Ovaughn’s performance is strong yet again. His 19 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, a steal, a block, and no turnovers stood out on the stat sheet. Especially since it was complimented by such a good shooting percentage. After the coach tells them about what they did wrong he makes a point to pull Ovaughn to the side and let him know that he sees the effort he’s putting forth and if he keeps up this level of play good things will start to happen for him. Spence, taking the loss personally, isn’t happy to see the coaches giving someone else good news amid the loss he felt responsible for.
The team returns to campus, and everyone goes their separate ways. A stark contrast to the team atmosphere felt after the surprise win of the previous game. But as bad as he hates to lose, Ovaughn can’t stop himself from feeling like this isn’t a loss for him personally. His friends who are waiting for him to go grab something to eat together feel the same way, which doesn’t help the guilt he is feeling. As they eat, he tells Mike, Carlos, and Chris he is surprised that they showed up because he didn’t expect to see them there. Mike jokingly tells him he takes that as a disrespect to him and their friendship which leads Carlos to explain to Ovaughn how Mike never missed one of his football games in high school and how he is the type to always show up to support his friends. The only ones of Carlos’ games he missed were if there was a conflict with him playing his own basketball games, which was very rare. Although he will never say it, a big part of that is because Mike felt like Carlos needed him there since he was never sure if anyone else would be there to support him. They finish eating and part ways with Kennedy accompanying Ovaughn to his dorm room since it is the rare occasion where they can be alone there. Kennedy, still proud of his performance, is spouting his praises the entire way.
It is still early for them when they get to the room. Ovaughn cleaned up in the locker room but still wants to get a better shower and change into different clothes. At this point the adulation from Kennedy begins to turn into affection and as Ovaughn begins to get ready for his shower she lays on his bed giving him flirtatious compliments. As he undresses, acting bashful in her presence, Kennedy says with a devilish grin “go get it ready for me baby,” which catches Ovaughn by surprise giving him a wide-eyed look. Normally one of them does something to divert the sexual tension when it gets too intense, but this is the first time they have been alone since saying they love each other. Ovaughn calls her bluff. “It’s all yours as soon as I get back,” he says and walks out to the bathroom. For the first five minutes he’s gone Kennedy is in shock laying on his bed wondering if he is serious. Intimidated by what taking that step in the relationship means to them. But she thinks of the other night in front of her dorm and how much she feels like he cares for her, and that feeling is eased. Ovaughn on the other hand is in the shower getting more anxious at the possibility. He has wanted to have sex with Kennedy all semester but has let his nerves and fear of a bad performance hold him back. Even at this point he feels his nerves playing with his stomach. He finishes his shower and as he makes his way back to his room, he thinks about how much his friends would clown him for being with her for a few months and still being scared to have sex with her and he starts laughing.
He comes back into the room and sits on the bed next to Kennedy who is now under the comforter. He begins to lotion himself while still in just his towel and she is rubbing on his back while she lays there saying nothing. Eventually, tired of just glancing at each other, she motions down towards her, and he leans down and kisses her passionately. He then realizes that she only has her bra and panties on under his covers. He stops kissing her. “We’ve been dancing around this for a while now. Are you sure you’re ready now?”
Kennedy pauses for a moment. “I had a bad experience with a dude I liked early freshman year. I really thought it was going to be something and had sex too soon and then he disappeared. I’ve been guarding myself since then...but I know how you really feel.”
“Am I that obvious?” She smiles with one of those looks of joy you just can’t hold in as she is reminded of the first night, he tells her he loves her and for the first time they make love. And again, for the second time shortly after that begins. As well as one other time a little later before they realize it’s getting late, and they have to go out and get dinner before everything begins to close that evening. And that’s pretty much how their time together goes the next couple of days until they agree to stop for him to rest for the Thursday night game. ***
When the night of the game comes Ovaughn once again gets the start at the shooting guard position. And as the team starts shootaround on their home court he looks to see Mike and Chris make it to the game this time as well. Once again, the crowd is small, so they easily get a seat with Kennedy in the normal spots. As the team warms up Ovaughn is surprised by Spence abruptly bumping into him from his blind side and giving him an evil look before saying, “Maybe if you play your role instead of trying to impress your girl, we can actually win this game.” Ovaughn stands there shocked for a moment as he walks away. A part of him is hurt because he thought, of all people, Spence would be happy to see him do well since he is the one that helped him get onto the practice squad. The other part of him is pissed that he has the nerve to come at him so disrespectfully like he can say and do what he wants to him. After taking a second to compose himself so that he doesn’t respond he mentally decides to use it as fuel to do anything but ‘play his role’ in the game. Playing against another HBCU team with a losing record this season, there is not a lot of pressure coming into the game with them being heavy favorites. As the game progresses Ovaughn finds that Spence is trying his best to avoid giving him the ball, so he has to rely on creating his own shots half of the time. It doesn’t stop him much as the coaches notice that both he and Spence have it going and begin to play them separate minutes to keep the team attacking no matter which is on the court. That is until the visiting team goes on a run halfway through the second half due to back-to-back turnovers and a missed jumper by Spence.
After a timeout both players are back in the game with six minutes left and a 5-point lead. Ovaughn is instant offense for the team, getting two easy layups with a defender who isn’t quick enough to stay in front of him. He can tell it is frustrating Spence but by this point he couldn’t care less, and the crowd is so small he can slightly hear his friends' screams creep through the crowd noise as they cheer him on. But with the opposing team still going shot for shot with them it is going to take a couple of stops, as their 3-point shot makes it a 4-point game now. Spence comes back down and hits another mid-range jumper and now has 19 points in the game. One more point than Ovaughn. His defensive assignment, who has been on fire, comes back down and gets another 3-pointer getting open from a screen. They respond with a broken play by the point guard that leads to Ovaughn driving to the basket for an ‘and 1’ play, making the free throw for the 3-point play and giving him 21 points on the game. The small crowd of loyal fans is now going wild feeling a victory is almost within reach and it motivates the team on defense leading to the freshman power forward making a huge block and outlet pass to Spence before he is fouled. The ball is taken out of bounds on the sideline by the point guard and passed inbounds to Ovaughn. He passes it back and tries to move around through screens set by his teammate into the spot that the coach wrote up for him to get an open 3 pointer to put the game out of reach. But when he gets to his spot he finds Spence out of place standing very close to the spot he is supposed to get to for an open shot with his defender sitting there with him. Ovaughn stops short to maintain enough space to get a clean passing lane but when he catches the pass Spence’s defender cheats over before he gets the shot up. So, in a split second Ovaughn has to decide between a bad shot or make the smart decision to pass out to a better option. He takes a pump fake, which gets both his and Spence’s defenders off their feet. He then makes a no-look pass to Spence in the corner for a wide open 3 pointer that will finally put this game completely out of reach. It will also make sure he doesn’t finish the game as the leading scorer, which disappoints him. But he finishes with the team high and his career high of 8 assists thanks to that shot. 21 points and 8 assists are definitely enough for the coaches to think he had a great game. And after the game most of his teammates give him his credit as well. Except for Spence, of course.
Before going into the locker room Ovaughn makes a point to speak to Mike and Chris, who came down to the courtside. He wants to know if they want to hang out since he will be leaving soon but Mike tells him that he has to get up early to get some stuff done so he can’t stay out late. And Chris is about one more stop away from his normal disappearing act, which is going to be dropping off Mike. Ovaughn doesn’t really want to stay up too late anyway since he and Kennedy are planning to drive to N.C. on Saturday, and he has to pack all day Friday. After all the drama and pressure of the last week Ovaughn is just looking forward to getting home and spending some time with family away from basketball. Mike on the other hand has pressure of his own just beginning.
What Mike isn’t telling Ovaughn is that his mother has just informed him that the finances are getting tight, and she needs him to start working because she won’t have money to provide for him like she has before. The issue is his grandparents, who have been helping his mother with some of his college bills, now have to deal with the hospital bills accrued that summer when his father had his incident. This isn’t a huge issue for his tuition or room and board for this school year since it is mostly paid for. But the books and other expenses his family provides money for will be an issue as well as the cost of school after this semester. So that Friday Mike is getting up first thing that morning and looking for a job that will allow him to contribute. He has all but run through any money he saved from his job over the summer and the timing of the situation couldn’t be worse with all the retailers being staffed up for the Christmas holiday. Regardless, the first place he looks is his old high school job in the mall but, as he suspects, it is a dead end. He spends most of the day on Friday and half the day on Saturday going to different places filling out applications for jobs. From retail to waiting tables at restaurants to call centers to UPS truck loading, he tries to fill out an application anywhere he can think. Feeling discouraged after so many people telling him they aren’t looking but he can fill out an application, he breaks to get some food at a strip mall shopping center he tried with a lot of recently added stores. As he finishes his food, he notices a new place that is supposed to be having its grand opening that evening, so he goes in and checks the spot out. When he gets in, he can’t tell if it’s a restaurant or a lounge. They even have a small stage in the back and are selling books near the entrance. This place is completely different than anywhere else he has been, so he talks to the hostess about any jobs and why the setup seems so different. She explains it is intended to attract a more laid-back crowd into good music and art and the lounge will even be having an open mic on Sunday as a part of the grand opening. Never having been to an open mic and having the thought of it being like the Poetry Jam show that recently started on television, not only is he intrigued about a job there but even more, he wants to come back to see the open mic.
Mike leaves without even filling out the application. He just takes one to return later, folding it up and stuffing it in his back pocket just before he hears a familiar voice call out. “What’s up stranger?” He turns to see Monique with a large smile and hug to greet him. He hadn’t seen her in a while, making a point to stay away from her since she had a boyfriend. Being an Atlanta native as well, she didn’t live too far from the shopping center and instantly started talking about anticipating going to the new lounge he just exited. He was already intrigued by the lounge but now he was tempted by the thought of spending time there with Monique. But he instantly thinks about her relationship and tries to avoid entertaining the thought. “Let me know what you thought when you go.” He hopes that’s enough to cut it off before he gets himself into something he regrets but if it were that easy to avoid the temptation he wouldn’t be standing there in that situation.
“I’m trying to go tomorrow night for the open mic but I don’t have anyone to go with. Unless you wanna go?” She bats her eyes at him, he finds it nearly impossible to turn her down. He knows it’s trouble he needs to avoid but the temptation gets the best of him. He also knows her boyfriend is from Florida and is not going to be around over the holidays. “Yeah, I can go with you. I definitely wanna check it out.” They make plans to meet up there the next evening before the open mic is supposed to start and part ways.
Mike heads home and finds his brother alone sitting at the kitchen table eating something his mother fixed for them. Although he had been back home for a week, Mike and Arthur rarely crossed paths, which always made Mike suspicious of his brother’s sobriety. As he enters the house Arthur notices that Mike seems to be a bit preoccupied with his thoughts and since it is just them, he decides to try to break the ice between them by asking Mike what is bothering him. Mike, not looking to Arthur as someone to go to for advice, simply says “nothing.” Arthur, not giving up that easily, states that he can clearly see that something has him deep in thought and if he wants to talk to someone, he is willing to listen. Mike pauses and realizes his brother is trying to connect. He decides to let him in for the moment and takes a seat. “Why are the things that you should avoid the things that you want to do the most?”
Arthur lifts his head up from his plate just long enough to give Mike a side eye. “You talking about temptation? Yeah, I know all about that shit.” Then after a pause to chew some food he can’t seem to pull himself away from Arthur abruptly says, “Hold up! What the fuck are we talking about?”
Mike, realizing where his brother’s mind could be going, blurts out “Women! Women!” with his hands up like people do as if they are showing their hands to prove they aren’t hiding anything. Arthur, almost relieved, responds “Ooooohh! Is she pregnant?” Mike just busts out laughing so he continues with “Is she married?” To which Mike responds with a look of shock and Arthur continues “She engaged?”
Mike finally says loudly “No.”
Arthur looks confused. “So what’s the problem? I know you ain’t out here struggling to meet women?”
And then Mike generally explains his situation and how he found himself infatuated with a girl who was already in a relationship. Arthur thinks he may be overthinking it but still offers some advice from an outside perspective. “You have a habit of making things more serious than they have to be. And this is a 19-year-old girl with a boyfriend she has no intention of spending the rest of her life with. If she thinks you’re a better option what’s wrong with that? Now, you may see something that you don’t want in a girlfriend even though you like her, and I get that. But that doesn’t mean you can’t kick it with her.”
At that moment, Mike loses all concern of taking advice from his brother and wonders why what he’s saying makes so much sense to him. He realizes that he’s putting a ton of weight on the situation that it may not require. But his brother was always the more lighthearted of the two of them. Which may be a part of the reason he’s gotten into some of the troubles he has. They sit and chat some more and soon their mother and sister come home from shopping. Brenda is pleasantly surprised to see the boys sitting together at the table talking because there hasn’t been much communication between them since Arthur’s drug incidents. Naturally she is interested in how things went for Mike on his job hunt and he tells her about his difficulties. And Mike and his family spend the rest of the evening together watching television, playing his mother’s favorite game, scrabble, and talking about nothing at all. Just having a good time in each other's company.
That Sunday night Mike follows through with meeting Monique at the lounge, Jazzy Belles. He arrives about 10 minutes before they are supposed to be there and after waiting over 20 minutes he begins to wonder if it has been all talk from Monique with no intention of actually showing up. His disappointment is beginning to build just as Monique finally appears from behind him dressed as if she’s on a date trying to make an impression. And impressed he is. It is an outfit that definitely accentuates her physical features and one he will not be forgetting anytime soon. So much so that he finds himself fumbling over his words after greeting her with a hug. She stops him saying, “I hope I didn’t have you waiting too long. Are you ready to go into the lounge?” Still in shock he get out “Umm...uhh..yeah. Let’s go get seats before it becomes too packed.” Although he’s trying to play it cool he can’t help himself and as they are walking to the door he says, “You look really good tonight, Monique.” She blushes and gives him a huge smile and reaches over to gently caress his arm in response.
When they enter the hostess asks if they are there for open mic and if they plan to eat. Arthur has given him a little bit of money for the evening in case he needs it, so he can afford to get them something to eat. So, he feels like he’s doing something when he tells her “Yeah, we might grab something to eat if we get hungry.” She shows them to a table towards the front of the room near the stage. As they spend the next hour and a half listening to the poetry being recited, the songs sung, and the verses rhymed over beat selections. They both go through numerous thoughts and emotions inspired by everything being shared. Most of which revolves around love, setting a romantic mood to the evening. Throughout the evening they laugh, get deep in discussion about the artists’ selections, and even debate about some of the things they hear. Mike loves the interaction they are having but keeps reminding himself that she still has a boyfriend. Especially since it seems like she is making a point to make physical contact with subtle touches on his arm or legs as well as leaning into him while they are listening to some artists. Mike is now completely sold on Jazzy Belles as his type of spot and makes a mental note that he has to get that application and return it as soon as possible.
When the open mic ends Mike knows he wants to make sure that Monique gets home safely since it is now dark outside. Since he isn’t sure how she got there he asks, “Do you need a ride home?” His grandmother let him borrow her ‘99 Altima for the evening and he is going to take every opportunity he can to drive around in the car. Of course, Monique is happy to accept the ride to her doorstep and verbally expresses how thankful she is for the fun evening. As they ride together Monique pokes fun at Mike saying, “I bet you like all those lovey dovey poems from tonight? You not fooling me always trying to act like you’re tough.” He just laughs at her assumption. He thinks there can’t be any harm if she really believes what she’s saying and if he tries to deny it he just looks like she’s right. After a short ride, Mike pulls up to her home and says, “I really enjoyed hanging out with you. I’m happy we went.” Then Monique cut him short saying, “I know you’re going to walk me to my door, right?”
