“So what do you think about that property management class?” he asks once the waiter dips from the table.

I shrug, placin’ a muffin on a plate. “It’s aiight, I guess. I’m not really interested in managin’ properties. I’m tryna own ’em, ya feel me?”

“Oh no doubt. I’m with you on that. I already have a few properties; I just wanna understand the management side of things.”

“Same here,” I say to ’im. He tells me how he owns two houses in Jersey, a townhome in Delaware, and another spot out here. All this and the nigga’s only twenty-four. When I ask ’im how he was able to make his moves, he tells me used the money and house his grandmother had left ’im in her will. I can’t front, I’m impressed. And I tell ’im so.

“Thanks,” he says, reachin’ for a muffin, then bitin’ into it. He swallows, then says, “By the time I’m forty, I’m tryna be set for life.”

For some reason, my clit twitches. I’m not sure if it’s ’cause e’ery time the muhfucka licks his lips I imagine it’s my clit he’s lickin’, if it’s ’cause the nigga’s on his grind, or ’cause I’m mad horny and he happens to be the only muhfucka out here I’ve given any real convo to in a minute. Whatever the reason, I wanna fuck! I press my thighs together tryna pinch off the achin’ in my clit. I am relieved when the waiter returns to the table wit’ our orders.

While we’re eatin’, I peep Tone checkin’ me on the sly, but I play it off ’cause I’m checkin’ him, too. He grins. “What? Why you grinnin’ like that? Is there sumthin’ hangin’ from my lips?”

He shakes his head. “Nah, I’m diggin’ your style. You real cool peeps, Kat.”

I smile. “Yeah, I bet you say that to e’ery chick you out wit’.”

“Nah, not at all. I been out here for almost two years, and you the first real dime I’ve come across. And the fact that you from Jersey is a big plus.”