Read Online Get You Good by Rhonda Bowen - Free Book Online Page B

him.
    He slipped it into his pocket and turned to meet her eyes. “How’s tomorrow?”
    She grinned. “That works, too.”
    â€œGood, I’ll text you the details,” he said, standing up. He smiled at her as he backed away. “And this time, please show up.”
    She laughed. That was not something he had to worry about. Not at all.

Chapter 7
    â€œW e’re taking the subway?”
    The sun glinted off his caramel-colored face as he grinned. “Yup.”
    Sydney stopped in the middle of the downtown sidewalk in front of Decadent. “Why?”
    â€œWhy not?” He grabbed her hand and pulled her forward. “It’s a beautiful day. The sun is shining, the air is full of smog. What more could a city girl want?”
    â€œFour wheels and central cooling,” Sydney said. “Is this why you told me to wear comfortable shoes?”
    â€œI promise you’ll have fun,” Hayden said as they walked side by side toward the entrance to the underground. “I got us day passes so we can go wherever we want.”
    â€œYou know, if you don’t have a car it’s OK. We could have taken mine. I’m not one of those judgmental sisters. I can work with a brother.”
    Hayden laughed. “I have a car. It’s parked in your spot behind Decadent.”
    â€œThen why aren’t we driving?”
    He stopped walking and turned to look her dead in the eye.
    â€œBecause I would rather look at you than look at traffic.”
    Sydney’s heart took a pause, then continued beating.
    A smile stole onto her lips and she turned her face away slightly so he couldn’t tell how much his words had affected her.
    â€œOK,” she said after a moment. “That’s a pretty good reason, Dub.”
    He smirked. “I thought so, too, Nini.”
    The fifteen-minute ride that she remembered from her days of commuting to university seemed like only a few moments with Hayden. The more time she spent with him, the more she felt like the carefree teenager she’d been so many years ago. It was almost as if only a couple of days had passed between then and now, instead of a number of years.
    â€œOK, so I think we’re here,” Hayden said as they came out of the College subway station exit to the street.
    â€œYou think?” Sydney asked teasingly. She watched as Hayden scratched his head and looked around at the pedestrian-heavy street. She had never seen a man look so good, when he was so totally lost. Actually she had never seen a man look so good, period. Well, there was Boris Kodjoe, but she had never met him in person, so he didn’t count.
    â€œNo,” Hayden said, a little more confidently. “I’m sure. This is it.”
    Sydney looked up and down the street at the tightly packed structures, which ranged in style from nineteenth century to postmodern and which housed an equally eclectic mix of shops and establishments. “What exactly is it ?”
    He grabbed her hand again and led her around the corner to College Street. Sydney’s mouth fell open. There were people everywhere. They poured off the sidewalk into the road like a river, circling around the white tents that lined both sides of the street for as far as she could see. She suddenly noticed the sound of music that had been so faint before. It set the tempo for the movement of the crowd as they made their way unhindered by cars through the usually gridlocked downtown street.
    â€œWhat is this?” Sydney asked, keeping her hold on Hayden’s hand as he led her past the barricades where the vehicular traffic stopped and festival traffic began.
    â€œThis is Taste of Little Italy,” he said, leaning close to her ear. “Every Italian dish you can think of is somewhere in the next seven blocks.”
    Sydney scrunched up her face and stopped short. “Italian?”
    The jubilant expression on Hayden’s face fell like a brick into the