"And what's your major, St. Louis?"

"Oh so now that's my new nickname?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, KC, I see how you are. I'm a business major. I know, I know, that's pretty broad, but I don't know what I want to focus on."

"That's why you take a few classes to find out."

"I guess."

Unlike Angel who knew what she wanted to do after working a few years as a model before she even attended college. She majored in fashion merchandise because she knew she loved clothes and fashion. Before she started her own business, she worked at Macy's. Depending on what I focused on, maybe I could work for Angel before I started my own business, doing what, I don't know yet.

After driving for a while, I questioned where King was taking me.

"Are we going all the way back to your home, in Kansas City?"

"Ha! Funny. No. Just be patient, fresh."

While he drove, I texted Allura and Twyla that I was out with King.

King who, was Allura's response

King! From our Eng class

Yaaassss girl!! That man is fire.

Have fun, Twyla texted.

King finally stopped and parked in the lot of a place called Bonkers. I could tell by the loud screaming kids running about, this was a kid-friendly, family outing type of place. Not a romantic date night place. Sooooo, I am guessing this was not a date?

Hey, what do I know! I guess if a person wanted to take another person to Chuck E Cheese and call it a date they can.

"It's pretty cool here."

"Is this place like Chuck E Cheese on crack?"

We walked in and I was sold immediately. Sure, there were lots of little kids running around, but there were lots of adults as well. King moved around as if he knew the place by heart. He went to the machine where you put in money for tokens, and I stopped him immediately.

"I can pay for mine."

"But I asked you out and brought you here. It's on me, fresh. Next time is on you."

Soooo, this was definitely a date? I smiled to myself as he bought us tokens. My first date and with a guy I found hot. I was a lucky girl for sure.

Maybe he took lots of girls here on a first date and I was not special. Why would King, a sophomore at Mizzou, the school with girls of all flavors, be interested in a girl like me? What did I have to offer him?

"Come on fresh, let me take some pictures of you, looking all cute."

That made me smile. He had to like me more than a friend if he thought I was cute.

I did a couple of goofy poses at one of the games and then took some of him. We played as many games as we could, with me buying twenty dollars worth and adding it to the pot. Then we divided the tickets equally in half and cashed out, buying lame little items I would lose ten minutes later and candy we could have gotten at the dollar store. We were there for over two hours. I was tired and hungry.

"I guess I need to feed you." Bonkers had an area for ordering food and tables and chairs to eat.  "A date would not be complete without food."

As if it could be any clearer. I smiled internally, well, I think...maybe there was a big cheese-eating smile on my face about it. I was having so much fun with him and he felt like an old friend, it did not feel like a date. The next step was he would become my boyfriend, right? Next after that was kissing and well...everything else.

"Rayvn? You okay?"

"Huh?" I was totally out of it and I needed to pay attention to him and not come off as an airhead.

"Eat? Food? Grubbage?" He glared at her. "Are you okay?"

"Sure! I love food! A lot of food. Any food. Whatever you like."

Okay, dork alert. Maybe I needed to shut up, be quiet and just listen to him. Now that I knew this was an actual date and not just hanging out, I felt different. King was a gorgeous guy, but I still did not know much about him. I had to get to know him, decide if I liked him.

"What do you like? They have burgers, pizza, chicken nuggets-"

"King, it's okay, you don't have to buy me anything to eat, we can just go-"

"Naw, I got you. Besides, I don't want our date to be over, do you?"

Doing the happy dance in my head, I had no more words for him. Burger and fries and a Coke because that was simple enough. King ordered a cheeseburger and cheese fries with a Coke.

Once we had our food, we sat at a table and I dug in, not waiting for him.

"Dang girl, you were that hungry? That's my bad."

"Oh!" I said with my mouth stuffed with food. I chewed quickly before I embarrassed myself. "No, I just really, really like this food." That was a lie, I was super duper hungry. He did not need to know that I ate like a linebacker. I slowed myself down to stop eating like a pig.

Angel's words echoed in my head, "Pretty girls don't eat like pigs."

I was on a date, and I needed to be more girly or cute, at least not let him see me as the klutz I was.

King picked at his food. Maybe he was not hungry. Maybe I should have ordered a salad or something and eaten like a lady. He probably lost his appetite watching me.

"King, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm cool. I'm having a real good time with you, fresh. I don't just meet girls I like and hit it off with them like I have with you."

Wow! He was all in his feelings and I did not know what to say to that.

"I want to get to know more about you. Tell me something I don't know."

"Like..."

"Anything? Something cool, something silly."

I'm an awkward Black girl. I don't know if I'm straight, gay, or bi. I have never kissed a boy. I have never kissed anyone. I have never had a relationship. This is my first date ever. I'm a klutz, which of course he knows because when he first met me I fell down the stairs.

I couldn't say any of that to him.

"I'm just a regular, smegular girl. College freshman, just trying to get by."

"I highly doubt that. There is something about you Rayvn, you're special."

If he was going to be this nice and sweet to me, I was going to swoon like a lovesick puppy. What did I ever do to deserve a Hottie Tottie like King to have an interest in me?

"Well, let me tell you more about myself. I'm nineteen, born and raised in Kansas City. Parents not together. My father has been in and out of my life, pretty much out right now. My mother did the best she could as a single mom. I'm an only child. I have lots of cousins though, and we're pretty tight. None went off to college like me."

"I understand that. Neither my mother nor my father...I mean, four-year college anyway. What's it like being an only child?"

"Cool, I guess. I hung out with my cousins a lot, with my aunties and uncles. I never felt alone or anything." He grinned at her. "What about you?"

I blew out a sigh. "Far from an only child. I have a sister who is fourteen, we have different mothers. Another brother who is five now, same mom. Then my father and stepmother had my baby brother AJ, he's three. And now we're expecting another. So, yeah, all of that."

He chuckled. "Least you get to be the oldest."

"It's pretty cool."

"You get along well with your stepmom?"

"She's my best friend."

"Wow, and your mom is cool with that?"

"Well...no, she hates Angel. She still wanted to get back with my father, and I wanted that at first, but I had to stay out of grown folks' problems." She laughed remembering her silly attempts to get her father back with her mother. She was too young to understand how all those things worked out.

Her father was not in love with her mother. And quite honestly, her mother did not love her father, even though she claimed she still did. Her mother barely loved herself, that's why she slept around and did not know who her brother's father was. She wanted to be nothing like her mother.

"I hope we're having another girl. I mean, my brothers are cool, but with this sister, maybe I can be around her more. With my sister Symone, I didn't grow up with her. Some weekends, that's it."

"Symone? Your sister's name is Symone?"

I rolled my eyes at the jokes he probably festered in his head.

"Okay, come on with the jokes."

"Rayvn Symone...so like, your parents...what were they big fans?"

"Supposedly, my father had a huge crush on her or something." I shrugged because knowing my namesake was gay now makes it funny to me. "I like my name just fine, there could be worse names."

"Like King."

I laughed. "Please tell me the story about that. Did your mom want you to be royalty or something? Always called a king?"

"Something like that. Hey, like you, I like my name. Not too many Kings out there."

I grinned at him, indeed, he was one of a kind. "I think the name suits you."

After we finished our lunch and talked more about our childhoods, we finally headed out of Bonkers.

"I have kept you too long, let me take you back to your dorm."

I sat silently in the car the whole ride, thinking about how the date had gone. Very memorable first date. I would not mind hanging out with him more. Maybe I should invite him up to my room and we could hang out and talk more. Was I ready to have a boy in my room?

What was the difference from when I had Gay up in the suite?

I did not want King to get the wrong idea. I liked him, but still, I was not ready for anything serious.

"Thanks for hanging out with me today," he said as he walked me to the residence hall.

"I had a great time. Got me away from campus and probably doing nothing but watching Tik Tok videos."

"No, don't do that. Any time you get a little bored, hit me up."

"For sure."

Then he leaned over and I thought he was going to kiss me, and I froze. Was I supposed to pucker my lips, kiss back, or...

He kissed my cheek before he moved away.

"Goodnight."

What. The hecky-heck! 

A/N: A sweet, innocent first date. I like these two together. But if you didn't know...I am the drama queen and will not make anything easy.

And anyone peep the quote from Hook an Angel? About the pretty girls don't eat like pigs? 😆 One of the most hated things she said in that book. Things that were said to her (and Rayvn) of course it molded who they are now, good or bad. You will see more of how her parents made her who she is now.