Chapter 10
Kennedi arrived at the News Room early Wednesday morning with coffee in hand, ready to work. It had been three days since she got her series on Dante’ greenlit to run in the Weekly and two days since she realized that she might be falling for him. Wanting to make the right decisions in her personal and professional interactions with the NFL-bound sensation, to protect her reputation and her heart, she decided it would be best to just step back and give herself time to process everything.
A part of what she planned to do this morning, in between sips of coffee, was to decompress – to analyze all of the artifacts she had gathered in her reporting – and begin drafting the first story she wanted to tell. While generating an outline was her driving goal that morning, on the most basic level, Kennedi just wanted to start doing something productive with the things she’d collected and ensure that the effort she had invested so far would be put to good use.
After finding an empty corner in the News Room’s workspace, opening up her laptop, and wrangling her notebook from her book bag, Kennedi was all set to begin her review. Leafing through her notes, she was quickly reminded of the times Dante’ had fascinated, befuddled, and challenged her. It was hard for her to believe all of that had started much less than a week ago but, to keep herself in check and everything in perspective, she made it a point to remind herself of that fact anytime her imagination would get away from her.
Just when Kennedi got into a good groove, working at a steady pace, her phone abruptly alerted her that a new text had been received. Nonchalantly, she reached to check it, and her eyes got big when she noticed that the message had come from Dante’. The messaged read: “Meet me at Braxton, 3pm?” Based on his track record and apparent love for the unpredictable, Kennedi knew better than to try and guess what this meeting would be about. Although she looked forward to seeing him again, she didn’t exactly want to make that known. Trying to keep it casual, and maintain a little mystique, she simply replied: “Sure.”
Throughout the rest of the day, as the minutes until their meeting time continued to dwindle, Kennedi found it eerily easy to concentrate on whatever task was in her purview at the time. After initially receiving Dante’s message, she thought the day would drift by extremely slow. But to the contrary, her day flew by quickly and was extremely productive.
Moments after finishing a late lunch and giving herself a once over in the mirror, Kennedi was in motion toward Braxton Hall at 2:45 PM. Once she had arrived, retrieved the access key from the front desk and made her way down to the basement, she was surprised to see that Dante’ had already entered the room and was waiting for her arrival by the time she got there.
“Well, well, well, Ms. Kincaid!” Dante’ began sarcastically. “Glad you could make time out of your busy schedule to join me!” he added, tapping his watch, suggesting that Kennedi was late.
“Hey Dante’,” she said, ignoring his theatrics, and placing her book bag on the table. “It’s good to see you, too,” she continued, sarcastically, reaching for her notebook.
“Actually,” he said, watching her go through the motions of getting prepared for a formal interview, “you won’t need any of that stuff. I want to talk to you about something.” Dante’ stared intently at Kennedi and followed her every move with his eyes.
Catching his gaze and matching it with her own as she sat down, Kennedi literally and figuratively found herself on the edge of her seat. “What’s up?” she asked, genuinely unsure about what would come out of Dante’s mouth next.
“Well,” he said, softening his eyes, “I’m just going to say it – I can’t stop thinking about you, Kennedi.”
Kennedi froze in place and waited for him to say he was joking. With no such admission coming from across the table, she decided to investigate further. “What this all about?” she asked, hoping that they were on the same page.
“I tried to get you off of my mind. I couldn’t,” he said, rather bluntly. “I thought it would be a good idea to check with you and see what, if anything, you wanted to do about that.”
Kennedi nervously cleared her throat and shifted in her seat. “Well, I’m not sure where you’re going with this, but I think it’s a good time to let you know that I’m not looking for something casual.”
“Me either,” he said, not leaving much space between her statement and his. “Casual has its place and I have definitely enjoyed my share of casual encounters. But, I want something different. And after spending time with you, I think I want it with you.”
Kennedi didn’t know what to say, so she just continued to listen keenly.
“There’s something inside of you that speaks directly to something inside of me; I don’t know what those things are, but I know how I feel and I wanted to know if you feel the same way.”
Kennedi’s eyes started to blink for the first time in a long time.
“Well, do you?” Dante’ asked, actively trying to provoke a response.
Before she could think it through, Kennedi blurted out, “Yes.”
“Yes?” he asked, trying to confirm that he heard her correctly.
“Yes!” she followed, cementing her point.
“Well, that settles it. I guess this makes you my girl.”
“I guess so, then” Kennedi added.
Just then, Dante’ came around the table, bent down, and gave a still-seated Kennedi a soft peck on the lips. Engrossed in the moment, both Dante’ and Kennedi kept their eyes closed well after their lips lost contact.
“I’ve got to run to practice,” he said, finally opening his eyes. “Call you later?”
“Later!” Kennedi swooned, opening her eyes – for the first time – on the last syllable.
And just like that, Kennedi and Dante’ became a couple.