Love Delayed Read Online Free PDF

waitress arrived with menus. Alton referred to her by name and she blushed a shade of rose as she responded to his familiarity. They obviously came here often. I quickly settled on what I could afford and would enjoy: burger and fries. Angela ordered a steak with potatoes. Did she think we were at a formal restaurant? I knew she was trying to come off as high maintenance. I didn’t have the time for that. I wanted to get back to campus for my nap before class.
    “ Drew, man,” Alton called over to the guy with the camera. “You can stop recording. I don’t need me grubbing on film.”
    The guy nodded and clicked off his small hand-held camera. I was relieved; we hadn’t signed anything consenting to be filmed.
    “So what do you ladies do when you’re not catching balls?” Alton jeered.
    The table went up in laughter. Even Stenton broke from his telephone conversation to express his amusement. I was annoyed already. Even more irritating was Angela’s contrived cackle for the joke.
    “Well, you know…” Angela purred as she twisted her curls with her index finger. “I’m a Rutgers student, majoring in hospitality management.”
    I rolled my eyes, wishing I wasn’t sitting next to her in that moment. In the circular booth, Stenton Rogers and I had the end seats with the others in between. I was sure Angela strategically sat to the right of me, believing it was closer to Stenton. Everyone with the exception of Angela and me were on their phones.
    “Hospitality, huhn?” Alton supplied. “Just how hospitable are you? What kind of hospitality do you serve up?”
    “The type that Stent likes ,” she purred.
    Ughhh !
    “Oh, shit!”
    “Damn!”
    “All right, now!”
    Everyone seemed to have a reaction except for Stenton. He did look up from his conversation, I guess caught off guard. I had no idea why; I’m sure he got this all the time.    
    Angela continued with her hair twirl, her eyes set on Stenton. It took him a few seconds, but he went back to his conversation, leaving her hanging. Angela needed to hook this man and soon, because I didn’t do chicken head, or bird, or thirst.
    “And what type of hospitality do you serve up?” I heard Alton ask, directing his question to me.
    I swear, I didn’t want to look up. I didn’t. Because looking up would have meant that the time clock on me having to use my sarcastic wit to tear into him would start, and I didn’t want to ruin this for Angela.
    “Oh, you must not be college material,” he continued when I didn’t jump to answer or acknowledge him.
    “No!” Angela nervously laughed. “Zoey here is a Princeton Tiger. She’s there on full scholarship. My family has brains, beauty and body.” Her tone turned husky.
    She didn’t have to speak for me. It would’ve taken just a few seconds for me to devise my own retort.
    “So, I ask again, brains-beauty-and-booty queen …” The guys laughed. But not Stenton. “…what’s your hospitality…today?” Alton amended.
    I could have been wrong , but I could swear he was propositioning me. This was what these pompous athletes did to desperate women. That wasn’t me.
    “ Mmmm…” I tapped my chin. “Well today, my hospitality involved serving a refreshing beverage to a tiny floor mopper.”
    “Floor mopper?” he asked confused.
    “Yeah,” I replied. “You’re so petite compared to your contemporaries. If I wanted to locate you all I had to do was look at the floor.”
    Angela kneed me under the table . I saw her eyes stretch wide, clearly appalled. My eyes raked over to Alton, preparing myself for a war. There was sputtering from the three random men at the table. Stenton stared at me, sheer humor in his eyes. And Alton gave me a blank stare.   
    I excused myself for the bathroom. As I stood to skirt out of the booth, I didn’t miss Alton’s gritty gaping, trying to catch a view of my rear. I made sure to take my time in there. The thought of hanging out, at least until the food was