“Wow, that’s impressive,” Amira said. Smoke puffed his chest out a little bit at her comment.
“I decided to accept the offer from Virginia Tech. It was close enough to home that I could be back within a few hours, but far enough away to give me a chance to see what life looked like in a diverse culture. Where I grew up, there wasn’t a lot of that.”
Amira nodded. “I know what that feels like. I grew up in a very exclusive community where my family appeared as if we didn’t belong.”
“Why do you say that?” Smoke asked. He hated when someone felt that way.
“Well, I have a Japanese father who is incredibly set in his ways and instilled in me a respect from where he came from. It was a shock and scandalous to our family when he married my mother from the Netherlands. But love supposedly conquers all. Then they had me, and we moved to a very wealthy area since my parents made incredibly smart financial decisions. It was a lot of snobby, narrow-minded people and I always felt as if I was the odd man out.”
“You seem pretty damn confident to me,” Smoke pointed out.
She smiled. “I am,” she told him, making him prouder of her than before. “I learned that their opinion of me didn’t matter. What mattered was how I felt about myself and how I conducted my own behavior. My parents wanted perfection. I wanted my own vision of the same thing. We’ve compromised through the years.”
“Do you still feel discriminated against?” he asked.
“No. I don’t allow that,” she said. “I feel people make rash judgements, but I give them the opportunity to know me and judge me based on my talents, my personality, and my ethics. Shame on them if they can only see my body, my skin color, or my gender.”
Smoke grinned hugely at that. “We think a lot alike,” he told her.
“Enough of that. Finish your story,” she said.
“Where was I?” Smoke said as he ate a cheese stick. Then he smiled. “I graduated summa cum laude with degrees in Physics and Biochemistry. From there I was drafted by the 49ers. It was the best two years of my life. I was rookie of the year my first year and was on pace to lead the league in yards and touchdowns my second season. Then, in week sixteen, I broke my left wrist. Unfortunately, it didn’t heal correctly, and I wasn’t able to grip the football when trying to catch it, so I moved on.”
“Just like that?” she questioned. He ate a few more bites and shrugged. “We can dwell in things we can’t control, or we can move on. I chose a new direction in life. My football career was over, so I jointed the military. I served for ten years in mostly covert ops in the toughest parts of the world, and I met a lot of amazing men in my time in the service. One door closed and another opened. I’ve loved each step in my life. I have no regrets on any of the things that have happened or the things I’ve done,” he said, truly meaning the words.
“I don’t see that attitude with a lot of people. So many just wallow in self-pity instead of seeing a new opportunity in front of them,” she told him.
“I agree. But my mother would destroy me if I ever did that. I’ve truly seen tragic situations. I might not have had a lot growing up, but I had far more than many others. And I have drive. With that combination I knew there was nothing I couldn’t accomplish.”
Amira took a drink as she thought over his words. “I grew up with everything. I had people tell me I didn’t need to work, that I could simply lounge around and have some wealthy man take care of me. They said I certainly had the body.” She stopped and chuckled as Smoke took that opportunity to slowly trace the curve of her breasts.
“As I was saying I might have the body, but that was genetics, and I don’t use my body to get what I want,” she told him, then waited for his eyes to meet hers. He didn’t look in the least apologetic.
“There’s nothing wrong with using the gifts God gives you,” Smoke said.
Amira laughed. “That’s why I’ve used my brain,” she countered. They both laughed.
“Tell me something more personal about you,” Amira finally said after a comfortable silence. The night was going better than either of them had expected.
“If I do, do I have a chance at a second date?” he pushed.
She laughed again, her cheeks flushing and her eyes sparkling. He liked this easier, lighthearted version of Amira. He hadn’t gotten to see this side of her while they were in Fiji. He’d have thought anyone going to Fiji would be able to let their hair down. Of course, she’d been there as Katherine’s doctor so maybe she’d wanted to stay professional.
“I’m not making any promises, but it can’t hurt to butter me up,” she said. He wanted that date, and he knew he was an impressive man, so why not pull out all of the stops?
“Hmm, let’s see,” he said with a grin. “I’m the fastest runner in any group I’ve ever been in.”
“What do you mean, the fastest?” she pushed.
“I mean that not one single person has ever been able to beat me in a race since I was seven years old,” he told her. He almost didn’t want to brag about that because it came so easy for him, but it did seem to impress a lot of people, and he needed to impress this woman.
“What kind of races?” Amira asked.
“I don’t really race. I ran in practice for football, ran in the military for training, and run with my co-workers for fitness. I always win without breaking a sweat.” He paused and took a bite of his jalapeno popper. It wasn’t nearly as good as Hendrick’s cooking, but it was sufficient. Not many places cooked as well as his friend. That man was a genius in the kitchen.
“If you’re so fast, why didn’t you try to compete in the Olympics?” she asked.
“I had coaches ask the same thing, but I run for fun and to burn energy. I’m not competitive in racing, I just love to run and I’m damn good. You have to really love something to compete in the Olympics,” he told her.
“I guess that’s true, but there are many people who’d love to have your natural talent.”
“I agree,” he said. “But God gives us gifts for a reason. I figure I got the gift of speed and stealth to help people, not to win gold medals.” He shrugged.
“Are you BSing me?” she asked after a moment, confusing him.
“What do you mean?” he finally asked.
“You truly want to help people?” she pushed.
“Yes, it’s what I do. I don’t like helping those who can help themselves, but I love doing a job that makes a change in the world. If I can make a difference in a kid’s life, or a single mother’s life, I’m doing something right. I told you I was raised by my single mother. She taught me right,” he finished.
She stared him down for several moments as if trying to find a hole in his story. There wasn’t one to be found. Smoke never lied. He might stretch the truth for his job, and might even have to give a fake name once in a while, but when he was with a woman, he didn’t lie or pretend to be someone he wasn’t. What was the point in doing that? He had nothing to hide.