6b

he started cussing in russian and i was baffled.

"what's wrong?" i asked as i hurriedly made my way around to his side of the car. he was looking at the tire. there was an orange boot on it. SHIT!

"i thought this was free parking!" he was getting more upset at the minute, his voice raising with each syllable.

"evidently not," i replied as i looked around for the parking attendant. we found the cat putting on the boots across the lot, so we started walking towards him. i could tell mikhail was feeling even more embarrassment than anger, his face splotched with crimson as he continued mumbling in russian. when we reached the guy, he was bent down putting the boot on a car. mikhail walked up to him and started talking, little control for his temper in place.

"why was my car booted," he asked exasperately, huffing behind each word, "the sign said it was free parking!"

the guy stood up to his full height and i almost laughed out loud. he was at least 6'4, brownskinned with a muscular build. i winced, cuz he was gawgeous and i was on a lunch date with a cute russian guy but i still got mad love for the brothas, especially brothas looking like THIS brotha looked. the brotha looked from mikhail to me, understanding dawning in his eyes like "oh, so you two are together...hmmmm"

and i grew uncomfortable. i wondered if i was gonna get the evil eye from him like interracial couples usually get from black folk. he just stood there and listened patiently to mikhail vent his frustration and state his case about the boot. after mikhail was finished the brotha replied calmly.

"sir, there's nothing i can do about what happened. the sign clearly states that the free parking is on this side of the lot and not that side. i apologize for whatever inconvenience you've been caused. now will that be credit card or cash?"

okay, so i smirked at that. dude was both respectful and firm. i couldn't be mad at it. i walked up to mikhail and placed my hand on his shoulder.

"hey, if you want, i'll split the cost with you. it's all good."

he looked at me and shook his head furiously as he pulled out his wallet and handed the brotha his credit card. while the transaction was taking place, i tried to calm mikhail down, but my efforts weren't needed. it was obvious he was just embarrassed. we'd both seen the sign that pointed to this side of the lot for the free parking, so we really didn't have a leg to stand on. the brotha handed mikhail his receipt and stood up, glancing at me with a friendly look. if i had been the kind of sista who didn't give a fuck about folks feelings, i would have given that cat my number right there. meanwhile, that's just stank, so i just looked at him as he told us to go back to the car and wait for him to come take off the boot.

on the way back to the car, mikhail was silent. when we got in the car to wait on the guy, mikhail became angry again.

"this was the perfect lunch date and then BAM! THIS!" he gripped the steering wheel tightly as he said it.

"come on," i said trying to make little of the situation, "if the lunch date was perfect, why let something like this ruin it?"

he smiled reluctantly then

a. moved his right hand from the steering wheel and placed it on my thigh, squeezing it lightly.

b. said "i just wanted this date to be perfect."

c. jumped out of the car as the guy arrived to take the boot out of the car.