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    “Between my work, Justin, and my other activities, I don’t have time to plan out-of-the-box sex events.” Nikla placed her debit card in with her check for the waitress.
    “What other activities are you talking about?” Deana stared at her for a moment before she put her hand over her eyes. “Oh, God. Please don’t tell me you’re still doing that whole protesting thing?”
    Nikla handed her check and Deana’s to the waitress walking by their table. “It’s not a thing. I’m really passionate about childhood obesity and the number of people, especially among African Americans, who get diabetes.”
    “Yeah, so does Michelle Obama. But you don’t see her going to Hershey, Pennsylvania and knocking on the factory door to demand they stop making their chocolate bars. I’m sure there are more constructive ways for you to get your point across without attacking one small business.” Deana fluffed up her already big hair then slathered her lips with a deep berry color.
    “I’m not attacking a small business.” Of course the one guy there would have disagreed with her. “I’m passing out literature in front of a candy store.”
    “I’m sure there are other ways to show your stance on this.”
    “You’re probably right. They even turned some guy loose on me today.” She licked her lips and hoped her friend thought Nikla had gone after some leftover sauce.
    “Really? Did he rough you up?”
    The waitress came back and handed each woman back their cards and change.
    Nikla rubbed the back of her neck. “He was a good-looking guy. Big, tall white guy. If he would smile, he could be a true heartbreaker. He gave me a box of chocolates.” When she saw a smile spread across Deana’s face, she hit her with the rest of the story. “He told me I needed a heart.”
    “Ouch.” Her friend shrugged. “He’s right. That’s that man’s job. If you lose business for them, where is he going to work? Are you going to hook him up at the rec center?”
    “He’s very assertive.” Her clitoris throbbed when she thought about his hands. “I’m sure he’ll be fine if Decadent Treats happened to close.”
    “But you’re not worried about him or the owners or the other employees losing their jobs, right?”
    Nikla shook her head. “They didn’t worry about putting anyone else out of business when they opened, right?”
    Deana put her hand on top of Nikla’s. “You can’t save the world.”
    She regarded Deana for a beat before removing her hand and standing. “I can save myself, though. I’ve also been thinking about going back to school.”
    Deana gave her an obvious eye roll. “Why? You have a Bachelors, right?”
    “Masters, actually.” Nikla smiled. “I just want to expand my mind. I want to start my own business. I think it would be nice to have a business degree.”
    “I just think you’re a nerd who likes learning new things.”
    True. Except Nikla wouldn’t have called herself a nerd. She liked the challenge of picking up on a new concept. 
    Nikla walked with Deana to their cars. Desperate to talk about anything else but her personal life, she quickly started a new topic. “So when are you going to sign up for one of my classes?”
    “What? Do the yoga thing?” Deana shook her head. “I’ll do it when my ass starts slipping down my legs.”
    Nikla peered at her friend’s backside. “So you’ll be in my class Friday?”
    Deana poked her friend’s side with her elbow. “Bitch.”
    “Love you, too.” Nikla’s cell phone rang in time before Deana could zing her with another insult. “Talk to you later.” She glanced at the screen and saw Justin’s name. She put on a smile so that she would sound cheery. “Hi, honey.”
    At first Nikla didn’t hear anything on the other line. She pulled the phone from her ear to see if the call had dropped. When she saw it hadn’t and she put the phone back to her ear, she finally heard Justin’s voice.
    “Baby,” Justin said in a muffled