*Okay, so at first I wasn't going to write the date between Cedric and Madison but everyone wanted to see that so here I am back to give you guys what you want and by writing the date. And also there's one line that is repeating. That is simply for dramatic effect.

Chapter 17

Arc 1

Sunstone City

"Damn." Cedric cursed as he walked out of one of Sunstone City's most expensive restaurants, Blue Collar. Cedric wanted to impress Madison. So much so that he tried to go one of those restaurants where the plates are more expensive and the portions are so small. Yeah, the Boujee places. But of course, a restaurant like that would require a reservation made at least 3 weeks prior.

"Everything okay?" Madison asked looking at him. He sighed and shook his head.

"I wanted to take you to one of these places to make sure you had a good time but I didn't make a reservation so we can't. I'm sorry I should've prepared."

"It's fine."

"No, it's not fine. You deserve the world. You deserve a guy that can take you to fancy places like this, even though if you wanted to you could buy the damn thing. I was just trying to something different than going to Pop's."

"Cedric" Madison said as she stepped closer and grabbed his hand and softly caressed his hand making him exhale. "It's fine. And what's Pops?"

He looked at her with a puzzled look.

"Pops, the best burger joint in town?" She shook her head making him frown even more.

"Seriously?"

"No, not ringing any bells." A smile crept onto Cedric's face as he had just gotten an idea. An idea on how to make their date interesting and how to save their date.

"Come on." He said as he grabbed her by the wrist and led her to his car.

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Bowling Alley

"Score!" Kala shouted at her boyfriend as she just scored a strike against her boyfriend in their game. They settled on bowling, dinner, and a movie. But of course, the movie would be when they got home.

"Looks like I'm up." She teased before she pecked him on the jaw making him roll his eyes.

"You never told me you were good at this."

"You never asked." She grinned as she walked over to their table and grabbed one of the curly fries in the container and took a bite. The fries were good. But the fries weren't the thing that brought her to the table. The thing that did was his phone. The same phone that had piqued her interest at the precinct. Maybe it was a mix of her reporter and girlfriend instincts. But whatever it was had her attention which was not good. Especially if it was meant to be a secret.

She peeked over her shoulder to look at him placing his fingers into the bowling ball. Her head turned and once again her focus was on his phone. As much as she wanted to go through it, part of her had to trust him. After all, he is her boyfriend.

"Booyah! Now look who's winning." She turned her head and looked up at the scoreboard. It was still her but at least he was 1 strike from closing in.

"Babe, I'm still winning." She said making him exhale as he palmed his face.

"I have no chance of winning this, Do I?"

"Absolutely not." She said as she gave him another peck on the cheek and walked over to their lane to make her play.

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Southside, Sunstone City

Cedric pulled up in Southside, Sunstone City. Southside had a history of being the city that featured most of the African American culture in Sunstone City and the Hispanic American culture. In Cedric's mind, it happened to have the best food and the best overall environment even with the crime rates.

"Welcome to Southside, Sunstone City." Southside in particular had a huge place in Cedric's heart.

"Hmmm, it doesn't seem as bad as my brother said it was. He always claimed that it was the worst part of the city."

"No offense but your brother's a bastard."

"Honestly, I believe you when you say he is. But he's my brother and I love still him."

"Understandable. He's family. No matter what shape or form they are. You always love them."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Now, I hate to break up this heart-to-heart moment but we gotta eat, I'm kinda hungry." He said with a light chuckle as he placed a hand over his belly. She chuckled as she nodded. He grinned as he placed his hand on the door lever and opened it before stepping out the vehicle and closing the door out behind him. He quickly walked around to the passenger side to open her door. Once she stepped out, he closed the door after her and gently gripped her hand leading her to the famous diner.

They walked into Cedric's favorite restaurant making him smile and turn his head to see her looking around the restaurant.

"Ced! My man!" said the owner of the diner, Pop walk out from behind the counter to give the young man a hug.

"Pop!" Cedric replied with a smile.

"And who is this beautiful lady?"

"This is my date. Madison. Madison Maverick."

"Maverick? What are you doing on this side of town, Ms. Maverick?" Pop said as he shook hands with Madison.

"As Cedric said, I'm on a date. And he decided to make me try Pop's for the first time."

"First time?" She nodded making him smile.

"Well, let me give you the full experience. Come on over to the counter. Let me fix you up." Pop said as he walked behind the counter while Cedric and Madison walked over to the counter and took a seat.

(!)-(!)-(!)-(!)

"Is there a reason you wanted us to drive damn near 25 minutes for a burger?" Joey asked as he and Kala stepped out his Dodge Charger.

"Babe, these burgers are one of a kind. You can't miss these burgers. They're the best." She said with a huge smile on her face as she walked up to the door.

"Like Burger Bros?"

"Better…" She way saying but her attention was grabbed when she saw her best friend sitting at the bar with a mysterious woman sharing a milkshake. It was something that she wasn't prepared to see. Her bestfriend with another woman. Hearing it was different but seeing it, seeing it was completely different.

"Babe." Joey said breaking her attention.

"On second thought. We should just go to Burger Bros and grab a burger and go home. I'm starting to get a headache." She lied as she placed a hand on her head. Joey looked at her with a confused frown before he nodded and followed her back to the car. She looked back once more and exhaled as she watched Cedric and this woman laugh and exchange conversation.

(!)-(!)-(!)-(!)

So after a few minutes of them waiting and exchanging conversation and sharing a milkshake, their burgers had arrived. Cedric of course got his usual bacon double cheeseburger with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and pickles with a side of fries and onion rings. Madison , however, didn't know what to order so she got the same thing Cedric got minutes the onions rings.

"Go ahead try it." He said as he took a fry from his plate and dipped in the ketchup and proceeded to take a bite.

"I need a knife and a fork." She said making Cedric chuckle as he shook his head.

"No, you don't. I'm sorry Ms. Rich but you gotta eat dirty like the rest of us." He replied as she rolled her eyes. She exhaled before picking up the renowned burger and taking a bite making Cedric smile.

"Holy crap! That's a good burger." She smiled as she placed it down and picked up a napkin to wipe her mouth while Cedric chuckled and shot a look at Pop raising a thumb. And with that, the couple continued their date both eating, laughing, and having fun as their night continued.