Nate felt a little bit more comfortable in the little coffee shop Latoya took them. It reminded him of the coffee shop/gallery Vanessa worked in because it featured some art as well. He looked at the crowd and saw that it was diverse, though, predominately African American, still it was fairly even. The sound of soul, hip-hop, funk, music blasted from the mix of a live band and DJ. Katrina and Latoya were nodding their heads to the melodic, hypnotic rhythm.

"So, Nate," Katrina said as she looked at him with eager eyes. "What do you think?"

"I like it. It's got a nice vibe to it. It's very relaxed."

"I know. This place reminds me of the places I used to hit up in New York. I'm so glad that Gossip Girl wasn't in every New York nook and cranny. I wouldn't have been able to do my poetry loving thing on the low without everyone knowing my whereabouts."

"Girl…" Latoya said rolling her eyes. Nate figured that she had come clean with her cousin about the situation as she did with her grandmother. "I don't know how you live with all that shit. I don't think I could keep from beating some ass. Shit, I'd be in jail…"

"I know, it's hard being so…polished. You know hanging with you unleashed the ghetto that my dad has been suppressing ever since I was born." she said laughing and Latoya laughed.

"Uh, Nate, you might want to keep her away from those back-stabbing muthafuckas for a while. She might turn ghetto and whoop some rich asses." Latoya said as they all laughed. "So, what you gonna do 'bout that Jason dude? You want me to get somebody on that. I know a bunch of dudes that would fuck his ass up."

"Oh, no thank you. We got that covered." Katrina said as she held Nate's hand and stared into his eyes. There was nothing better than that moment and she was hoping that it didn't end because if it did, then she would have to go to New York and face all the shit she ran away from.

Suddenly, the music volume was turned down and they knew the slam was about to begin. The show started with a few featured local poets and would end with open mic. Most of the poems dealt with various themes. Many of them about love, but the ones that didn't relate to love left Katrina and Nate guilty. They grew up in a life of privilege and they knew that would never fully fit in the way Latoya did. They were from different worlds, but Nate admired Katrina for trying to change. As far as he was concerned that made her closer to being a more real person than he was. She was closer to being able to understand the words and feelings of the poets.

It was intermission and they had refilled their mugs with coffee and took their seats at their table. Some people started to dance and groove to the music as the volume was up. Katrina was nodding her head to the beat and Nate did the same. He was sure he looked silly, but he saw that neither Katrina nor Latoya were laughing at him so he figured that he didn't look too silly.

"Ay yo, Night Train!" Latoya yelled to one of the featured poets. He was a tall, muscular, brown skinned guy with dreads wearing a black fedora hat and casual clothes.

"What it do, L?" he said as he hugged Latoya. "Sup, Katrina." he said nodding in her direction. He didn't seem like he was interested in her, but a guy could never be too careful.

"Hey, Night Train. This is my boyfriend, Nate." she said as she smiled and saw that Nate had relaxed once she introduced him as her boyfriend.

"Sup, Nate. My name is Shawn aka Night Train." he said in a smooth tone that reminded him of the one rapper he knew, Mos Def. He also detected a New York accent too.

"Nice to meet you. You were great up there."

"Thanks, you diggin' the vibe?"

"I like it. It's a nice place and it just seems full of good energy."

"Yeah, it reminds me of some spots in New York."

"You're from New York?"

"Yeah, I from Harlem. I came down here for a change in scenery and I love it. It's a slower pace, but sometimes that ain't a bad thing, ya know?"

"Yeah…" Nate said as he wondered if he was ready for a slower pace. From what he could see, Katrina was ready for a slower pace. She had survived being in Atlanta for nearly a month before he showed up.

"So, Katrina," Shawn said as he looked at her. "You gonna get up there for open mic?"

"Ooh, girl…" Latoya said a little too loud for Katrina because she was right beside her ear. "You should go up there. You know you wanna go up there. Your poetry is good."

"You write poetry?" Nate asked and Katrina smiled.

"Yeah…I told you there were a lot of things you didn't know about me. Don't worry, you'll learn a lot more as this relationship grows…" she said smirking as she planted a quick kiss on his lips leaving him speechless. "But to answer you question, Shawn. I don't know. I don't really have anything prepared."

"That's okay. You can improv, can you?" Shawn asked and Katrina looked over at Nate and suddenly became inspired.

"Yeah, I think I can do that."

"That's what's up…just sign your name on the sheet and you'll be called up there." he said as she went to sign her name and Nate was interested in the poem Katrina was going to recite. He wished he could be a deep as she was. Maybe, this was something that was hidden underneath the party girl mask or maybe she had developed it from her time in Georgia, but either way, she was a better person than he was.

The time came for Katrina to be on stage and she looked nervous as she approached the microphone. Nate just thought she looked beautiful and angelic wearing a white sun dress.

"Hey, I'm Katrina…I know that's not exactly the name to have now, Louisiana forgive me. I'm sorry, I'm quite nervous." she was interrupted by people saying that it was alright and she shouldn't be nervous. "Thanks. I didn't really have anything prepared so, I'm just going to improv." she said as she stared at Nate as she recited her made up poem.

"Blind, was I

Trapped in a world

Of hate and lies, so dark

You were the light

So bright, I squinted

And tried to deny you

But you're much too bright

You bathed me in your light

I resisted, at first

But, eventually, I surrendered

And relished in your warmth

Thank you"

She left the stage and walked to the table and Nate took her into a kiss. When she broke the kiss she looked into his eyes and realized that she wanted him more that night than anything and she knew it was time to leave. That was the night they were going to get what they wanted.