Page 46 of Dark Cravings

“Yup, you know where to find me.”

I held my arms open and she walked into them, wrapping her arms around me. I held her close and leaned down to kiss her cheek. She smiled and then stepped out of our embrace, walking out of the office.

The next day, I found myself back at Shelby’s house around five. I knew she would be home from work soon and that the last thing she would expect to find was me standing on her porch. She wouldn’t have any choice but to pass me. I stepped to the side so I wouldn’t be immediately visible and waited quite impatiently. I stood there for about twenty minutes before she pulled into the driveway. I stepped forward as she rounded the corner and she let out a yelp.

Oops.

“Thomas! You scared the shit out of me! What the fuck are you doing here?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to talk to you.”

“What could you possibly have to say that I would be interested in?”

“I owe you an apology, Shelby. I fucked up and I’m sorry.”

“Great, thanks,” she snapped, pushing past me.

“Shelby, please.”

“No, Thomas. You apologized, now fuck off.”

She unlocked her door, walked into the house, and slammed the door in my face.

Well, fuck.

I walked to my car, shoulders slumped, and headed home. I would have to talk to Kenley again and convince her to talk to Shelby. I’d caused nothing but a huge fucking mess, all because of my pride. When I was home, I plunked down onto the couch and brought up Kenley’s information. I opened a text screen and tried to figure out what I could say to convince her to talk to Shelby now that I had bombed.

Thomas: Hey, Kenley!

Kenley: Hey… how are things?

Thomas: Not great to be honest.

Kenley: What’s happening?

Thomas: I went to Shelby’s house to talk to her and it went over like a lead balloon.

Kenley: She wouldn’t talk to you?

Thomas: I got like three sentences in before she told me to fuck off.

Kenley: Are you really surprised?

Thomas: Surprised? No. Disappointed? Yes.

Kenley: So, I guess that’s the end, eh?

Thomas: Kenley, I’m begging you. Please try talking to her. Maybe you’ll have more luck than I did.

Kenley: I’ll try, Thomas, but I make no promises.

Thomas: Thank you. Hopefully, you have better luck than I do.

Kenley: I really do hope so. I’ll let you know how it goes.

I tossed my phone to the side and rested my head on the back of my couch. I had a feeling it was going to be a very long night. Hopefully, Kenley would try talking to her tonight and not days from now. I didn’t think I could stand the waiting. All I knew for sure was that I needed these two women in my life. Now it was all up to Kenley and Shelby.

SHELBY

---