Page 20 of Jagged Edges

“I did.”

“Is there anything else I can do to make this day special for you?” he asked.

“I’d like to see you again,” I spat before I was able to stop the words from coming out.

I waited for a response but was met with silence. At that moment, I wanted to kick my own butt for jumping the gun. Closing my eyes, I waited for something in return. Anything. After so long, I pulled the phone from my ear to see that he’d ended the call.

“Maybe that was too soon,” I shook my head and started toward the shower.

The walk of shame shouldn’t have existed being that I was alone, but being on the receiving end of rejection hit the same regardless. It was hard believing anything Bello said when his actions beyond the thoughtfulness of the gifts werequestionable.Maybe his phone died, I reasoned as I turned the dial to startup and heat the water that poured from the ceiling of the shower. To save my blowout, I’d definitely need my bonnet and a prayer to accompany it.

Stepping into the shower, I felt the relief melt into the tiled flooring. If I was going to get any sleep then it had to start with freshening up. I could only pray that thoughts of Bello didn’t keep me awake longer than they should’ve. My sole reason for wanting a weekend to myself was so that I could rest. It would be a shame if I didn’t get any.

“No hablará de mí, ni hablará de esto. Lo que él quiere de ti, yo no se lo negaría. Si esto no me ha partío', ya no me partiré nunca. Si puedo soportar lo que siento, ¿por qué me 'toy cayendo? You stood me up, you lay me down. You know too much, I can't be proud. I still really, really love you, yes, I do,” I recited the words of Cayendo from memory as the water cascaded on my brown skin. “When I still really, really love you, like I do. If you won't, then I will. If you can't, then. I will. Is it love to keep it from you?”

Ten

My lengthy stayin the bathroom was thanks to me cracking the door to let them steam out. If I hadn’t my hair wouldn’t have survived and neither would I. When I was satisfied with the completion of my nightly routine, I pulled the plush robe tighter around my body and stepped into the bedroom.

Parch, I was well aware that the kitchen was my next stop. It felt like I’d swallowed sandpaper that I’d been chewing on all day. The dryness that haunted me had me taking double steps through the loft to lessen the time it took to get to the kitchen area. But, before I was able to make it, the dark, daunting figure halted my stride.

“Oh my God!” I held my aching chest, panic rising and then settling upon further investigation, “You scared me.”

“I apologize,” Bello calmly stated. He leaned forward and sat the glass he was drinking from on the table to the side of him. Slowly, he rose from the couch he’d been sitting on.

“What… What are you doing here?”

“You told me you’d like to see me again, and from this point on your wish is my command.”

Quickly I’d forgotten the request I’d even made over the phone. In recalling it, I also remembered he’d hung up the phone in my face. That still didn’t sit well with me.

“You hung up on me,” I reminded him, “I didn’t like that. It made those thoughts reappear.”

I wasn’t sure if my confidence had stemmed from him revealing that my wish was his command, him rushing to see me at my request, the effort he’d put into making my birthday special, or the fact that I was in his home in his robe. Whatever the case was, I was thankful. For once, silence wasn’t my only response, and taking losses from this point on didn’t feel so necessary. At least not with Bello.

“I apologize. It won’t happen again. There was simply nothing more to say after you requested my presence. And, admittedly, I was eager to meet your acquaintance after so long.”

“It feels like it’s been forever,” I admitted.

“And, a day,” he responded, nearing me as he spoke.

Once in front of me, I stared up into those dark eyes. My heart smiled. The adoration that I saw within them all those nights ago had returned. Unlike the time I’d run into him at the Frank’s, when there was nothing to even see because he wouldn’t allow it. Tonight, however, he didn’t shield them from me or leave me wondering if there was anything there. Everything was right there in the dark rounds that gazed back at me.

“I’m going to hug you, Brisk,” he notified me before stepping into my personal space and wrapping his arms around me.

I returned the gesture, heart galloping in my chest as I felt my feet rise from the floor and dangle in the air. His thick frame engulfed me, leaving me with no other choice but to wrap my legs around his torso. The closeness carved holes in my heart and refilled them with pieces of him to avoid bleeding out.

I was satisfied with the temporary fillers as long as they promised to stick around for a while. The moisture between my legs wasn’t to be mistaken for the leadway to mother nature, but it was, in fact, ovulation sliminess in conjunction with my arousal. I clenched my walls before releasing them in hopes of relieving the thudding, but it made matters worse. Instead, the sliminess oozed down my thighs.

“I feel like I’ve missed you,” his words saved me from my thoughts.

“Maybe you have,” I agreed, “Because I feel the same way, too,” I assured him, hoping he would never let me go. This felt too good, being in his arms.

“I don’t want to let go,” he confessed, reading my mind, again.

“I don’t want you to,” I agreed a second time.

“But, I must.”

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