Page 104 of Curvy Girl Summer

Realizing I was just staring, I quickly greeted him. “He-hey!” Holding up the umbrella, I awkwardly announced my decoy reason for being there. “There’s a chance of rain, so I wanted to make sure I got this back to you.”

With crumpled brows, he chuckled lightly. “Oh, really? The news just said it’s supposed to be sunny all week, but thank you.”

I opened my mouth to begin launching into the real reason I was there, but he spoke first.

Stepping back, he opened the door a little wider. “Come in. I actually have something for you.”

It was my turn to be surprised. “Oh! Okay…” I dragged the word out.

I came to demand answers, and curiosity and the unexpected gift kind of took the wind out of my sails a bit. Rolling my shoulders back, I walked into his home as if I hadn’t shown up unannounced.

“Don’t mind the stuff in the living room. I wasn’t expecting anyone, and I was reorganizing,” he mentioned.

“Oh, this is nice,” I commented as I looked around.

“Thank you,” he said, closing and locking the door behind us. “How did you know which apartment was mine?”

I glanced over my shoulder. “A lady doesn’t reveal her secrets.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m not speaking to a lady,” he joked.

“Ha ha,” I replied dryly. “The internet has way too much information out there.”

“Facts,” he agreed.

“Your layout is like mine,” I told him, changing the subject.

His apartment looked almost identical to mine, but it had a lot less stuff. The living room was just a nice leather couch that took up the whole back wall, a glass coffee table with a few books and coasters, a bookshelf in the corner, an entertainment center, and a huge hundred-inch TV mounted onto the wall. There were no wedding pictures, no pictures of him with any woman, and no photo indication that he was in a relationship. There was no décor withany extra touches that made it look like a married couple lived there.

Not that I thought Asia was lying, but seeing Ahmad’s bachelor pad confirmed his single status. Again, a mix of emotions bubbled up in me.

I didn’t know how I was going to bring it up, but I knew I needed to do it right. If I wanted answers, I couldn’t let my frustration lead the conversation.

I looked around, craning my neck. “That’s a lot of albums,” I pointed out as I noticed the mess on the floor.

“Yeah.” He gestured to the couch. “You can have a seat. I need to go to the back and grab the thing.”

He disappeared down the hall, and although I took a few steps toward the butterscotch leather sectional sofa, I stopped. The bookshelf in the corner didn’t have books. Instead, it had photos, awards, degrees, and trophies. I gravitated to it.

Asia was right. They look just like their parents.

There was a childhood photo of the four of them that was adorable. I’d never met his parents, but there was no denying who they were in that picture. Ahmad and Asia looked to be elementary school aged in the photo, and Mr. and Mrs. Williamson looked almost identical to present day Ahmad and Asia. There was another family photo that looked like it was taken within the last year. There was a picture of Ahmad, Leon, and Darius all dressed up in tuxedos. And then, in the back corner, I saw a photo of a beautiful brown-skinned woman with a radiant smile.

“Oh!” Ahmad reacted as he returned. His eyes flickered toward the couch and then back to me. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” I said, quickly turning around. I quirked an eyebrow as we made our way toward each other. “What’s that?”

With a wide grin, he ceremoniously presented me a folded T-shirt. “It’s for you.”

I came here to call him out, possibly cuss him out—and he has a gift for me?

I got nervous all over again. “What?”

“Here.” He shook the olive-green shirt until I took it from him.

Our hands brushed against each other’s, and the sensation from his fingertips rippled through my entire body. I took a small step back, hoping he didn’t notice his effect on me.

“Thank you,” I murmured. When I held the shirt open, I realized it was an India Davis concert T-shirt. “Oh, wow—” I balked. “Is this signed?”

---