Page 37 of The Friend Zone
“I’m not justifying anything. I’m explaining what happened.”
“You’re not his mother, Dana.”
“He doesn’t have anyone else, Omar. We’ve talked about this before.”
“And you’re supposed to set aside your dreams for him?”
Swooping her hair over one shoulder, Dana said, “I’m still going to Colorado, but not this year. No big deal. I’ll go to the writer’s retreat next year.”
“You’re going this year,” Omar said decisively, folding his arms over his chest.
“I’m not taking any money from you.”
“It’s an early Christmas gift,” he said.
“It’s too much.”
“You didn’t want me to help you when we were friends, and I can’t help you now when we’re more than friends? I can give money and gifts to everyone else, except the person who’s most important to me?”
Her heart melted at his touching words. “I know people always have their hands out around you, and I don’t want to be another person asking you for a favor or a handout.”
“You’re not!” Omar was the one to sound exasperated now. “And I’m sure the cost of the retreat won’t break me.” He sat up and cupped her face. “Sweetheart, you’re not alone. You don’t have to do everything by yourself and take care of everybody else. You don’t have to be Wonder Woman or whatever you think you have to be with me.”
His words made sense, but growing up, she was so used to scrimping and saving and seeing her parents struggle. For the longest time, she expected her life to be the same, the main reason why she had worked so hard to get her education. When she moved to Atlanta, made new friends, and realized she could thrive in this new environment, her whole perspective changed. But old habits die hard. Sometimes she was afraid to spend money in case of an emergency and was afraid to accept help because she didn’t want to owe anyone.
“You can’t keep sacrificing for your family and not do for yourself,” he said.
“I know.”
“Let me help you with this. Consider it a gift, because I know you really want to go on this retreat.” He kissed her lips and touched his forehead to hers. “Let me do this for you. This one little thing.”
He kissed her again, and her resolve weakened.
“Okay,” she said reluctantly.
“Was that so hard?”
She laughed a little. “Very.”
She straddled him on the bed. Resting her elbows on either side of his shoulders, she lowered her face to his and kissed him on the mouth.
“I wish we’d done this sooner,” Dana said.
“Me too. Better late than never,” he said huskily.
She lowered her lips to his, and he rolled her onto her back, their kisses going from gentle to heated within seconds. Dana’s hands gripped his naked bottom, and she shifted her hips higher to grind against his.
Omar pushed open her robe and his lips fastened around her right nipple, and another intense round of lovemaking commenced.
17
The private dressing room of the upscale bridal boutique contained a white loveseat in the shape of a half circle and two cream-colored chairs on either side of it. Dana and Layla sat on the loveseat, while Tamika stood on a raised platform, turning to the left and then to the right in a gorgeous ball gown dress. Although Dana thought the design was lovely and looked great on her friend, Tamika’s wrinkled nose indicated she didn’t like the dress.
Again.
“What’s wrong with this one?” Dana asked.
The boutique provided refreshments for their clients, and Dana sipped her sparkling apple cider and then placed the glass back on the table.
