Page 15 of The One I Love
Real cool, Amelia…real cool…
“Sit your ass down woman. We need to chat.”
I let out a sigh and do as Kendra says. No point in hiding it.
“I didn’t get laid,” I say. “But, something happened.”
“Girl!” Kendra starts bouncing in her seat. “Did you get some wedding action? I told you to keep an eye on those Fury players. Those men are fine as fuck. And I don’t even like men.”
I laugh at her enthusiasm, and for a second, the image of Anthony pops in my brain. But just as soon as I picture him, I see Shane coming over to us, tearing me away from him.
“Why does your face look like that?” Kendra asks.
“What? My face doesn’t look a way.”
“Yes, it does.”
“Then please tell me, what does it look like?”
“Like a woman who got fucked but is now overthinking the fuck instead of just leaning into the feeling that is usually accompanied by a few orgasms.”
“I told you I didn’t get laid.”
“Well, then, please tell, because something’s going on and you’re doing a shit job of hiding it.”
I let out a sigh as I try to figure out where to start. “Has something ever happened to you that, until that moment, you didn’t know you wanted it? But then you had it and now you want it again, but you’re ninety-nine percent sure it’s probably the worst decision of your life?”
“Yes,” Kendra says. “That’s how I figured out I was a lesbian. Now. Spill.”
“It…it’s Shane. He kissed me.”
Kendra’s eyes nearly pop out of her head. She looks like a cartoon character I had to watch on repeat when the kids were younger.
“Shane? As in your hot-as-fuck cop friend who I swear if I was into men, I’d let him break my back and then say thank you for the experience? That Shane?”
“Yup. That’s the one.”
“Girl!” Kendra yells, slapping me on the shoulder. “Details. Now. Every single one. If I find out you left one out, I swear to God I will make you do every enema for a year.”
I start at the beginning, because I don’t know where else to begin when I recount the tale of how my best friend became my best friend who kissed the hell out of me. I tell her everything. From how he looked at me at the ceremony to how he dragged me off the dance floor, then to the kiss. I didn’t think it was that exciting of a story, but Kendra is sitting on the edge of her seat, salivating over every word.
“Wow,” she says. “Have you talked to him at all?”
I shake my head. “I saw him this morning. We had to help our friend get his girl back, and he pulled out all the stops. But we barely looked at each other.”
Well, I know I barely looked at him. I couldn’t. All I couldthink about was the kiss every time I did. So it was safer to look away. I think he was doing the same thing, because I didn’t once get the feeling he was looking my way.
Ugh. This is so bad…
I let my head fall onto the desk, narrowly missing my piece of cake. “What do I do now, Kendra? This changes everything.”
She doesn’t say anything for a second, which only makes my mind race faster than it already is. I can feel myself spiraling, and that’s not something I enjoy.
“I doubt it’s everything,” Kendra says.
“It is! What if we don’t ever talk again? It will be like getting divorced all over again. Or! The other side of the coin is he asks me to date. And that can’t happen. So no matter which way we turn, I don’t see how things go back to normal.”
“Slow down,” Kendra says, trying to use her hands to slow my breath. “Those are some big leaps.”
