Page 34 of Loyalty, Lust, Love
“No, Lynx. Let me leave, and give me time to process the ending of something that never was. Meaghan, I’m ready.”
Fateema didn’t wait for Meaghan, and as soon as the door closed behind her, Octavia and Meaghan gave Lynx an earful.
“We’ve been rooting for y’all to get your shit together for years. No matter who she was dating, we were always Team Lynx. Seeing her like this makes me feel like we did our friend a disservice by encouraging her not to give up on you. She’s fed up, and I don’t blame her. She should’ve done this years ago, and maybe by now, her heart would be open to love someone else,” Octavia ranted.
“You were worried about ruining your friendship, and that’s exactly what happened. It’s obvious to anyone who’s ever been in the same room with you two that you're more than friends. What is stopping you from being together?” Meaghan asked.
“I don’t know—” Lynx began.
“Cut the bullshit, Lynx. You know and just don’t want to admit to us or yourself,” Meaghan interrupted. “If you loved her like you say you do, you’d figure out a way to make it work.”
“I’m gonna go with Meaghan to take Fateema home and make sure she’s okay. Maybe your friends can talk some sense into you,” Octavia told Lynx before giving her attention to Ryan. “I’ll have Meaghan drop me off at your place later.”
Ryan nodded, and they exchanged a kiss before she followed Meaghan outside. Once the ladies were gone, Shyla appeared inthe hallway. She leaned against the frame of the family room's entrance and folded her arms across her chest.
“That was interesting,” she said, her voice filled with sarcasm and satisfaction.
“Shyla, go upstairs, get your shit, and get the fuck out.”
“Lynx, I?—”
“I won’t repeat myself.”
Chapter 12
Present Day
The ride to Fateema’s place was quiet. She didn’t feel like talking, and her friends didn’t know what to say. They insisted on going inside with her when they arrived, and she didn’t stop them.
Fateema flopped onto her couch and released a deep breath that caused her to release the tears she’d held back for the past forty-five minutes.
“Aww, friend. Please don’t cry,” Meaghan said as she sat beside her.
“We are so sorry for encouraging you to be with Lynx. We had no idea how hard this has been for you,” Octavia said, sitting on the other side.
“I don’t want to love him, but I can’t help it. He’s the only man my heart connects with. I’ve tried and failed many times to let him go, but my heart won’t let me.”
Octavia and Meaghan didn’t know what to say to comfort her, so they let her cry in their arms until she couldn’t cry anymore.
“It’ll be okay. Now that you let him know how you really feel, maybe he’ll come to his senses,” Octavia reasoned.
“I doubt it. I’ve come to realize that Lynx is selfish. If he hasn’t chosen me after all this time, he probably never will.”
“You never know. Sometimes, it takes a slap in the face for men to get the picture. You know their brains take longer to process than ours,” Meaghan surmised.
“It’s like he doesn’t want me, but he doesn’t want anyone else to have me. I’m sick of it.”
“You might not want to hear this right now, but I disagree with you. Lynx does want you, and anyone in the same room with y’all can see and feel it,” Meaghan said. “Why don’t you move to DC?”
“Because I love Chicago.”
“More than you love Lynx?”
“No, but he’s never asked me to move to DC, so I haven’t had to choose.”
“Are you serious?” Octavia questioned.
“Unfortunately, I’m very serious. We’ve had tons of conversations about why he’s not interested in moving back to Chicago, but none about me moving to DC.”
