Page 49 of Loyalty, Lust, Love
“Listen to you, sounding like somebody’s mama.”
“I told you, I’m mature for my age.”
“He hasn’t reachedout to you?” Octavia asked Fateema.
“No, and he leaves tomorrow, so it’s not likely he will.”
“How do you feel about that?” Meaghan inquired.
“Not great, but what can I do?”
Octavia and Meaghan had been calling Fateema every day to check on her. The work weeks were usually too busy for them to get together, so they did the next best thing and FaceTimed her.
“Have you thought about reaching out to him?” Octavia asked.
“Why would I do that? I’ve said all I have to say, so the ball is in his court.”
“I agree, but after what you shared, maybe you should talk to him about it,” Octavia reasoned.
“You both may have some unresolved feelings. If you were hesitant to talk about it, maybe he is too,” Meaghan added.
Fateema sighed. It had been ten years since she’d become pregnant with Lynx’s child, and once they’d decided how it would be handled, they hadn’t discussed it again. She hadn’t been the same since it all happened, but she didn’t think their decision affected Lynx as much as it affected her.
“I don’t know. Lynx has always been pretty open with me about his feelings. If he felt a way, he wouldn’t keep it from me… at least not this long.”
“You never know. The decision you had to make was a hard one. You were both young and probably unable to put your feelings into words. I mean, think about what you told us on Sunday,” Octavia said.
When Fateema finally opened up to her friends about the baby, she also shared that she resented Lynx for not wanting their baby. Her resentment of him was an underlying reason why she let their situationship go on for so long and didn’t demand a real commitment—that and the fear of losing their friendship.
“He may feel the same way, but you’ll never know because you have avoided the topic for a decade,” Meaghan remarked.
“I don’t want to lose him as my best friend, but it looks like that’s already on the verge of happening. If I reach out to—hold on, someone is at the door.”
She continued to hold the phone up to her face as she stood from the couch and walked toward the door.
“Are you expecting someone?” Meaghan asked.
“No, but sometimes my neighbor brings my packages up. Who is it?”
“Lynx,” he said loud enough for all of them to hear.
She gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth.
“I guess we’ll let you go. Call us when he leaves,” Octavia said before her face disappeared from the screen.
“Bye, and don’t forget to call us,” Meaghan said before the screen went black.
Fateema took a few deep breaths before unlocking and opening the door. “Hey,” she greeted softly.
“Hey, can I come in?”
Her eyes traveled the length of his body, and she wished she could control her attraction toward him. He wasn’t as lean as he’d been in high school and college because he’d added weightlifting to his workout regimen years ago. His peanut butter brown skin was smooth, and he still rocked a low cut with waves.
The tattoos on his neck and arms gave him a rugged look that caused most people to second-guess what he did for a living, but Fateema thought they added to his all-around good looks.
“Sure,” she responded when her eyes made it back to his face.
She took a few steps back, opening the door wide enough for him to enter. After she closed and locked it, she turned around to find him standing close enough that she had to look up to see his face.
