Page 5 of One More Chance
“Hell, no, I’m Gucci.” Trudi smiled.
“She’s not the bitter type,” Tony found himself defending his ex for reasons that were inexplicable to him. “She doesn’t hold onto grudges like Faith.”
“Shots fired,” Wes chuckled.
“Well, in fairness,” Trudi began, “it’s a twenty million dollar shot he just fired.”
It’d been a wild road to get to where they were. They were friends for a long time as they watched his brother and her best friend tangle back and forth in their relationship, acting as pseudo relationship counselors and giving hard-hitting advice no one else would.
Even when Krista went through boyfriend after boyfriend, failed relationships that made her question her sanity, Tony simply waited his time. She’d only seen him as the little brother who kept it real with everyone, and never a grown man with grown needs. She’d often teased him and soused up his hair.
He knew why she never pursued anything with him – his age. He was five years younger than her and in many ways, it showed. He was materialistic to a fault, and showed pride in a vast sneaker collection that had its own room in his home.
He was a huge TV binger. Tony didn’t see an issue with curling up on his sofa with his favorite bowl full of Fruit Loops and watching Young and the Restless before he went to work. He was not about to miss out the messiness of Victor Newman.
But when it came to matters of the heart, age didn’t have a number.
“You know she’s been asking about you?” Trudi replied. “How long are you going to be mad at her?”
Tony shook his head. He stopped being mad at his ex a long time ago. It was her lack of an apology that hurt him the most. It seemed she was nonchalant about the entire ordeal. “I’m not mad; I just don’t care.”
“Yeah, okay.” Trudi snickered.
“What?” Tony looked at his friends. “I’m not allowed to stop caring?”
“Oh, you’re allowed to stop caring,” Wes added, “we just think you’re full of it.”
Tony knew that was a boldface lie and a rather poor one. He’d often showered Krista with roses for no reason other than she needed some. He paid for her rent, bills, and often gave her extra money so she would never be broke. Everything about her lifestyle was updated to reflect his taste and hers.
When they were around each other, Tony and Krista had their own code and language. They often sent texts to each other in the form of emojis, memes, and GIFs, along with several Snapchat videos a day. They followed each other on every social media site and gladly boasted of each other in status updates and pictures.
Krista would find a nonsensical YouTube video and send it to Tony for no other reason than to troll him. Tony often showed up to work wearing tank tops, knowing Krista would be instantly aroused seeing him.
They were yin and yang. Peanut butter and jelly. Cheese and hamburger.
Then they weren’t.
When they broke up, he let Krista keep all of the gifts as they both moved on. He was never lonely and his dick had seen its more than fair share of conquests. None of the women, however, could replace Krista. They couldn’t replace her street smarts combined with a nerdy vibe that Tony coined her a ‘blipster’ or black hipster.
The women couldn’t put it down in the kitchen like she did, making every Sunday a feast of high cholesterol and heart attack proportions. Tony never knew he was a fan of Italian soul food fusion.
Definitely none of the women could sexually please him the way she did. Her tongue was skillful and he loved watching her lips glide along his thick shaft as she took him again and again. When he finally did enter her, her sex tightly wrapped around his length like a vise, pulling him in deeper with each stroke.
He could still her soft moans lingering in his ear as she encouraged him to fuck her harder, faster,hurtingher until her legs shook and they both were trembling, sweaty, and exhausted. As always after every tryst, she made him a sandwich.
Everything was great until it wasn’t. Krista betrayed Tony and his family in the worst way and while Eli eventually forgave Faith for her actions, Tony wasn’t sure if the same applied to his ex, a woman he’d loved since he was 13.
Man, fuck that bitch.
Tony nodded and began cleaning his shop again. It was a busy day with customers, old and new coming in to get lined up just right for their dates. He’d listened, in quiet agony, the intricate details some of the customers had for their lovers. Even those who didn’t have a significant other, they did something special for their parents or siblings.
He immediately thought about Krista and wondered if the sometimes-boyfriend-but-he-was-never-really-around guy he’d seen her with was going to do something special. She deserved it.
There I go again, caring about someone who I shouldn’t.
Tony finished cleaning his shop and made sure everything was locked for the night before he made his way to his Range Rover. He’d poured a lot of energy and time into his business and expanding it into another location. The last thing he needed was matters of the heart messing up with his money.
He needed to get out in time to get ready for his Valentine’s date. He specifically made reservations months ago at Per Se and he didn’t want to be a minute late.
Maybe once he was out, it would be the final day he would ever think about one Krista Allen.
