23/Danielle
I lay across my bed in flannel pajamas reminiscing.
After only one week, I knew I had to be in love.
Or deeply in like. Our relationship was amazing.
I felt like a schoolgirl. We had lunch together in the hospital cafeteria.
Walked through the halls, holding hands and kissing.
After work, I rushed home to get ready to spend the evening with Chance.
I had to look down to make sure my feet were on the ground, because I had to be floating or even flying through the sky.
Every day I felt like calling someone and sharing what I was feeling.
Kayla seemed to be the only one who understood, because she was in love.
Still, when I talked to her last night, she warned me to be careful and to slow down.
Slow down for what? If it’s right, it’s right.
And it definitely felt like the real thing.
Pounding heart. Dry mouth. Giggly and silly.
Yep, sounds like love to me. I couldn’t stop smiling.
Even now my smile had a smile. I’ve only thought about Ron once today, and Calvin hadn’t even crossed my mind until I was about to pick up the phone to call Renee and remembered she and I weren’t speaking.
“Bitch!” I mumbled to myself. How long was it going to take her to call me and apologize? After all, she was in the wrong, not me. She had no business letting Calvin lick her pussy. It didn’t matter that I didn’t want him anymore. This was one time when she stepped over the line.
I remembered all the years we hung out. We never needed to compete because there was always a man for her and a different man for me.
I’m tall, skinny, with shoulder- length hair and a light brown complexion.
Renee is thick, with a clear caramel complexion and short honey blond hair.
We’re both cuties, and getting a man has never been a problem for us.
But we’ve always had an unwritten rule— never fuck with the other’s exes.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Maybe I shouldn’t have started messing with Calvin in the first place.
But their relationship was almost fifteen years ago, and she dumped him.
Besides, she told me she didn’t care that I was seeing him.
Okay... maybe it was after she found out I was already seeing him.
But I told her I had no problem ending the relationship if it bothered her, and Renee assured me it did not.
Yet the second I gave her permission to make a pass at Calvin, she took it to the next level.
Sighing heavily, I rolled onto my side and reached for the remote control. I wasn’t going to waste another second thinking about Renee, no matter how much I missed her.
Besides, I didn’t need her. I had Chance.
Remembering I had forgotten to get the mail, I climbed off the bed and moved downstairs and out the door. It was freezing, and without my coat, I was shivering by the time I made it back into the house.
A cup of hot chocolate was just what I needed.
I moved into the kitchen and popped a mug of hot water into the microwave.
While it warmed, I thumbed through the mail.
Bills. Electric. Gas. Macy’s credit card.
I frowned at the last piece. A small pink envelope was addressed to me with no return address.
I quickly tore it open and removed a small sheet of paper that was typed in all caps.
My brow rose. What the hell did that mean? I flipped it over, looking for a sender, and there wasn’t one. The postmark on the envelope showed that it had been mailed right here in Columbia. “Okay, someone’s playing games.”
I wasn’t about to waste any more energy wondering who sent me the note. It was probably some kind of sales scam. I tossed it aside and moved to the pantry to get a package of hot chocolate.
My phone rang. I reached over and picked up the receiver.
“Hey, baby girl, how about Chinese tonight?”
I exhaled at the sound of Chance’s voice. “That sounds wonderful.”
“Go ahead and order from Lo Mein and I’ll pick it up on my way over. Just make sure you get some pork fried rice and egg rolls.”
“Okay.”
“Did I tell you how fine you were looking today?”
Seductively, I replied, “Yeah, but go ’head and tell me again.”
We laughed, then talked a bit more before I hung up and danced over to the drawer to retrieve the yellow pages. As soon as I had the order placed, I dashed off to the bathroom to brush my teeth and gargle.
“My man is coming over,” I sang as I danced to my bedroom.
I reached for my mango peach spray and pulled the elastic on my sweatpants and sprayed my freshly trimmed pussy.
“I can’t wait for Chance to taste my mango-scented kitty.
” I pulled my hair up in a ponytail because Chance loves when I wear my hair up.
He says it makes me look young and so damn sexy.
I brushed on cinnamon-flavored lip gloss and a little eyeliner and mascara.
I’ve never been big on makeup. All I needed was enough to emphasize and draw attention to my slanted little eyes.
I’ve been told I have the kind of eyes that make a man want to take me straight to bed.
Ha-ha! And that is exactly where I want to be.
I moved downstairs, tossed a log in the fireplace, and started a fire. I needed the mood to be just right.
“Wine! We need wine!” I screamed, then hurried into the refrigerator and released a sigh of relief when I found a bottle of white Zinfandel I had bought weeks ago and never gotten around to drinking.
“We will be drinking it tonight.” I removed it, stuck it in a bucket, and filled it with ice, reached for two flutes, and headed into the living room.
When the doorbell finally rang, I practically ran to the door. “Girl, quit it!” I scolded, then took a deep breath before opening the door.
“Hey.” Chance kissed me. “Damn, baby girl, you smell good.”
Uh-huh, wait until he smells my kitty. I grinned in response, then moved aside so he could enter. He put the bag of Chinese food on the coffee table, removed his coat and tossed it on my recliner, then wrapped his arms around me and tackled me onto the couch.
“Damn, I missed you, girl. It’s only been a couple of hours and I miss you.” He pressed his lips to mine, then stared down into my eyes. “You’re my baby girl, right?”
My heart was pounding like crazy. “Yes,” I whispered.
“Good. Because now that I’ve got you, I ain’t letting you go.”
I kissed him. “Good, ’cause I ain’t going nowhere.”
He rose with me hanging on, with my legs wrapped around his waist. Chance kissed me once more, then patted me playfully on the butt, and I dropped my legs to the floor and released him.
“I’m starving.”
I winked. “So am I, but it’s not for food.”
“Don’t you worry. I’ma take care of you. Now give yo man another kiss.”
I loved the way that sounded. My man. Yes, he is.
I grabbed two plastic plates and we dug in. Chance was an expert at removing the cork from the bottle, which was good because I always made a mess and had pieces floating in my wine. Chance talked about his ten years with the National Guard. And his failed marriage.
I reached for an egg roll. “How did you find out?”
“She told me.”
I choked. “What? She told you?”
He chewed his orange chicken before answering. “Yep. I called home to check on her and she had the nerve to tell me she had a new man and not to come home.”
My eyes grew large. “That is fucked up. She could have at least waited until you got home.”
“Exactly. I was going crazy. Here I was out protecting our country, and I can’t do shit but sit around and think about my wife fucking another nigga in my house.”
“Damn.” That’s all I could manage with a mouthful of rice.
“Yeah. It was fucked up.”
I pulled a knee to my chest and leaned back against the couch. I suddenly felt like a fat pig. “What happened when you got home?”
“What do you think happened? I put her ass out!” We laughed and then he continued. “Don’t you know she had the nerve to tell me they had broken up and she wanted to give our marriage a second chance?”
I shook my head. Some women are so stupid.
“Anyway, the next woman I commit to, it’s forever. My parents are still together, so I want the same. Come here.”
As soon as I was on his lap, he wrapped an arm around me and continued. “I don’t share. If you’re not interested in something serious, then you need to let me know now, ’cause I’m really feeling you, girl.”
Nodding, I said, “I’m feeling you, too, Chance.”
“That’s what I needed to hear.”
He kissed me, and I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. I had a man who actually wanted a commitment. I wanted to freeze this feeling for as long as I could.