Chapter 7
Chapter seven
Chesteria
“Cold Air, Hot Truths: A Porch Talk That Hit Harder Than Expected”
Ipower-walked to the bathroom, racing my dignity to safety, my heart pounding in my chest.
As I closed the door behind me, I leaned back against it, pressing my palms against the cool wood to ground myself.
I stared into the mirror, desperately willing it to glitch and offer sage advice like a wise old confidant from a fairytale.
I waited for it to provide me with a sign, an escape route, or at least a distraction…
hell, anything. But it just stood there, quiet and shiny, reflecting a woman who was absolutely not ready to stay the night in a cabin with her unresolved feelings and fine-ass ex.
What the hell just happened?
Bryce? Here? Looking like that?
Don’t get me wrong, Bryce had always been undeniably attractive and had a nice body, but seeing him that day, it was as if God had put him through a second puberty, then added extra sexiness for no reason. His chest was thicker and his arms were thick and veined in a way that looked almost sinful.
“God… why? Out of all weekends, he chose this one to forget his month?” I muttered, feeling a stress headache begin to brew. “Seriously? God, you really just gon’ throw me in the same house with the man who had me crying in the dark while ‘Weak’ by SWV played in the background?”
Silence echoed back; the kind that felt like a cruel joke.
“Mm-hmm. So you just gon’ watch me drown, huh?” I sighed dramatically and shook my head, as if that would shake off the mounting anxiety. “I gotta call Klarissa.”
I cracked the bathroom door and peeked, adopting the stealth of a teenager preparing to sneak out of the house without getting caught.
I crept out the bathroom, tiptoed through the kitchen like it was a minefield, and slipped out onto the back deck.
The cold air didn’t just meet my skin; it cut through my clothes, settled into my scalp, made my jaw tighten on instinct, and made me instantly regret not grabbing a thicker coat…
but I welcomed it. I needed to chill my thoughts.
Taking a deep breath, I pulled out my phone and Facetimed Klarissa. The phone barely rang twice before chaos erupted on the other end.
“Put that down, Jaylen! I said put it—put it down! I’m not gon’ tell you again!” Klarissa's voice yelled from a distance.
There was a moment of muffled scuffling, then her voice softened instantly, transforming from panicked mom mode to my best friend mode.
“Hey, boo! How’s the trip coming along? Have you and Adrian done the grown-up hokey pokey yet?” She giggled, her contagious laughter a brief reprieve. “Did he bring the wine and the dick or just one of the two?”
I sucked my teeth. “Klarissa, I got bigger problems than who brought the dick or wine.”
“Ouuu... how much bigger?” she asked, immediately suspicious.
“Try… Bryce showed up bigger.”
Klarissa fell silent for a moment, stunned. Then, “Whaaaaaaaat?! Chess, get the fuck outta here, girl! Wait… why is he there? This is your month.”
“Exactly! He claims he thought it was his.”
“Chess, give me two minutes. I need to throw these damn kids in the bed ‘cause I need to hear all this tea, in HD, commercial free!”
I chuckled and leaned against the deck railing.
The cold had dusted it with a faint frost, but it wasn’t just the temperature making me shiver.
My arms prickled, and my legs jittered with a nervous energy that had nothing to do with the wind.
I needed to vent… bad. If Klarissa took too long, I was gonna start confessing to the damn patio furniture.
Two minutes—and several hurried shouts from Klarissa later—she came back on the line like she had never left.
“Okay, I’m back! Kids in bed, bonnet on, wine in hand! Now, start from the top! But don’t talk fast! I want it slow, dramatic, and messy! But first, is he staying there, or was this a drive-by fine alert?”
“Oh, he’s staying… brought luggage and handsomeness that I didn’t see coming. But that’s not even the kicker.”
“Oh, God. What?”
“He didn’t show up alone.”
Klarissa’s eyes bucked. “He didn’t show up with another man, did he?”
I blinked, taken aback by the suggestion. “Girl, what? No. A female.”
“I’m just saying… it’s happening these days. And that’s the perfect getaway to drop a soft launch: him… his man… nature. Then you said he brought handsomeness with him, so I just assumed it was for both of y’all. Sharing is caring.”
I couldn’t help but giggle at her exaggerated expression. “Okay, let’s not act like Bryce isn’t fine!”
“I mean… he is, but you’re my friend, not to mention y’all were engaged.
So no, ma’am, I’ll never just come right out and say that to you.
Girl Code rule number five: Thou shall not lust after thy friend’s ex unless he hits the lottery, goes platinum, or suddenly becomes British with an accent. Then, we discuss boundaries.”
I shook my head, laughing heartily. “What am I gonna do with you? But I appreciate your loyalty, boo. But yeah… he brought a female here with him.”
“Oh my. Say it isn’t so.”
“It’s so.”
“Well, what she look like?”
I exhaled slowly, trying to gather my thoughts. “She’s pretty; I’ll give her that. But she has a body that clearly screams investment and full-time industry appeal.”
“Oh… he got one of them, huh?”
“Yup. But her intelligence? I wouldn’t trust her to find water if she fell out of a boat. Hell, she’d probably lose a hide-and-seek game alone.”
Klarissa cackled. “That’s usually how it goes. They get the ones that look good in pictures but can’t spell ‘there’ right in captions.”
I laughed too hard, the absurdity of it all hitting me. “Exactly!”
“Well, how serious is it between them?”
“Based on how he talked to her? You’d think she was one of his baby mamas that he hated but had to bring her on the trip to get off child support.”
“Damn. That bad, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“So what did he say about your lil’ friend?”
I couldn't keep the smile from my face as I recounted the moment.
“Let’s just say, if I didn’t walk into the kitchen when I did, Adrian probably would’ve ended up on a milk carton by morning.”
“Not missing, though!” Klarissa hollered.
“Girl, you know Bryce lives for this wildlife adventure stuff. If he ain’t flying planes, he’s hiking mountains, building fires with his bare hands, or wrestling raccoons for fun.
I ain’t saying he’s killed a human before, but if the bear don’t get you, his ‘I wish a nigga would’ energy just might. ”
Klarissa let out a sharp laugh. “Girl, you a fool! And you say I’m the funny friend.”
“Out of the both of us, you’re definitely the funniest. If stress had a stand-up set, it would sound like you!”
"Mmm… maybe you’re right,” she said with mock pride, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “I wonder if they give out checks for comedic trauma responses? Girl, I’d be hilarious then. I could probably retire by thirty-five.”
I cracked a small smile but wrapped my arms tighter around myself, hoping that the goosebumps that ran up my arms didn’t start singing gospel anytime soon.
“But other than that,” she continued, her voice now sliding into big sister mode, “have y’all talked? Like… actually talked? And how long does he plan on staying? ‘Cause this whole ‘oops I showed up with new muscles, a duffle bag and an Instagram baddie’ energy sound real strategic.”
“All of this literally just went down right before I called you. So no, we haven’t ‘talked, talked’. But they’re supposed to be leaving in the morning.”
“You don’t sound too thrilled.”
Because I’m not.
For the oddest reason, a part of me wanted Bryce to stay longer than a night… and probably needed him to. But I wasn’t about to admit that to Klarissa.
“It’s just a lot to process,” I said instead. “I mean, not seeing someone you were literally planning to walk down the aisle with for two years… then boom, y’all end up at the same cabin with people you’re not even really taking serious? It’s…”
“Ghetto divine intervention!” Klarissa declared triumphantly, as if she had a direct line to Heaven.
“That’s exactly what this sounds like! God said, ‘Since you still got feelings and I’m tired of you walking around with all this sadness, let me sprinkle a little petty on your weekend.
Here’s your ex-fiancé, an unexpected guest star, and some forced proximity—now talk! ”
I groaned, feeling both amused and overwhelmed. “Girl…”
Then she sobered, just a little. “No, but seriously, Chess, maybe this ain’t just a coincidence.
Maybe y’all were meant to see each other again like this—random, unexpected, on neutral ground.
One thing I do know? God doesn’t move sloppy.
What if Bryce showing up like that wasn’t just bad timing?
What if it was alignment? Girl, God lowkey orchestrated this before you even packed your bonnet.
He knew y’all would both be there, and he knew you’d try to act unbothered while your insides doing jumping jacks. ”
Klarissa gave me a look. “Maybe it’s not about getting back together; maybe it’s just about facing what y’all never unpacked, maybe it’s peace, maybe it’s closure. Or maybe…” She paused, eyes locking with mine. “Maybe it’s still y’all.”
I leaned against the railing, quiet.
“I just want you to enjoy this weekend, friend. You need it, and you damn sure deserve it. You’re one of the hardest professors at that college.
You really be carrying that damn whole department.
I’m not ashamed to say I do the bare minimum on a lot of days.
I be over there giving students participation points just for showing up without an attitude, and grading with my spirit, not no rubric.
Meanwhile, you be over there with color-coded lesson plans and emotional support office hours. ”
We shared a laugh.