5. Reighvyn
NEXT DAY
We were sitting on the rise in the hill that we used to sit on when we were teens. It overlooked the beach and allowed us to watch the tides roll in. I took a swig from my beer, and Dove poured herself another generous glass of wine.
We had talked late into the night and fell asleep around three in the morning. We woke up to fix brunch together, and we had been inseparable since. The only thing we had done was reminisce about our childhood and teen years and caught each other up on the college years.
“I’m sorry about all that you’re going through. The truth will come to light soon, Reigh. You’re an amazing person with a beautiful spirit,” she stated after I summarized all that I was going through, at least the parts that the media had shared.
Dove had been my closest friend growing up, but time had passed, and I wasn’t sure who I could trust anymore.
“Thanks, li’l bit. You said you came here for an escape. Why?” I asked bluntly because that was who she was. Dove had never been a beat around the bush type of girl. If she wanted to know something, she asked, and she expected you to do the same.
“Life is just too much at the moment. My ex decided to pop back up into my life, and along with that came all the horrible memories, the curiosity seekers, and the ragtag media who like to follow people around, snoop in their business, and post pictures and lies on the gossip vlogs. I, unfortunately, had the misfortune of being the dumb bitch who chose to have an affair with a married man and turn my head the other way. It all caught up with me. He is a well-known reporter for a famous and reputable media outlet, and it was plastered everywhere. Now he’s back wanting a do-over of that horrible fiasco. ”
“I thought that was old stuff.”
“So, you saw it on social media?”
I bobbed my head. “Yeah.”
“It was old. Unfortunately, the first anniversary of that incident came around, and I guess he got sentimental and decided to pop back up.
It was bad enough that I was seeing the memes again, but his return to my life, followed by photographers who took pictures and sent them across social media, have started all that mess up again.
“People love bringing up old skeletons, so these new photos are right up their alley. I can’t blame anyone except for myself, though, because I was wrong to become involved with him in the first place.
I never knew about her until one weekend when I caught him on the phone with her.
He lied and said they were separated and going through a divorce.
I was upset, but I trusted him and stayed with him.
If I truly wanted to be with him, I should have waited until his divorce was final. ”
“Was he ever getting a divorce though?”
“You know, at the time, I believed every word he said to me, but after everything that happened and how he failed to stand by my side, I doubt it now.”
“Look at it like this. You’re much wiser because of your experience. You’ve lived, loved, and learned. Now all you gotta do is wear the T-shirt.”
I winked at her, and she smiled back. I looped an arm around her shoulder and hugged her closer to me, and she smiled up at me. She felt so good against my body, and though I shouldn’t have been thinking about it, I couldn’t help it. I never could.
“I missed you, Reigh. You were one of the few people I could ever truly talk to.”
“I feel the same way. Maybe if we hadn’t lost contact through our college years, we wouldn’t have gone through all we’ve gone through.”
“Then we wouldn’t be able to wear the T-shirts,” she teased, smiling at me.
I chuckled, bobbed my head, and agreed. “You’re right.”
“How are Wryn and Paloma doing?”
“They’re doing pretty good. Wryn owns his own landscaping company, and other than the fact that he’s ending his third marriage, he’s fine. No kids as of yet, and plenty of excuses about his failed marriage and no kids. His old ass won’t be able to produce ’em after a while.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah. Paloma refuses to marry or have kids. She’s a child psychologist, and I’m not sure if she’s trying to help the kids or find answers for the little girl within her.”
“And you?”
“I’m not fucked up about my childhood like that. I don’t have any fears that I’ll be an unfit father or that my ass might be crazy. The only craziness in me is getting in that ring and risking getting my brains beat out of me.”
“Yet, you’re undefeated.”
“’Cause I’m not about to let nah nigga beat my brains out of me. You’ve been keeping up?” I was surprised, and I knew she could hear the surprise in my voice.
“A little bit,” she confessed, pinching her thumb and index finger together.
We laughed, and I asked, “What about your fam? How’s everybody doing?”
“My parents are doing well. They’re both retired now, and they’re holding down the store while I’m here.
They traveled a lot in the beginning, and now they’re just relaxing and taking each day as it comes.
Ivy teaches first grade and has a little boy named Keonte, who is two, and the center of our world.
She’s coparenting with her boyfriend while they learn to navigate a relationship with a child. ”
“Damn. Little Ivy all grown up and a mama? That’s hard to imagine.”
She giggled. “Yeah, she was a wild one.”
“What about you? I guess you don’t have kids.”
“No, I don’t. Maybe one day with the right man. If he ever comes along.”
I wanted to tell her that he was already here, but I had never shared my feelings with her back then. I damn sure wasn’t about to freak her out now. She had enough on her plate without me adding to it.
We sat in silence for a while before she broke it. “Remember when we used to sit in this exact spot as teens and dream about our future?”
I laughed. “Yeah. Sometimes I wish we could go back to that place in time. Life was so peaceful. There were never any better times than when we were with Mama Alma and Papa Larry.”
“Yeah. We always got excited whenever you guys came to stay with them. It was like having . . . extended family.”
The last thing that I ever felt for Dove was that she was like “family.” Oh, I played it cool as hell, but I wanted her from my teen years onward.
“I remember that you were going to be an automotive engineer designing cars,” she recalled.
“And you were always determined to have your own floral shop because you always loved flowers. You loved how giving them to people made them react, and you loved the beauty of watching them grow and bloom.”
“You paid attention,” she replied in awe.
“I did. You used to take flowers out of the garden back home and create designs, praying your mama wouldn’t notice that you were in her flower garden again.”
Her eyes crinkled at the corners as a soft smile tilted her plump, round lips. “You’re right; I always knew what I was going to do. Just like I always knew that I would be happy living in Cherokee Springs, whereas you always wanted to escape.”
I closed my eyes and nodded. “You weren’t wrong for what you wanted. It’s not like you were in some small town. Traveling and living in a major city like Cherokee Springs gives you the best of both worlds. I just needed to escape the memories—and the pain.”
Dove reached out and touched my hand. “You’re so far from that tall, lanky kid back then, light years away from the scared little boy. What happened to all your hopes and dreams, Reigh?”
I frowned and replied, “Life.”
She shook her head and replied, “No. That’s the answer that you give someone who doesn’t know you. We may have been separated for twelve years, but I’m still the same girl you used to confide in, and you—”
“Not the same guy you used to know. Trust me, Dove. I’ve seen and done too much to still be him.”
She reached over and pressed her hand against my heart. “Something tells me you’re still the same here. The core doesn’t change.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.”
She stared at me, and I found myself mesmerized by her sun-kissed bronze skin, the way that she looked at me from underneath the curve of her upturned, russet-brown eyes, and how she batted her long, curly eyelashes at me.
I reached out and tweaked her small, button nose, which made her lips turn up into an infectious smile. She jumped up from her spot as though our locked gazes were becoming more than she could withstand. Her large breasts, which were incongruous with her petite body, jiggled.
“What?” she asked, staring at me as she pulled long fingers through her dark, mahogany brown hair. The sun accented the red highlights in her hair. It dawned on me for the second time since my arrival that she looked like the singer Rihanna.
“Nothing,” I replied, forcing my thoughts away from kissing her lips and touching her skin. “Last one back has to cook!” I shouted, taking off, running and laughing when she was hot on my tail.