14. Amina Sinclair
Amina Sinclair
“This feels so weird to me, asking you questions about you and my brother. It’s like I want to ask the important questions, just to make sure that he’s over there treating your right, but I don’t want to ask too much because I don’t want to picture my brother having sex with my best friend,” Gianna said to me over the facetime call.
I was standing in the bathroom at the truck stop, with a towel wrapped around my body, adding just a little make-up to my face.
Gemini and I were getting ready to head to The French Quarters.
I showered already, brushed my teeth, did a very lengthy skin routine, and here I was trying to do something simple to my face.
I didn’t want to take too long because I didn’t need Gemini waiting forever for me.
The thing is, he’s such a gentlemen, so on those days when I take forever to get ready, and I’ll meet him out in the lobby, he never complains or tells me that I need to finish a little earlier next time.
I paused from what I was doing, so that I could look down at my best friend.
She was so beautiful. Literally, stunning.
From a very young age, my father taught me the importance of loving my black skin and accepting the glow that I had.
Because of that, I was a sucker for beautiful black skin.
That’s what Gianna had. It was the complexion as her brother.
She had the night off from work, which I was glad to hear because Gianna was a workaholic just like her brother.
She had catering gigs just about every day, so to see her lying in bed tonight, with a pint of cookies and cream ice cream in front of her, that she was eating, and her silk pajamas with her scarf on her head was a beautiful sight to see. She could use this break from work.
“Ask me whatever you want to ask me, Gianna. On intimate subjects, I just won’t tell you,” I voiced, and when I said that, she shrieked.
She did that, and then stuffed the spoon into her ice cream, as her eyes grew double the size. Seeing her dramatic reaction caused me to laugh, as I was finishing with the final touches on adding the concealer.
“Oh my God, Amina. Ya’ll had sex?” she asked me.
I giggled again at that. I would tell her the truth, but I wouldn’t dare share the intimate matters.
God, I wish in this moment that she was still my best friend, but just wasn’t Gemini’s sister.
I wanted to share with her all the private details.
I wanted her to know that what Gemini does to me, another man has never in my life done me that way.
I wanted to tell her that Gemini and I have sex about four times a day.
Every time we have sex, it’s like I continue to fall for him.
I couldn’t tell her that though. Gianna wasn’t going to want to hear that.
“We did. I won’t share the details. You’ll probably pass out,” I said, sitting the sponge down on a piece of tissue that I had laid out on the counter.
When I shared this with Gianna, her ass had the nerve to start gagging as if this news was too much for her to the point that it made her stomach turn.
“Yes, please spare me the details. I don’t even want to know them.
Can I ask you something though Amina? Don’t get mad at me for what I’m getting ready to ask you.
The same way I care about you, so I got on my brother a few days ago, telling him to be cautious with you is the same way that I care about him, so I just want to ask you a few questions. That’s cool?” she wanted to know.
I knew that Gianna and I were going to have to have a deep talk regarding me, and Gemini’s relationship. She was his little sister that loved him deeply, so it was only right. I was prepared for the talk.
“You know that you can ask me anything, and that I wouldn’t get mad. What’s up? We can talk,” I let her know.
“Given everything that just happened between you and Jacob, with you probably still being in this vulnerable position, I guess I just want to know do you genuinely like Gemini? I know your heart is pure, but I just want to make sure that my brother isn’t just filling a space that Jacob left behind.
I remember when I got my heart broken for the first time in college.
After it happened, I reached for the first thing that felt safe to me, and it was giving my time and attention to another dude.
A week into that, I realized that I didn’t like him for real.
It was just safe, and an option for me to not have to be alone, you know?
” she asked me, and I understood where she was coming from with the question.
I wasn’t offended by it. Gianna and I were best friends. We were going to have to have those uncomfortable conversations from time to time.
“Yeah, I get what you mean. Had I been on the truck with Gemini for one day, and we were already kissing, then yes, I would for sure feel like I was running off a high of vulnerability and going for the first man that made me feel safe. It wasn’t like that with Gemini and I though.
Everything happened in phases with us. You know we couldn’t stand each other at first. Neither one of us tried to hide the fact that we were annoyed with each other in the beginning.
We had to break through that. Gianna, we broke through it on our own too.
No one was here on this truck with us to play middleman, and to force us to be nice to each other.
I’m around him for 24 hours a day, so we had to learn to be mature adults, and tolerate each other,” I started, pausing from the make-up, so that I could look into the screen, and see her.
“Once we got through that phase, Gemini allowed me to be myself. He never made me feel like I had to stop grieving Jacob overnight. I remember him telling me that I was going to have to sit in what I was going through, and I would find a way to crawl my way out of it. He met me where I was at in my healing process. Very mindful of what he said to me. Very cautious of the things that he allowed me to see. I remember our first night on the truck, there was a bride, and her bridesmaids that walked into the truck stop, all dressed up in their matching pajamas, screaming about the wedding that was getting ready to take place. Your brother made it where we walked out in a total different direction, so I wouldn’t have to see that up close,” I shared, my voice cracking a little bit.
This was my first time even sharing that, and now that I was sharing it, I see for myself that this man has been protecting me and my feelings from the very beginning, even when we didn’t like each other.
When Gianna heard me say that, she smiled.
“It was only a matter of time before I fell for him. I didn’t want to eat in the beginning, and even with him knowing that, he would still purchase food for me, sit it in the back, just in case I got hungry later.
We’ve shared some deep talks. I’ve learned so much about Gemini.
The feelings that I’m growing for him Gianna, I literally can’t fake this.
I wake up in the morning, and I’m happy to be on that truck with him.
I get so excited when we’re riding together, and we start having our little debates.
I like him. I don’t want to freak you out even more, but Gianna, I just might love him too,” I finished.
My eyes were watery as I said these things to her. Gianna’s eyes were watery too. We both dropped tears simultaneously. We were just two women that were both overly emotional. That’s why we made such the best of friends.
“You do love him. I hear it in your voice that you love him, and that’s why I’m crying.
Happy tears though. I can tell that my brother is making you happy.
I’ll be honest, when I suggested that you two get on the road together, I never expected for you two to fall in love.
I just thought that you and Gemini would finally be able to get along and become good friends.
I guess God had other plans though. I was going to end this conversation by telling you to be cautious of his heart, but I don’t even have to.
The way you just spoke about him, girl I hear the love,” she voiced, and I was trying to stop myself from shedding tears because I was ruining the makeup that I put on.
“So, you’re sure that you’re cool with us dating, right?” I just had to verify, even though she told me already that she was fine with it.
“Amina, yes. I promise I am. We can officially be sisters now,” she laughed through her tears, and I laughed too.
We talked about it a little longer, and then I shared with her the plans that we had for the night.
I stayed on the phone with Gianna the entire time that I did my make-up and got dressed.
We didn’t hang up until I was getting ready to walk out of the door.
I let her know that I loved her, and that I would call her back tomorrow.
I was excited for the night. Excited to get to The French Quarters with Gemini and have a good time.