16

“Hello, mommy’s phone,” Kennedy announced.

Her goddaughter always picked up her mother’s cell phone when she saw Ansley’s name on the screen.

“Hey, Kennedy. How are you, doll?”

“Good. Mommy and Daddy are playing Candy Land with me. Daddy was cheating,” she said.

Ansley’s heart melted every time she spoke to this little girl.

“Your daddy needs to go sit in time out,” she teased. “Well, lovey—can I talk to your mommy please? I won’t hold her long.”

“Yes, she’s right here. I love you, Ashy,” she said.

Ansley laughed. Kennedy had come a long way, but she still could not quite pronounce Ansley’s name.

“Love you right back, sweetie,” she responded.

“What’s going on, Ashy?” Lanae joked.

Ansley laughed along with her.

“I know y’all having family time so I’ll try to be brief,” she said. “I want to hear your thoughts on something.”

“What’s going on?”

“Davis and I went out earlier today—we had a great time. Or at least we were before I confronted him about a woman from his past,” Ansley stated. “We got a little heated, and we ended the night lukewarm. I still have questions for him about this woman, but don’t want to push the issue.”

“Let me excuse myself for a second,” she said. Ansley heard her asking Jacob if he would go ahead and get Kennedy something to eat before returning to the call.

“I’m back.” Lanae continued, “What made you ask about this woman and what did he say that got you upset?”

Ansley ignored the infliction on the word woman. She wasn’t giving up anything. Lanae knew there was tension between her, and Simeon but there had been no conversation detailing their mutual connection to Davis.

“Well, I let him know that I heard they had a one-night stand, and he played dumb, acting like he forgot it happened. He said I was acting like a jealous teenage girl.”

“Hmm. Were you jealous?”

Ansley responded. “It’s not that I’m jealous, it’s just that—I wanted him to say it wasn’t true. I hoped Si—she was lying.”

Ansley could hear a faint giggle in the background and she knew it didn’t belong to Kennedy. Her slip of tongue had sold her out.

“Well, he didn’t confirm or deny it, so now you just have to wait. A conversation is in order and you all need to talk this out and not let the subject linger—all three of you,” Lanae advised.

Ansley chuckled.

“You’re right. You’re right.” Ansley raised her hands toward heaven. “I tried talking to Simeon the night of the dinner but that didn’t go well at all. I said Davis was no good, and I know that I haven’t known Davis very long, but I enjoy being with him. There’s like a magnetic draw when we are together. As much as I try to pull away, I’m forced back—it’s such a strong feeling.”

“You don’t have to rush into anything with this man. Figure out what’s going on with them and talk to Simeon. How long have you two been friends now?”

Ansley nodded as if Lanae could see her. “It’s been about five months now, and we have become close.”

“Well, you have to be careful, you can’t be loose with using the term friend. Everyone is not deserving of that title. Do you entrust her with your secrets? That’s something to consider, you should be asking yourself is he worth losing a friend?”

“I know. You’re on target with that one. I guess I have some thinking to do,” Ansley responded. “Go back to your game. I’ll give you a call tomorrow.”

She hung up the phone. Left with her thoughts, Ansley knew that she needed to talk to Simeon minus the emotions. If that was even possible. Simeon seemed very adamant about pursuing Davis and she was in fact the one to meet him first. This was against everything she believed to want someone that a friend had been intimate with and had she known what happened before they started dating, she never would’ve given him a second thought.

But that wasn’t Ansley’s reality, her reality consisted of the basic girl meets boy and girl falls for boy scenario. She could’ve never predicted the one that made her feel a tingle in her spine would’ve had the same effect on her friend.

Davis called Ansley early Sunday morning. “What are you doing today?” he inquired.

“Working on my article,” Ansley responded, “Then I’m going to run some errands and try to catch up on some chores around the house.”

“Sounds like you have a busy day.”

“That I do,” she agreed. “What’s up with you?”

“I was hoping to spend some time with you today.”

“Oh, no can do. I really need to get some work done around here, Davis.”

“Are you sure you’re not just trying to avoid me?”

“Yep. I told you we were good and I meant that.”

“Alright, cool. So sometime next week then?” he queried.

She smiled at his eagerness. “We’ll see. Maybe I’ll cook dinner. I found this great new recipe for chicken marsala that I’ve been wanting to try.”

“I can’t wait.”

They talked a few minutes more before hanging up.

Ansley returned her attention to her work. She made corrections suggested by the copy editor and planned to submit the revisions tomorrow. She really enjoyed working at Grind House because she was learning a lot.

When the article was completed, Ansley logged into her virtual classroom to see the schedule for her upcoming course. After ordering her e-books and downloading the syllabus, she got up to start working on her chores.

Three hours breezed by. Ansley plopped down on the sofa to rest. She managed to wash and dry three loads of laundry, vacuum, sweep, and dust around the house. If her mother was here she would be telling her it’s not officially clean until she mopped the floors and cleaned the windows. Ansley looked around the room and felt she’d done enough for the day, or at least the soles of her feet proclaimed as much.

She got up, walked into the kitchen, to grab a bottle of water and make a sandwich. Ansley was cutting up an apple when her phone rang.

It was Simeon.

“Hey, girl,” Ansley greeted.

“You lost a hand or something?”

Her smile disappeared. “Huh?”

“I haven’t heard from you.”

“Actually I called your cell and sent you a text on last week. I called your office and receptionist said you were out of town. You didn’t get my messages?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry about that. I’ve just been keeping to myself. I needed some time to think some things over.”

“Like what?”

“Just the last conversation we had was a little tense, and we haven’t spoken since then about the whole Davis thing. That conversation was never resolved. So it’s been weighing on me. I apologize for my part in this mess. Davis or Monty to me anyway, he was never my man. I shouldn’t have come at you like that. You’re my friend. About the only one I have if I’m being honest.”

“Is that how you really feel?”

“Absolutely,” she confirmed.

“I never wanted to hurt you.”

“I know. I wasn’t trying to—well I’m lying, at the time I was wanting to hurt your feelings. I was being petty.”

Ansley chuckled. “It’s cool. I just want us to get back on good terms. I’ve missed you.”

“I missed you too.” Simeon cleared her throat. “Speaking of Davis, when was the last time you spoke to him anyway?”

Ansley started chewing on her nail. She should have lead with this information. This could put a hold on the love fest they were having.

“He called me when he got back in town, and then we met on Saturday.”

“This past Saturday? As in Valentine’s Day?” Simeon quizzed.

“Yeah. When he got back in town, I had every intention of asking him about his history with you, but the rest of the week was busy for me and we didn’t get to talk. Saturday came, and when I asked about you, he just avoided the subject all together.”

“I see. What all did you tell him?”

“I told him that I knew you two hooked up in Chicago, but like I said, he didn’t confirm one way or another.”

Ansley was met with silence on the other end.

“I know you’re probably thinking why did I even need to verify anything with him, and my response is I guess it’s just the writer in me. I wanted to hear him out, and get his side.”

Simeon’s laughter was solemn. “It’s no biggie. I get it. I would’ve done the same thing.” A beat and then. “Well listen, if you have time on Monday, let’s meet at Tin Lizzy’s for drinks after work.”

“Yes, let’s make that happen for sure,” Ansley said.

As the call ended, Ansley couldn’t help but feel as if her friendship was ending also. Though Simeon was acting brave, there was something in her tone that let Ansley know their relationship would never be the same.

With the laundry folded and put away an hour later, she made some popcorn, poured a glass of wine, and settled in for a Lifetime movie.

Ansley released a soft groan at the interruption of the phone ringing. “Hello.”

“Ms. Wright, you have a visitor. A Davis Montclair.”

“Davis is here?” She could not contain her surprise.

“Yes ma’am,” the doorman responded. “Should I send him away?”

“No, I’ll come down.” Ansley rushed into the bathroom.

She brushed her teeth and rinsed out her mouth, tucked away the loose strands of hair fighting for freedom from her ponytail, and straightened her t-shirt before heading down to the lobby.

Ansley greeted the doorman in passing as she hurried to meet Davis. He began walking towards her, meeting her halfway. He looked like he had just been out running errands. He wore a worn, heather gray, Chicago Bears hoodie and dark blue jogging pants.

“Hey,” she said. “Umm, I thought we said we’d try to make plans for next week.”

“I couldn’t wait to see you.”

She could not help but smile; he had that effect on her.

“You look nice,” he said.

Ansley glanced down at her gray sweatpants and wrinkled, white tee shirt. Her hair was in a messy ponytail; she wore no make-up.

“Whatever…”

“You could wear a trash bag and still look beautiful,” Davis told her.

“Thanks—I guess,” she said not believing a single word he said.

She gestured for him to come with her. “You can only stay for an hour, Davis. I have an early start tomorrow.”

“An hour?”

Ansley held up her index finger.

They stepped inside of the awaiting elevator.

“I was just about to eat a snack when you called,” she announced. “Are you hungry? I can warm up something.”

“No, being here with you is satisfying enough.”

On her floor, Ansley unlocked the door and stood to the side to let Davis enter. “You can have a seat anywhere. Would you like a something to drink? A glass of wine or cup of coffee?” she offered. “Umm—I have Pinot Noir, Beringer Merlot, Chardonnay, and Moscato…”

“Do you have a wine cellar?” he said, teasing her. “I’ll have whatever you’re having,” he said. His eyes filled with desire, Ansley turned away to go get his glass of wine.

Ansley felt him watching her. Her heart was pumping out of her chest like a fist thrusting in the air on the Arsenio Hall show. This man was a natural master of seduction—it took no effort at all. Everything about him from his voice; the way he walked, his eyes, and the way he said her name engaged all of her erogenous zones. She had to keep close watch over him or she might give him access to areas of her body that she was not ready for him to explore.

Ansley poured two glasses of wine before joining Davis in the living room. She handed him the glass and took a seat adjacent to his.

“I hope you don’t mind my just dropping by like this.”

“Just don’t make it a habit,” Ansley said.

“You have that guard dog downstairs…the man couldn’t even get my name right.”

Ansley laughed. “Don’t be mean.”

He awarded her a devilish grin before taking a huge swallow of wine.

She looked at him. “You’re sure you don’t want anything to eat?”

“I’m fine.”

“So, what’s up with the impromptu visit?” Ansley inquired.

He took a deep breath. “I didn’t like the way things ended yesterday and I needed to see you. I don’t want any misunderstandings between us.”

Looks like everyone wanted to wrap up loose ends today. First Simeon, now Davis. Ansley reached for her wine and took a sip.

“I needed to see you to make sure that things were really okay between us,” Davis stated. “I really care about you.”

“I’m not that fickle,” she said. “We’re good, although I do think there is something we need to discuss.”

“What’s that?”

“Simeon.”

Davis almost choked on his wine. It was apparent that he hoped Ansley had let that go.

“C’mon, I know what happened in Chicago,” she announced. “Remember, I know that you two slept together. Just come off it already and tell the truth.”

He cleared his throat. “She told you that! She came on to me. I never tried to go after her.”

Ansley shook her head. Confusion shown all over her face. “So, you’re saying that you two didn’t sleep together when you met at that conference?”

“Oh… that.” Davis cleared his throat. “Umm, yes we had that one night together and that’s all it was. I promise you that,” he said.

Ansley tilted her head to the side, lifting her eyebrows up in surprise. His response led her to wonder if they had more than a one-night stand.

“Simeon is one of my best friends, so we talked about what happened. But it sounds like you’re referencing another night, have you all been together more than once?”

“What does it matter? Simeon was a mistake in my past, and I’m trying to look ahead at my future. I’m here with you now. I’m trying to show you that I desire you. I want us. Are you really going to pass up on this? Tell me now and I’ll leave you alone.”

Deep down it bothered her that Simeon had experienced his passion—something she had yet to do. She took another sip of her wine.

“If you two had dated seriously, then she would’ve told me about you and this would not be happening.” Who am I fooling even this is a stretch. “You would not be here with me right now. It goes against the friend code. I hate that I met you second, and she met you first. This—this is just wrong.”

Ansley shook her head.

“You’re the only woman for me,” Davis declared.

“Would you have ever told me about the one-night stand?”

“No, I probably wouldn’t have,” he answered. “It’s because I don’t kiss and tell.” Davis paused a moment before saying, “Despite what happened between me and Simeon, I didn’t feel a connection with her. It’s nothing like what I feel when I’m with you.”

“And what do you feel when you’re with me?” she wondered aloud.

His eyes gleamed. “You have a big heart. You’re intelligent, and you’re beautiful. I’ve never met anybody like you, Ansley. My ex and I dated for two years. It was great at first, but she wasn’t supportive, was very possessive, and we eventually parted ways. That’s when I found out that she was crazy.”

“Thankfully, I’ve been spared all that. I’ve only been in love once, and I let that relationship go for my own selfish reasons. He was a really good guy.”

The one that got away. Man if I could hit the retry button I would.