Never Kiss
and Tell

When he saw the compact sitting there, right there, in plain sight, he felt like he’d swallowed the whole damn canary. He knew Venus had laid it there. Clint could kick himself for not having picked it up himself the first time he’d seen it. It must have fallen from Kandi’s purse when he dumped everything out in the sink the other night. Hindsight is twenty-twenty. Who knew Venus would ever darken that bathroom door?

Venus didn’t say a word, but leaving it there, sitting like a work of art resting on an easel gave him instant understanding. She didn’t give him a chance to state his case. When he and Kandi got together, he and Venus were considered null and void. He wasn’t doing anything wrong. But here Venus comes, all after the fact, showing up with her goodwill and apology. Now, it’s his fault, even though she’s the one who initiated this whole mess. What was he supposed to do, sit around on his hands and knees begging forever?

Clint picked up the phone and left the first message. “I’m sorry about what you found in the bathroom. I know how it looks; you’re wrong.”

The second message was almost as pathetic.

“V, you know I’m not like that. I was sure we were through before I even met someone else.” After he hung up, he wished he knew her code to the machine so he could erase it. The third message was to cover up the second one.

“V, I met someone, but there ain’t nothing to it. Please call me.” And the fourth message was to cover for the last one. And on and on, it seemed like there was no way out. He couldn’t clean it up no matter what he said. He should’ve just denied everything, “don’t know where that thing came from, could’ve been there when I moved in.” But Venus was no fool. She mastered the lie detection skills a long time ago. One truth could shatter glass faster than ten lies. The math didn’t add up.

Yeah, I met someone, she’s fine I’ll give her that, damn fine, but she’s not you. I love you and I don’t want to fight anymore. I’ll even go further than that, let’s get married. Hell, I’ll marry you tomorrow, let’s just stop playing games. That’s what he would say if he had the guts. He didn’t though. He didn’t have the strength, or the weakness, to give himself over that way. He cleared the lump in his throat, made peace with himself, and called Venus one more time. This time no machine, it only rang twenty times. I give up.

Kandi was hoping he was just worn out from all the fun and late hours they’d been keeping the last couple of nights.

“Girl, what’d you expect? You gotta make them work a little.” Lena shoved another set of clothes to the right to get a better look at the selection.

“It wasn’t like that, Lena. There was no game playing. We went out to dinner last night. He was a perfect gentleman. He didn’t ask to come in afterwards. He walked me to the door and kissed my hand goodnight and left like a prince on his horse.” Kandi adjusted the Ann Taylor bags on her arm so she could thumb through the clearance rack in Macy’s.

“Well, I guess he got what he wanted the night before and didn’t need anymore.” Lena had a way of telling the hard ugly truth. She simply left out tactfulness.

“That’s my point. He didn’t have to take me to dinner last night. He didn’t even have to call for that matter. I just can’t figure him out. We had the perfect date. Then when I call, he doesn’t have time to talk.”

“Maybe he is just tired. What’s there to figure out?” Lena was holding up a lime-green suit from last season to her chestnut skin highlighted by her blond and gold streaked hair. “Just give him some time. He’ll call. Stop stressing out over this guy. You’ve known him for what, twenty-four hours, and you expect him to devote his every waking hour to your presence?” She reached over the rack and put her hand on Kandi’s arm. “Get a grip, honey.”

Kandi was trying to stay cool and not think about the night before when Clint had practically hung up on her when she’d called to tell him what a great time she’d had on their one official date. Lena was right, she was expecting way too much.

“I’m trying to be sane and reasonable, but I’m afraid he’s going to get away. It’s the same philosophy for shopping, if you find a great deal on the rack, if you don’t scoop it up today, it might not be there when you come back for it tomorrow.” Kandi knew she wasn’t making sense. Comparing him to an off-the-rack bargain was nuts. Anyone could see Clint was quality in the making. He was a man, solid and grounded. Whatever was holding him back would have to be dealt with gently, one step at a time. The layers were thick. It was obvious he would be no easy catch.

“You’re right. I’ve got to have this.” Lena held up the bright lime-green jacket to her body again.

“Lena, it’s not true in all cases. Please don’t buy that suit.”

Lena sucked on her teeth and rolled her eyes, restoring it to its home with the rest of last year’s collection. “You watch. This style is going to come back this spring, and I’m going to kick your butt for talking me out of it.”

Kandi suddenly wasn’t in the shopping mood anymore. There was so much work to be done.