by B. Love
Completely inside of her, Symphony placed his forehead on hers as he released a satisfied sigh. Her hands slid up and down his arms before she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I said I love you, Denver. As more than just my friend.”
She smiled as her eyes closed, but they opened as she said, “I love you love you too.”
With a smirk, Symphony began to move in and out of her. “I know.”
5
Symphony
Symphony hated coming to see his grandmother here, but this was her choice. It was where she wanted to be – no matter how much he didn’t agree. If Symphony had it his way, his grandmother would have gone with him wherever he decided to plant new roots. She had been the most consistent form of love he’d ever had. It would be hard enough not having her in the same house, but now, he had to come to grips with not even having her in the same state.
“What’s up, ol’ lady?” Symphony greeted, leaning back to avoid the swatting of his grandmother’s hand.
“I done told you about that, boy,” Emma scolded, opening her arms for his embrace. “How’s my baby?” she asked before planting a wet kiss on his cheek.
He released a loud exhale as he placed the tray of chicken, broccoli, and rice casserole he’d made for her on the table next to her. It didn’t matter how many dishes Symphony offered to make, that casserole was the only thing she requested at least twice a month. Now he would have to figure out the quickest way to ship it to her when he moved.
“I’m good, Ma. How are you?” Emma smiled silently, linking her fingers in her lap. She rocked from side to side, waiting for Symphony to tell her the truth. His head bowed briefly as he smiled, tripping off how he couldn’t get anything past her. “Grandma, I didn’t come here to talk about my problems. I just wanted to make sure you were straight. They still treating you good?”
“It’s a woman, isn’t it? Your grandfather had the same love sick expression when we took our little break. You might not notice it, but you wear your heart on your sleeve and your emotions on your face more than you realize, Symphony.”
Leaning back in his seat, Symphony ignored his grandmother’s revelation. He hadn’t always been so easy to read. Not until he started going deeper with Denver. She exposed his heart and had a bigger part of it than she realized. And he hadn’t even told her that he was leaving yet.
“There’s nothing I can do to convince you to move to New York with me?”
Emma’s head shook as she lifted her arms and shooed his offer away. “Why? So I can be in a new city alone when you have to travel? I’m fine here, baby. Besides, you’ve spent your entire life practically taking care of and being there for others. It’s time to live for yourself.”
With a nod, Symphony kicked his shoes off and made himself a little more comfortable. He didn’t have any clients today, and Abraham had retired him from the business when he heard about his move to New York. His days for the most part were dull and less eventful, but they were peaceful and fulfilling when Denver was around nonetheless.
“You haven’t told Denver yet, have you?”
Symphony looked at her but didn’t respond as he cut the TV on. Emma swore there was something going on between them ever since the first day she met Denver. For the longest time Symphony denied her allegation. Now, all he did was ignore it. It was hard ignoring the truth with her consistently bringing it up. Especially now.
“I’ll tell her soon enough.”
“When? Right before your flight leaves?”
Symphony sighed as he ran his hand across his waves. She’d been apart from Rodrick for three days, and Symphony was taking full advantage of it. Even with them confessing their love for each other, their friendship remained as it was, and Symphony was grateful for that. He was caught up in the moment, and though he didn’t regret telling her he loved her, if he was in his right mind instead of his feelings he would have waited until the day he left to tell her the truth.
But she’d seemed to have become so used to things as they were that she acted as if the confessions hadn’t slipped from either of their lips.
“Soon, Ma. Just waiting for the right time. She just ended her relationship. I don’t want her to feel like she’s losing me too.”
Pleased enough with his answer to drop it for the time being, Emma lifted her bible and continued to read while Symphony flipped through the channels for something to watch on TV. Finally settling on the news, he leaned his head back, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
6
How it will end - Denver
This would make the third day in a row that Denver tried to reach out to Rodrick to make sure he was okay. Every time she got to work and saw the last bouquet of flowers he had delivered for her she thought about him naturally. They were starting to wilt now, reminding her of how their love was slowly dying.
But had it really been love, or a love of love?
She was still trying to figure that out.
Denver wouldn’t be in her office long, but she had a meeting scheduled with a potential client. Before calling her assistant in so she could prepare her for the meeting, Denver shot Rodrick a text.
If you don’t want to talk to me anymore I understand. Just want to make sure you’re okay. This will be the last time I reach out to you. Hope you’re well.
Shaking her head at the turn of events, Denver put her phone on her desk. She was supposed to be upset at him, but somehow, he’d turned the tables on her. They both knew it was only a matter of time before things got physical between him and Symphony, mainly because they were too bullheaded to let anything go. What she wasn’t expecting, however, was for Rodrick to blame her enough to not even want to speak to her.
Or maybe it was his pride.
Whatever the case, Denver was a second away from deleting his contact and trying to forget she ever even knew him. Lifting her left hand, she looked at her empty ring finger. She’d taken it off the day everything happened and hadn’t had a desire to put it on since. Just as she was about to call her assistant to come back, her phone vibrated against her desk. The sight of Rodrick’s face on her phone made her smile.
“Hello?” she answered, sitting back in her seat.
“…Hey.”
The heaviness in his voice made Denver’s heart drop as she closed her eyes and pulled in a deep breath.
“How are you?”
“I’m good, how are you?”
“Good.” She remained silent, as if he was the one that had been calling and wanting to speak to her. When he didn’t say anything, Denver said, “Well, I just wanted to check on you. Make sure you were okay. Everything happened so fast and…”
“May I see you? Please?”
Denver’s eyes darted from the picture of her and Rodrick on the right side of her desk to the picture of her and Symphony on the left. Every time Rodrick came into her office he complained about that. Said his picture should be on the left, because that was the side of love. Every time he’d say that Denver would laugh and brush his request off, but now that she’d thought about it, it kind of made sense.
The Romans believed the vein in the left ring finger was directly connected to our hearts. If that was the case, she could understand why he wanted his picture to be on the left side of her desk. The left side of her vision. But as always, Symphony was holding that place on her desk, in her life, and in her heart.
“I don’t know, Rodrick.”
“I’m not going to yell or let things get out of hand. The second you tell me to leave I will. I promise.”
Denver picked up the picture of her and Rodrick, considering his request. Things hadn’t really changed between her and Symphony after they confessed their love, and she didn’t expect them to. It was nice, though, getting to hear him say those words to her. Words that she never thought she’d hear, even though she felt his love on a daily basis. There was something about him actually saying it that made it… even more real.
“That’s fine. I’m in t
he middle of a trial right now so I’ll be coming home pretty late…”
“I’ll wait. Tomorrow night. If that’s okay?”
As much as she didn’t want it to, the urgency laced behind his desire to see her made Denver smile.
“That’s fine.”
“Cool. And, Denver?”
“Yes?”
“I wasn’t answering because I knew when I did I would want to see you, and I was trying to let you go.”
Unsure of if she even wanted him to anymore, Denver replied with, “We’ll talk, Rodrick.”
7
Symphony
She looked tired as hell, but that didn’t change Symphony’s mind. If he was going to tell Denver that he was leaving, it would have to be tonight. Symphony opened the door, and at the sound of it, Denver’s head turned in his direction. Instantly, the drained expression that covered her face was replaced with a smile. Without him even having to tell her to, Denver began to walk in his direction.
When she stood in front of him, Symphony took her briefcase and her purse as she leaned against the doorframe and took off her pumps. Putting them by the door, she stepped into his home, releasing a relaxed sigh.
“Can you rub my feet?” she asked, slowly walking down the hall to his living room as she normally would, but Symphony grabbed her hand and stopped her.
“Sure, but I need you to do me a favor.”
Even with the confusion that covered Denver’s face, her smile widened. She was finally paying attention to his appearance. The crisp white button-down shirt. The tailor made charcoal colored slacks. The brown belt and loafers.
Her hands slid up his arms until they reached his rolled-up sleeves. “You look very handsome, Symphony. I love when you wear white. What’s the occasion?”
His arm wrapped around her and he pulled her into him. Denver’s smile fell instantly as she rested her hands on his chest. Running his fingers through her hair, Symphony struggled with the idea of kissing her. Didn’t seem fair for the first time to be shortly before he told her he was leaving. Pushing that desire back, Symphony detached from her and put some space between them.
“You’ll find out soon enough. Come. Let me run you a bath.”
Her smile returned, even wider this time. Symphony chuckled as she skipped behind him, wrapping her free hand around his.
“I take it you had a good day?” he asked as they walked down the hall.
“No, it was horrible.”
His smile wavered as his steps slowed down. He looked back at her asking, “Then why are you so happy?”
Denver shrugged as if she didn’t know the answer before saying, “I’m always happy when I’m with you.”
Under different circumstances that would have filled Symphony with pride and happiness of his own, but tonight, it made his stomach flip. Nodding, he turned forward and continued down the hall. Once they made it to his guest bathroom, Symphony picked Denver up and sat her on the sink. She was sitting there, smiling and humming with her feet swinging as he searched through her extensive collection of Bath and Body Works sets at his home.
“How was your day?” she asked.
“Cool,” was all he could offer.
Her feet stopped moving, and so did her humming as her head tilted. “Why just cool? Didn’t you go and see your grandma today?”
Symphony released a hard breath as he closed the closet door.
“Yea. Wish I could get her to come back here with me but she’s dead set on staying there. Plus, she said some shit that’s been on my mind heavy since I left as usual.
Denver nodded her understanding as Symphony ran her bath water. They made small talk as they waited for the tub to fill. When it was, Denver hopped down off the sink.
“I’ll uh… be in the kitchen,” Symphony told her, attempting to walk away, but her hand inside of his stopped him.
“Can you undress me?”
Just the thought of seeing her naked body had his erection growing. “You trying to be bad tonight, huh?”
Her smile turned into her biting down on her lip and moaning as Symphony pulled her into his chest.
“I will always be bad for you. Undress me, Symphony.”
He did. And he took his time doing so, too. With every layer of her clothing that he removed, Symphony wished he could remove a layer of the doubt and reservations that were blocking his heart. Well, didn’t matter now. Not while he was less than ten days away from leaving her. Reminding himself of what tonight was about, Symphony put his sexual desire to the side as he helped her get into the tub, but his control began to crumble when she asked, “Will you get in with me?”
“You’re killing me right now, D.”
“I’ve had a really long day, bess fran. I need you.”
Mustering up the best pout and puppy dog eyes she could, Denver stared at Symphony until he rolled his eyes and began to undress.
“Nigga don’t even take baths unless he sore, and your spoiled ass got ‘em climbing in this little ass tub just to appease you,” he griped, but there was never a time that Symphony would decline the chance to be close to Denver.
“Why do you talk about yourself in third person, crazy?”
“And miss me with that bess fran bullshit too. Best friends don’t do half the shit we do.”
Denver waited until he was behind her and she was snuggled comfortably in his chest to ask, “Then what are we?”
Symphony thought over it deeply, coming up with no other way to describe them than, “Us.”
He saw her cheek raise from her smile, and the thought of his news wiping it away had Symphony closing his eyes and resting his head against the wall. They sat in the tub and talked about their days and random topics until the water grew cold, then they stood and showered. Afterward, they oiled each other down, and Symphony rubbed her feet. In exchange, she massaged his hands.
By the time she was done, their dinner was ready. He’d fixed her favorite meal, salmon, baked Cajun mac and cheese, and broccoli.
“Okay.” Denver’s voice was just as skeptical as her face as she slowly walked into the kitchen wearing his t-shirt. “What are you up to, mister?”
Ignoring her, Symphony instructed, “Go sit at the table, doll.”
It took a few seconds, but eventually Denver left. He followed behind with her favorite wine and poured them both a glass. After lighting the candles that were on the table, he went and fixed their plates. They ate in silence unless Symphony spoke, and Denver would reply with as short of a response as she could. Her mood had dropped altogether, and Symphony could only imagine the thoughts that were swirling around in her mind.
After dinner, he decided to finally put her out of her misery.
He moved from the seat that was across from her to the one next to her and took her hand into his.
“I have some news.”
Denver’s head nodded slowly. “What is it?”
“You remember when I went to New York last summer for the competition to work with Miagi Mero?” Denver nodded. “You know I won, but I decided to hold off for various reasons, not wanting to leave my grandma was the main one.” She nodded again, squeezing his hand gently as his thumb caressed hers. “After I graduated, his assistant reached out and asked me to reconsider applying for the job. I wouldn’t win any money because I turned the position down after the competition, but it was still going to be a great opportunity if I got it.”
Denver shifted in her seat slightly, holding on to his hand even more.
“I applied right after graduation, and he wants me to move to New York ASAP.”
He watched her chest literally stop moving. When her heart began to beat again, Denver blinked twice before nodded her head and forcing a smile.
“How ASAP is ASAP?”
“Nine days.”
Denver’s grip on his hand loosened as she clutched her chest. “That’s…” her head shook. “Wow. That’s…” she nodded. “Congratulations, Symphony.” Her head shook. “I’m really, reall
y proud of you. And I’m not surprised. You are an amazing chef. Anyone that can make me not only eat broccoli but turn it into my favorite food is definitely a master chef.”
There was a tinge of sadness staining her otherwise genuine happiness, and the longer he stared into her watery eyes the more apparent that became. Denver removed her hand from his and refilled her wine glass.
“Let me know if you need me to help you move.” She took a gulp of the wine, and Symphony couldn’t decide if she’d knowingly or unknowingly moved to the left and put some space between them.
His hand wrapped around her wrist, and he used it to lower the glass from her mouth.
“Are you upset with me, Denver? Be honest.”
She chuckled as her head shook. “Not at all. Why would I be?”
He held her hand and her gaze until her smile fell. “Because I’m leaving you.”
Her shoulders caved slightly as she swallowed and looked away from him.
“I would never be mad at you for doing what you love, Sym.” Her eyes returned to his. “Ever.” Denver stood and looked around the dining room, as if she was lost in a place she’d been in a million times before. “I should go. It’s getting late, and I have court in the morning.”
Symphony nodded slowly as she walked away. That went better than he thought it would. She didn’t cry. Or yell. Or curse. Not in front of him at least. After clearing the table and putting the dishes in the dishwasher, Symphony went back to his room. He hadn’t heard the door close, and it wasn’t like her to leave without saying goodbye, so he figured Denver was still inside.
Sure enough, he found her sitting on the edge of his bed, holding the picture of them that was on his nightstand.
When she saw him, she smiled and told him, “You bet not ever forget me.”
He returned her smile as he walked over to her. “I could never forget you, doll.” Symphony took the picture out of her hand and placed it on the nightstand. His fingers went through her hair as he asked, “Did you forget that I told you I love you?”
