She swung open my closet door and started plucking dresses from it. Pulling out a red, short mini skirt, she frowned. “Naw, this dress got ‘I’m a slut’ written all over it.” She hung it back up and pulled out a flowery, haltered dress. “Now this one can work.” She looked at me, smiling.
“Quinn!” I muttered, while shaking my head. “I’m not about to do that again. You remember when I did that with Calvin? I got all fancy and showed up at his doorstep after we broke up and he was with another woman.”
“Oh shit, how did I forget that? I do remember, and you had to put the beat down on old girl. And you fled to Memphis for a couple of days, because you thought the police were looking for you,” she added.
I nodded. “Right, so I ain’t on that shit no more and I don’t even know if he came home this year.”
Quinn dropped the dress she was holding moments ago in a nearby chair and sat next to me on the bed. “Eve, all I want for you is to be happy, like I am with Pax.”
Shaking my head, I said, “I thought I wanted that, too, Quinn. But I’m starting to realize all of that might not be in the cards for me.”
“It is, boo. You just have to believe it is. Writing that letter was necessary, you had to let Dale know how you felt. You threw all your cards on the table and played them. Sometimes the outcome is not always what we hoped it would be.”
I dropped my head into my hands, and Quinn hugged me from the side. She propped her chin on my shoulder and asked, “When was the last time you combed your hair? It looks like it’s been run over by a rake.”
We both laughed in unison. That was one thing Quinn could do, she could take a shitty day and turn it to a funny day.
“We are going do something cute with your hair and get you out of this house.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Oh, yes you are,” she confirmed. “Pax and I already bought tickets to this New Year’s Eve party downtown at city hall. You have three days to pull yourself together and get out in these streets. You can’t sit here drowning in your sorrows forever and asking yourself what or if you could’ve done something different.” She rubbed my back. “Do you think Dale is sitting around with nappy hair and musty armpits?” She turned her nose upward.
I rolled my eyes, and shrugged Quinn’s hand from my back. “Shut up, fool. You’re right, though. I have to move on with my life.”
Quinn clapped her hands. “Great! First, let’s start with getting your ass in some water.”
I swatted at Quinn’s back, but she was too fast, when she hopped off the bed and tore down the hallway. It was like old times again when we were teenagers. I was right behind her, laughing and tripping over my feet. It felt good to smile and laugh again. It felt even better when I pinned Quinn to the ground and held her down until she begged for mercy.
Chapter Five
Dale
The Commitment …
December 31, 2020
New Year’s Eve
“Bruh, how long are we going to sit in this car?” Jinx asked, pointing to the big, brown building across the street. “The party is in there. And I’d like to be wasted before we ring in the New Year,” he added.
I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know, man. I’m just not feeling it this year. I always spend NYE with Eve, and I can’t break that head space.”
Jinx nodded. “I hear ya, but Luna brought her friend, who’s been interested in you for some years. Maybe you should see what that’s about.”
I shook my head. “Naw, bruh, I can’t fuck with nothing else right now.” I massaged my temples, laying my head back on the headrest. “You can go ahead in the party with your wife, but I’m going to take a couple of minutes,” I said.
“You still love her?” Jinx asked.
I looked at him; there was no sarcasm in his voice but a raw emotion of empathy. “Yes, I still love her.”
Jinx nodded. “So, why haven’t you told her, man?”
I shrugged. “Shit, I don’t know, maybe because I’m a coward, maybe because I’ve never told a woman I loved her.”
“Never?” Jinx repeated.
I shook my head.
“What about Tina, Monique, and Mary?” he asked.
“Never,” I repeated.
“What about—”
“Damn, Jinx,” I chuckled. “Didn’t I just say nobody? You about to call out my entire dating history.
He scratched his head. “I’m just baffled. Here it is, I thought you were Mr. Romantic and running around here confessing your love. That was one thing I envied about you was your ability to be in touch with your feelings, but I see you as fucked up as the rest of us.”
“Shut the hell up,” I laughed, staring out the frosted window.
We sat in silence for a few moments. My thoughts drifted between going home and drowning my problems in a bottle of bourbon or going into this party and ringing in the New Year with some clarity. I chose the clarity part as I told Jinx, “I’m ready, let’s go inside.”
One hour later, I had danced until my feet hurt and I was as good as tipsy. Luna’s friend was all over me from the moment I stepped into the party. I had to tell old girl to fall back, I just wasn’t into her like that. After a couple of sidestepping and hiding out in the men’s bathroom, she finally got the hint. I stood by the bar, bobbing my head to the new Lil Wayne track playing across the loudspeakers. I had lost Jinx and his wife somewhere in the crowd.
The expansion they did to city hall a year ago really made the place look huge. There were folks wall to wall in here, and to move around was still super tight. It was thirty-minutes before ring in time. I took a sip of my drink as my eyes drifted toward the entrance. I believe my heart stopped beating for a few seconds, because I inhaled a lungful of air, making me conscious again.
“Eve,” I murmured, when I saw her from the distance strutting into the party, looking damn good. Every dude she passed reached out for her hand or let out a whistle of their approval. She tilted her head farther in the air with so much confidence, indicating that she was the baddest chick up in here, and she was.
She stood across the way from me, drinking and laughing at something the woman standing next to her said. All I could imagine myself doing now was running my hands up the side of her long, slender neck. However, something was different about her. As I squinted my eyes, I noticed the side of her head was shaved and she wore a fiery red lipstick on her lips. It brought me back to four years ago, when I noticed her from across the room. I had waited for this moment to see her again, to tell her how I truly felt, and to let her know that the letter she wrote helped me get my shit in order and made me realize she was important in my life.
My legs took on a mission of their own as I sidestepped a few dancers on the floor and strolled across the room. I stood behind her, admiring her from behind. When I tapped her on the shoulder, she turned slowly, recognition finally setting in as she stumbled backwards a few feet. I reached out and grabbed her hand to sturdy her.
“Wh-What are you d-doing here?” she stammered.
“Can we go somewhere and talk in private?” I whispered in her ear.
She hesitated for one brief moment, and then she nodded.
I ushered her through the crowd by the small of her back, down a flight of stairs toward the hallway leading to the restrooms. The music was less intense in this part of the building. She turned abruptly and asked, “What do you want?” hostility evident in her tone.
I took a step back and tried to calm the situation. “I need to talk to you.”
She folded her arms and stared at me.
“When you wrote me that letter last year about breaking up, I didn’t know how to respond to that. Normally, I’m the one who ends things in relationships, so when I found myself on the other side, I had to do some self-reflection.” I paused, and she said nothing, her eyes shooting daggers at me.
I continued. “I left and went back to South Korea earlier than expected. They asked
me to sign on for another two years, but I denied the offer. I realized that I was searching for something that I had all along. You.”
“Oh, okay, that’s nice,” she mumbled, and began to walk away.
I caught the swing of her arm and brought her close to my chest. She fidgeted underneath my grip, trying to break a loose.
“I love you, Eve,” I said between gritted teeth. She stood still, staring me in my eyes. “I knew I was in love you with you the year I came back home, and my grandfather had died. I should’ve told you then, but arrogance and stupidity played a part in my actions.”
“Dale, I can’t go down this road with you again,” she revealed. “You have too much to figure out, and I realized I was giving more of myself in this relationship. It was one-sided. I don’t have the energy to do it anymore. You waited too long … a year, Dale, to tell me you love me?”
I swaddled her in a hug. “Don’t do this, Eve, don’t walk away from us,” I pleaded.
She banged her hands against my chest to break loose. “Let me go, Dale,” she cried.
“You once asked me what the feather that I always folded inside of your letters meant.”
“I don’t care, Dale. Nothing matters anymore,” she screamed in my shirt.
I decided to tell her anyways. “The feather signifies the connection between us that represents honor, strength, wisdom, power, and most importantly trust. I trusted you, Eve, and I wanted you to trust me. These are all the things our relationship meant to me.”
I dropped to my knees and pulled out the engagement ring box I’d been carrying around with me for a year now. Most folks would say I was crazy for carrying this around, but I never understood why I could never leave it behind … until now.
“Eve Laree Jacobs, I love you and I’m so sorry it took me this long to say this, but we met four years ago to this date, we have always written each other four-page letters, and I believe the number four is our lucky number. So, with that being said,” I took in a deep breath, “will you make me the happiest man on Earth, by being my cheerleader, my confidant, my lover, and above all my wife.”
“Say yes, girl.”
I turned around to see a woman and a man standing behind us. The same woman I saw Eve with earlier stood there gawking, with her hands up to her mouth. “Say yes,” she repeated.
Standing next to her was Jinx and his wife.
I glanced back at Eve, standing in shock. Her hands trembled at her side, the state of nervousness, conflicted and confused shining in her eyes. But I wasn’t getting up off my knees until I heard her say the words.
“I will.” She burst into tears.
Applause went off around the room. Just then I realized we had an audience the entire time. Someone yelled in the distance, “It’s time.”
The crowd upstairs and downstairs started the countdown. “Five, four …” I hugged Eve and we said the countdown gazing into each other’s eyes. “Three, two, one. Happy New Year’s,” we chanted out loud.
I picked her up and twirled her around in a circle. The woman from before rushed over and gathered us both in a hug.
“This is my cousin, Quinn, and husband, Pax,” Eve said, laughing.
That explained it. Quinn was exactly how Eve described her. Over the top. I glanced to the corner of the room and Jinx sent a head nod.
Quinn screamed at Eve, “We married now,” sounding like Mrs. Celie from The Color Purple.
Her husband pulled her away. “Let’s give them a moment, hunny.”
Eve shook her head. “That’s my crazy cousin.”
I nodded. “All jokes aside, I’m going to make you the happiest woman in the world.”
She stared at me and said, “I know you will, and I love you, too, my husband to be.”
I kissed her puckered lips with a deep passion I felt aching in my bones. I mumbled against her mouth, “I love you more, my rib.”
EXCERPT: HOPELESSLY EVER AFTER
The Pact
They say if you think of fairy tales and butterflies you can wish away bad shit! Well, why aren’t these urges going away? Quinn Jacobs-Wolfe’s thoughts resonated through her head as she glared down at the glaze dripping from the sweet cinnamon roll sitting on a plate on the crisp, white linen covered buffet table. Her mouth watered in anticipation of tasting one of those sweet delights, but she couldn’t listen to the devil. And right now, he was tempting her by telling her one taste wouldn’t hurt. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure her husband, Paxton, wasn’t watching her. Luckily, he was engaged in deep conversation with her girlfriends’ husbands.
Licking her lips, she held one of the tasty rolls in her hand. Ever since she promised Pax that she would try to live a vegan life, she’d cursed those words as soon as they left her mouth. Because she knew better; she knew her body and her liking for food. Within a couple of months, Pax had become a health fanatic, only opting for vegetables, fruits, and no meat. Who don’t eat no damn meat?
The sudden cramp in her stomach had her thinking back to two days ago, on her plane ride from Memphis to Rosewood Heights, South Carolina. It had been a true testament to how seriously Pax was taking his commitment to eating right. He had ordered the flight attendant to only bring them celery sticks, carrots, and nutrition bars if they had any. Quinn was going to scream if she saw one more food item that grew from the ground and not any food who had parents. Her tooth ached at the sudden urge to sink itself into a big, juicy chicken breast. Her shoulders slumped forward at the thought of how much she loved her husband because there was no way in hell anyone could have persuaded her to give up protein.
A strong hand grasped her shoulder and her back stiffened in sudden shock. Oh no, he caught me!
“Eat the damn roll.”
Quinn’s head flew upward at the familiar voice. At the act of being startled, the roll she was holding hit the floor.
She let out a sigh of relief at the sight of her best friend, Mac, looming over her. “Shit, Mac, don’t be sneaking up on me like that.”
Mac was the only person she’d told about her not-so-self-controlled new diet. Mac had laughed so hard on the phone when she told her she was going to try to eat healthier that the phone accidentally disconnected. The last thing she heard Mac say was, “I know you gave up those stupid Cosmo magazines, but giving up meat? Ha! I’d love to see that.”
Since she didn’t have time for a rebuttal, Quinn had hung up the phone feeling defeated.
“He’s not watching you. Go ahead and take a bite,” Mac whispered in her ear with a giggle.
Quinn rolled her eyes downward at the now lopsided roll laying on the beige marble floor. Granted, if she wasn’t surrounded by lots of people, and if Mac wasn’t smiling from ear to ear in her face—and if her husband wasn’t only steps away from her—she might have just picked the sticky roll up off the dusty floor and gobbled it down like a mouthwatering steak. On cue, a vision of a medium-well prime rib popped in her head. Oh God! Why am I torturing myself?
Quinn swiped a napkin from the table and tossed the mouthwatering treat in a nearby trashcan. “I’m good,” she said to the smirk on Mac’s face.
“Awww … come on, baby.” She pinched Quinn’s cheek. “Just take one bite for mama.”
Quinn smacked her lips and shrugged Mac’s hand off her shoulder. “Shut up,” she said through clenched teeth.
“I’m just kidding, boo! Let’s go talk to the girls.”
Quinn allowed Mac to entwine their arms and escort her through the crowd of people at Rosewood Estates. Everyone was gathered at the hall to celebrate the Sullivan’s, Ava and Owen, on the christening of their baby boy, Owen Junior, aka Baby Sully. A flashback from two and half years ago fluttered through her mind of her and Pax’s wedding at the same venue. Little did she know that Ava had been pregnant with her now goddaughter, Maddie, when she’d stood on the sideline as her bridesmaid.
Damn, two kids, Quinn thought, when she smiled in Ava’s direction. Ava is on a damn roll with baby making. H
ow am I supposed to catch up? Quinn groaned at her rampant thoughts. Glancing across the room, she saw Ava sitting at the table with Ryleigh Fields and Raven Holloway. These girls meant everything to her. They were her ride or die chicks and her voices of reason. Well, sometimes. Either way, she’d die for these ladies. And that included Mackenzie Cannon, aka Mac. Although that chick knew how to work her last nerves, she would kick whoever’s ass she needed to kick over her besties.
“Stop lagging behind,” Mac yelled in Quinn’s face over the loud music.
Mac was always being bossy, so Quinn should’ve been used to it by now. Yet, some things were still hard to accept. Mac high-fived a few of their old classmates and did a two-step with Ava’s aunt, Becky, on the floor of steppers, all while continuing to hold on to Quinn’s arm. She had to admit, Mac was still wild and outspoken, but marrying Alex had tamed her a lot. She knew her friend was happy that she’d found her soulmate. She thanked her from time to time, along with Ryleigh and Raven, for making their last Best Friends Challenge the best ever.
Quinn held her hand to her mouth as a slight giggle escaped her lips when she noticed the girls were sitting at the same table where she’d announced the last Best Friends Challenge. The pact had been simple … they’d made a promise that they’d all be married within a year of Ava’s wedding. She could still remember the moans and push backs she received from all three ladies, mad as hell that she’d pronounced such a challenge. But they all had taken on the task and found that special someone. Quinn had to give herself a pat on the back for that one. That was the best idea she’d ever had.
Plopping down in the chair next to Raven, Quinn grabbed a cracker from the center of the table. She took a bite and frowned at the bland taste. Her stomach did several somersaults in protest. Feed me some real food! it cried.
Mac took a seat next to Ava and continued to bounce her head to the new Rihanna song blaring through the speakers. Ryleigh was the first to break the awkward silence.
Four Page Letter: New Year Bae-Solutions Page 5
