I knew I didn’t sleep with him, I sighed heavily as relief washed over me. “I was with Ty. My plan had been to be with Ty last night anyway and I don’t know how that got so screwed up. I didn’t know what happened with Emanuel, but I was fairly confident I didn’t sleep with him. But waking up next to an engaged man was all the confirmation I needed to go find Ty immediately. I needed to hear his explanation and talk it out with him.”
“And I’m guessing you did more than talk it out since you’re just now on your way back and your flight is in three hours,” Emily said with a laugh.
I swallowed around the lump in my throat as I explained, “Not exactly. We talked and he knew something was off. He knew I was holding back something and I just didn’t want to ruin our reconciliation. I was going to tell him when we got back to Richland. I was going to tell him everything so we could both have a clean slate. I was going to tell him Em. But not right then. I needed him to explain himself. I needed to make up with him. I needed to feel him, all of him. So I didn’t say anything. We had sex and then we fell asleep. I woke up and he…” My voice broke as a sob threatened to erupt.
“Sahara, what is it?” Emily inquired, worry evident in her tone.
“He saw the text you sent this morning. He left me a note telling me I was fucked up. He thinks I had sex with Emanuel and then went to see him,” I quavered.
“Oh Sahara… I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have sent that text. I—”
I interrupted, “No. It’s okay Em. You have nothing to be sorry for. I should’ve been upfront with him when he asked if Emanuel had followed me back to your place. I told Ty about when we asked him to leave before we got drunk. I just didn’t inform him about the misunderstanding via text message. I should have. I messed up.” The dam broke open and tears rushed from my eyes. “Em, I’ll be at your house in a few minutes. I’ll talk to you more about it then.”
We ended the call and I cried into my hands for the duration of the taxi ride. Giving the driver a generous tip for having to endure my sobbing, I got out of the car and ran to Emily’s front door. When Emily opened it, she pulled me in for a much needed hug.
“What are you going to do Sahara?” Emily asked as I changed into a formfitting Alice + Olivia hunter green and black striped sleeveless dress. It complimented my brown skin and the boat neckline looked good with my hair up in a high ponytail. My black studded Christian Louboutin ankle cuff sandals completed the look.
I gave her a small smile before I groaned sadly, “I don’t know. I have to talk to Ty. I have to explain myself. I also need to talk to Emanuel. And my plane leaves in three hours.”
“What time does Ty’s plane leave?”
“I actually don’t know. Up until the hearing, I assumed he was in Boston so I don’t know what time it’s leaving from here.”
“Okay well how about this. We’ll swing by Emanuel’s on the way to the airport. You’ll have 20 minutes to say what you need to say before we need to be on the road and airport bound.”
“That sounds good,” I said, nodding as I put my toiletry bag into my luggage.
“And once we finish there, we’ll drive straight to the airport. We’ll be super early so that’ll give us an opportunity to figure out what flight Ty could possibly be on. We’re going to get you your man back,” Emily added as she touched up her makeup in the mirror.
“Thank you for everything Em. I promise, the next time I come down, we will do fun stuff and avoid all this drama. And I’d like to meet Anthony.” I looked up from zipping my luggage and smiled at Emily.
“The next time you come down?” Emily smiled at me through the mirror.
“Yes. Of course. You’re my best friend and it’s time for me to start acting like it. Now that I’ve actually gotten my courage together to face what happened to us, I don’t want to lose what we have all over again. Even with everything that has happened this weekend, I’ve had a good time with you. I’ve missed you Em.” I dropped my luggage beside my feet so I could give her a big hug.
Ten minutes later, we were eating blueberry muffins and drinking tea on our way to Emanuel’s house. When we arrived, we both ran as fast as we could in heels to the front door. I let Emily knock and I stood behind her since I’d never been to Emanuel’s house before. After the first series of knocks, I was going to suggest we just leave, but we heard something moving on the other side of the door.
Ashlyn opened Emanuel’s door wearing a low cut red, yellow and green maxi dress. As much as I hated to admit it, Ashlyn was a knockout. Her short hair was styled prettily and her makeup was expertly applied. Both Emily and I froze for a second as we were caught off guard by her.
“Hi Emily! How are you?” Ashlyn cheered with a large smile plastered on her face. Ashlyn made a point not to look at me.
Emily croaked, “Ashlyn…what are you doing here? Where’s Manny?”
“No, the real question is, what is she doing here?” Ashlyn countered, pointing at me. I smirked and slid my sunglasses on.
“Oh is something funny?” Ashlyn asked taking a step out of the door.
“Yes. You,” I pointed out. “We don’t have time for this Ashlyn. Where’s Emanuel?”
“This is important Ashlyn. We’re not here to see you. Now if you’ll excuse me,” Emily added, taking a step around the shorter woman.
“Your friend isn’t welcome in my house Emily,” Ashlyn stated flatly. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the doorjamb, blocking our way in. They live together?! I thought incredulously. I mean, I guess it makes sense if they are engaged, but—okay now it makes sense why he didn’t bring me to his house over the weekend.
“Manny?! Manny?! Manny?!” Emily screamed causing a few dogs in the neighborhood to start barking and the kids a few doors down to stop what they were doing in their front yard.
“Stop causing a scene!” Ashlyn screeched, looking around the neighborhood to see who was watching. Her voice dropped a few octaves when she conceded, “Manny got called into work last night and he hasn’t made it back yet. I’ll let him know you stopped by Emily.”
She took a large step back into the house before she looked at me and said, “And Sahara, get your own man… Manny is mine. I love him and we are getting married. Period. I’m not going to let you or any of these other hoes go after what’s mine. Do I make myself clear?”
That’s funny. I wonder if knowing he woke up naked in my bed would wipe that self-satisfied smile off of her face, I thought callously. Biting my tongue, I thought of a more appropriate response to her demand. There was no reason to break up Emanuel’s relationship since that’s where he wanted to be.
Before I could say anything, we heard the rumble of a motorcycle and whipped around. Silently we all watched as Emanuel pulled into his parking spot. He parked the bike, but didn’t immediately get off. It looked as if he were debating whether or not he was going to flee the scene because he didn’t cut his engine off. After a couple of minutes, Emily waved. Emanuel cut the engine off and hopped off of his bike. He took his helmet off and I was unable to help the small burst of air that escaped my lips.
Without product, his hair fell in soft waves as he ran his hand through it. With a wrinkled shirt and dark stubble over his cheeks, he looked unkempt and unbelievably sexy. He took his time. His swaggering walk held more confidence than the look on his face portrayed. Ashlyn was the first one to speak.
“Hey boo! I’ve missed you!” Ashlyn yelled. She bumped me and Emily on her way to meet Emanuel on the sidewalk. Emily and I looked at each other and shook our heads. That bitch has one more time, I thought glaring at Ashlyn through my sunglasses.
“That bitch,” Emily muttered under her breath.
I looked at Emily and smiled, “I was thinking the same thing.”
We looked up and saw Ashlyn grab Emanuel’s hand. Once they got in front of us and we exchanged hellos, I spoke first.
“Hey Emanuel, can we talk for a quick minute? I’m headed to the airport and only h
ave 5 minutes,” I asked looking between Emanuel and Ashlyn. Emanuel nodded and Ashlyn shook her head no.
“Yes, of course,” Emanuel nodded. He wiggled his hand free of Ashlyn’s and gestured for me to walk back toward his motorcycle.
“No!” Ashlyn interjected loudly. “I’m tired of this Emanuel! All these years, I’ve put up with this. It’s bad enough that I’ve been competing with the past version of her you won’t let go, but now you expect me to put up with this current real-life version of her! Seriously? You think I don’t know that you keep a picture of you and her in your motorcycle? You don’t think I notice when we go to your parent’s house, you ask your parents or Emily about her? You don’t think I know you still have feelings for her? Well I do! And standing here watching the way you look at her, makes me sick. I’m sick of it.”
Emanuel looked at her sternly before he said, “Let’s not do this here. We can talk in the house in a few minutes.” His body looked tense as his chest rose and fell quickly.
Ashlyn put her hands on her hips and her voice lowered, “I always figured it was one of those things you’d eventually get over. When people go through tragedy together, that tragic event can seal them together. I get that. That’s why I’ve tolerated it. But seeing you with her, it’s too much. I love you and I want to be your wife. But you have to choose right now: me or her.”
Nervously, Emily broke in, “Um, Sahara has to be at the airport shortly. What she has to say to Emanuel isn’t going to take that long. She literally has two minutes.”
Ashlyn ignored Emily and looked from Emanuel to me and then back to Emanuel. With conviction, Ashlyn uttered, “Well Emanuel…? Are you going to live in the past with Sahara or are you going to move into your future with me? Which is it?”
I looked up at Emanuel and he was staring at me. His grey eyes stormed with emotions as I slightly shook my head no. He tore his eyes away from me to look at Ashlyn. I watched the way his eyes changed. He looked tired and resigned.
“I didn’t have a work emergency last night. I went to see Sahara,” Emanuel confessed.
Ashlyn’s mouth dropped open in shock. “What?” Her face quickly transformed from wrathful indignation to stunned hurt. It wasn’t as gratifying as I imagined it would be.
“I lied to you and left the house in the middle of the night to go see another woman… a woman I’ve admittedly loved for the last ten years. I’m not proud of lying and I knew it was wrong when I did it. I’m sorry.”
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaawkward, I thought as I took a deep breath. I looked over at Emily in shock. She was biting her lip and her eyes were wide. She looked at me and I gave a little shrug. I was at a complete loss and I didn’t know what to do or say in that situation. Emily took a step closer to me and put her hand on my shoulder.
“Why are you doing this Emanuel?” Ashlyn asked with a slight tremble in her voice.
“I’m telling you the truth Ashlyn. I want to be honest with you about what happened last night. We can talk about it in the house if you want, but Emily and Sahara came here to speak with me. And I’m going to hear what they have to say,” Emanuel explained, his voice sympathetic.
“So you are choosing her?” Ashlyn cried. Her voice was thick with emotion and she played with the ring on her left hand.
“I choose—” Emanuel started.
“Hey guys! It seems as though you have a lot of stuff to talk about and work through so we are going to go. I have a plane to catch and I don’t want to be late,” I interrupted loudly. Emanuel’s eyes burned into me and I could only meet them briefly as pain lanced through me. If I didn’t have on sunglasses, he would’ve seen the tears in my eyes. Grabbing her hand I called out, “Come on Em!” as we ran to the car.
We got in the car, which was parked beside Emanuel’s motorcycle, and put on our seatbelts. Emanuel stood there with his helmet under his arm looking at me while Ashlyn openly cried and yelled, waving her arms in the air.
“Oh. My. God,” Emily breathed as she sped out of the parking space.
“I know, right?” I responded quietly. I took off my sunglasses to wipe the tears from the corners of my eyes.
We were quiet until we got on the highway. “He would’ve chosen you,” Emily pointed out.
“I know,” I admitted, wiping a fresh tear from my eye. “I couldn’t let him go through with it. Not like that. He was under duress.”
“Because you love him.”
All I could do was nod at her astute observation.
After a string of neo-soul songs on Emily’s IPod, “Getting Late” started playing. The tears I was barely holding back came flooding down my cheeks as flashes of my drunken night with Emanuel and my brief reconciliation with Ty played in my mind. The song was haunting me. Why can’t I escape this song?! It was on when I woke up, it was in my head at random, it is on Emily’s IPod! I need a break, I thought through the tears.
“Can we change the song please?” I asked weepily as Emily navigated through traffic.
“Of course. Is this okay?” Emily skipped to another playlist. Throbbing rap beats ripped through the speakers.
“Yes. Thank you.”
By the time we arrived at the airport, I had gotten myself together. My eyes were slightly pink from the crying, but strangers would have a hard time telling something was wrong. After getting my bags checked, Emily and I searched for assistance. A busy flight attendant told us to go to the customer service desk and we’d be able to get help. Fortunately for us, a man with large eyes and an even larger smile named Christian Delores was instantly taken with Emily.
“How can I help you?” Christian asked, looking at Emily.
Turning on the charm as only Emily Mills can, she smiled flirtatiously, “Hi Christian. My name is Em and this is my best friend S. We are looking for someone and we don’t know how to go about finding him. Is there anything you can do?” Emily toyed with her wavy hair. Her black hair fell in loose waves over her bare shoulders. She wore an electric blue drop waist romper and hot pink heels that showcased her long legs.
Flustered, Christian turned red at Emily’s attention. “I’m not sure how much I can tell you, but I’d be happy to help,” Christian sputtered, keying something into the computer. “What do you need?”
Giving me a wink, Emily turned to face me so I answered, “We need to know how many flights are departing from here going to Baltimore.”
“Let’s see…” Christian’s rapid keystrokes built my anxiety and I didn’t realize I was showing how anxious I was until Emily rubbed my back.
“There’s only one flight this morning and one this evening,” Christian announced, smiling his huge smile at Emily.
“Awesome! Thank you so much Christian,” Emily said sincerely, giving him a wink before turning on her heel and guiding me down the airport corridor.
“Thanks for that Emily. I appreciate it,” I beamed at her.
“Anything for my best friend! So have you thought about what you’re going to say when you see him? He’s likely going to be on this flight,” Emily inquired. Her features were etched with concern and seriousness.
“If he is, we could talk and he’d be forced to listen. If he isn’t, I’ll have to show up at his place. Either way, I have to talk to him,” I proclaimed determinedly. “I have to fix this.”
“You will,” Emily replied simply.
After searching the area that was open to the public, Emily and I were at a loss. We sat down and exchanging extra-long goodbyes and promises to visit soon over overpriced airport food. Once we separated, I was through security in no time. I scoured the area near my terminal for Ty, but I didn’t see him anywhere and he wouldn’t have been hard to spot. Although I was unable to locate him, I boarded the plane feeling good.
My relationship with the Mills family sans Emanuel was on the mend. Emanuel and I would need to talk within the next week at some point, but maybe I needed to mail him a letter instead of attempting to talk to him and riling up Ashlyn. I could mail the letter to Emil
y’s house and ask her to give it to him, I thought as I got comfortable in my seat. I would love a face to face; however, I don’t want to do any more damage to his relationship with his fiancé. I just hope we can resolve this sooner than later because I plan on being around a lot more.
Putting in my earbuds, I zoned out to music as I checked my email. I’d been gone for less than four days; however, the amount of mail I had collected in my inbox in that time was ridiculous. Clicking on a newsletter for the upcoming events in the Richland art scene, I updated event dates in my calendar on my phone. Seeing Jimmy’s monthly open mic night listed for this upcoming Saturday, I felt a wave of sadness. I shook it off as I decisively thought, “I will fix this. I will make this right.” The alternative of not fixing it and not being with Ty was too painful to entertain. Submitting to my exhaustion and emotional weariness, I fell into a deep sleep on the flight.
Waking up to the sound of the pilot giving instructions and thanking us, I stretched and gathered my belongings. Calling Emily, I spoke with her while I picked up my luggage from baggage claim and hopped into a taxi. We talked about her meeting with the contractor and other safe topics until I arrived at Libby Lofts. Although she made a good attempt at trying to keep my mind off of Ty, I had to get off the phone with her when my nerves were so shot that I was shaking.
A new Libby Lofts doorman I’d never seen before helped me with my bags. He loaded everything on the gold luggage cart and wheeled it to the elevator.
“Do you mind if I run over to check my mail?” I asked him apologetically. I didn’t want to hold him up.
“No, not at all. Take your time. Most of the residents are at work so they won’t miss me at the door too much I’m sure,” he responded with a smile.
“Thanks!” I walked quickly to the marble mail area.
Usually, I was awestruck by the streak free gold boxes with Libby Lofts’ signature calligraphy adorning each box. But in that moment, my eyes zeroed in on the broad shoulders in a charcoal grey T-shirt and long muscular legs in black jeans. I was frozen in place as I watched him leisurely thumb through his mail. The intensity of my stare must have pulled him away from the stack of mail in his hands as he glanced over his shoulder. He did a double take and turned around with a loud, exasperated sigh.
Back to Life Page 30
