As the barista began to prepare their orders, they walked to the other end of the counter to wait for their drinks.
“So what am I supposed to do?” Michelle asked Raegan, hoping that she would give her answers to the puzzle of her heart.
Thinking for a moment, Raegan questioned, “How exactly does he feel about all of this?”
“Well he wants things to work out. He believes that we can make it work. I’m just not so sure of it. Too many things just keep coming up. I feel like he’s keeping too many things from me. I just found out that he has a child. We’ve been together for nine months now and not one time has he mentioned having a child. So if he’s been keeping this from me, what else has he been keeping from me,” Michelle paused for a moment in an effort to calm herself.
“I am thinking that the only reason why he mentioned it then is because the minister asked about blended families during our pre-marital counseling session. When we first started dating, we agreed that we would be open with each other. His excuse for not telling me that he has a daughter is that the child’s mother would not let him see her. According to him, they live in Michigan and he hasn’t seen her since they moved away three years ago. How am I supposed to believe him? And even if it is true, he could have told me the truth in the first place! There’s no telling what else he may be hiding.”
“So what did you say when you found this out?” Raegan asked, intentionally ignoring Michelle’s question.
“Two tall cups of caramel Frappuccino, no whip, extra caramel,” the barista called out to them, interrupting their conversation. They picked up their cups and walked out of the building. Although it was about 60 degrees outside, they still enjoyed their cold drinks. Somehow it was very soothing. The perfect treat.
“I was so angry! I started shouting at him during the counseling session. I was embarrassing myself, so I left the session and went home.” She chuckled a little at the memory. “Although it wasn’t funny, my feelings were hurt. How could he ask me to marry him and not even tell me something as important as this?”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Raegan said.
“Don’t be sorry. I really appreciate you listening to me once again. I’m going to get this mess of a life I have straightened out pretty soon. Let’s talk about you though. Who is this new mystery man that you’ve been going on dates with?” Michelle changed the subject. She chose not to discuss Jason’s infidelity; she was highly upset about it but didn’t want to go into that level of detail at work. Besides, talking some of the issues over with Raegan helped her feel better; and now she would much rather hear about the joy that Raegan was currently experiencing instead of wallowing in her woes.
Raegan smiled remembering her e-mail response to Rico. From the short time that I have known you, I do see that you possess the characteristics of the man I desire. And she meant that. She was becoming quite fond of him.
“We can talk about it over lunch later,” Raegan said as she gave Michelle one more hug. She could tell that the worry Michelle had when they left the office was now gone or at least had eased.
CHAPTER 8
∞
“I haven’t told you today but you are simply amazing,” Rico spoke softly and sweetly to Raegan. He was sitting in his office with the door closed. The walls were thin so he did his best to speak in a tone that would allow his phone conversations to remain private.
“And you’re the sweetest thing I’ve ever known,” she responded. The lyrics to Lauryn Hill’s song came to mind as the words flowed from her lips. A smile spread across her face when she realized it was Rico on the line. He seemed to always call her at work, she realized. The thought hadn’t occurred to her until now but it did seem weird that he often called her during work hours; he usually communicated through text message at other times. However, she brushed off the funny feeling.
“Am I really?” Rico asked with a bit of excitement in his voice.
“You are.”
“I seriously hope that’s what you’re thinking about me. Are we still on for dinner at your place tonight?” Rico asked with anticipation. It had been about two weeks since their lunch date. They hadn’t been able to connect since. Raegan had been busy with work and Rico always seemed to have something to take care of at home when she was free.
“Yes, of course,” Raegan confirmed. Raegan loved to cook and was excited about showing off her cooking skills. “Dinner will be ready around 8:00 p.m. and you don't need to bring anything unless you want dessert. I will not be making any.”
“Okay. I will bring cheesecake. Which do you prefer, chocolate or turtle?”
“Turtle.”
“I will check this spot near my house to see what time they close.” Rico began performing an internet search for the office hours of the location. He noticed that the location closed at 7 p.m. so he wrote the address to program into his GPS later. “I’m going to have to enroll in some cooking classes. I can’t have you cooking for me all the time; I’m a real man. All you need to do is come home and let me take care of you.”
“Is that right?” Raegan had never heard such a thing. She was starting to think that he’d probably say just about anything to impress her. With wrinkled eyebrows, she said, “Sure, Rico…I believe you.”
“I’m serious.” He then began his campaign speech. “You will never have to cut your grass, pump your gas, wash the dishes, clean the carpet, change a tire; this list is pretty long, I just want you to know that I am a hard worker.”
“Okay Rico. I have to go. Give me a call when you are on your way over. Okay?” Raegan pulled the phone away from her ear and shook her head.
“Will do.”
After she replaced the receiver, she began to think how impossible he could be although sometimes cute. He could be flattering as well. She still wasn’t quite sure what to make of him. Tonight would be another good opportunity for them to sit down to talk.
That evening Raegan began to prepare one of her favorite dishes, lemon peppered tilapia, rice pilaf and asparagus. It was a special recipe that she’d perfected about a year ago. She was craving the dish a few years back, after seeing a TV chef prepare it, so she decided to look up a recipe online. She had been preparing the dish for friends ever since then, and each of them liked it. Since it was such a hit with the rest of her friends, she decided to prepare it tonight. It was quite simple and she didn’t have a lot of time to work in the kitchen that day, especially for someone she didn’t know very well. However, she liked to entertain so she volunteered to have him over to give them time to get to know each other a little better. She was heading out of town to visit friends for a few days and then on to Florida for work, so this would give them time together before she left.
About one hour into her cooking, the doorbell rang.
Raegan made sure that everything was fine in the kitchen before she went to the door. “I see you found my place okay,” she said with a bright, welcoming smile.
“Yeah, it’s only about twenty minutes away from my place,” Rico said as he entered her house. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “It smells really good in here. What are you cooking?” Rico asked as he took a moment to inhale the sweet aroma flowing from the kitchen.
“You will see and taste in just a moment,” she said, playfully touching his nose.
As he walked into the tiled living room, he noticed the modern mismatched, yet coordinated furniture. He was surprised at her taste in furniture as it really didn’t seem like her. The house looked pretty expensive, so that made him wonder how much money she earned working in HR. As he walked farther into the living room, he noticed the tray ceilings and arch doorways. The open floorplan also drew attention to the kitchen, which had beautiful stainless steel appliances with her sorority colors as the color scheme for kitchen accessories.
“This home is beautiful, just like the owner,” Rico commented.
“Thanks. If you like, I can give you a quick tour,” she asked after checking on the food once more.<
br />
“I’d love to see what you’ve done with the rest of the house,” he said, taking her up on her offer.
Raegan led him down the hallway into the game room, where there were no games.
“I’d really like to get a pool table in here, but those things are so expensive,” she said as she gave the tour.
“I know. It would be really nice in here though.” Rico momentarily imagined himself in the game room, sitting in a leather chair, watching football on a fifty-inch flat screen.
“To the left is one guest bathroom; these two adjoining rooms are guest bedrooms. The master suite is on the other end of the hallway.”
“This is really nice. How long have you been here?”
“For about ten months. God has certainly blessed me. Sometimes I still cannot believe I own a house,” she said escorting him back to the kitchen.
“The food is just about ready. Please have a seat at the table and I will fix our plates shortly. Now, please be honest with me about the taste of the food. I like to cook, so I don’t mind constructive criticism,” she said as she removed plates from the cabinet.
“Of course,” Rico said as he took his seat at the dining table. He was hungry so he was eager to taste the food regardless of how tasty or tasteless it was. His eyes and mouth began to water.
“Are you okay? Why are you teary-eyed?” Raegan asked with a confused look on her face.
“I’m tearing up because you are so wonderful. After all of my downfalls, God still saw enough in me to bless me with an angel like you, and that’s simply amazing to me.”
Raegan felt uncomfortable because she had a grown man tearing up in her kitchen and she hadn’t done or said anything to cause it. “You better stop it right now,” Raegan said in a playful voice to lighten the moment.
“I haven’t shed a tear in so long that I think I have forgotten how. Anyway, let’s eat because I’m starved.”
Raegan was relieved when the awkward moment passed. She began to set the table so that they could eat. As they ate, they discussed their families, work and college careers. They had quite a few things in common, which made both of them even more interested in each other.
Raegan was becoming quite surprised at how her interest was growing in Rico. During dinner, Rico asked Raegan to date him exclusively so that they could see where it goes and she agreed. Rico convinced her that they would forever be getting to know each other and they could do that while they were in a relationship.
Moments after dinner, they bid their goodbyes and Raegan began to pack for her trips over the next week.
On the ride home, Rico thought about how well things were going with Raegan. He really enjoyed spending time with her and hoped that he could keep his past and present hidden while he continued getting to know her.
CHAPTER 9
∞
After dinner with Rico, Raegan left town on a red eye flight to participate in the homecoming festivities in Virginia with her sorority sisters. Jasmine, her favorite sorority sister, picked her up from the airport. Raegan immediately crashed on an air mattress when she arrived at Jasmine’s apartment.
Jasmine’s loud voice, coupled with the sun rays peeping through the faux wood blinds, woke her up later that morning. “Good morning!” Jasmine said. Her voice was naturally loud so Raegan couldn’t snooze a few extra minutes if she wanted to.
“Hey, what’s going on? What’s for breakfast?” Raegan asked with a smile. She added, “Where is Kensi? I thought she came in last night?” Raegan continued stretching and yawning to shake off the fogginess of sleep.
“She did. She’s in the shower getting ready, as you should be if we’re going to make it to the game in enough time to tailgate.”
“Great! I’ll get ready after Kensi frees up the bathroom. Where is your laptop? I need to check my e-mail really quick to make sure nothing is needed from me at work.”
“Child, aren’t you off work? Clearly you don’t know the meaning of a vacation. Vacation means e-mails and phones are off,” Jasmine admonished her.
“I know, I know. I just like to check anyway to be sure there isn’t a real emergency.” Raegan wasn’t actually concerned about work. She was secretly hoping that there would be an e-mail from Rico, as he seemed to e-mail her daily these days. She paused and smiled when she opened her inbox and saw that the last e-mail was from him:
Good morning,
I have been sitting here for hours just thinking about you. I must tell you again that you are absolutely amazing! I actually went to sleep thinking about you and woke up with you on my mind. I would say it's been a long time since I felt this way, but that would be a lie, I have never felt this way. I don't even have words to describe how I feel; you are so wonderful and so is this feeling. All I can do is thank GOD for meeting you, seriously. GOD I THANK YOU for seeing enough in me to send me one of your angels! I see so much when I look into your eyes, it's so comforting! WOMAN where have you been all my life, but then again I am glad you came at this time, a time when I have renewed myself as a man, and all the man I am, you now have. I have no reservations in giving myself to you, none whatsoever! In short I will say this, you are missed and thank you for giving my heart another function other than pumping blood. Can’t wait until your return.
Rico
Raegan was quickly interrupted by Jasmine’s loud voice and a giggling Kensi. “Ma’am, why are you over there grinning? Surely there is nothing from work that will cause your face to light up like a Christmas tree and your teeth to show like you’re getting ready for a cleaning!” Jasmine stood with one hand on her hip, sassily wagging the other hand.
“It’s an e-mail from Rico. He is so sweet,” Raegan said, blushing and sporting a school-girl grin. Raegan decided that since she had a couple of minutes, she would shoot him a quick e-mail before getting into the shower.
She knew things were moving quickly but that didn’t stop her growing excitement. She felt like he could really be the one. Although she didn’t know much about him and had only known him for a little while, she wanted to believe that he was sincere in his pursuit.
As Raegan sashayed away from the computer, heading toward the shower, Jasmine stopped her. “Now Rae, you know I want all of the deets now! That shower is going to have to wait! I want to know every single detail about how you met him and what has been going on. Don’t leave anything out,” Jasmine spoke excitedly, pulling Raegan by the hand back toward the caramel microfiber sofa.
“Now, you just finished trying to rush me into the shower and now that you want some juice, you’ve changed your mind, huh?” Raegan said teasing her.
“Yep! Now spill!” Jasmine said, sitting down beside her cuddling an olive green sofa pillow. Kensi slid her small frame onto the sofa as well to hear the story all over again. As Raegan recounted the details to Jasmine, Kensi occasionally stepped in to include details that Raegan left out.
“I haven’t seen Raegan this excited before. We’ve got to meet this kid. What do you think Kensi?” Jasmine said as she moved away from the sofa to her vanity table to begin applying her make-up. Jasmine didn’t necessarily have a good feeling about all of this, nor did she have a bad feeling. She couldn’t quite put her finger on what was bothering her so she decided she would just let things play out as they should, since her girlfriend seemed so happy, but she would insist on meeting him soon.
CHAPTER 10
∞
Raegan enjoyed losing herself in the homecoming activities. She managed to enjoy the game and catch up with many classmates that she hadn’t seen since graduation. There was one person that she didn’t see, and that was Caleb. Although they hadn’t spoken since their break-up back in college, a small part of her wanted to see him, to know how he was doing. She thought it was best that she didn’t see him, though. She had so many mixed emotions after all of that time and wouldn’t even know how to interact with him. Would she scream at him or squeeze him as if she didn’t want to let go? She pushed her thoughts aside as she and
her friends went out for dinner after their football team’s huge win against the Gators.
Apparently her sisters couldn’t wait to bring up the subject of Raegan and the guy she was currently dating, because as soon as they were seated at the dinner table, they began shooting questions at her. They attempted to do some questioning during the game but it was difficult with fans cheering and marching bands playing. One would swear they were a bunch of attorneys the way they grilled her.
“Well, I will just tell you guys what I think of him so far. Please keep in mind that we have only been dating for a short time.” Almost as if a river burst through a dam, the words came spilling from her mouth in excitement. “He thinks I’m awesome; he constantly tells me about how awesome and amazing I am. He truly adores me and encourages me in everything. He has just been very positive and thinks that I am everything that he has prayed for in a wife. Every time I look up, he wants to spend time with me. I think that he can possibly be the one; however, there is a small voice telling me to slow down and pay attention to him because he is telling me everything that I want to hear. I keep telling myself that it’s most likely fear and to let myself go.”
Her sorority sisters smiled and nodded, encouraging Raegan to continue.
“I just think it’s pretty amazing that he wants to spend the rest of his life with me. He seems pretty sure about it, so I asked him why he was so sure. He told me that the defining moment for him was when I got on my knees to pray at church. At that moment, he said that he knew I was the one.”
“Well Raegan, if that’s the case and you’re happy, then I’m happy. However, not one time did you mention how you felt about this guy. How do you feel about him? Do you think as highly of him as he thinks of you? Do you think he may be the one? Do you think he’s God sent? Do you think he’s amazing and awesome?” Jasmine continued her questioning. “Does he have a good reputation? Who are his friends? Is a hard worker? Are you two equally yoked? Is he a strong Christian, without serious besetting sins? Does he do anything that will hinder your walk with God?” Jasmine spoke with concern and question in her eyes. She would be genuinely happy for her friend if she truly believed that this was what she wanted. She believed that Raegan was excited about the idea of a relationship with the guy and not necessarily excited about him. She liked the feeling that he gave her. Jasmine tried to hide her skepticism, but Raegan could feel it in her questioning.
Love, Lies & Consequences Page 4
