Love Conquers All

by Lorana Hoopes

  “Your remote is voice activated?” Lanie asked, her eyes wide.

  He nodded. “You got a favorite eighties song?”

  “Um.” She pursed her lips and closed her eyes, creating just the tiniest of wrinkles across her forehead. “‘The Wild Wild West’ by Escape Club.”

  Azarius had never heard of the song, but he repeated the name into the remote and a video lit up the screen.

  “Oh my gosh, that is so weird,” Lanie said as a pair of lips filled the screen.

  “You’ve never seen this before?”

  Lanie shook her head, a smile on her face. “We never had cable growing up, so I only heard it on the radio. I don’t think I would have liked it as much if I had seen the video,” she laughed.

  “Well, then close your eyes,” he said.

  Lanie shut her lids and began singing along with the video. Azarius’s attention shifted from the TV to Lanie. He could listen to her sing all day. The movement of her lips garnered his attention, and he fought the urge to kiss her. As her head moved slightly to the music and her voice filled his ears, he realized he wanted more moments like this with her.

  Lanie couldn’t believe how much fun she was having watching old music videos with Azarius. His taste in music matched hers to a T, at least when it came to old songs, and there was something comforting about hanging out with him.

  “You hungry?” he asked. “We could go get dinner.”

  Her stomach rumbled in answer. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

  Azarius stood and held out his hand to help Lanie up from the couch. She placed her hand in his, enjoying the soft feel of his skin against hers. As he pulled her up, she lost her footing and fell into his chest, her hands splaying across his muscles. She had deduced he worked out, but his chest was solid and well-formed. His arms wrapped around her waist to steady her, and for a moment Lanie thought he might kiss her.

  She found the thought exciting and terrifying at the same time. Though she couldn’t deny she was beginning to feel something for Azarius, she wasn’t sure it was appropriate. After all, Denny had moved out only a few days ago, but it had been much longer since there had been romantic feelings between them. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she had been in Denny’s arms like this.

  “Sorry,” Lanie said, dropping her eyes.

  “Don't be.”

  Azarius removed his arms, and Lanie immediately missed the warmth of his touch and then felt guilty for it. What is going on with me?

  “Shall we take my car?” Azarius asked.

  Lanie nodded, curious about his Mustang and not trusting her voice. Did he see the effect he was having on her?

  She followed him through the kitchen to the small garage where his lime green Mustang took up most of the footage. A washer and dryer and some shelves filled the rest of it.

  Azarius opened the passenger door for her and Lanie slid into the black leather seat. She’d never been in his car, but she had seen plenty of posts of it on Instagram.

  He slid into the driver’s side beside her and punched the garage door opener.

  “You ready?” he asked, flashing her a smile as he donned a pair of large grey shades. They resembled old cop glasses, but they didn’t look silly on his face.

  “Ready for what?” Lanie asked as she fastened her seatbelt.

  “This is a turbo,” he said with a mischievous smile, “and I like to go fast.”

  The engine hummed to life and Azarius backed the car out. As soon as he shifted into drive though, the car zoomed forward and Lanie shot back against the seat. Her hand flew to the handle above the door, and she held on for dear life.

  A few minutes later, she was thrown forward as Azarius parked.

  “Do you always drive like that?” Lanie asked, trying to calm her racing heart. Her hand was still firmly fastened around the “oh crud” handle.

  Azarius laughed as he plucked the key from the ignition and opened the driver door.

  Before Lanie could open her door, he had come around the side, opened it for her, and held his hand out to help her up.

  Lanie took his hand, thankful for the support as she stood on wobbly legs. He didn’t drop her hand as she expected, but instead laced his fingers through hers. Something about the clash of his dark skin against her fair skin caused her heart to flutter.

  “This is my favorite sandwich shop,” he said, holding the door open for her. His eyes danced like a kid’s at Christmas time, eliciting a small laugh from Lanie as they entered the quaint establishment.

  An elder teen stood below an enlarged menu and behind the cash register. “Welcome to Johnie’s, what can I get you?” The monotonous timbre of his voice matched his expressionless face.

  “I recommend the number two.” Azarius focused on Lanie, ignoring the boy behind the counter, “but you order what you want.”

  Lanie smiled at the employee, whose name tag read Brad, and scanned the large menu. She had been hoping to start eating healthier - she’d packed on a few extra pounds in the last year from lack of exercise and feeling undesired. Ordering a salad felt wrong somehow though, and the number two did look delicious if they could hold the onions.

  “I’ll take his recommendation, but can I get it without the onions?” Cooked onions were fine, but raw ones never agreed with her stomach. Plus, she didn’t like the spicy taste in her mouth or the way her breath smelled afterwards.

  “Sure.” Blank-faced Brad punched a button in the register and shifted his eyes to Azarius.

  “You don’t know what you’re missing,” Azarius said, dropping her hand as he crossed his arms and leaned back. “Am I right, man?”

  Brad shrugged, and Lanie bit her lip together to keep from laughing.

  “Well, I think the onions make the sandwich,” Azarius said. “So you can add her onions to mine.”

  “That’s not the way it works,” Brad said with a minute shake of his head.

  “It’s okay, he’s only kidding,” Lanie smirked.

  “No, I’m not. They can smother mine with onions,” Azarius continued. “And I’ll take a big bowl of the chili. It’s delicious here. In fact, you can throw more onions on the chili.”

  “But we don’t…” Brad began.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Lanie said, trying to keep from busting out laughing. “He’s giving you a hard time.” She’d never seen this playful side of Azarius. “Behave; he doesn’t get paid enough to deal with you,” she said.

  Brad punched another few buttons and glanced up. “Will that be all?” His voice finally registered emotion - an impatient desire to be done with them.

  “I’m good,” Lanie said.

  “Yep, I guess we’re good,” Azarius said, reaching for his wallet.

  “That will be $21.43 then.”

  “Oh, I can pay for mine,” Lanie said, patting her pocket.

  Azarius fished two bills out and placed them on the counter. “No, I got this, but you’re an expensive date,” he said, winking at Lanie.

  “Hah, I only ordered a sandwich. The rest was all you,” she said, swatting at his arm.

  He caught her hand and held it to his chest, sending a shiver up her arm. Time seemed to slow as their eyes locked. Did this mean he had feelings for her too?

  “Ahem,” Brad cleared his throat, breaking the connection. “Your change.”

  “Oh, right, thank you.” Azarius scooped up the bills and stuffed them back in his wallet. The small amount of change he dropped in a glass jar on the counter that sported a “give a penny, take a penny” sign.

  Lanie’s hand tingled from the recent touch, and she wandered over to a window to process her feelings.

  It felt wrong to be having romantic feelings for Azarius, but it had been ages since she had felt anything romantic for Denny, and he had never looked at her the way Azarius did - as if she were the most beautiful woman in the world.

  “You ready?” Azarius asked, holding the bag of food up. It was an innocuous question, but the look in his eyes mad
e her wonder if a second meaning existed in the innocent question.

  Lanie nodded and followed him out to the car.

  Chapter 3

  Azarius shut the door after Lanie left and sighed with relief. Spending the evening with her was even better than he had imagined it would be. She hadn’t laughed at his video watching habit, and she had enjoyed his favorite dinner, even if she did ruin it by leaving the onions off. Best of all, she had agreed to come back again. It had taken eight years, but Azarius finally felt as if he’d be able to show her his true feelings.

  As he collapsed on the couch and flicked the television on for a reminder of the evening – “Wild Wild West” would now forever remind him of her - his phone rang.

  “Hello?” he asked, punching the button. It couldn’t be Lanie as they hadn’t exchanged numbers yet. He preferred his privacy and didn’t share his number with most people though he figured he would share it with Lanie soon.

  “Az?”

  Azarius stifled a sigh as he recognized his friend, Greg’s voice. He liked Greg; after all he’d been there for Azarius when Krista left, but Greg didn’t always have his life together. If he was calling, it was probably because he wanted something.

  “Hey, Greg, what’s up?”

  “Not much man, just checking in to see how life is treating you.”

  Azarius knew this was a soft opening to see what mood he was in before Greg laid out his request, but spending the evening with Lanie left him so elated he decided to play along. “Life is good. I spent the evening with a lovely woman.”

  “Alright, Az,” Greg said.

  “Not like that, man. We just hung out. This girl’s special.”

  “Special, huh? I can’t remember the last time you called a girl special.”

  “Yeah, it’s been a while.” Azarius didn’t want to ask the question, but he knew it was coming whether he asked or not. “So, how is life for you?”

  “It’s not bad, but uh, my sister’s baby is due in a few weeks and she needs me to find another place to stay. I hate to ask, but it’ll probably only be for a few weeks. I’ll find another place as soon as I can. So, can I come stay with you?”

  And there it was! Azarius wanted to say no. The last thing he needed was Greg hanging around cramping his style or scaring Lanie away, but he had been there for Azarius when he was at his lowest. Azarius owed him.

  “Sure, man. I mean if it’s only for a few weeks. You know I like my space.”

  “Awesome. Yeah, a few weeks, a month or two at the most.”

  Azarius rolled his eyes. This would probably end in disaster, but he’d already agreed. “Can you wait another week at least?” That would give him time to see Lanie a few more times before introducing Greg.

  “Yeah, Cheryl will probably give me a week. I appreciate this man, more than you know.”

  Azarius doubted that, but the wheels were already set in motion.

  “What’s up?” Lanie asked, touching Azarius’ shoulder. “You’ve seemed distracted all night.”

  He tapped his index finger against his lips. “Are you having fun hanging out with me?”

  “Of course I am,” she said. She hadn’t told him how much she was enjoying it, but she couldn’t imagine not seeing him once or twice a week.

  “Would you still enjoy it if there was someone else here?”

  Lanie furrowed her brow, not understanding his cryptic question. “What do you mean? Like hanging out with us or just sitting here staring at us?”

  “Not really hanging out with us, but here. I have a friend I owe a favor to who needs a place to stay. He’s moving in at the end of the week.”

  “Well, that’s nice of you,” Lanie said. “Are you going to be okay with a full-time roommate?” It was a question that had plagued her the last few days. Azarius seemed set in his ways and a fan of routines just so, which made her wonder if he’d ever be ready for a real relationship. Not that she was ready to jump into anything full-time, but eventually she wanted to marry again and that meant living together and sharing a space.

  The corner of his lip pulled into a small smile. “I honestly don’t know. I haven’t lived with anyone in ages. I’m pretty happy having my own space.”

  “Yeah, I figured that about you, but I still think it’s nice of you to help your friend out.” Plus, maybe it would let Lanie know if he’d ever be able to marry. Marriage? She wasn’t looking for marriage. Her own divorce wasn’t even final yet. What was wrong with her?

  “So, it won’t bother you? We could always hang out upstairs if he gets too annoying or lock him in his room.”

  Lanie chuckled and batted his arm. “Any friend of yours is a friend of mine. It will be fine.” Kind of like having a chaperone, she added to herself. Nothing other than holding hands had occurred, but if she kept coming over, she knew something might.

  “Good. Now let’s jam some.”

  He turned up the television, stood, and held out a hand to her. West End Girls blared out of the big screen. Not the best song to dance to, but Lanie didn’t mind.

  Azarius twirled her around as if they were waltzing, smiling as he did. Lanie leaned her head back and laughed. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so free or so comfortable.

  Lanie stared at the silent phone and bit her thumbnail. It had been days since she’d heard from Azarius. She knew he was probably busy with his roommate, but his lack of communication reignited old fears. Maybe she had misread him and he didn’t have feelings for her. Maybe he just needed a friend and now that he had a roommate, she was no longer needed.

  Lanie hated this insecurity that plagued her. Growing up in an ice cream parlor with a sweet tooth had kept her from being a skinny kid. While she had managed to lose most of the weight when she got to college, she still often felt like the fat little girl. It was one reason she believed she had accepted Denny’s marriage proposal when she did. Sure, she thought she had loved him, but she also feared there might not be another proposal, and so she’d said yes even though there had been a few moments of doubt early in their relationship.

  Now, she was facing the same doubt but for different reasons. Azarius was an enigma. He hadn’t asked for her number, nor had he offered his own, saying he preferred to chat through instant messenger. Lanie hadn’t minded at first, but now she wondered if it was so he could ignore her when he wanted. After all, it was harder to ignore a ringing phone than a text message.

  She didn’t want to be the one texting him again, but she did want to see him. The indecision plagued her another few minutes before she swallowed her pride and tapped out a message to him. -Just saying hi and wondering how your day went.- Yeah, that seemed innocent enough. If he didn’t respond, she would know he was no longer interested.

  Lanie hit the send button and stared at the blue box of text, willing a reply to come through. She had almost given up hope when the phone vibrated in her hand.

  -Hey you, my day was good. Where have you been?-

  Where had she been? She’d sent the last text a few days ago and then nothing. Shaking her head, she texted out a reply. -I’ve been okay. Wondering where you were since I sent the last text.-

  She bit her thumbnail again as she waited for his reply.

  -I’m sorry. My phone has been messing up lately, and I haven’t been getting all my texts.-

  His answer soothed her ego though it didn’t calm all of her old fears. -Want to hang out tonight?- He was always easier to read in person.

  -Yeah, but the roommate will be here.-

  The corners of Lanie’s lips pulled into a smile. She didn’t care if the roommate was there as long as she got to see Azarius. “See you about eight.”

  There was no new car in the driveway when she pulled in that night, which made Lanie wonder if perhaps the roommate was out after all.

  She rang the bell, expecting Azarius to be on the other side, but when it swung open, a skinny white man with a goatee stood facing her. His stare caught Lanie off guard slightly and she roc
ked back on her heels.

  “Hi, I’m Lanie. Is Azarius home?”

  The man stepped back. “He’s upstairs.”

  Lanie had expected an introduction in return, but the man shut the door behind her and plopped back down on the couch where he must have been when she knocked. With a slight shake of her head, she mounted the stairs. Azarius was the one she was here to see anyway.

  His door was shut, and she knocked gently before pushing it open. Azarius lay on his bed in the dark. The only light was from the television, which was of course playing music videos.

  “Hey, come join me,” he said, patting the bed beside him.

  Lanie hesitated momentarily. Though they had yet to even kiss, she knew accidents often happened when beds were involved, but he looked so out of sorts that she threw caution to the wind and climbed in beside him, leaving a small sliver of space in between them.

  “What’s up? You look miserable,” Lanie said.

  “He’s so loud,” Azarius said.

  “Who?”

  “Greg, my roommate. I thought I could handle having someone else here, but he’s driving me crazy.”

  Lanie chuckled. “It’s only been a few days, Az, I’m sure you’ll get used to it.”

  “I don’t know. I like being able to do my own thing, and he’s crimping my style.”

  His words reminded Lanie of a fear she had been battling. “Do you think you’d ever be able to live with a woman then, a wife?”

  “I don’t know,” he said, leveling his gaze at her. “I might have to have my own house, a getaway.”

  “Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose though?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe if it were the right woman, it wouldn’t matter.”

  Lanie tried to tell herself it didn’t matter if she weren’t the right woman. They were just friends after all, weren’t they? She was no longer sure. Though she had tried to quash her feelings for him, every time she was around him, they grew stronger.