"I won't be able to have a long-distance relationship with you. I'm staying in New York, and coming back is indefinite. I just want you to know that you're free to move on whenever you wish. I love you, babe. Jed."
She sighed and tossed her phone on the bed.
She grabbed a shot glass from the bedside table and helped herself to whiskey. "He broke up with me." Raising a brow, she sighed as she poured out another shot of whiskey.
"Easy on the alcohol." He grabbed the bottle from her and sat her down next to him. "I'm so sorry." He placed her head on his shoulders as he comforted her.
"Lies, lies, lies. He hid it from me. Now, he feels we won't work out, he said it's over and I'm back to my starting point." She wailed.
He smoothed her hair in a bid to calm her down, but she wouldn't stay calm. She broke out of his hold and dashed across the room, knocking down all the items on her table and eventually breaking her picture frame.
"You need to calm down, Stace." He said, trying to hold her down.
"I was just starting to fall in love with him!" He locked his lips with hers to stop her from talking.
"I know you're so mad." He kissed her. "Everything happens for a reason and I'm sure he loves you too." He said in a low tune before claiming her lips in another kiss. He pulled her close and embraced her, smoothing out her hair as he whispered some things to her. "He dumped you, it isn't the end of the world, shawty. Maybe, he didn't want to hurt you by being an infidel once he got to New York, maybe he already saw it coming and decided to save you the pain. You're gonna be fine, muffin. I've got you." He kissed her hair.
She wrapped her hand around his body and buried her face on his chest. He kept smoothing out her hair.
"Thank you." She muttered.
"Don't mention. I'm always here for you." "Wanna see a movie or maybe grab some ice cream? Take a walk along the beach? Visit the amusement park, do something fun, you know?" He said as he disengaged from the embrace.
"Let's just grab some ice cream, take a walk….but not along the beach." She said,
"You wanna bring Devika or?" He asked.
She smiled and shook her head. "Just us. We need to talk."
She scurried to her wardrobe and flung it open. "Gosh! I'm always so clueless each time I come here."
"Let's see…" He said as he went through her wardrobe.
"These will do." He pulled out a pair of black high-rise pants and a slim-fit top alongside a big black coat and a scarf.
"Feels like it's Christmas already." She laughed.
"You bet. It's chilly out there." He said. "Hurry, we need to leave early so we can return on time."
"You don't have a bad taste." She winked at him.
She got dressed immediately and they left, taking a walk along the aisle, holding hands and giggling all the way.
"....and those short legs of yours that wouldn't let you reach the top even when you're on your tippies." He teased her.
"Oh my gosh, and when you got buttercream smeared all over your face from being pied and you went like, shit is oily and nah, wipe it off, when I said I was gonna lick it off your face."
"You sounded like a dawg to me then. But eii, that shit you pulled up there that day was hot." He cupped her face. "You're so…"
"Oh, vanilla flavor and strawberry for me, please," She interrupted him.
"Right. Um…just vanilla would do." He said.
"What happened to the chocolate flavor?" She teased. "I don't understand how y'all get to like a flavor that's just brown and only ruins ice cream and tastes like a chunk of cocoa-made beverages." She said.
"Chocolate is actually made from cocoa, and nah, it doesn't taste like beverage, you probably haven't had the best of it." He said.
"I'm pretty sure the best sucks more. Thanks for tonight,"
He laced fingers with hers. "I'm glad I was able to make you smile." He pecked her on the cheek and they kept strolling.
They settled onto a bench at the park to enjoy their ice cream as they had a conversation.
"So, I was wondering." He started and she raised her brows, showing much interest in hearing what he had to say. "It's gonna come off weird, but… never mind."
"Cameron!" "Go on…it won't sound weird to me, I promise."
He sighed. "How exactly am I supposed to tell her I'm still in love with her?" He thought.
"Um….I was wondering." He bit his lower lip and ran his hands through his hair. "Do you still like me? Because I don't know, I don't want to seem inconsiderate or sound unbelievable right now, but I'm still into you, Stacey. I know this is weird and it's gonna come off as stupid, I'm not supposed to be doing this right now, but, I don't have time on my side. You don't have to answer me now, you can think about it all you want." She looked at him perplexed.
"You do realize you haven't made any sense yet."
"Stacey, I was wondering if you're still ready to go down that lane with me, let's be on the same page. Will you be my girlfriend?"
She kept looking at him dreamily as all the conversations went on in her head.
"What do you think?" He asked.
"Yes," She replied almost immediately.
He raised a brow. "Yes, what?"
"To your proposal," She said with a wild smile playing on her lips.
"I'm sorry, what proposal? Don't tell me you haven't been listening."
Her eyes widened in surprise when she realized she had just been daydreaming.
"I guess I lost you at um…I was wondering. Tell me you haven't said much." She looked at him, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly bent, her brows furrowed in fear that it must have been long ago.
"Stacey, that was five minutes ago. You haven't been listening. Well, let's call it a night here. Don't forget about what I told you, and yes. I expect a reply tomorrow." He said.
Right, she just didn't know what he was talking about and she didn't know what question she had to reply to.
"A reply concerning the proposal?" She gritted her teeth, her lips slightly bent, her eyes wide.
"What's this proposal you're going on, all about? It seems pretty interesting, tell me about it later. I'll catch you up 'morrow."
"Wait, before we part ways. I wanted to know if you still like me and if you want us to be together." She said,
He looked at her for a while, then chuckled, ran his hand through her hair, and walked away.
She sat on the bench all alone, sulking. "He didn't answer. Does it mean he still likes me?" She gasped. "Does it mean he wants to get married to me?! Is this a sign? I could swear we had that conversation about being his girlfriend
again. Gosh, I was just daydreaming at night." She said to herself before walking out of the park.