I put my finger over my lips to hush her when the salesman came back to the front of the store.
“Here you are, Miss,” he said with a smile, handing me my phone from across the display counter. I looked at the price on the cash register and then opened my purse. When I unzipped the inner pocket, a folded hundred dollar bill that I hadn’t put there was right at the top. I held it up and stared at it curiously.
“Oh,” Angel said, remembering something. “AJ said for you to use that to replace whatever you needed for your phone.”
He was never short on thoughtful gestures. I passed it to the salesman and waited for change. When the transaction was complete, I thanked the man, and then exited the store.
Angel continued to stare at me while we walked in silence.
“What’s your problem?” I asked, grinning.
“I’m waiting for you to finish telling me what’s up!” she yelled. “I mean…talk about a blast from the past! And he’s living here?”
I nodded. “Yeah, he’s been here for a few weeks now.”
“Like…because of you?” she asked hesitantly.
I laughed. “Girl, no. For work. This…us…that just kind of happened on its own.”
She put her hand on her hip suspiciously. “Is that why you and Jason broke up?”
I shook my head and questioned whether or not I should even tell her what really happened between him and me. I’d already considered how this news could affect her and Lamar too. She’d definitely have questions as far as why he’d kept his brothers’ secret even from her. It seemed reckless to throw a wrench in their relationship after they’d just moved in together. So instead of running Jason’s name into the mud, I simply stated that things just weren’t working out. To my surprise, that was a good enough answer for her.
“So…,” she started. “Y’all back together? You and AJ, I mean.”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head at how quickly she went in for the kill. “No, we’re not back together, and don’t say anything to Lamar either,” I insisted.
She looked at me like I was crazy. “Duh, of course I won’t.”
“Thanks.”
Angel nodded as we continued on down the sidewalk. “You know it’s just a matter of time before you guys are a couple again, right? I mean…it’s you and AJ.”
The sound of her being so sure that AJ and I would end up together brought a smile to my face; however, in my head, I visualized Kira standing between him and me, wearing that large rock I’d seen on her finger – the one factor that made it impossible for me to share in Angel’s resolve.
Apparently, Angel was watching my expression and had already picked up on the fact that things weren’t as simple as she thought they were. “Are you gonna spill it, or what? I ain’t got all day,” she joked.
Despite her lighthearted tone, I still had reservations about telling her that, technically, AJ was supposed to be marrying another woman in the near future.
Angel’s persistent stare bore into me like a laser. “Is he with someone?” she asked, when I didn’t readily offer an explanation.
Again, I didn’t respond, but that in and of itself was all the answer Angel needed.
“Sammy!” she grinned. “You homewrecker!”
I hit her shoulder lightly and then folded my arms over my chest. “It’s not like that.”
“Has this been going on since he moved here?”
I shook my head. “No. We only got back in contact Wednesday night. And last night…that was the first time we…you know.”
“Wait, he’s not married, is he?” she asked, sounding serious for a moment.
“No…not married,” I replied.
Almost, though…I left that part out.
Having cleared that up, she smiled again, wanting all the dirty details. “Tell me everything!”
I made a face at her and laughed. “Absolutely not. A lady never tells.”
She rolled her eyes playfully. “Girl, bye. Was it good? It was, wasn’t it…even better than back in the day?” she rambled.
I didn’t say anything right away, but when I did, I blushed first. “Maybe.”