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He rose from his chair and marched into the next room in search of his coat and hat.
Alexa went straight to the closet where she had hung it shortly after he deposited it in the family room. She removed it from the hanger and handed it over.
“You know, you still should take me up on my offer,” he said in a thick voice.
“Whatever.” She couldn’t believe that he still wanted to go out after just picking a fight.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, leaning in closer. “Are you afraid that your feelings for me haven’t disappeared after all?”
Her eyes widened, and her mouth gaped open in disbelief. “I can’t believe how full of yourself you are.”
“And so are you,” he returned. “The years may have come between us but you are the same Alexa.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He stepped closer to her. “You know exactly what it means. I know you, Alexa, especially when it comes to me—you are easy. You were easy then and you’re easy—”
“Stop while you’re ahead!” she warned, her eyes ablaze with fury. “I don’t know who you think you are coming in here trying to put me down. I could say a lot about that situation, but I won’t because I don’t want to stoop to your level of game playing. I’m not into playing games. If that is what you’re all about these days, Darius, then you can leave me alone.”
With a smug look on his face, Darius shook his head and departed without another word.
Alexa was fuming when she later repeated her altercation with Darius to Maya over dinner that evening. The two had the house alone. The girls were spending the remaining part of the week with Maya’s mother while Bryant went to spend time with his own mother.
“I don’t know who he thinks he is trying to make me look like some bad person,” Alexa huffed as she took a sip of her wine.
“That doesn’t sound like Darius,” Maya replied.
Alexa threw her a surprised look. No, she was not sticking up for him.
“Well, it was him. He is such an ass. I swear I don’t know what I saw in him to begin with!”
Maya knew, but she refrained from replying.
“He called me easy, Maya. Can you believe that?”
Maya grunted in response.
“So you’re playing silent now,” Alexa voiced, noticing Maya’s silence. “Normally you would be on this story like a cat on a mouse!”
“I’ve just learned to keep my peace at certain times,” Maya replied, clamping her teeth down on a piece of spicy garlic chicken.
“Yeah, right,” Alexa scoffed. “I don’t care, I am not going to play his childish games of cat and mouse. I’m just going to avoid him until I leave.”
She knew what she was proposing would be hard. Just thinking about him made her stomach feel like butterflies were doing somersaults. Over the last few days, her emotions were as unreliable as a weatherman—stormy one minute, sunny the next.
“Then you’ll ruin things,” Maya whined.
“No, I won’t. I just won’t deal with Darius.”
“There will be instances where the four of us will have to come together like when we take pictures. I don’t want you having an attitude and ruin my wedding day.” Maya huffed as she dropped her fork on her plate and slumped back against her seat.
Alexa rolled her eyes at Maya’s display, frustrated that her friend did not understand her dilemma. “I’m not trying to ruin your wedding, Maya. I’m just pissed off at Darius for his comment. He was wrong for what he said.”
“What you did was wrong, too,” Maya shot back. She immediately covered her mouth as if regretting her comment.
Alexa was equally surprised by her outburst. “What do you mean by that crack?”
“I’m just saying that I think he was just as justified as you for his actions,” Maya carefully replied.
Alexa’s curious eyes widened in disbelief. “So you think I’m easy, too?”
“No, no,” Maya interjected, waving her hands. “I’m not saying that. What I am saying is that you hurt him. Regardless of how long ago that occurred, Darius was hurt. He’s probably still hurting. People don’t realize how first loves leave lasting impressions on a person.”
“I loved him, too, Maya. You sound like I reacted totally without emotion and that was not the case,” Alexa cried out, jumping to her own defense. “I was hurt, too.”
“But you were the one who left. The man asked you to marry him. You slept with him, packed up your things and left. How would you have felt if the tables were turned?”
“But I told you how necessary it was for me to establish my career before getting involved in a serious relationship.”
“I believe that was your mother’s suggestion,” Maya corrected her.
Alexa’s frown softened. “That’s not fair, Maya.”
“And you think it’s fair to Darius?” Maya asked. “I understand what your mother had gone through, Alexa, but that was her experience. She had no right telling you not to fall in love until a certain age. Love comes when it’s ready. We can’t conjure it up when we think the time is right. Darius loved you. It tore him up when you left. I should know because I was there.
“I’m not saying that you were wrong for not wanting to get serious at a young age, but I think you could have gone about things differently. Bryant and I have been through the fire and the flood and we have managed to stand strong. He’s been supportive of my career, and I support him wanting his own business. If you truly love someone, it’s about give and take. Maybe your father didn’t know much about that, so don’t use that as an excuse with me because I know things can work out especially if it was meant to be.”
With that she slid back from the table and placed her soiled dish in the sink. Alexa remained seated, confused by it all.
Darius was reminded of Alexa’s cognac-colored eyes as he sipped Grand Marnier from the snifter. Regardless of the number of times he replayed the scene in his mind, he couldn’t understand why he had behaved the way he did. All he knew was that seeing Alexa again made him realize how much he had missed her.
She looked the same except more mature. Her eyes still possessed that tranquil, yet smoldering gaze laced with wonder and mystique.
The whole scene, which was blown out of proportion, occurred so fast that the next thing he knew he was leaving. As he climbed up into his truck, he resolved that the years had failed to diminish his feelings for her, and the Alexa he knew possessed the same feelings for him as well.
His love for her was enough to make him happy. When Alexa announced that she was offered a job in Denver, he was sure she’d turn it down especially if he asked her to marry him. When he told his parents of his plans, his mother had asked him to take his time, and his father had left it alone altogether. But Darius was in love, and he wanted to share that with the world.
When he had awakened that morning to an empty bedside, panic hit. Jumping from the bed, he prayed that Alexa was in the shower or maybe preparing their breakfast, but the house was as quiet as ever. In bewilderment, he sank down on the sofa and wondered what could possibly cause her to leave him. The only thing he could think of was his proposal. But, in his mind, he thought that would be the one thing that would draw her nearer, not push her away.
Suddenly, nothing mattered anymore. Not school, not his job, nothing. He probed everyone, Maya, Bryant, even her school counselor about her whereabouts, but no one knew anything. He even went as far as to contact the company Marks-St. Claire, but the receptionist told him in a nasally voice that it was against company policy to reveal personnel information. Empty-handed and heartbroken, he returned to Cleveland.
It was a slow process, but Darius managed to accept what had happened and after a year, stopped devising ways to get Alexa back into his life. He eventually completed his graduate program and accepted a computer analyst position with a reputable software development company. After he deemed himself ready, he began dating again. The women were not hard to come by, and his nights were not often spent alone. Even so, no woman came close to capturing his heart, body and soul like Alexa.
Darius laughed to himself as he raised the snifter to his lips once more. The bartender approached and placed another glass before him.
“Compliments of the cutie in the red, potna,” the bartender announced, nodding towards the door. Darius glanced over his shoulder to the woman sitting all alone. She smiled and raised her glass exposing her cleavage spilling from the black lace camisole. His eyes bucked at her feminine endowment, and she giggled as if she knew he was checking her out.
“Some women need to be arrested for making a man want to sin,” the bartender muttered before walking away.
Darius held up the glass with an unsteady hand and nodded a gesture of thanks. She apparently thought that was a cue for her to come over and she did not hesitate to sashay to his side.
With each step, more leg was exposed in the butt-hugging short skirt. She was throwing so many of her feminine assets around that he could barely concentrate on her face.
“You looked like you could use another,” she announced upon approach.
“Don’t mind if I do,” he replied. If somebody wanted to provide him with the means to distract him from his thoughts then so be it.
“My name’s Cherise.” She held out her hand as she took a seat on the available bar stool.
“Darius,” he said, shaking her hand.
“What brings you here, Mr. Darius?”
He wasn’t sure if he liked the way she sultrily sang his name or the suggestive glances she threw his way.
“Just needed a place to think,” he replied.
“Hmm, you’re thinking on an awfully expensive drink,” she cooed, referring to the sip of cognac remaining in his glass. She motioned for the bartender to send over another.
“Only the best for me,” he replied with a light chuckle.
“Is that so?”
He nodded. “What about you?”
She giggled, more like purred. “I like the best, too, baby, believe me. A couple drinks always relax me.” She raked her long, bloodred nails through her mane and shook it wildly until it fell across her face and down her breast. “I love to let my hair down, and kick my heels up. You know how much fun it is having your heels up, don’t you?”
Darius nodded until he realized what she was hinting around to. “Oh, well, I watch football to relax. Yeah, buddy. There’s nothing like a good football game, throwing that pigskin around.” If he wasn’t so occupied with thinking about Alexa, he would have flirted back, but all he could see were those sexy eyes flashing before his eyes.
“Skin, huh? I like the sound of that.” Cherise laughed. Her hand slid under the table and rested on his knee.
Darius pulled back. He had had too many drinks. This woman wanted to be taken advantage of tonight and he was in the mood to take advantage of someone. But Cherise wasn’t who he was after. The only one he could think about was Alexa.
Cherise rambled on with innuendoes, but Darius did not hear as his thoughts were on Alexa. He felt bad for their earlier encounter and suddenly felt the urge to make things right again. He pulled his wallet from his jacket pocket and removed a twenty-dollar bill.
“Hey, baby, where ya going?” Cherise asked, snagging his jacket and pulling him back.
“I gotta go,” he replied, placing the bill on the bar. He stood. “Thank you for the drink, Ms. Cherise. I apologize for having to dip out on you, but I have business to attend to.”
“Would you like me to join you?” she asked with a look of desperation in her eyes. Curiosity made him wonder about the contents beneath the skimpy clothes, but the idea of enduring Cherise’s company did not appeal to him.
“Thanks, but no thanks.” Before she could utter another word, he departed.
Darius sat outside Bryant and Maya’s home peering up to the window where Alexa slept. He wasn’t sure if she was home, but his drunken state had lowered his inhibitions causing him to act first and think later. He was aware of his actions and justified them by his curiosity. Had he been sober and in his right mind, he was sure he would be somewhere else rather than lurking outside of his friends’ home.
He opened the door of his truck and staggered across the street and up the drive. Digging into his pockets, he retrieved a handful of change, along with his keys and some Tic Tacs. He took a quarter from the small pile of change and threw it at the window. It hit the stucco frame just beneath the window. He cursed lightly as he caught the glint of the coin spiraling into the brush below.
Digging into his pocket once more, he pulled out a nickel and with his best aim hit the window right on target. He waited for a few minutes but got no response. Searching once more, he tossed up another coin, which made its mark again. He decided that if Alexa didn’t answer this time he would call it quits. When on light came on, he resolved that he was not meant to be there and turned to leave when he heard someone whisper his name in the darkness.
“Darry?”
He turned around to find Alexa standing at a side door dressed in an emerald-green satin robe. “Alexa,” he sighed. Man, was she a sight for sore eyes.
Darius’s immediate reaction was to take her in his arms, but he didn’t want to repeat their earlier encounter by crossing the line.
“Can I come in?”
Alexa paused for a moment then beckoned him inside. “What are you doing out at this time of night?”
“I came to see you,” he replied, stumbling past her.
“Are you drunk?” she asked, catching a whiff of alcohol as he passed by. She turned on the light above the stove.
His eyes widened at the sight of her standing there in the thin wrapper, her feminine curves bringing tempting images to mind.
“I had a little to drink,” he replied as he flopped down on one of the kitchen bar stools.
She crossed her arms before her chest. “Darius, why are you drinking and driving? And more importantly why are you here at this hour?”
He exhaled loudly. “Because I want to apologize to you. I don’t know why I said what I said. No, I know why I said it, but I shouldn’t have, and I’m sorry.”
His attempt at an apology was a little loud and jumbled, so rather than have him waking the whole house and risk having to explain his being there, she ushered him up the stairs to her room for privacy.
The first thing Alexa did when she closed the bedroom door was excuse herself to go to the bathroom. She did not want to give Darius any ideas by lounging around in her robe. She pulled out a pair of boxer shorts and a T-shirt and slipped them on.
As she exited the bathroom, she immediately spotted Darius’s coat and shoes on the floor beside the bed. He, on the other hand, was stretched out on her bed with his hands behind his head staring up at the ceiling. The hem of his fitted T-shirt was raised just enough to expose the downy hairs on his packed abs. Alexa gasped as she remembering the treasure hidden just beyond the band of his jeans.
Darius raised up, catching her by surprise. “Alexa.”
She took a seat on the bulky chair away from the bed. “Yes.”
“I’m really sorry about today,” he started again. Alexa knew it was his alcohol-induced state that caused him to continuously apologize because the Darius she knew was more reserved with his feelings.
“You were wrong for calling me easy. You, more than anybody, know that there is nothing easy about me.”
“I know,” he replied, sitting up.
Alexa’s heart began to beat fast. “Then why did you say something so stupid?”
He paused. “Because I wanted to hurt you. I wanted to see you hurt like I did. I’ve forgiven you, but I know I can’t forget it. You hurt me when you walked out on us.”
“What?” she exclaimed, unsure if she was prepared for what was to come.
“When you left me like you did,” he repeated. He proceeded to go on with a faraway look in his eyes. “Young brother was in love. I would have done anything you asked me to, but you were totally oblivious to my feelings.”
Alexa searched for words to say that would ease his pain, but she couldn’t come up with an excuse that would be fitting.
“You were my world, girl,” he whispered. “How could you end things like you did?”
