Games (26 page)

“I miss you already,” Brian whispered between planting kisses on her forehead and cheeks. 

“Me too,” she answered back.

Brian held her in his arms and spoke a quick prayer in her ear. When he released her, she saw a lone tear trailing down his face. “What’s wrong?” she asked as she wiped his cheek.

He leaned his forehead against hers. “Nothing is wrong, everything is just right. Perfect. I told you, I love you so much it hurts. I don’t want to see you go.”

There were only two people ahead of her so she had to hurry. “I love you,” she said and gave him one last kiss. Now it was her turn to cry.

He watched her clear security and before she stepped onto the escalator that would take her to the departure gate, she turned and blew him a kiss. He caught the imaginary kiss in his palm and then placed his hand over his heart.

He’s right, it’s going to be a long two years
, she thought waiting for the plane to take off.

Shay hurried into her apartment
, trying to catch the ringing cordless phone before the voicemail picked up. “Hello,” she yelled breathlessly into the receiver.

“Hey
, cousin?” It was Staci and Taylor. Shay knew exactly why they’d called so she dropped her remaining bags and plopped down on the couch.

“What’s up?” she asked, trying to hide her enthusiasm.

“You, girl!” Taylor screamed. “My dad told me about you and Brian. You finally handled your business.”

“Details, details,” Staci insisted.

Careful to leave out the intimate parts, Shay gave them a recap of the past week.

“Ooh, that is so sweet. How do you feel?” Staci asked.

“How do I feel? Cuz, I feel like dancing and skipping and running all at the same time!” Shay laughed. “I feel alive!”   

“So what’s next? How long are you guys going to date?” Staci wanted to know.

Shay lost some of her excitement. “Well, Brian wants to wait until he finishes law school.”

“When is that?”
Taylor asked.

“Two years
.”

“Two years! There is no way you’re going to last that long,”
Taylor declared.

“I don’t think so either,” Shay agreed. “But that’s what he wants. I love him and I’m willing to wait
—for everything.”

“Listen to you, you’re really in love,” Staci teased.

“Yes, I am, and I’m so grateful to God for giving us another chance. I’m not going to do anything to mess this up,” Shay proclaimed. “I’m so serious. This time around I will love him without crossing the line.”

“I’m really happy for you and I know things are going to work out for you.”

Shay detected an unusual sadness in Staci’s voice, but let it pass. She was in the middle of telling them about her new car when her cell phone rang.

“Got to go, my boo’s calling.” Shay hung up without waiting for Staci and Taylor to say good
-bye.

“Hey, handsome.” Shay covered her mouth and wondered where the giggle came from.

“You sound happy.”

“I am now that I’m talking to you.”

“How was your flight?”

“Lonely.”

“I miss you too.”

The flirting proved too much for her to handle, being so far away from him. Right now she wanted to reach out and touch him. She changed the subject. “How’s your mom?”

They laughed as Brian told her about Alysse faking a heart attack when she found out he didn’t propose to Shay yet. 

“Don’t forget to email me a picture of my new car. It’s a shame I won’t get to drive it for another month and a half.”

“Exactly when are you moving back?” he inquired.

“I might not. I might stay here for another year, that way I won’t have to torture myself every day.”

“If you don’t come
back, I’ll come there. One way or another, you’ll be with me,” he stated, jokingly, but with enough seriousness for her to know he meant the statement.

“What makes you so sure of that?” Shay teased.

This time when he spoke, he wasn’t laughing. She knew for certain that he meant what he said. “You’re my woman and one day you’ll be my wife.”

How am I supposed to last two years without losing my mind?

“Baby, have you considered taking summer classes?” she voiced.

“No, but if you keep calling me ‘baby’ I might?”

“Oh really? Tell me what do I need to call you in order to get you
to take night and weekend classes?”

He gave her a haughty laugh. “Sweetheart, you’re crazy. You just keep being you and there’s no telling what I’ll do for you.”

They talked for a few minutes longer then Shay unpacked and started studying for her finals.

***

Shay sat working on her laptop inside the café waiting for Jason and Rhonda. Once again she’d been paired with them for her final project. She’d just finished retrieving her daily prayer message from Brian when Jason pulled up a chair. He hadn’t said much to her lately and his snide remarks, made within hearing range, seem
ed to be subsiding.

“La
Shay.” He nodded and opened his backpack.

“Hello, Jason, how are you?” She thought she read a smirk on his face and inwardly prayed Jason wouldn’t give her a hard time.

“I’m fine. How are you?”

“I’m fine. Thanks for asking.” Determined to limit their conversation to schoolwork, she proceeded, “How’s the research coming?”

He pulled out a stack of papers from his book bag and handed them over to her. As she scanned the documents her peripheral vision caught sight of him staring intently at the silver heart that was once again around her wrist. Shay was halfway through the stack when his voice sounded, “How are things working out with Brian?”

She unsuccessfully tried to prevent the smile that instantly rested on her face. She only offered him a one-word answer though. “Good.”

“I can tell by that cheesy grin on your face that you’re happy. There’s no chance of getting back together, is there?”

The slow movement of her head from side to side confirmed his assessment. 

“Look, LaShay, I’m sorry about the way I’ve been treating you these last couple of months. I’ve said some things about you that I’m not proud of, but at the time I felt justified. I really hope everything works out for you.”

She
felt his sincerity. “Thank you, Jason.” She paused. “And, Jason, I’m really sorry for how I treated you. I shouldn’t have entered into a relationship with you knowing I loved Brian. I definitely shouldn’t have taken you home to meet the family to make him jealous.”

Jason stared at her long and hard, the
n finally gave her a half-smile. “Apology accepted.” He turned away and booted up his laptop. They worked in silence until Rhonda joined them ten minutes later.

Brian checked the cell phone
caller ID and reflectively motioned to throw the phone down, then withdrew his arm. It was Shannon—again.  She’d called him numerous times while he was in Arizona, but he chose not to answer any of her calls. He wasn’t avoiding Shannon; he just didn’t have time for all the games she played.  Accompanying Alysse to her chemo treatments for the six weeks following her surgery left him with little time for foolishness. Thankfully, for Brian, outside of the nausea and hair loss, his mother was handling her treatments well.  He believed in his heart that any day now, Alysse would be cancer-free. But as for Shannon, he didn’t know what he would have to do to be free of Shannon. The woman didn’t understand English or sign language.

Even after he told her that he and Shay were officially dating,
Shannon wouldn’t let go.

“You said you were in love with her, but you still continued to see me,”
was what she told him during their last phone conversation.

“But I wasn’t in a relationship with you. I was trying to be your friend
.”

“I’m trying to be yours too, but you keep pushing me away. I don’t think that’s fair. I was there when your precious Shay was running around with someone else, remember?”
Shannon snapped.

Brian couldn’t stand to hear anything negative about Shay, particularly coming from
Shannon. Shay wasn’t perfect, but that didn’t make her open game for Shannon.

“Look,
Shannon, I’m sorry you got the wrong idea, but I doubt seriously that you and I can be friends, so let’s end this mess right now.”

“So you think I’m a mess? I wasn’t a mess when you didn’t have anyone else to talk to!”
Shannon yelled so loud, Brian pulled the phone away and massaged his ear.

As irritating as
Shannon was, he had to concede. In the beginning he did in fact use her to fill the space vacated by Shay.  He acknowledged the error in doing so.

“
Shannon, you’re right. I did use you to feel the loneliness I felt when Shay left. For that I am sorry. But the fact still remains, Shay and I are in a relationship. I love her and one day I am going to marry her.”

“Whatever, Brian!” she screamed and slammed the phone in his ear. 

That was two days ago, now she was bugging him again. Against his better judgment, he answered, “What, Shannon?”

“Hey, Brian
!” She sounded as if everything was perfect. “When are you returning home? I have something I want to give you.”

“
You have something for me?” he questioned.

“Yes, I do
, just to prove that there aren’t any hard feelings. So when are you coming home? I want to make sure I have everything ready.”

His inner conscience told him not to give her an answer, but once again he went against his better judgment. He felt that little piece of information couldn’t hurt. It wasn’t like he was planning to invite her over for a visit. “I’ll be home late Saturday afternoon,” he finally answered.

“Good. Call me after you get settled,” Shannon said cheerfully.

“What do you have for me, Shannon? I don’t want any drama.”

Her voice shifted from cheery to low and sultry. “I’m not going to tell you, but trust me, it’s something you’ll never forget.”

“
Shannon—” she ended the call before he could finish his next question. 

That evening, Brian skipped dinner, unable to shake the wave
of nausea that settled on him since speaking with Shannon.

***

Shannon hung
up on Brian and danced around her small living room. Victory was so close she could taste it.  At first she’d considered giving up and walking away after Brian told her about his new
relationship
. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized this would be the perfect time to turn his focus back on her.

Last Sunday at church she’d overheard First Lady Pennington telling some of the members that Shay would be home in a couple weeks.
Shannon had to move fast, if her plan was going to work.  For three days straight, she’d parked her car down the block and watched Todd’s in-and-out patterns. He was rarely there, which was a good thing.

This morning, she took a chance and checked under the huge potted plant near the front door and found exactly what she was looking for. No obstacle could stop her now.  “
Shannon Yates never gives up without a fight,” she said to the reflection in the mirror.

Shay paid the taxi driver and scurried upstairs to her apartment.  She’d just finished returning the SUV her mother had leased for her.  Now all she had to do was finish packing her personal items in the furnished apartment then she’d be headed back home to sunny
California, her family and Brian. She looked around the small apartment and mentally reflected on the last twelve months of her life. 

Overall,
Massachusetts had been good to her. Just like she’d planned, she finished the credentialing program in twelve months in the top five percent of her class. She was excited and well-prepared to enter the wonderful world of educating young minds.  She had gained a good friend in Rhonda. She didn’t think it was possible for her and Jason to maintain a friendship considering how she treated him, but he vowed he’d send her an occasional e-mail.

When she arrived in
Massachusetts, she was running away from God and her feelings for Brian. Now twelve months later, she was running to Brian and her relationship with God was stronger than she could ever remember.

Just thinking of Brian made her cheeks warm and her heart flutter. She missed him so much at night sleep eluded her as images of him collaged through her mind. The seven weeks since she’d left
Arizona felt more like seven years. They talked every day and his voice was the last sound she heard before drifting off to sleep. Not a day went by that he didn’t leave a prayer on her voice mail, but it wasn’t the same as having him near and accessible.