My Forever Love

XII

Evelyn was having a terrible day.

It started with her oversleeping, a direct correlation to her staying up all night waiting to hear from Anita or even Dominic as both of them had gone radio silent on her. It was ironic that the two people she needed the most to help her deal with the other ignoring her was also... ignoring her.

But by the time she had managed to crawl out of her extremely comfortable bed, she noticed she was out of coffee, depriving her of the one thing she needed to make it through the day. So instead of getting a decent cup of coffee to jumpstart her day, she headed to her in-home office and took a seat at the computer, hoping the day would be uneventful.

But of course, it wasn't.

She had demanded from her three new clients, all wanting top priority from her and as she hadn't gotten around to hiring employees, that being Anita's expertise, she was all on her own. Evelyn grabbed her water bottle and took a small sip before getting to work. She spent most of the day sweet-talking CEO's who wanted to feel they were the most important thing in her life while outlining future marketing plans for not only her own company but the bookstore as well. By the time she had a moment to look at her watch, she had noticed she missed not only breakfast but lunch as well. She thought about continuing to work but her stomach rumbled its protest loudly.

Pushing away from the desk, she grabbed her phone and slid through her food delivery app trying to decide on a restaurant. She stopped at mama's, remembering the moment when Dominic had come to her table and made his claim. What a difference a few weeks made.

She knew she was torturing herself but for the umpteenth time since the text had been sent a few days ago, she read over Dominic's message.

I need space from you. Please don't reach out.

That was it. No explanation, no response to her many texts and calls. Just cut off cold turkey. I guess I should be happy he didn't change his number as Anita did, she thought to herself before clicking on the restaurant logo. She ordered her usual meal before selecting the order for a pickup, deciding she needed to get out of this house and get some fresh air.

Grabbing a light jacket and her car keys, she headed out of her apartment building trying not to let the memories overtake her but was failing miserably. As she locked her front door, she thought about the first time she had entered the building with Anita beside her with such reassuring words. And when she stepped into the elevator, she thought about the time she and Dominic had nearly made love in the elevator at the hotel the first night they met.

Snap out of it Evelyn!

Stepping out of the elevator, Evelyn rushed into her vehicle, trying to escape the cold winter brisk and her emotions that threatened to spill out. Instead, she took a deep breath and turned on the heat before speeding out of her apartment complex and down the high way. She shuffled through the song, hating the dead silence as it allowed her to think about what she was missing. But every song seemed to sing her pain. On one station Neyo was singing about being tried of love songs, on another Toni Braxton seemed to want to let it go, Brandy was brokenhearted and Mary J wanted everyone to call the radio if they couldn't be without their baby. Evelyn nearly called.

Finally, the car pulled into Mama's parking lot and she called the store letting them know she had arrived so they could bring her food out to her. She sat in her car, tapping her finger against the wheel as her head bobbed to the sad r&b that sang her pain with their words when she felt him. She wasn't sure how she managed to consider he was nowhere near her but she felt him before she even looked over her shoulder.

But when she finally did, a breath she didn't realize she had been holding escaped her lips. Dominic. He was sexy as usual but the pep he usually had in his step was missing. He looked as if he hadn't slept well in a few days and while Evelyn wanted to feel good that he had been feeling the same pain she was, she didn't. She just wanted to understand. Maybe that was why she shut off her car before thinking it through and headed in his direction. He was standing at the door of the restaurant, the phone perched to his ear as he had a conversation with someone on the other end. But as if he could feel her presence coming towards him, he looked up before she reached him and ended the call with a few words.