I. Distant Lover: "Longing for You"

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February, 1994
[Chicago, 10PM]

It was a cold, wet and rainy night, and Tamera was lying in her bed, under the warm covers, looking up at the ceiling of her bedroom with the radio on, candles lit, thinking about her boyfriend El

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It was a cold, wet and rainy night, and Tamera was lying in her bed, under the warm covers, looking up at the ceiling of her bedroom with the radio on, candles lit, thinking about her boyfriend El. As love songs were playing, tears were flowing down her face, missing him laying beside her. El was away taking care of some family and music business and it consisted of his time being more on the road than the actual rest he needed. It was a month-in-a-half long journey, but that didn't mean that they couldn't talk to each other. Ever since he's been away, El has been calling Tamera at least twice every other day from Detroit -- once in the morning and once at night before she goes to bed. While the phone calls were coming in every other day, somehow, El had too found a little time to write a couple of letters to Tamera -- sometimes, it's much more easier for a man to write down how he feels than actually speak it. Tamera would go to her mailbox and sometimes find a letter or two from him each week, sending his love and how everything was going down where he was. Even though they'd verbally touched basis, filling Tamera up with joy, it was still nothing compared to actually seeing him, touching him, feeling him -- she was not completely satisfied until she was able to see her man again, so she closed her eyes, and fell asleep to the music, teardrops saturated into her pillow.
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[Detroit, 10:15PM]

Many, many miles away, up in Detroit, it was a cold, crisp night, but not rainy and El had just made it to his hotel room on the top floor from an important family gathering. He walked in, closed and locked the door, took his coat off and threw it at a nearby chair. Walking over to his bed, he sat down, took his boots off and laid back, kicking his feet up, sighing in relief. Looking up at the ceiling, with one hand on his stomach and the other behind his head, he was thinking about Tamera and how he couldn't wait to be close to her again. Everyday without her, felt like a year, so he sat up, picked up the phone from its receiver on the nightstand, and without hesitation, dialed her number.
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ring...

*ring...

*ring...

Tamera picked up the phone on her nightstand after the third ring and said in a sleepy tone,

"Hello?"

"Hey baby. Did I wake you?"

With glee in her voice, Tamera quickly sat up in her bed and replied,

"Hey baby! Oh, you're alright. I was just laying here listening to the radio, thinking about you."

"Yeah? Me too. I just came in from a family get-together at a friend of the family's home. Ugh, you just don't know how much I was ready to leave so I can come back to my room and call you. I wanted to hear your sweet voice. I miss you baby."

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