sure.
She
rambled on a bit more about how great Antoine was, but after a bit I tuned it
all out. I already knew all those things.
CHAPTER 13
I
couldn’t get out of that little coffee house fast enough. A half hour with Ayla
Giovanni was a half hour too much. What the hell did Antoine see in her? She
was so into herself and so self-absorbed.
My
feet carried me swiftly down the sidewalk and back towards my apartment. I
picked up my phone to dial LaLa, but she didn’t answer. I wanted to vent. I
wanted to tell the whole world that Ayla Giovanni was nothing but a silly,
vapid girl and that Antoine was making a huge mistake. If he didn’t want to be
with me, fine, but why her? Why someone so shallow?
My
fingers hovered over Kevin’s name on my phone. I still needed to thank him for
the flowers. I’d sent him a text earlier, but it wasn’t the same. I bit my lip,
swallowed a gulp of air, and pressed his name on the screen.
“Hey,
Liv,” he said as he picked up in the middle of the second ring.
“Hi,”
I said with a sheepish tone.
“What’s
up?”
“I
just wanted to thank you again for the pretty flowers,” I said. That and I just
wanted an excuse to call him and hear his voice. “What are you up to?”
“Just
hanging out at home,” he said. “Long day at work.”
By
the sounds of his voice, he was lying down. I was pretty sure I could hear the
TV on in the background as well and it sounded like ESPN or something sports
related.
“Do
you want to maybe come over tonight and hang out for a bit? LaLa’s with
Demarius,” I said. I cringed. I didn’t want him to think I was insinuating
anything simply because LaLa wasn’t home. I hoped he didn’t take it that way.
“Um,
sure,” he said at length. He must have been thinking about it.
“If
there’s a game on or something, I understand,” I interjected.
“No,
no,” he said. “It’s fine. I’ll be over in a bit.”
By
the time we hung up, I was climbing the stairs to my apartment. I rushed in to
change into something more casual, then waited on the sofa for him to knock on
the door. A good twenty minutes later and he was there, in the flesh.
“Hey,”
I said with a grin as I let him in. “Thanks for hanging out with me tonight.”
“No
problem,” he said. “I’m glad you called. I was beginning to think I’d royally
screwed this up.”
I
waved my hand in front of my face and smiled. I really didn’t want to talk
about last weekend. It was over and done with. No use in rehashing it.
“Why
don’t you have a seat and make yourself comfortable?” I asked while I pointed
to the couch.
He
kicked off his shoes while I ran to the kitchen and retrieved an icy cold beer
for him like the good little prospective girlfriend I was.
“Oh,
wow,” he said. “Thank you.”
“I
hope you like pale ale,” I said. “It’s all we have right now.”
“Beer
is beer,” he said. “This is perfect.”
I
sat down next to him and kicked my legs over his lap before handing him the
remote.
“I’m
pretty sure you were watching basketball when I called you earlier,” I said
with a wink.
His
face lit up. He was probably shocked that I was being so cool about everything.
I could tell.
He
flipped on the T.V. and instantly tuned it to some college game. If he
absolutely had to watch the game, I was glad he was going to be watching it
with me.
I
grabbed one of LaLa’s many gossip magazines from the coffee table, repositioned
the sofa cushion behind me, and got comfortable. If I didn’t know any better,
we were settling into a relaxing Monday evening like some boring old couple. It
felt good to have that with someone. I hadn’t had that for almost a year.
The
moment a commercial came across the screen, I decided to make small talk with
Kevin. I couldn’t
She
rambled on a bit more about how great Antoine was, but after a bit I tuned it
all out. I already knew all those things.
CHAPTER 13
I
couldn’t get out of that little coffee house fast enough. A half hour with Ayla
Giovanni was a half hour too much. What the hell did Antoine see in her? She
was so into herself and so self-absorbed.
My
feet carried me swiftly down the sidewalk and back towards my apartment. I
picked up my phone to dial LaLa, but she didn’t answer. I wanted to vent. I
wanted to tell the whole world that Ayla Giovanni was nothing but a silly,
vapid girl and that Antoine was making a huge mistake. If he didn’t want to be
with me, fine, but why her? Why someone so shallow?
My
fingers hovered over Kevin’s name on my phone. I still needed to thank him for
the flowers. I’d sent him a text earlier, but it wasn’t the same. I bit my lip,
swallowed a gulp of air, and pressed his name on the screen.
“Hey,
Liv,” he said as he picked up in the middle of the second ring.
“Hi,”
I said with a sheepish tone.
“What’s
up?”
“I
just wanted to thank you again for the pretty flowers,” I said. That and I just
wanted an excuse to call him and hear his voice. “What are you up to?”
“Just
hanging out at home,” he said. “Long day at work.”
By
the sounds of his voice, he was lying down. I was pretty sure I could hear the
TV on in the background as well and it sounded like ESPN or something sports
related.
“Do
you want to maybe come over tonight and hang out for a bit? LaLa’s with
Demarius,” I said. I cringed. I didn’t want him to think I was insinuating
anything simply because LaLa wasn’t home. I hoped he didn’t take it that way.
“Um,
sure,” he said at length. He must have been thinking about it.
“If
there’s a game on or something, I understand,” I interjected.
“No,
no,” he said. “It’s fine. I’ll be over in a bit.”
By
the time we hung up, I was climbing the stairs to my apartment. I rushed in to
change into something more casual, then waited on the sofa for him to knock on
the door. A good twenty minutes later and he was there, in the flesh.
“Hey,”
I said with a grin as I let him in. “Thanks for hanging out with me tonight.”
“No
problem,” he said. “I’m glad you called. I was beginning to think I’d royally
screwed this up.”
I
waved my hand in front of my face and smiled. I really didn’t want to talk
about last weekend. It was over and done with. No use in rehashing it.
“Why
don’t you have a seat and make yourself comfortable?” I asked while I pointed
to the couch.
He
kicked off his shoes while I ran to the kitchen and retrieved an icy cold beer
for him like the good little prospective girlfriend I was.
“Oh,
wow,” he said. “Thank you.”
“I
hope you like pale ale,” I said. “It’s all we have right now.”
“Beer
is beer,” he said. “This is perfect.”
I
sat down next to him and kicked my legs over his lap before handing him the
remote.
“I’m
pretty sure you were watching basketball when I called you earlier,” I said
with a wink.
His
face lit up. He was probably shocked that I was being so cool about everything.
I could tell.
He
flipped on the T.V. and instantly tuned it to some college game. If he
absolutely had to watch the game, I was glad he was going to be watching it
with me.
I
grabbed one of LaLa’s many gossip magazines from the coffee table, repositioned
the sofa cushion behind me, and got comfortable. If I didn’t know any better,
we were settling into a relaxing Monday evening like some boring old couple. It
felt good to have that with someone. I hadn’t had that for almost a year.
The
moment a commercial came across the screen, I decided to make small talk with
Kevin. I couldn’t
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