Driven by Desire by Ambrielle Kirk Page A

“What do you want?”
    “Well, for the past few months I’ve been calling and calling with no answer or reply. I’ve sent flowers to your apartment and your work and I receive no thank you. What do you think I want?”
    Her shoulders slumped and she rested her back against the car seat. “It’s too late, Justin. Your intentions were clear. You wanted a new life and a clean fresh slate—that’s what you said.”
    “I made a mistake, okay? I realized that I needed you more than I thought.”
    “So are you saying that you thought you wouldn’t need me at all? That’s funny,” she said, with a hint of snark in her voice.
    “Tanya, I am so serious about this. Why haven’t you taken my calls?”
    “I don’t like playing games, Justin. You know this,” she said.
    “I’m not playing, alright. I made a mistake and I’m fessing up to it,” he replied. “I sent a FedEx package to your door last week. Did you receive it?”
    “I did.” She shrugged. “But I didn’t open it. I meant to send it back. I don’t have time for Dear Jane letters after the fact.”
    “It’s not a Dear Jane letter,” he said. “They were plane tickets.”
    “Tickets for what?”
    “I want you to come see me in New York. And…possibly stay.”
    Tanya gasped, her fingers suddenly slipping on the phone. “You…what?”
    “My move to New York will be permanent, but I want you back in my life.”
    “No.” She shook her head. This couldn’t be happened. It had been almost a year and now he entertains the notion of her joining him in New York. “It’s too late, Justin. I’ve moved on. I’m sorry that I hadn’t picked up the phone earlier and called you, but I thought it would be better if we just didn’t talk at all. You really disappointed me.”
    “I know, but don’t say it’s too late. It’s not.” He actually sounded hurt by her admission.
    “I’m afraid it is. The truth is that I’ve moved on,” she said. “You started your clean, fresh slate, and so did I.”
    “Marcus? Is that his name?”
    Tanya swallowed. “I’m sorry, Justin. I wish you well with your new job.” She disconnected the call.
     
    ***
     
    “This is too surreal,” Zaira said on the other end of the line. “He waits over six months to send you a plane ticket? Foolery, I say.”
    “I couldn’t believe it.”
    Tanya had called her best friend as soon as she got home. She folded her legs under her on the bed and took another swig of wine.
    “I’ll be returning those tickets to the post office unopened tomorrow,” she said.
    “Good for you. I can’t imagine what changed his mind,” Zaira replied. “Wait…does he know about you and Marcus.”
    “No…” Tanya thought back to her blip when she answ ered the phone. “Not really.” She sighed. “And Marcus and I aren’t really on speaking terms either.”
    “Girl…what the hell? What’s up with you and these men? What happened?”
    “One question at a time. Look, I got a glimpse of what kind of drama I might have to deal with if Marcus and I moved forward with our relationship.”
    “Well, do you want excitement and sometimes a bit of drama or the drab life? I mean, really, you said you were ready to move on with your life.”
    “Let me finish…one of his old girlfriends showed up at that BBQ he invited me to and caused a scene in front of everyone . That sounds like a load of drama to me”
    “No way! But really, you know who Marcus is…the kind of women he attracts…how could you not know that he comes with drama?”
    “Whatever.” Tanya was getting quite aggravated with Zaira. “Whose side are you on? I didn’t know who he was before we…”
    “Before you fucked him in Ocho Rios, go ahead and say it.” Zaira sighed on the other end. “Oh, the mess…you need to call Marcus back, I’m sure it was all a misunderstanding.”
    “I’m not. I’ve told him I wasn’t ready for that life. I meant what I said.”
    “You are so stubborn,” she huffed. “It’s