Private Affairs by Jasmine Garner

in his hand. His hair was slicked back, with a few loose strands flopping over his forehead. With the air conditioning on, his scent floated around the cabin.
    “I wanted to get a chance to talk to you and your girlfriend before the function.” He turned to look at Amira with a smirk on his face. “Is this her?”
    Amira snapped her head around to me with her mouth gaped open. Rolling my eyes, I spoke before she had a chance to blow my cover- even though it was way beyond blown.
    “This is Amira; she’s my head assistant at the center. I figured it was better for her to be here.”
    Wes lifted an eyebrow, my “girlfriend” lie becoming more entertaining to him as the days progressed. He stuck out his hand, and she offered hers. He kissed the back of her hand. “Wesley Hollis. Pleasure to meet you, Amira. I’m so impressed with what you all are doing at the center.”
    “Pleasure’s all mine,” she said with a high-pitched giggle. “Keisha, is this your… friend?”
    I nodded.
    “Well, I’m sorry you couldn’t meet her… girlfriend as planned, Mr. Hollis. But that’s because she no longer has one.”
    I shot over a death stare. “Amira!”
    “Look, I’m helping you out. You can thank me later,” she said as she ogled Wes.
    Wes looked down at his half empty glass, trying to suppress his smile. A few more strands of hair fell out of place. It took all of my willpower to not reach over and fix it for him.
    “Amira, would you like a drink? Key, I have Pepsi for you.”
    “Yes, I would. Thank you.”
    I nodded. She leaned into me as he grabbed our drinks. “ Key ? Aw, that’s so cute! Are you sure he’s just a friend?”
    “He used to be more.”
    Her eyes lit up as she figured out who he was: the love of my life and my ultimate heartbreak all rolled into one. He handed us our drinks, his fingers lingering on me for far longer than with Amira. My cheeks flushed.
    “So, what’s the purpose of tonight’s fundraiser? Just a bunch of rich men needing somewhere to donate their money?” I asked, ignoring Amira’s question.
    “It’s actually more of a ceremony. I was nominated from my peers to be the recipient of a national award for my work. It comes with a $50,000 prize to continue expansion.”
    I gasped. “$50,000 to open more gyms?”
    He shook his head. “No, my volunteer work.”
    “Wow. Must be nice,” Amira said. “With money like that, we could get the A/C fixed. And get a few trailers to take a more kids!”
    “Is your space too small now?” he asked.
    “The demand is always going to be greater than our capability. But we’d love a bigger space; we’ve been talking about moving a few blocks over to a warehouse, but we’re waiting for funding,” I said.
    “Maybe I need to start nominating you for awards!” Amira said to me.
    The limo pulled up to a swanky hotel downtown. Vincent opened the door, and Wes waited for us to step out. He stepped in my line of vision and smiled. I gulped as he blocked my path. Maybe I should’ve brought Kevin; he would’ve helped me keep my mind off Wes.
    “What?” I said.
    “You look incredible, Key.”
    “Thank you.”
    I gasped when he dropped down and put his hand over the strap of my left shoe. It was twisted. He untied the shoe and fixed it for me. Amira squealed in the background as she watched.
    I shot her another dirty look before thanking him. He led us into the grand ballroom hosting the event. He introduced us to a few people in the room before we were called to sit down.
    It was amazing he had all of those people there just to honor him. At that point, I realized I didn’t know why; I’d never asked him.
    I leaned over to him. “What are you being honored for? What kind of volunteer work do you do?”
    He didn’t have a chance to answer. An elderly man approached the podium and began introducing the man of honor. As the host spoke of Wes’s accomplishments, I swelled with pride, clapping ferociously as he made his way to the