Page 44 of Session 25

“I almost got arrested. I’m stupid. I went back to my old neighborhood and saw them. I couldn’t control myself, so I punched her.” She said, amped up.

“What the hell? Koi, matter fact, where are you now? I’m coming to you.” She ran off her address to her new apartment before hanging up. I said my goodbyes and left the office swiftly. As soon as I got to the parking lot, I was stopped.

“Going somewhere?” My wife asked, coming from the side of her car. “Do I get some of your time or does this new love interest get it all?”

“Rae,” I said her name in a low tone.

“I’m just asking.” She folded her arms over her chest. “She must be special. Even with all we’ve been through, you’ve never been this invested.”

“Rae, you know it’s not like that, and you know what we have.”

“So then let’s discuss it over dinner, shall we?” She bit down on her bottom lip.

Rae thought I was stupid. She was talking to a new female, yet I didn’t press her. What she did on the side didn’t bother me. My only ask is that her partner was clean and didn’t come with any drama.

“This is very last minute, but for my wife. Sure.” I told her not breaking a sweat. “Where to? I’ll follow behind you.”

“Tao Downtown. I want some lemon drops.”

“I’m right behind you.” I helped Rae into her car. When she was buckled in and started up her car, I got in mine. I placed my phone on the holder, unlocked it, and tapped on the contact "Babygirl," waiting on Koi to answer. She didn’t answer, making me panic for a brief second. I thought of all the things she could be doing, especially after the call she had just made.

I pulled out of the parking lot, pulling up her text thread. Texting to speak, I told her that I had to change our plans. She didn’t need to know the specifics of the reason. Next, I told my florist to deliver her two dozen pink Peonies and to grab a bottle of red wine. If I couldn’t be there in person, I at least wanted her to feel good.

This connection we had was too strong and thorough for me to fuck it up now. It wasn’t like she didn’t know I was married. Koi was okay with dealing with me on our terms, and in her words, she wasn’t looking for something permanent. This was all fun.

I drove in silence, parked and met Rae at the entrance. She had her phone in her hand, furrowed brows as she blew out an aspirated breath. I could see that whoever she was texting had her fucked up, and that’s probably why she wanted to hang out all of a sudden. While I didn’t mind being with Rae, I didn’t like when she used me as a backup plan or wanted to be around me for the pity.

Rae was a bisexual woman who leaned more towards women, but her family was against it. They had forbidden her from being with a woman openly. I told her she was grown and didn’t need to please them, but according to her family, if she still wanted money from her parents, she would do what made them happy. Although I was against it, she sold them this story of us being happily in love.

We had been friends for years, so when she presented the idea of marriage, I didn’t see a problem. I was forty, single, and no kids. What was the worst that could happen? We weren’t strangers, and we had fucked often. The only difference would be that we lived together. Which was only half the week since I traveled for work.

“So, you wanna tell me about her? Is she gonna blow our cover?” Rae wasted no time diving into the conversation. The waiter hadn’t even brought the water to the table, and she was here being a typical female.

“How was your day? Where did you stay the other night?” She cocked her head to the side.

“This isn’t about me. It’s about you, Roman. Do I need to be fucking worried?”

“The cursing isn’t called for. If I haven’t had a conversation about her or being worried, then there is nothing for you to stress.”

“That’s bullshit. You have never stayed out this much. So, what is she to you?”

Rae was so focused on the money from her family that she failed to realize that her happiness was at stake. She was a therapist, yet she was living in a fucked up world. The level of acceptance she wanted from them was starting to annoy me. I never mentioned it to her, but I was growing tired. My life was put on hold because she wanted to put up this facade.

“When you gonna tell them? Or are you gonna keep this up forever?” I sighed, grabbing her hand. “How much longer of being unhappy can you take, Rae?”

“As long as it takes. You know what my family will do to me, Roman.” She choked up. “My life is literally in their hands.”

“It’s not. You are grown, and you’ve made a name for yourself. So, what if they don’t leave you any money? You are set because of you.”

My phone buzzed as it vibrated across the table.

“Baby girl.” She picked up my phone quickly and answered it.

“Hello.”

Livid, I had never wanted to yoke Rae up, but right now she had me seeing red. “Well, she hung up.” She placed the phone back on the table. “What?”

“Don’t ever answer my phone again! I have never disrespected your boundaries, so don’t start to disrespect mine.” I pushed back from the table. “I’m out. Go call ya’ bitch to meet you here.”