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At the feel of a body pressing into me from behind, I gasped. As soon as his hand wrapped around my neck, I instantly relaxed. There was no need for me to fear. I knew that touch almost as well as I knew my own. My eyes closed briefly as I smiled, but when he tilted my head so I could look at him, they opened.
“What took you so fucking long?” Between the desperation in his deep voice and the glossiness of his watery eyes, it became increasingly difficult for me to hold my tears in.
Jerry.
Jeremiah Simpson.
He wasn’t just my partner in business; he was my partner in life. Allegra may have been my best friend, but Jeremiah was my best friend and soul mate. There were things I talked about and went through with him and him alone. He had always been my secret keeper and confidant. Even while he was away serving his time, I felt closer to him than anyone else—including his best friend Nova… who was my man at the time.
“Jerry,” I whispered, almost in disbelief. I shouldn’t have been. Jerry loved this place just as much as I did. We came here at least twice a week for a late-night dinner.
He turned me in his arms and lifted me into the air, wrapping my legs around his waist.
“What took you so fuckinglong?” he repeated as I buried my face in his neck.
I had no answer. How long was it supposed to take to release the hurt, shame, and betrayal inflicted by the one your heart loved most?
Sniffling, I stopped trying to hold my tears in as I relaxed in his embrace. Finally. It felt like I was whole again. Safe again. The past year, it felt like I unraveled with each day that went by. But in just a matter of seconds, being in Jeremiah’s arms felt like God was finally starting to put me back together.
“I missed you,” was all I could think of to say.
Quite frankly, nothing else mattered now that I was in his arms.
“Damn,” he muttered, holding me tighter. “I don’t want to let you go, Chap.”
“I need to finish ordering my food.”
He chuckled as he placed me on my feet, but his arm remained wrapped tightly around my neck.
“You’re good, girl. I’ve already sent your order back.” She handed me my drink. “Do you want to order now so your food can come out together?” She asked Jeremiah, to which he agreed.
After ordering his usual—a twenty piece with lemon pepper and mild, all flats—we walked over to the table we always shared. What he’d said appeared to be true, because he gave me another soul-healing hug before letting me go.
We sat across from each other, and I imagine my face beamed as we stared at each other with goofy grins. Every few seconds I’d giggle in pure bliss from being back with the man whom my soul loved and felt so safe with. The kind of bond Jerry and I had didn’t come around often. I was sure it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. That friendship Tupac and Jada had, I suppose.
“I missed you,” I said again, though I wasn’t expecting Jeremiah to say it back. He’d never been the overly expressive and emotional type. I think that’s why he was able to hold so many of my emotions, because he was empty of his own. Well, over the years he got better at it… with me and our crew, at least.
“You missed me so much you stayed away for a year?”
My smile wavered slightly as I sat back in my seat. “That had nothing to do with you, Jerry. I had to do that for myself. I’m sorry, though, for leaving you.”
His head shook. “You aren’t, and you shouldn’t be. You did what was best for you in that moment, and you should never feel bad about that.”
This was what I missed about him most. Jeremiah understood me. He always kept it real with me and never held back, but because he understood me so well, even when I was wrong, he had a way of making me feel right. I’m not sure how healthy that was, but under God, the only other person I ever cared about pleasing or having the approval of was Jeremiah Simpson.
“I am sorry that you missed me even though you won’t say it, but you’re right, I’m not sorry for doing what was best for me. I can admit that I could have communicated more with y’all, but…” With a shrug, I looked out of the window. “I just… didn’t have the courage.”
“What gave you the courage to come back now?”
“I came to get what belongs to me.”
Jeremiah’s buff frame shifted in his seat. His head bobbed once and tilted as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“And what is that exactly?”
“My position, my business. My honor. Nova…” My hand covered trembling lips. That was the first time I’d said his name in all this time. It almost felt like a curse. Swallowing hard, I gritted my teeth. “He took a lot from me that night. He embarrassed me and broke my heart.” I brushed a tear away quickly. “So I’m going to make him pay. I’m going to come back to my position as the lead designer and make him think I want him again, then I’m going to embarrass him publicly just like he did me and fire him and his fiancée. I’m going to make sure the whole town watches as I restore his feelings for me, just to break his heart the exact same way he did mine.”
Jeremiah’s expression didn’t change as I spoke and that didn’t surprise me. He was never the type to show what he was thinking or feeling on his face. If you got a smile out of him, you were truly blessed. I used to work so hard to get them and seeing that pretty, white smile was always worth it—especiallywhen he had in his silver or gold grill.
