Exposed (Free Falling) (4 page)

“Let’s go out tonight.  Just you, me, Karl, and Dee.”

I could see her scrunch up her face without even looking.  “It’s only Wednesday, sweetie.  Let’s wait until Friday.  I’ve been busy cleaning all day becaus
e this is the first day I’ve had off since I don’t know when, and –“

Nothing but a kiss would shut her up, so I planted one on those constantly moving lips of hers.  She welcomed the gesture and didn’t put up much of a fight after that.  While she went upstairs t
o shower and slip into that little, black dress that I love, I paced in the foyer, pulling the ring from my pocket every so often just to stare at it. 

The subject of marriage had come up between us a lot over the last few months, but there was no pressure on either end to change our status.  Still, I knew that
our love was mutual and we were in this for the long haul.  Giving her a ring and my last name seemed like the next logical step.  Hell, we’d already purchased a house together, which was
way
more paperwork than getting married, so… 

When she stepped out into the hallway and approached the top of the stairs, I quickly snapped the ring box shut and shoved it into the pocket of my
suit jacket.

“Ready?”  I asked innocently.

She smiled that smile that had been my saving grace at one of the darkest times of my life.  “Aside from the fact that I’m being forced to share a meal in the presence of a bunch of strangers when all I want is pizza and a glass of wine….yes…I’m ready?”

I smiled. 
“Always with the smart comments.”

She smiled up at me as she hopped on one foot to pull up the back-strap of
her stiletto.  “You love it,” she replied.

She was right about that.  I loved
everything
about this woman.  Her sense of humor, the way her mind works, her capacity to love…all of it.

Kira followed me to the garage and climbed into the passenger side of my
silver Bentley.  Inside, she fidgeted with the radio like usual, and like always, she opted for a CD.

“You owe me a foot massage for this, you know.
  Tonight was supposed to be chill.”

I raised an eyebrow at Kira’s demand, which made her smack my arm lightly.  “What’s that for?” She asked.

“Have you
seen
your feet?” I shot back playfully.

She gasped, pretending to be offended.  Her expression eventually warmed with a smile and I reached across the console to grab her hand while we drove through the suburbs of D.C., headed for her favorite restaurant
, Bianca’s.

Pulling into the parking lot, I scanned for familiar cars, but from the looks of things everyone I’d invited followed directions.  They parked a block over so Kira
wouldn’t know anything was up – except for Dee and Karl.  Neither of them knew my plan for the evening, but readily accepted when I invited them out.

“I feel like having a big, fat, steak,”
Kira announced.  “Steak is more of a man’s entrée, but I don’t care.  I could eat a whole cow right about now.  I’m starving.”

I lifted my arm
for her to latch on, leading the way toward the entrance.  “Whatever you want,” I replied, unable to keep from smiling down on her as she brushed a stray hair from her cheek when the wind blew it out of place.

I held
the door open and let Kira enter first before following her inside, searching for those I’d invited to witness the proposal.  Karl waved us over to the left side of the restaurant, and the host ushered us to the rest of our party.  Once we rounded the corner, I could see that Kira’s parents and a close friend of hers from work had already arrived as well.  Walking over from the bar with mixed drinks in hand were my mother and another of Kira’s friends.  Judging by the look on her face, my fiancée-to-be was starting to realize that something was up.

Her eyes met mine and she found me already smiling at her. 

“What is this?”  She asked softly as we stood beside the long table where our guests were seated.  It didn’t make sense to prolong it – everyone had already arrived.  So, with trembling hands and sweat beads forming at the nape of my neck just above the collar of my dress shirt, I reached inside the pocket of the suit I’d worn to work, and pulled out the velvet box that was about to change our entire lives.  When I got down on one knee, Kira’s hands covered her mouth, and tears welled in the corners of her beautiful eyes.

“Kira,
will you do me the honor of being my wife?”  I asked with a smile plastered on my face.

She was shaking so bad that when she lowered her hand for me to slip the ring on
it, I had to hold it steady.

“Yes,” she whispered.  “Yes!
  I do!” she screeched in excitement.

I burst out laughing.  “I think you’re supposed to wait until we’re at the altar to say that part.”

Kira stooped down to urge me to my feet.  “Whatever!  All I know is my answer is yes!”

The instant I was standing
, she almost knocked me over with a huge hug.  Everyone clapped and congratulated us, everyone except for Deanna.  I noted the forced smile on her face as she eased out of her seat and disappeared in the direction of the restrooms. 

I
quickly forgot about her behavior and pulled Kira in closer to me.

“I can’t wait to be your wife,” she whispered through a sob.  “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this.”

*****

I lie
in bed watching my fiancé of about four hours as she disappeared in the bathroom off from our Master suite.  She was naked and flawless from my point of view.  When she returned after freshening up, she lay in my arms, basking in the afterglow of the first time we’d made love as an engaged couple.

She squeezed my hand where it hung over her shoulder and smiled up at the ceiling.

“What is it?”  I asked, yawning.

Kira shrugged.  “I’m just so…excited!  We have so much to plan, so much to do, so much to –“

“Buy?” I interjected with a laugh.

Kira smacked me on my side playfully.  “That part is a given.”

I shook my head with a smile and let my eyes drift closed, thinking this was the end of the conversation.

“What colors do you
wanna do?”  She chirped.

Naturally, I shrugged – that’s not exactly guy stuff. 
“Whatever you want.”

“And we need to settle on a date.  We’re
gonna shoot for next year, right?  Two years would be weird and I don’t –“

“Next year’s fine,” I assured her.

When I felt her eyes on me, I glanced down at her through my half-closed lids.  “What is it, small person who’s keeping me up way past my bedtime?”

She didn’t smile like I expected her to do.  Her finger trailed along the side of my neck and my eyes opened completely.

“What’re we gonna do about
this
?”  She asked, tracing my tattoo.  “I’ve been tight-lipped about it up until now, but…there’s no way in
hell
I’m walking down the aisle with you with some other girls’ name written on your neck.  Can you cover it?”  She asked.

I cringed at the thought of having some tacky blob of a tattoo plastered on the side of my neck just to cover Sam’s name.  “I could, but I’ll just look into getting it removed.”
  That seemed like a better option.

Kira nodded, but her stare still persisted.

“What else?”  I inquired groggily.

“Do you ever think about her?  Sam?” 
Kira asked.  There wasn’t an ounce of accusation or judgment in her tone, just pure curiosity.  “You guys were pretty hot and heavy for a while.”

Now I was wide awake.  Before answering, I shrugged.  “She crosses my mind every now and again.  I may wonder what she’s doing in her life, but…that’s about the extent of it.
  We were kids.”  There was a lull in conversation while I did briefly think of Sam, but only because Kira mentioned her.  “Does that bother you?”

She thought for a few seconds. 
“No, not really.  If I thought there were still feelings there, maybe it would, but I know you’re in this 100%.”  She smiled a little before craning her neck so that she could kiss my chin.  “How do you feel about seeing her next weekend, though?  That has to make you feel a little awkward, right?”

I gave Kira’s question some honest thought.  “
Awkward is the wrong word.  I definitely didn’t anticipate being face to face with her again, which I realize was naïve considering the fact that we
both
somehow ended up staying tight with Terrell, Maisha, and Dee when we broke up.  I should’ve realized that a birthday celebration, wedding, the birth of a child, would somehow bring us back into one another’s presence one day.  But it shouldn’t be awkward.  She’s with someone.”  I kissed Kira’s hand.  “I’m with you.  Things just worked out,” I added.

Kira was thoughtful for a moment.  “I’ll bet she regrets leaving.”

I sighed and laughed a little.

“Seriously!”
  Kira added with a smile, wanting me to hear her out.  “You never told me why she left – which gets under my skin by the way – but whatever the reason, I’m sure that when things settled down, she realized that she’d done the wrong thing.”

Kira’s statement brought to mind the countless times she’d asked what was so bad that Sam felt like she couldn’t be with me anymore.  Maybe it was because it didn’t matter at this point why Sam ran, or maybe even out of respect for Sam’s privacy on
some level, I avoided Kira’s persistence each time.  Clearly, I wasn’t as slick about it as I thought.

“Even if she did have second thoughts, I gave her several chances to reach out.  Even if she wasn’t comfortable making the first move, that’s not an excuse; I was
always
going out of my way to make her feel comfortable to come out of hiding.”

Kira was silent and I found myself replaying my statement in my head, wondering if I’d accidently said something wrong and offended her.

“Well…whatever the case may be…I’ll bet she’s having a hard time with this whole wedding thing,” Kira concluded.

I turned over on my side and stared at the wall while Kira situated herself behind me.  When she draped her hand over my side, I grabbed it and laced my fingers with hers.

“Goodnight, soon-to-be husband of mine,” she crooned, kissing the back of my shoulder when she did.

“
Goodnight, Sam…I mean Kira,” I said with a smile already set on my lips.  The stinging slap on the bare skin of my back made me laugh harder.

Kira turned over
with a huff, shaking the bed violently when she did.  “Too soon, jerk.  Too soon.”

The sound of her laughter echoing out int
o the darkness of our room as she sought after my hand beneath the covers left me shaking my head.  I loved this woman, and soon…we’d be headed down the aisle and she’d take on my last name.  Everything was falling into line.  It couldn’t get more perfect than this.

*****

I touched my finger to my Bluetooth, bringing Terrell’s voice to my ear as he carried on a side conversation with Maisha while waiting for me to pick up.

“What’s up man?”  I answered.

“Oh, hey.  What’s good?”

I checked my rearview mirror and smiled a little to myself, thinking of the great night I’d had and the news I needed to share with him.  “
Everything’s
good; I gave Kira the ring last night.”

Silence.

“Hello?”  I called out.

“I’m here.  I’m here,” Terrell replied distractedly.

A lingering breath left my lungs.  “What?”  I asked flatly.

He hesitated to respond.  “…I
sorta already knew.  That’s why I’m calling.”

“I’d like to make it clear that I told him to mind his business, AJ,” Maisha said, leaning into Terrell’s phone briefly to make sure I heard her.

Confusion crossed my face.  “What?  How?”  Seeing as how Kira is very anti-Facebook and Instagram, I knew social media wasn’t to blame.  And he and Maisha aren’t tight with Dee and Karl like that, so…

“Sam,” he replied
, answering my question.  That single word – her name – made the breath hitch in my throat. 

“H
-how would she – “ 

Just then I remembered Dee’s abrupt disappearing act right after slipping Kira’s ring on her finger.  I sighed in frustration.  “What could she possibly have to say about
anything that goes on in my personal life?”  I exited I-66 once I reached Fairfax and hit the brake gently when I realized that I was now speeding.

Conversations about Sam were
the one sensitive spot in me and Terrell’s relationship, hence the reason we typically steered clear.  “I called her last night to check on her, and…she just mentioned it casually.”

“Casually.”

“Yeah, you know…not like all upset or nothing, just asked me if I’d heard,” he added.  “Look, man…I just wanna make sure things go smoothly for
all
parties involved next weekend.”  He paused.  “Maybe you should call her JUST to clear the air between y’all before then.”