The Proposal (Forever Bound Book 2) (9 page)

BOOK: The Proposal (Forever Bound Book 2)
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Ana shook his head.  “He’s overbearing, egotistical, selfish, and completely out of his mind if he thinks I’m going to talk to him.”  She crossed her arms and looked away from Charity’s wandering eyes.

Charity didn’t want to believe this had anything to do with her and Derek, but she knew the truth.  This had everything to do with them.  “He’s also the first person I ever heard you talk about like a woman that was in love.  He’s the one man that made you feel special.”

“Whatever!” Ana mumbled.  The phone stopped ringing, and Charity waited as she wanted to see if he left another voicemail.  A minute later, her phone chimed proving he had.  Ana yanked her phone from the counter and typed in some information into the phone, then put it back down.  “I don’t want to hear what he has to say.”

Charity shook her head.  “So, you’re choosing to just ignore it.  You’re erasing his messages, because you know if you will hear his voice then you’ll question why you’re so angry.”

Ana’s mouth opened, and she glared at Charity.  “I know why I’m angry.  He helped to make a fool out of my best friend.”

Charity rolled her eyes.  “Come on, Ana…you wanted me to forgive Derek so maybe you should do the same for Jesse.”

Ana crossed her arms.  “But you haven’t forgiven Derek,” she stated, raising an eyebrow.

“That’s different,” Charity mumbled.

“It’s a double standard…that’s what it is,” Ana argued.

Ana had a point, but she wasn’t going to worry about her own life when Ana’s life was falling apart before her eyes.  “You should talk to him.  Nothing happened to you.  It happened to me, and I’m going to sit back and watch you suffering over something that has nothing to do with you.”  Ana opened her mouth as another phone call came through and then the doorbell rang for the Chinese delivery.  “I know you think you’re protecting me, but I would feel awful if you didn’t talk to him just because of me.”  She picked up Ana’s phone and held it out to her.  “Answer the phone.”

Ana rolled her eyes but then did as Charity said.  “Hello?”

Charity slipped out of the kitchen so she could go get the door and give Ana some privacy.  She paid for the Chinese, thanked the delivery man, then slowly carried the food back into the kitchen.  Ana’s voices were in hushed tones, and she went about her own business and did her best not to listen to closely to the conversation.  Yet, words kept sneaking back in.  “I know…I realize that…We can try…” Charity smiled to herself as things appeared to be going smoother between the two of them.  “She’s doing fine…” Her words caught Charity off guard.  She glanced at Ana and found she was staring right at her.  “I’ll tell her.  Alright.  See you tomorrow night.  Bye.”  She hung up the call and for a moment Charity and Ana just looked at one another, until Ana casually mentioned part of the conversation.  “Derek misses you.”  Charity opened her mouth, but no words came out.  “I’m starved.”  Ana got up from the table as if nothing happened.

Charity remained motionless until she could finally gain some words.  “He misses me?”

Ana shrugged.  “It sounds like he’s completely at a loss without you.”  She started unloading bags, while Charity processed her words. 

“Whoa…” Charity put up her hand to stop Ana from removing the egg rolls, and Ana gave her a surprised look.  “This is not going to be about me and Derek, understand?  If you’re going out with him, I do not want you discussing my love life.”

Ana nodded slowly.  “It won’t be.  Jesse was simply making an observation, but we won’t even mention you.  I promise.”  There was a slight twinkle in her eye, and Charity dropped her hand from Ana’s arm.  She wanted to believe that, but the chances of that happening were slim.  She could only hope that she did the right thing to talk Ana into going out with him. She didn’t want a replay for what had happened earlier.

Chapter 7

 

There was a knock on the door, while Ana continued to get ready in her bedroom.  Charity went to the door and opened it, knowing that Jesse would be on the other side.  “Hey, Charity…” he started off, giving a sheepish grin.

Charity put on a smile.  “Hello.  Ana will be ready soon.”  Charity stepped back so that Jesse could enter.

Once he got in the apartment, he asked her a question that she wasn’t sure she wanted to answer him.  “How have you been?” he asked.  She wanted to tell him that if he thought he could go back to Derek and tell Derek, she was completely falling apart, then he was mistaken, but instead she just smiled and nodded.  “Can’t complain.”  She hesitated before asking, “You?”

He smiled, but there was no emotion in his eyes.  He then sighed and shrugged.  “Been better.”

Charity almost felt sorry for him and then she regretted that feeling.  She was grateful when Ana came out of the bedroom and announced her presence.  Jesse glanced at her, and his smile widened.  “Ana…you look breathtaking.”  He moved to her and kissed her softly on the cheek.

Charity glanced at Ana.  Ana seemed happy, even though Charity was certain her guard was up a little more than it usually was.  She looked at Charity.  “See you later!”

Charity nodded as they passed her.  “Have fun!” Charity called out as they left the apartment, leaving her in a shell of emptiness.  She turned around and looked all over the apartment, before heading into the kitchen. She pulled out a box of Macaroni and Cheese and put a pot on the stove to boil the water.  She heard her cell phone signal a text message, and she grabbed it from her pocket as she waited for the water. 

 

Damian:  Hey, beautiful.  It’s been a few days and thought I’d just check in.  Hope everything’s alright.

 

Charity slipped the phone back into her pocket and found herself staring into the pot of water.  The bubbles had yet to start forming, and she got lost in the stove.  She nearly drowned out the pot, that when it did start bubbling, the water bubbled over the sides.  “Dammit!”  She mumbled.  She turned the stove down and moved the pot, so the water would settle back down.

She poured the box of Macaroni into the water and went back to looking off into the distance.  She absentmindedly stirred the pot, then heard another message on her phone.  This time, she ignored the message.  She finished off the Mac and Cheese and sat down at the table to eat her supper.  The whole time she ate her food, she thought about Damian and how she would approach the subject of what he had uttered to her.  She still wasn’t even sure he meant it, but she had to talk to him about it.

When she finished off her bottle of water and Mac and Cheese, she put the dirty dish in the dishwasher.  She then fished her phone from her pocket and looked at his latest message.

 

Damian:  Did I do something wrong?

 

She typed in her message.

 

Charity:  Been busy.  Everything is fine, and we’ll get together soon.

 

It didn’t take long for his answer to come back.

 

Damian:  I’m free tonight.  What do you say?

 

Charity:  I’m exhausted and just want to stay in.  I’ll call you tomorrow.

 

He first responded with a sad face, but then sent her a message.

 

Damian:  Understood.  Can’t wait for tomorrow.

 

She didn’t respond back, just put her phone back in her pocket and tried to focus on cleaning.  She would call Damian and go to his place and lay everything out, telling him that this would have to end if they couldn’t be on the same page.  That’s all there was to it.  She wasn’t about to fall into another tough situation.

 

****

 

It was after midnight when Derek heard his phone ringing.  He grabbed it from his nightstand and saw Jesse’s number on the caller ID.  His heart raced as he answered the call.  “Hello?”  It wasn’t like Jesse to call so late.

“Hey, Buddy…I’m outside of your house.  Let me in!”  It was an order that Derek didn’t expect, but he willingly hurried downstairs and opened up the door.  Jesse stood on the porch, and he looked like the cat who swallowed the canary.  His eyes were large, and the smile on his face was bright.  He pushed his way up.

He excitedly started talking.  “Oh my God…I just had the best friggin night ever!”  Jesse patted Derek on the arm and spun around.

Derek held his finger to his lips.  “You’ll wake Mary!”

“Too late!”  He looked up to the top of the stairs, where Mary was sleepily walking down the steps.  “Good evening, Jesse.”

Jesse put on a smug grin.  “Good evening.  Sorry, I woke you.”

Mary snickered.  “No problem.  Would you like some coffee?”

Both Jesse and Derek agreed that they needed coffee, especially if Derek was going to have to hear all about the exciting news Jesse had.  Mary disappeared into the kitchen, and Jesse and Derek moved into the den.  Once inside, they took their usual seats and Jesse immediately started jabbering away.  “Tonight was the best date I’ve had in a long, long time.”

Derek frowned.  “Date?”  He hadn’t spoken to Jesse since the previous day when Jesse was supposed to be talking to Ana and ultimately hearing how both Ana and Charity were doing.  He wasn’t supposed to be gallivanting around town on a date.  That wasn’t part of the deal.  He started to express his irritation with Jesse when Jesse held up his hand and continued.

“Yesterday I called Ana numerous times, in fact, I don’t even think I can recall how many times I called and left messages for her.  She never answered my call.  I sent her a few texts…begging her to talk to me and every time they went unanswered.”

Derek sighed.  “So you went out with some bimbo to take away your problems?  Nice, Jesse.  How do you expect to win back Ana at this rate?”

When he finished talking, he saw Jesse with his arms crossed and his eyebrows raised.  “Are you finished?”

“Not really,” Derek mumbled.  “But go on.”

“Anyway, before I was so rudely interrupted, I was saying that I tried several times to get Ana to talk to me and then all of a sudden…it happened.”  Derek sat up straighter.  Their conversation was interrupted for a few moments while Mary gave them their coffee, but after she had left and gone back upstairs to her bedroom, Jesse continued.  “One minute I’m trying desperately to get her to answer the phone and the next minute she agrees to go out with me.”

Derek couldn’t believe it, but Jesse was one hundred percent truthful in that moment.  “Wow…how’d you make that happen?”

Jesse shrugged.  “I have no idea, but I wasn’t going to ask any questions.  Tonight was seriously the best date I could’ve ever asked for.  It was like we were two people that have always had an attraction for one another, but just are suddenly doing anything about it.”

Derek allowed Jesse to go on for several minutes, without interruption.  It was clear how happy Jesse was by the way things transpired, and Derek wasn’t about to make him stop talking about that.  However, deep in the back of his mind, he wondered if anything was said about Charity.  Yet, he couldn’t come out and say that, because he didn’t want Jesse to feel that was the only thing he cared about.  He cared about Jesse’s feelings, and he cared about if Jesse found love.

Jesse took a drink from his coffee mug, but his smile remained intact.  “When I leaned in for a kiss at the end of the night, my fear was that she would smack me, but she didn’t.  If anything, it appeared we were just both relieved to just go for it.”

“So, there’s plans for another date?” Derek asked.

Jesse smiled.  “That’s the plan.  I was so worried she would spend the whole time talking and yelling at me about what happened, but she didn’t.  In fact…” he hesitated, before continuing, “I debated about telling you this part, but I feel you would want to know.”

“I can take it,” Derek replied calmly.

“Tonight started off with her telling me that she didn’t want to make the date about you and Charity.  She asked me not to dwell on what happened.”

Derek sunk back into the couch.  “So, in other words, you didn’t really discuss how Charity’s doing?” Derek asked.

“I asked, and she said that Charity is doing well, all things considered.”

It was those last three words that continued to hang on Derek’s conscience.  “What do you mean all things considered?” Derek asked, afraid of the answer.

“She didn’t really go into much detail,” Jesse admitted.  “I didn’t want to pry because I worried that it would come across as that was all I cared about and frankly…she was finally talking to me, so I didn’t want to push.  Surely you have to understand that.”

Derek admitted that he did understand that.  Plus, it wasn’t Jesse’s job to get Charity back for him.  He needed to find other ways to make it happen.  “I understand,” he sadly replied.

“I’m not giving up totally.  After all, we’re getting together tomorrow night so maybe the opportunity will arise to see if I can get some information out of her.”

That would work for Derek.  They both finished off their coffees and then Jesse said that he needed to get home and get some rest before work the next day.  Derek walked him to the door and before Jesse left Derek commented on Jesse’s news.  “I’m happy for you, Jesse.  Really I am.”

Jesse smiled.  “Thanks!  Don’t worry, we’ll both be able to enjoy this being behind us.”

Derek hoped so, so he smiled.  They said their goodbyes and when Jesse was out of the driveway, Derek went back up to his bedroom.  Charity entered his mind as he got back under his covers.  Before laying down, he grabbed his phone and typed out a message to her.

 

Derek:  Thinking of you!

 

It was short, but he believed it would get his point across.  He didn’t expect a response back from Charity, so he put his phone back down on the nightstand and laid back against his pillow.  It didn’t take long for him to close his eyes and drift off to sleep.  Dreaming of Charity was almost as good.

 

****

 

Charity stood outside the bathroom door and watched Ana applying her makeup.  “Going out again tonight?” Charity asked, keeping the smile on her lips.

Ana glanced at her through her reflection in the mirror.  She nodded.  “Yep.”  She finished applying the blush, then turned around and glanced at Charity. “Do you think I should’ve allowed more time before agreeing to date number two?”

Charity shook her head.  “Not exactly!  I saw how excited you were when you came home last night, and I just want you happy.”

Ana smiled.  “You could be happy too, you know.”  She winked at Charity and Charity laughed. 

“I’m happy.  Why don’t you think I’m happy?”

Ana shrugged.  “I suppose I see it in your eyes.”

Charity smiled, and it hit her how hard it was for her to smile at that moment.  Ana was right, she wasn’t perfectly happy, but she wanted to believe she could get there without Derek in her life.  “I’ll let you finish getting ready.”  She backed out of the hallway and headed into the living room.  She grabbed her phone off of the coffee table and typed in a message to Damian.

 

Charity:  Will you be home tonight?”

 

Before she could put her phone back down, a message signaled, and she glanced at it.

 

Damian:  Sure will. 

 

Charity:  I’ll be there in an hour.

 

She looked up when Ana walked out of the bathroom.  “Are you staying home tonight?” Ana asked.

Charity didn’t want to lie completely, so she fabricated the truth.  “I’ll go out…maybe take in a movie.”

Ana’s face lit up.  “There’s a chick flick on at Georgetown Cinema.  I believe it starts at seven o’clock.  It got rave reviews.  You should check it out.”

Charity smiled.  “Maybe I’ll do that.”  She hated lying to her, but she didn’t want to mention she was going to Damian’s house.  She still wasn’t sure it was the best choice for her.  A knock on the door made her breathe a sigh of relief. 

Ana went to the door and opened it up.  Of course, it was Jesse standing in the doorway.  She kissed his cheek, then he tossed a wave towards Charity.  “I’m not sure what time I’ll be home, but probably the same as last night.”

Charity smiled.  “You’re a big girl.  Have fun you two.”  She waved as they left the apartment.  Once they were gone, she hurried at getting ready to go to Damian’s.  She didn’t doll herself up because it wasn’t like it was a date, but she made herself presentable. 

She was out the door so she would make it to his house at the time that she told him she would be.  The ride was rather relaxing, giving her time to think of the conversation she was about to have with Damian.  She first practiced it in her head. 
Damian, I know we’ve been doing things that are complicated and down the line, it can cause confusion in a relationship, but we said we wouldn’t fall in love with one another. 
Then she would practice the words out loud, but most of the time she found herself gagging over the words.

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