“No. It’s okay.” She adjusted the strap of her purse on her shoulder. “I knew before I came here that there was a chance you’d tell me no. I just didn’t expect to realize I was too late before I even asked.”
“Who told you that you were too late? Ain’t shit even started with me and her.”
She looked at me. “Yeah, okay… You sure about that?”
I thought about Milan standing in her apartment three nights ago.
The way she looked at me…
The way she stayed still when I touched her face…
The way I’d been thinking about her ever since…
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
Simone nodded slowly. “That’s more than you ever gave me in the beginning.”
I frowned.
She walked toward the door but stopped with her hand on the handle. “For what it’s worth, I don’t hate her.”
“Why would you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe because it would be easier.”
I leaned back in my chair. “Milan ain’t got nothing to do with what happened between us.”
“I know...” She looked over her shoulder. “That doesn’t mean watching you become ready for somebody else won’t hurt.”
The door closed behind her before I could answer.
I sat here for a while, staring at the empty chair across from me.
Simone had spent three years asking me for things I kept convincing myself I had more time to give. Milan, on the other hand, hadn’t asked me for shit.
Hell, half the time, she acted like she wanted me to leave her alone.
Maybe that was why this felt different.
There was no pressure. No expectation. No conversation about where anything was going because there wasn’t anything to define yet.
Still, Simone’s words stayed with me.
Watching you become ready for somebody else.
I didn’t know if I was ready for anything.
What I did know was that it had been three days since Milan stepped away from me, and instead of losing interest, I wanted to see her more.
My phone was already in my hand before I finished the thought.
Me:What you doing?
Her response came a minute later.
Milan:Nothing.
Me: I’m hungry… Wanna grab something to eat?