At least now Beyoncé didn't insist on avoiding her 24/7 anymore. Although, honestly, Kelly didn't know if that made things better or worse. It wasn't too hard to stay away from someone if there wasn't any opportunity to see them. This, however, changed things entirely. Every time her eyes would land on Beyoncé. Kelly felt her heart clench.
Beyoncé had kept her word and had treated her in an exclusively professional way ever since their encounter in the conference room. Her face had returned to being stoic, without even the slightest crack. Kelly missed those cracks. She would take anything, any emotion, but there was nothing.
She needed any distraction she could get. She actively sought out more work and forced herself to focus because she knew that once her mind started wondering, she was done for. She just hope it wouldn't always remain this hard.
"Girl, are you desperate for a promotion or something? We barely even see you at lunch anymore." At least Michelle wasn't upset with her anymore.
"I know, I'm sorry. There's been a lot of work piling up lately." Kelly was glad to see Michelle nod, obviously not realising that it was a lie.
"Well, since you're not working in the evening, at least not yet," she raised her eyebrow playfully and Kelly snorted, "Robyn and I were thinking of going shopping after work. Wanna come?"
Kelly's initial plan was to make up some sort of lame excuse, but on second thought, this might be exactly what she needed. She nodded, "Sounds like fun. Count me in."
There was a grin on Michelle's face and only then Kelly realised just how long it had been since they had actually hung out together. "Awesome!"
—
Kelly actually had fun. It had been quite some time since she had been so carefree. She was not ready to let go of that feeling just yet, so when Robyn suggested going to one of her favourite restaurants close by, Kelly had nodded without even thinking about it twice.
Michelle had shrugged apologetically though. "I'm sorry. My mama is coming over in a bit so I can't really stay any longer."
They had said their goodbyes and before long Robyn and Kelly were sitting at a table in a cosy restaurant.
"I had so much fun," Kelly said, almost surprised that she actually really meant it.
Robyn nodded enthusiastically, "Me too. And I mean, did you see those boots? 50% off! Damn!"
The waiter came by not long after to take their order and twenty minutes later their conversation had come to a halt. Maybe going out without Michelle hadn't been such a good idea after all. Kelly was just really bad at keeping conversations going apparently.
Robyn had diverted her attention back to the menu, probably just wanting to keep herself busy. Even so, thankfully, it wasn't awkward.
Kelly leaned back in her chair, starting to look around the restaurant. Much to her displeasure she found herself thinking about Beyoncé again. It was as if her absence actually made Kelly see the woman everywhere. Like the woman right in front of her, her back was turned towards Kelly but her curly flowing hair was enough to remind Kelly of her.
The length and colour were exactly the same. She immediately felt an incredible feeling of overwhelming sadness and she felt the pit of her stomach clench. Right. Time to find something else to look at. Her eyes studied the other people at the woman's table, two old men, an old woman and a younger man. Kelly frowned. Why did the latter looked so familiar.
Her eyes grew wide as realisation dawned on her.
Beyoncé's husband?! The husband that she had called to pick up a drunk Beyoncé, which seemed like ages ago already? What was he...Wait...If that was Beyoncé's husband... As if on command, the waiter came by to collect their empty plates and the woman looked up. Beyoncé looked up.
What were the chances? Kelly had gone out with her friends in order to think of something other than her and yet here she was. God was being very cruel to her. Kelly gaped for a while at her side profile. There was a smile on it, but Kelly recognised it as the polite smile she had been the recipient of herself way too many times in the last few days. Once the waiter had left, she looked down again but Kelly couldn't tear her gaze away.
She watched how she intertwined her fingers with her husband's, who shot his wife a charming smile. Kelly knew it wasn't real. It couldn't be after what Beyoncé had told her. Nonetheless, she felt a sudden burst of jealousy surge through her. How was this even fair. That...guy was sleeping with somebody else and yet he had the right to touch her like that while Kelly didn't?!
"Kelz-Kelly!" She find it kind of difficult to pull her gaze back to Robyn who was looking at her with worried eyes. "What's going on?" Kelly opened her mouth but Robyn interrupted her before she could talk, "don't you dare say 'nothing'." She quirked a critical eyebrow and Kelly had to shut her mouth again for that was exactly wat she was going to say. She supposed there was no use in hiding it since Robyn would probably notice soon enough anyway.
"Beyoncé's here."
"I see." She casually ran a hand through her hair before turning her head slightly so she could catch a glimpse. "And you recognised her by her back? Not bad."
Robyn's eyes ran over her face for a while and Kelly just shrugged nervously, "N-not really...". Kelly couldn't lie, Robyn did intimidate her.
"So have you told her?"
Kelly propped her head up on her arm, trying to focus on Robyn instead of Beyoncé having dinner with her husband right next to them. "Have I told her what?"
Robyn turned the wine in her glass before taking a sip. "That you have feelings for her."
Kelly blinked a few times. How did she know? Wait what?. Kelly suddenly felt her head grow heavy. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, surely looking like an exact copy of a dumb looking fish. Robyn just cocked her head though, as if she hadn't been expecting any other reaction.
As if to make everything worse, Kelly saw Beyoncé and her company get up. Beyoncé turned around and it was almost as if their eyes were magnets, immediately attracted to each other and unable to break the connection easily. Kelly felt her heart beating hard, almost painfully in her chest. Robyn's words repeating over and over in her head, a nervous sweat breaking out as she could only stare back at those familiar, beautiful, amber eyes.
Oh my God. She was in love with Beyoncé? How did that happen? Why did it have to happen?
She flinched as she suddenly felt a hand cup her cheek, a thumb softly stroking her cheekbone. She finally managed to break eye contact with Beyoncé and looked down at Robyn, who just winked at her.
Her gaze snapped back up to a suddenly pale looking Beyoncé. Her lips were pressed together in a thin line and within seconds she had turned around again, her back once again turned to Kelly. Robyn smirked as she pulled her hand back while Kelly watched Beyoncé leave. "Tell her."
