A BROWN SHADE OF BLUE

Delicate Desires

-------💙🤎Sorry for the length of this chapter. I promise there will be no more chapters with this length. This will be the only and I am considering dividing it into two. Nonetheless, I hope you like it. Don't forget to share your comments as you go along. Thanks for reading this far.💙🤎-------

Unexpectedly, we became really good friends, hence phone calls became frequent for the next few months. Neither of us had the intention of becoming close. I expected his phone call every night before bed. His voice had that depth to it that was coupled with such calmness. I could listen to him all day and I guess he felt the same. Furthermore, I looked forward to seeing messages from him throughout the day, checking to see if I was ok or simply telling me that he was thinking of me. He was quite the charmer. He often told me that my voice was the last he wanted to hear before bed every night and the first when he woke in the mornings. Surprisingly, I felt the same way.
It was strange how much we had gotten close in just a period of months and how much we liked each other without actually saying it. There was chemistry! Men had approached me with sexual conversations but Marquise although with a history of being a prominent whore, had never uttered a word of sex. I noted that and I respected that. He knew I was waiting until marriage, hence I was inexperienced. Not like he was! There was a chemistry I had never felt with anyone else before. I had only dated Christian guys before but I never felt as connected with them as I did with Marquise. Strange!
However, he was quite cognizant of the boundary that was never to be crossed. Although, we somehow enjoyed talking with each other about literally everything, we still would not dare think of taking a step further. We could never forget that he was still a devoted Dancehall artiste and I was a devoted Christian and educator. Being together would just be impossible. It would be scandalous! It would be challenging!
Sundays I went to church and he went to the studio. It hurt me that I was singing praises to God and speaking against sins, while the man I enjoyed speaking with every night would be composing songs of violence and of promiscuity. It saddened me but I tried convincing myself that there was nothing to be guilty of because after all he was not my man. I owed him no obligation and we were not committed. Nonetheless, it felt like we were!
Jealousy showered me when he posted photos of other women. Anger washed me when I thought of the possibility of him having other women. Truthfully, I was not his girlfriend and was simply a friend, but I wanted him all to myself. Gosh! How confusing! I did not want him in a sexual manner but I wanted him to only focus on me and nobody else. Was I wrong? Of course I was wrong! I was not in love at that point but I wondered if I secretly desired to be. Maybe I was in denial.
Eventually, summer had arrived. I had gotten a job as a tutor and the agency placed me at a school in a nearby town. I often hear that coincidence is the universe's way of indicating a message, hence, I was a bit surprised and slightly elated to know that I would be working in the hometown of Marquise. I was going to finally see him again! We had not seen each other since the first time we ran into each other in January. He often stopped by after school to say hello and brought treats. He was the sweetest! Also, I drove to work some days, so on the afternoons that I didn't, he would accompany me from the school to the town centre and wait until I was in a taxi.
I only worked for two weeks so on the final day, there was a function followed by a little party, organized by a few teachers to express gratitude to the tutors. I was among the five tutors placed at that high school. That meant that I would leave the school later than the norm on the last day so my brother would pick me up after. I had asked him to pick me up by the town centre at seven. I left the school almost six in the evening so nightfall was approaching. I had called Marquise to meet me by the gate so that we could walk to the town centre together but he still was not there.
Growing impatient, I left the school and started walking towards the town. I was walking alone and not many persons were walking along that street. I had walked by a man who seemed rather mischievous because he kept directing flirty comments at me. When I ignored him, he reached out his arm to touch me. "Don't you dare!" I yelled.  I was so loud that some persons across the street glanced at me. Yet, Marquise was still not in sight! Apparently, not satisfied by my reaction, the man began to walk behind me. I wanted to cross the street to get away from him but vehicles kept passing by quickly. It was too risky. I could hear his footsteps approaching me quickly. Suddenly, a tall figure coming towards me, grabbed my hand and my entire body shook in fear. I was frightened! When I looked up it was Marquise. I was delighted to see him, because the man behind me had then turned around and walked away.
Marquise just gave him a death stare. He looked at him with fury in his eyes and tightly held my hand like he was signalling that I was his.