Thursday.

A weak end affair (part 2)

"Hey girl!" Imani exclaimed, as Estelle's stomach clenched. "Hey, Imani" she responded uncomfortably. "How have you been? I haven't seen you or your sister in a while." "I've been good." Estelle answered shakily. "Who's your handsome friend?" Imani joked. "This is-" "Jason" Cedric said cutting Estelle off and offering his hand for Imani to shake. "He's a cute one" Imani whispered to Estelle loud enough for Cedric to hear. Cedric chuckled. He looked calm and unbothered by the fact that Imani knew both her and her sister. Estelle's tongue was dry as she ordered her drink. Cedric ordered an expensive wine and Imani left the room to place the orders.

"I have to get out of here" Estelle said, now trying to calm down. "Don't worry about it" Cedric said. "That's easy for you to say. If you get caught you're just a jerk. If I get caught I could lose my sister. I don't know what I'm doing here." Cedric placed his hand on Estelle's. "Listen, she obviously doesn't know me. Plus, the damage is done. We might as well enjoy the rest of tonight." "I can't enjoy it, I'm sorry. I have to go." Estelle said. With that she got up and headed home. Cedric got up and tried to follow her, but at the pace she was walking it would have caused a scene outside of the private room so he let her go.

Estelle waited for the valet service to bring her car around as a few rain drops began to fall on her head. "Great." She felt like crying, but she held it together. No guy is worth this she thought to herself. Her Cedric phone began to ring. She silenced it, turned it off, and put it in her purse. When she got home, she found the house empty. She took off all her clothes, hopped in the shower to wipe all the makeup away and got into her favorite sleeping clothes; a white night gown and fuzzy socks. She got into bed and wrapped her fluffiest comforter around her and tried to remain numb. After ten minutes or so she heard the doorbell ring. Why wouldn't Stephanie just use her key? Estelle thought. She went to the door and opened it to find Cedric standing in the rain. "Cedric! What are you doing here?" "I just wanted to talk." He said seriously. "How did you know where I live? What if my sister was here?" She asked angrily. "I had to drop your sister off here one time, and I just kind of remembered. Both of your sisters are at Rebecca's house, and will be until tomorrow morning. They're having a 'no-date' night." He said while getting drenched. "Fine, come in. But you can't stay long, who knows if they might stop by here." Estelle hadn't checked her real phone all afternoon. Estelle checked her phone and saw that Stephanie had texted her to say she was going to be at Rebecca's until tomorrow morning.

Feeling more assured, Estelle brought Cedric to the living room so they could sit on the couch and talk. They sat on the opposite ends of the three cushion leather couch. "Cedric.." Estelle began. But she didn't really have anything to say. "Look" Cedric interjected. "I know this is a mess. I wish we had met under different circumstances. But sometimes life works in crazy ways. We've been talking every night for over a month, and I feel like I know you. I feel like we click. I know you feel it too. Just because something is complicated doesn't mean we should throw it out entirely. I think... Maybe we can slow down from dates. Till then... we'll make plans." Estelle listened to everything he had to say. Deep down she wanted to be with him. "What do you mean by plans?" Estelle asked as if she was uninterested. "The plan on how we can be together." "And what might that be? My sister likes you. You're in a relationship with her." She responded back with aggravation in her voice. "But I love you. And as long as that's true, it's not fair for me to be in a relationship with her. To anybody" he said solemnly. "Honestly, I couldn't even be with you if you broke up with her, she would hate me." Estelle said with desperation. "Listen, I'm not asking you to choose between me and your sister. I know she would win. But maybe, when you move for medical school I could move too. I would try to remain friends with Rebecca and over time explain to her my feelings for you." "You make it sound easy" Estelle said shaking her head. "It won't be easy. But our happiness could be worth it." "What about Rebecca's happiness?" Estelle said feeling guilty about the conversation. But the truth was she was feeling guilty because she started to believe it might be possible. "Rebecca is a beautiful girl, with a lot to offer. She will meet somebody who actually deserves her." Estelle kept her head down. She didn't know what to say. She felt Cedric's hand lift her chin up. She still looked to her left so she didn't look at him. He then turned her head so she was looking at him, and they both smiled. Cedric leaned in towards Estelle, and though she made no motion towards him, she had been fantasizing about kissing Cedric since the day they met, and therefore turned her head to meet his lips.

His tender kiss turned into a passionate one. Cedric placed his hand on the side of Estelle's face. Their tongues circled each other and Cedric sucked on her bottom lip. Suddenly there was a vibrating noise coming from Cedric's pocket. Cedric ignored it, so Estelle did as well. But after a second time of ringing, Estelle pulled away. "You should check it, it could be important." Cedric pulled out his phone from his pocket and silenced it. "Who was it?" Estelle asked, regretting it before she even finished the question. Cedric paused like he was thinking of something to say. "It was Rebecca." Immediately after the phone began to vibrate again. "Pick it up." Estelle said in a sighed tone. "This is our time-" "Pick it up, Cedric." Estelle said cutting him off. Cedric picked up the phone. "Hello? Yes, babe. Yes, I told you I'm working at the nursing home tonight. No. No. Are you drunk?" Estelle started feeling ashamed that she was watching the conversation. Cedric stood up and went into another room and began to whisper. "I'm just with the other residents. Stop. Just stop. Look, I can't talk right now. Ok, bye." Cedric walked back in the room with the look of defeat on his face. He sat down on the couch next to Estelle and she looked up at him. "It's probably best-" "If I go?" Cedric interrupted. "I'm sorry, I just need time." Estelle answered. Cedric paused for a few seconds. "Okay." He leaned forward and gave Estelle a kiss on the cheek. Estelle walked behind him to the door to lock it. She didn't really want him to leave now that he was physically walking out the door in front of her. She headed back to the couch and noticed immediately that he had forgotten his phone. She grabbed it, and threw a jacket over her head to block the rain and ran outside after Cedric's car as it backed out of the driveway. Cedric stopped, pulled forward and got out of the car. He walked up to her in the rain as Estelle extended her hand forward to reveal his phone. Cedric continued to walk forward, ignoring the phone in her hand, and putting his hand behind her neck and pulled her in to his soft lips.