Transcendence

26: Step (One At A Time)

 "Um....I-I saw your interview on tv today... You left New York?" Her eyes met his.

"I did." He watched as her cheeks grew red and felt his lips smile.

"When?" His heart beat faster and he felt his blood rush throughout his body. He cleared his throat and shifted from one foot to the other.

"About two months ago." Her eyebrows arched.

"Two months?" He nodded.

"Mm."

"Why two months?"

"I wanted enough time to have an appropriate break without feeling the need to rush."

"Where'd you go again?"

"Hocking Hills."

"Oh." He took in a big breath.

"Are you headed home?" She wasn't looking at him and something about that bothered him. She unconsciously worried her lips with bites and her skin shown with the perspiration of her workout.

"Yeah."

"Rae..."

"E-Ebere..." Her voice croaked softly in reply. He felt himself smile. She was so beautiful when she was flustered.

"Look at me." She stayed still for a little while before slowly bringing her eyes up to his. Better. Much better.

"What?" Her voice was soft.

"How have you been?"

"I've been good. Real good."

"I see. That's great then."

"Yeah."

"Mm." A silence fell between them and she turned to fill her bottle back up without another word.

"I guess I should be going hm?" She brought the bottle to her lips and took a long sip before answering,

"Me too."

"Okay then. Good night." He smiled at her. Her blush deepened but she softly smiled in return.

"Night." As he watched her walk away from him, he sighed heavily. He was glad he hadn't appeared as nervous as he had felt. He lifted his towel to brush his damp hair and began to head to the door. What were the chances that they came to the same gym? On this night? His heart fluttered. He couldn't help but feel like a new beginning was upon them. As he soon headed to his car, he smiled to himself. He couldn't wait to see her again.

*******

She drove home in the silence of the night. Soft low smooth jazz played on the radio and the window was cracked, letting cool air into the car. She couldn't believe it. She'd seen him. She wasn't expecting to see him for a little while yet. But oh what a surprise it was. She bit her lip as she drove on. All that stuttering and boo boo the foolery going on was not okay. Granted, it had been darn near four months since she had seen bruh so she supposed she could understand. Tightening the steering wheel, she deeply pursed her lips. She was gonna need to get herself together because she refused to keep stuttering every time she saw him. That was definitely not going to happen.

When she got home, the first person she dialed was Amee.

"Hello?"

"A..."

"Hey Ebbie. What's up?"

"Guess who I just saw at the gym?" She was quiet.

"It better not have been Kwasame punk ass."