The Choice (All Normani Ships)

1. Falling for the Jock

It was a typical day in New York City. The sidewalks were a scene of hustle and bustle as people rushed to and from restaurants during lunch time. Hundreds of them passed a bistro where two friends sat outside enjoying their low-calorie meals. They were both models, so they needed to watch their figures. One of the women, a beautiful woman with big, curly, bleached hair, smiled as she read a text message from her boyfriend. Her friend, who was also attractive, sat across from her and rolled her eyes as the other woman cooed over her significant other's sweet nothings.

"I saw that," pointed out the woman who was texting on her phone.

Her friend ignored her and continued eating the salad in front of her, but the woman with the curly hair wasn't going to let her friend off easy.

"Normani, when are you going to find a man...or a woman? I don't care who it is. I'm just tired of seeing you alone," the curly-haired woman complained.

"Jilly, I'm enjoying the single life. It's a choice that I'm happy with. What does it matter to you anyway?" Normani responded.

Jilly rolled her head around to stretch out a cramp in her neck. They had just come from the gym. "It's just that, you're always going to parties and other events without a date. We can't even go on double dates. It's depressing seeing you live this way. Doesn't your pussy need petting?" Jilly inquired.

Normani scowled at her friend. "My pussy is none of your business." Normani forked the last leaf of lettuce on her plate and shoved it into her mouth. She got up quickly from her chair as if she were in a rush to get somewhere quickly. "I have to go. I'll call you later."

"Where are you going?" Jilly asked.

"I'm going back to the gym because you cut my workout off early," Normani answered.

Jilly looked at her buddy befuddled. "So soon after eating? You're going to barf. Girl, you work out way too much. I think you're trying to replace sex with exercise."

Normani sighed and picked up her gym bag. "Bye."

The truth was that Normani wasn't really wanting to go back to the gym. She just wanted to escape Jilly's interrogation. They've had that conversation a couple of times before, and Normani explained the reason why she wasn't ready to jump back into a relationship. All throughout her late twenties and early teens, she was in a relationship. As one ended, she quickly fell into another. Now, with nothing to show for her tendency to fall in love easily, she felt as if she wasted her best years on being tied down. While she still had some years left in her twenties, she was going to enjoy them being single.

Rather than head to the locker room to put up her gym bag, Normani headed straight to the juice bar at the gym, placed her bag down on the floor, and sat on a stool. She ordered an apple-cucumber-eggplant concoction. As soon as the server placed her drink in front of her, Normani began to sip on it slowly with Jilly's words running through her mind. She didn't know why the brief conversation about her relationship status bothered her so much this time. They had longer conversations before that didn't faze her. Was she missing out on something by remaining single for three years?

"I can't believe it. What are the chances?" said a woman who was out of sight.

Normani turned her head to the right where she could hear the voice coming from and saw a tall woman take a seat on the stool next to her. Suddenly, Normani felt as if her heart jumped up into her throat. It was someone she hadn't seen in about eight years.

"Cat got your tongue?" giggled the tall woman.

"I...what are you doing in New York?" asked Normani.