A Necessary Struggle: Spring Semester

Chapter 50: Speak Your Mind

Harmony wanted to call Cairo and tell him she wasn't coming. She wanted to slip into pajama and watch a comfort show. She could go for a "Sister, Sister" binge and some M&Ms until she fell asleep to wake up and go through the motions of work and school again without thinking about her bad life choice.

Harmony's eyes didn't cue on the stationary silver food truck in the back or the lights strung overhead. The various colorful characters loudly chatting as they chowed down on wings didn't catch her eye. No, her eyes picked him up as soon as she stepped onto the concrete patio of Crazy Carrie's.

A smile of wonderment spread across Cairo's face as his whiskey optics caught sight of her. He rose from his seat trailing a hand down his white dress shirt then fidgeted with the waistband of his navy slacks. He licked is supple lips as he rubbed a hand over his wavy mane and Harmony prayed that her knees didn't buckle as she gaited his way.

"Nine on the dot," Cairo told reading his sliver Fossil watch. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

Harmony gestured to him before sitting in the chair he already had pulled out, "You look nice. Why so dressed up?"

"Oh." Cairo started as he looked down as if he had forgotten what he had on, "I had a corporate gig before this."

She fixed her linen dress after claiming the seat across from him. A medley of music played through a speaker near the food truck and hum of conversation was accompanied by the occasional outburst of laughter. However, none of the noise came from the table they were sitting.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" She began as she glared up at the stars in the night sky.

"I can find a few things more beautiful than that." Cairo countered lowly.

Harmony's cheeks burned feeling the warmth of his eyes upon her flesh, "If you say." She gave him a small smile. "Where's your food?" She gestured to the table only filled with two sweating cups of water and condiments."

"I was waiting on you."

"You didn't have to."

"Yeah..." He nodded with a chuckle. "I did." He picked at his collar as his Adam's apple dropped when he swallowed. "I have to see how this goes...see if I'll still have an appetite after."

Harmony leaned closer to hear him better, "See how what goes."

Cairo pulled his chair to the square table closing the space between them as he dropped his hand down, inches from hers. "First thing, I broke up with Heaven."

"Okay." She replied.

"And you broke up with Wes." 

"I did."

He glanced over his shoulder as if someone called his name then he turned back around exhaling a deep breath. "I saw you last year."

"What do you mean?" Harmony titled  her head, her fluffy ponytail swayed. "You see me all the time."

"Not on campus." Cairo clarified. "I saw you at home...in Atlanta during winter break. It was just glimpse but I can pick out your face in any crowd." 

"Uhm," Harmony sounded sitting up straighter,  moving her hands off the table and to her lap. "It was a laps of judgement. You can strike that from the memory."

"Strike." He shook his head. "We're not in court. Why were you there?" 

"It's not important anymore." She toyed with the hem of her dress. "I let Ariel convince me to do something outlandish...I wasn't thinking clearly. It was probably the holidays. You know how they can make things seem more fanciful."

 He lifted an eyebrow then added, "Romantic."

She narrowed her eyes, "Maybe."

"Can we stop the pretense. There's something here." He motioned between them. "We both know it...even Wes knew it." 

Harmony abruptly rose from the chair and whispered, "I can't do this. This is the wrong time. Last year maybe but now. I can't. I have to much going on."

"Too much." He stood up. "Class and work. The same thing as usual." 

She shook her head not wanting him to know what she'd been enduring since Spring Break. "Can we call it a night. I'm tired and I don't want to talk about it."

"You don't want to eat?" He gestured to the truck.

Harmony shook her head. "I lost my appetite." She grabbed her purse from the back of the chair and left him standing there. 

She didn't want to hurt him but it was too soon for her to enter into another relationship. She was still recovering from the last one.