more life / b.simmons (2)

45

"what is he like, again?" amari asks with a sigh as she digs through her closet once more. nothing in her closet looks nice enough or perfect for tonight, and it's starting to drive her wild.

"i told you—he's tall, dark, and fine. that's all you really need to know. and i'm setting you up with him, so you know you're in good hands," nia replies on the other line, holding her phone between her shoulder and ear. amari rolls her eyes to herself and moves to the other end of her closet.

it's official: she's going on a date. maybe it's too early, since she's only been divorced since september and it's february, but she doesn't care. it's time for her to get back out there. it's not like she's looking for anything serious. amari can't lie, she's more scared than nervous. she hasn't been on a first day in years, and has been accustomed to the love of ben and isn't sure if she'll be able to make anything last.

"and you said he works in boston?"

"yes, girl! save the questions for trey!" nia exclaims. a small smile tugs at the corner of her lips at the mention of his name. it's a blind date, so she has no idea who she's linking with, but from the description of him, she's conjured up an image of him that she likes. it's exciting and nerve wracking, all at the same time.

sifting through the side of the closet where she keeps her dresses, amari pulls out four: two black, one nude, and the last red. "what about this?"

"oh my god, i'm about to fly out to philly and help you—put that back!" nia exclaims, causing amari to roll her eyes and put the red dress back. to be fair, it's a few days after valentine's and that's pushing it.

while we're on the topic of valentine's day, amari was the only person in her house who spent it alone. adrian had avery, and jada, kyra, and daniel hung out, despite kyra receiving a small gift in the mail that she managed to get before her mom saw and questioned her. it was a basic necklace with a half moon crescent pendant on the end, as well as a little note attached that kyra hid in her jewelry box.

"stop playing me like i can't dress! i'm just... i don't know, this is weird!" amari takes a seat on her bed and sighs, leaning back onto her freehand and looking at the camera. "i don't want this to go wrong—or too right. it needs to be somewhere in the middle for a buffer."

nia lets our a bark of a laugh at her dramatic friend. only amari would say something like that. "okay, girl, well imma let you go so you can get ready. call me when you're about to leave!"

"will do," the two friends say their goodbyes and amari puts her phone on the charger. between the two dresses on her bed, she's leaning more towards the one sleeved black dress that has a slit on the side rather than the one with the open back.

placing the one she doesn't want to wear back in her closet, she heads into the bathroom to start getting ready. amari wraps her hair up before getting undressed and stepping into the shower. she's a whole bunch of nerves, but she is excited. it's been forever since she's been on a date—a first one at that—and it feels good to be getting back out there, whether it's for fun or not. she's not really ready for all of that commitment again, but she doesn't mind seeing someone.

her kids know about her date, though adrian doesn't like the idea of his parents seeing anyone other than each other, he doesn't really mind and can't be mad because of what his father did. kyra excited for her mom and wants to meet trey already, but she knows that's not even going to happen for awhile. one thing amari isn't going to do, is bring trey around until she feels comfortable—especially around cameron.

after washing her body, amari gets out of the shower twenty minutes later, just as she hears the front door open and close. she grabs her phone and sees that kyra texted her that she's home.