Veronica hung up the phone just as Frank walked into the kitchen. Veronica had already gotten him a glass of water, which he immediately drank.
“Thank you,” Frank said.
Veronica nodded, but remained quiet.
“Was that Calvin?” Frank asked quietly, and Veronica knew that he already knew the answer to that.
“I called and set up our date,” she explained quietly. “It’s tomorrow at six, and I told him I had to be back by midnight.”
Frank looked a little surprised.
“I thought you would want to take the whole night,” he said.
“That is probably the very last thing I want,” Veronica scoffed.
“Hey,” Frank moved closer to her and placed his hands on her waist, looking into her eyes. “Don’t be down about this.”
“I can’t help it,” Veronica sighed. She thought for a moment, and she was grateful that Calvin granted her the time to process her thoughts.
“I haven’t even seen him in weeks,” she said softly. “I just… I just don’t know how to be around him anymore. Especially not with all this. With you and me.”
“Don’t worry about all that,” Calvin said softly. “You just be you. You’re smart. You’re going to know what to do in whatever situation you find yourself in. I believe in you.”
Veronica nodded, and she found that his words served to comfort her quite a bit.
“Are you sure you want me to go through with this?” she whispered, and he smiled down at her.
“Like I said,” Frank gave a half smile. “I think you need to see him. And I think it will help you to figure out what you really want to get out of this situation.”
Veronica nodded. She moved closer to Frank and rested her head against his broad chest. She inhaled the scent of his musk after his workout and shivered as the scent filled her lungs.
“I just want you to remember one thing,” Frank said, pulling back slightly. Veronica looked up at him, waiting for him to tell her what was on his mind.
“I want you to remember that I want you,” he said. “In your mind while you’re processing all these things, I don’t want you to ever doubt that I think you’re the woman for me, and that I want you more than anything. Don’t ever get that twisted. I want you to be mine. You just have to decide if I’m the one for you.”
Veronica swallowed at yet another raw confession from this man.
“But if that man for you is Calvin,” Frank went on more softly. “I will respect your decision in that regard, and we can both move on with our lives accordingly.”
Veronica took in his words, and looked up at him.
“Thank you,” she said softly. “I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you’re so understanding.”
Frank smiled down at her.
“All I want is for you to have a good chance to be happy,” Frank almost whispered. “And I do want it to be with me, no doubt. But I think Calvin is a good man, too. And I know he has a good future to offer you as well. If he was some kind of shady low-life, I wouldn’t be encouraging you to entertaining him as an option.”
Veronica smiled, as she couldn’t quite manage a laugh. Frank noticed her quietness, and he lifted her face up to look at him.
“Everything’s going to work out, alright?” Frank assured her. “I’m going to go get ready for work. You coming up?”
“No,” Veronica shook her head. “I’m going to stay down here for a second. I just want to clear my head a little bit.”
“Okay,” Frank smiled. “I’ll see you in just a little bit.”
Veronica smiled as he moved out of the kitchen and up the stairs. She let out a soft rush of air, and she buried her face in her hands. She felt like her life was beginning to spin out of control.
She wondered how things would have been if she had never taken the job from Frank. Would she and Calvin have broken up eventually just from their differences? Would they have stayed together, eventually gotten married and had children and a family of their own? All those ideas seemed to be pure fantasy now that she had been disloyal to him.