Gifted Connections 1

Me: Yes, thank you.

Troy: How was the meeting with the girls?

Me: Jemmy has a big mouth. Remind me never to share any secrets with her. Not a fan of Tamara or Stacey, but Rose seems nice.

Troy: Lol, those girls are high maintenance, and Rose is…nice.

I mulled that over for a moment; I didn’t know how to respond to that.

Troy: I should be getting home by Sunday. Want to go out for dinner somewhere? Get to know each other better?

I really wanted to turn him down, but I really didn’t have a valid excuse. I did need to get to know them.

Me: Sure.

Troy: Ouch! Don’t sound too enthusiastic.

Me: Your reputation proceeds you, sir. :-P

Troy: Jemmy has a big mouth! I’ll text you the time.

Me: K.

Troy: Double ouch.

I giggled to myself as I sunk deeper into the tub, letting the warm water ease the tension from my body. After nearly nodding off for the third time, I finally stepped out, and blotted my body dry before slipping on the thigh length robe Jemmy insisted I get. I had to admit, I appreciated her insistence now as I felt the cool silk rub across my warm, bare skin. I went into my walk-in closet to grab my body lotion as a knock sounded on my door.

“Come in,” I called from my closet, assuming it was Jemmy.

I rubbed the lotion in my skin and pulled my hair down. I ran a brush through my hair as I called out to Jemmy. “Are Tamara and Stacey normally that bitchy?” I asked as I put some face lotion in my palms, rubbing it in as I walked out into my room.

I don’t know who was more surprised me, or Drake.

“Sorry,” I turned red. “I thought you were Jem.”

He was slightly red himself. “Sorry, did you want me to come back in the morning? I saw your light on, so I thought…”

I cut him off. “No worries. Let me slip into my pajamas.” I quickly ducked back into my closet and pulled on a pair of flannel shorts and a matching tank top. I pulled the tags off and threw them in an empty shopping bag I was temporarily using as a trash can.

&nb

sp; I walked back out and took a seat at the end of my bed. “What’s up?” I asked, surprised that he was here.

“Well,” he cleared his throat. “I came to apologize to you. I should have told you about Rose.”

I hugged my knees to my chest and shrugged. “We just met each other. I didn’t expect you too. This has to be extremely hard on you. You’ve been dating this girl for years. Even though we have a connection, it’s not like you could throw out any feelings for her the moment you met me.”

He pointed to the end of my bed wordlessly. I nodded. “That’s the thing,” he sat down and leaned over with his elbows on his knees as he ran his hands through his slightly curly hair. “I love Rose. I’ve always loved Rose, but I think I fell out of love with her long ago. Sometimes, I would listen to the guys talking, and they would describe,” he coughed looking for the right words, “their escapades, and I would think wow, I’ve never felt that…passion. I don’t think Rose has either. I know she’s cheated on me,” he shrugged. “Hell, I’m pretty sure she’s cheating on me right now, but I love her.”

I stared at him, my jaw dropped. “Does your—” I began.

He shook his head, anticipating my question. “No, no one knows. Although, I think Remy does. A couple of years ago we had a little party here when Pops was out of town. We invited some friends over, and had some drinks and got a little lit. I must have passed out at one point. When I woke up the next morning, Rose was gone, and when I went looking for her, Remy got really tense and said she was gone.”

I gasped. “Do you think they slept together?”

He shook his head firmly. “No. Remy would never do that to me— to any of us. He’s rough around the edges, but he would never do anything to hurt any one of us. From the way they acted towards each other for a while, I think Rose came on to him and Remy kicked her out.”

I sat there for a moment before I scooted closer to him and linked our hands together. Not caring about my own aversion to touch, knowing he needed some comfort. He seemed to appreciate it as he leaned in closer to me. Thoughts were running wild through my head, and I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. “How is that any different than what’s expected of me?” I said, unable to hide the distress in my voice. “In order for me to make this connection with you guys it requires some level of intimacy. I don’t want to be that girl messing around with six guys. You deserve to have a passionate relationship. You should be with a girl that would never want to hurt you. Someone who would love you and be faithful and loyal to only you.”