Page 19 of Love Delayed
To oppose would imply there was something to be concerned about, so I just agreed. There was no turning back the clock, so I had to let go of my fantasies of being back with Zamora and focus on moving forward with Eliana.
After discussing other highlights of our engagement party, I went upstairs to make a call to check on my hotel while she cleared the table. When I returned to the dining room, Eliana was nowhere to be found. I walked through the kitchen and downstairs to the basement, where I found her loading some laundry into the washing machine.
“So, what’s the plan for the rest of our day? Chores? I mean, I can help, but I don’t do dishes,” I kidded, stepping closer to her.
She turned to face me. “Is that right? Well, I have a chore for you, all right,” she teased, sliding the spaghetti strap off her shoulder.
“Then let me get busy,” I said, pulling her into my arms.
We kissed, and it didn’t take long before we were rocking with the washing machine on the spin cycle. After a quick round, we headed back to the bedroom for more lovemaking, conversation, and then a short nap. When I woke up, she was nowhere to be found again. Thinking she had gone back down to the basement to put the clothes in the dryer, I picked up the television remote, cued one of the movies from our watch list, and waited for her to return.
It was taking Eliana much longer than I thought it should, so I went downstairs to hurry her up. I opened the door to the basement but paused before descending the stairs when I heard her on the phone.
“Look, Ross, stop blowing up my damn phone. I have moved on. Don’t make me block you!” she barked, then chuckled softly.
I stood at the top of the steps and listened to her go back and forth with this clown. Something inside of me believed she enjoyed this “come-back-to-me-girl” nonsense. Everyone knows that threatening to block someone instead of just blocking them is a foolish game people play to keep entertaining their exes.
“Whatever, negro. I gotta go before he wakes up. And for the last time, stop calling and texting me,” she blasted.
Before ending the call, she did her flirty giggle, which let me know she loved the attention from her ex. I had no time nor the energy to address the bullshit, though.
I quietly closed the door and turned to head over to her wet bar. After pouring myself a drink, I headed back upstairs. I had no intention of asking any questions about Ross or why she was still talking to him. I got comfy on the love seat at the foot of her bed and grabbed the remote. By the time she made it back to her bedroom, I was feeling mellow. That one glass of Crown Royal on ice made me feel nice.
“Baby, you ready?” she asked excitedly, grabbing a blanket from the hall closet before joining me on the sofa.
“I am,” I replied. “But what are movies without snacks? Where’s the popcorn and candy?”
“Honey, you know I don’t eat all that crap,” she protested.
“Well, I do. So get me snacks, lady, or I opt for my place,” I responded playfully.
“Okay, okay! I’ll DoorDash you some snacks, greedy,” she teased.
Eliana was cute, and I did enjoy her energy. However, I still missed Zamora’s laugh and witty sense of humor.
“That works for me. As a matter of fact, …” I said, getting up and grabbing my phone from the nightstand, “…let me order my snacks because your choices be whack,” I said, laughing as I flopped down beside her.
“All lies! But if you plan on getting the type of junk food you like, we’re going to have to move this downstairs to the basement because you are not getting crumbs all over my bedroom, sir.”
“Cool, and I’m down with that. Besides, I don’t want to have to strain my eyes watching this little ass TV,” I joked, then pressed the icon to open the food delivery app.
After filling my online cart with snacks that would require me to put in overtime at the gym, I placed my order, and we relocated to the basement. She also placed an order, but her “snack” choices consisted of sushi rolls, celery, carrots, and ranch dip. I was not mad at her for keeping it healthy, but she never let loose and had a cheat night. Zamora would make all kinds of snacks and desserts. Even though we had to put in an extra ten minutes on the treadmill to work off the calories, it was worth it to enjoy good junk food during movie time.
By the time our orders arrived, we were able to agree on which movie to watch first. I pressed play while shaking my head at Eliana’s sparkling water on the table. Taking a sip of my Crown Royal, I reminded myself not to think about Zamora.
While watching the movie, I pretended not to notice her phone going off and her repeatedly ignoring it. After that movie ended, I went to the bathroom before starting the next. When I came out, I saw her quickly shove her phone down into the side of the cushion. Instead of addressing it, I told her that I was going home.
“Why? I thought we were going to watch another movie?” she whined.
I won’t lie; she was adorable, but her phone was a distraction. I didn’t want to be that guy who tripped over their girl’s phone going off, questioning who was calling and demanding to see the call log. Whatever she had going on would eventually come to the surface if she was living foul.
“That was the plan, but I’m going to go ahead and head out,” I said, leaning in to kiss her.
She tried to convince me to stay, but I just told her that I needed to get some orders in for the hotel and finish up some reconciliations for work. After a few moments of trying to change my mind, she gave in, and I headed upstairs to gather my things. She kissed me at the door, and I held on to the slick-ass comment that danced on the tip of my tongue about whomever she was conversing with via text during our movie. My comment would have led to an exchange of words, and I was not in the mood.
As I walked to my ride, I hit the button on my fob to unlock my doors, and laughed to myself.She’s playing silly-ass games,I thought as I opened the back door and tossed my bag onto the seat. Once I was inside my car, a feeling washed over me. I missed Zamora. I missed her and wanted to talk to her. I questioned if I was ready to marry Eliana or if I should see if Zamora and I could start over. I hated that I ran into her. Being close to her awakened dormant feelings that I thought were gone. Knowing everything she was going through made me want to be there to comfort her and show her how wonderful she truly is.
Halfway home, I called my mother. She and Zamora always kept in contact, and I needed her number. I also wanted to know why my mother thought connecting the two without letting them know who the other was, was a good idea.