Read Online Lessons From a Younger Lover by Zuri Day - Free Book Online Page B

More and more, this lunch idea with Joanna was proving to be a bad one. She had no desire to sit down and be interrogated for an hour by an obvious busybody. When her phone rang and she saw Chantay on the caller ID, she could have kissed her friend.
    â€œHello?”
    â€œHey, girl, what’s happening?”
    â€œYes, this is Gwen Smith.”
    â€œI know who the hell you are. What are you doing, drinking Sienna tap water and losing your mind?”
    â€œOh, I see. Well, I’m at lunch actually, but I could come right now.”
    â€œWho are you trying to give the heave-ho to? It better not be that fine man you keep acting like you don’t like.”
    â€œOkay, I’ll leave right now and get there as soon as I can.”
    â€œOkay, Oleta Adams. Railway, trailway, cross a damn desert and come see my ass!”
    Gwen ended the call and crushed down a guffaw. When she saw Chantay, she would strangle her!
    â€œIs everything okay?”
    â€œActually, no, Joanna. That call was regarding something urgent. I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to take a raincheck. Kristy, can you make me a large double-Dutch to go?”
    As soon as she got in the car, Gwen couldn’t get her Bluetooth on fast enough. She hit Chantay on the speed dial and eased out of Kristy’s parking lot. Chantay was laughing hysterically when she answered her phone.
    â€œThat wasn’t funny,” Gwen said, unable to contain the laughter spilling out of her own mouth. “You don’t know what was going on. It could have been important. I could barely keep a straight face. Chantay, stop laughing!”
    Chantay tried to stop, and spit words out between giggles. “Okay, girl. Ooh, man, I haven’t laughed like that in a long time. Whew, that was good.” She took a couple deep breaths to regain her composure and wiped tears away from her eyes.
    â€œYeah, well, I’m glad I helped you get your laugh on.”
    â€œWho was it…Adam?”
    â€œNo, Joanna, the first-grade teacher. And I can see right now that she’s messy, and will be the last one in town who I tell my business.”
    Gwen relayed what had happened at Kristy’s and made plans to visit her true-blue friend the following weekend.

11
    Gwen faced a barrage of mixed emotions as she drove to Chantay’s apartment. Where had her calm life gone? And why was the usual placid, handle-any-circumstance Gwen on a perpetual emotional roller coaster? She wanted to blame her period, but it wasn’t due for another two weeks. Of course, part of it was her mother’s move and another part was her divorce from Joe Smith. And as significant as these events were, it chagrined her that they weren’t the main reasons for her turmoil. She hadn’t seen Ransom for several days, but he was never far from her mind.
    Determined not to think about him, Gwen reached for the radio knob and turned up the sound. She’d brought along her favorite CD for this very reason—so she could tune out any unwanted thoughts and keep her mood happy. The Greatest R&B Hits of 1984 CD switched from one song to another, and Gwen tapped out a beat on the steering wheel as she sang along to a Rockwell classic. As she thought about who might be watching her, a pair of coal black eyes swam into her consciousness. Dangit. What’s the matter with me? she thought. Gwen considered herself a self-contained, practical adult, not prone to flights of fancy or childish crushes. That she couldn’t seem to shake a man who obviously thought he was God’s gift was getting on her nerves. Peeved, she punched the CD track button again.
    â€œâ€¦and now it’s solid…solid as a rock!”
    Ashford and Simpson could normally take Gwen straight back into junior year and the Showtime skating rink with Chantay and company. But now all that thinking about something solid did was take her back into the memory of that hard chest she ran into