Page 13 of Loving a Libra
I began scurrying around the room, looking for my clothes, forgetting I’d put them on the chair when I undressed earlier.
“What are you doing?”
“I need to go to the pharmacy to get a Plan B. I think I have up to seventy-two hours, so I still have time.”
I didn’t bother with my panties and slipped one leg into my sweats. Suddenly, I paused. The closest twenty-four-hour pharmacy was blocks away, and I’d taken an Uber here. I used the service occasionally, but I wasn’t a fan of it. I damn sure wouldn’t be taking it at this time of night.
I shook my head and flopped onto the bed, with one leg in my sweats and still naked from the waist up.
“Changed your mind?” I could hear humor in his voice.
“I took an Uber here, and I don’t feel comfortable taking one this late. The closest pharmacy is too far for me to walk alone at this hour, and based on your demeanor, you won’t be volunteering to take me.”
“Maybe God is trying to tell you something.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m cheating on my boyfriend with his best friend. God ain’t doing shit but shaking his head in shame.”
“You might be right. This ain’t the most ideal situation, but I prefer to look at the bright side. I love you, and even though you haven’t processed and accepted it, you love me, and I’m not talking about as a friend. We want the same things out of life, baby. You’re ready to get married and start a family, and so am I. If you want to take a Plan B, I won’t stop you, but you’ll have to figure out how to make that happen without my assistance.”
“What makes you think I love you?”
“What makes you think you don’t?”
I took my sweats off and tossed them back onto the chair, not bothering to ask Tariq to take me to the pharmacy. He’d made it clear where he stood and was okay if I were pregnant with his child. Although I wanted to be married before having children, I wasn’t foolish enough to terminate a pregnancy at this age. My first instincts caused me to panic, but I was actually glad Tariq didn’t follow my lead.
Last night, I slept with him as the ultimate get-back because I knew when Maurice found out, he’d be sick. However, at my core, that wasn’t the kind of woman I was. I was loyal and enjoyed committed relationships. Even in my younger years, when I was more willing to have casual sex, I’d only had a handful of one-night stands.
I knew Tariq intimately, even before we had sex. During our time together, we shared our deepest thoughts, desires, and dreams for the future. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how compatible we were. The Sagittarius in him connected with the Libra in me.
His optimism about damn near everything gave me a different perspective, while my need for stability and balance did the same for him. We enjoyed having fun, and I found it intriguing how our idea of what we considered fun shifted around the same time. Tariq enjoyed the social scene as much as Maurice, but being in the streets didn’t appeal to Tariq as much it did a few years ago.
I’d been sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the wall, and he gently pulled me back to the middle with him. We returned to the position we were in before I straddled him, lying next to each other with my head on his chest, my leg draping his and his arms around me.
“What were you thinking about?” he asked after my long bout of silence.
“Connecting the dots to how we ended up here is wild, but the signs have been there for a long time.”
“I know exactly when I realized I was in love with you.”
“Tell me.”
“It was probably two years ago. The shit Maurice was doing behind your back started to piss me off. Don’t get me wrong. I never agreed with it, but it wasn’t my business. I started telling him how wrong he was, and one day I said a little too much. We almost came to blows, and he accused me of wanting to fuck you. He wasn’t wrong, but what I share with you has never been about sex.”
“Wow. He’s never mentioned y’all getting into about me.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. He’s too cocky to think you’d ever step out on him, especially with me.”
“Me not stepping out on him ain’t got shit to do with him. It’s just not who I am.”
“Iknow that, and it’s fucked up that he doesn’t. I can tell you when I knew you’d fallen for me.”
I shook my head. “That’s impossible because I just realized it myself.”
He smiled. “Oh, so you’re admitting you’re in love with me?”
I ignored his question. “Tell me when you knew.”
I was more intrigued than I wanted to admit because I couldn’t pinpoint when my feelings for Tariq changed. The guilt probably prevented me from acknowledging them, because what kind of woman allowed herself to fall for her boyfriend’s best friend? I didn’t think I was that kind of woman, . . . but clearly, . . . I was.
