Page 13 of Aquarius Awakening
I nearly choked on my drink. As I cleared my throat, I looked at Jacob in surprise. Our attraction was never said out loud. It was one of those things that was understood. I saw past Jacob the nerd, and he saw past the version of me that I portrayed to the world.
“You never told me you thought of me that way,” I uttered.
“I was your nerdy best friend. When would it have been the right time to tell you I liked you? Shit, I’ve always had a thing for you. I loved Geneva, but I never got over the possibility of you and me. I know you aren’t divorced, but would you be open to spending time together? As friends, of course. We can catch up for old times’ sake,” he offered.
The sensation of his touch caused a puddle to form in the seat of my panties. I found Jacob attractive, but I never thought of us together. He was my safe space, and I left it at that.
“I’m blown away by all of this. I had no idea you ever felt that way. I’ve never experienced separation or divorce before, so I don’t know how it will end. I’m not ready for anything other than a friend right now. If you’re cool with us rekindling our friendship, I can do that,” I offered.
Jacob’s perfect smile with all his pearly whites crept across his face. While I only offered him friendship, Jacob made me feel as if I’d offered more. We continued to sit in the coffee shop, catching up on the years we missed in each other’s lives. It was nice to catch up with Jacob. Our conversations were always top tier, and time hadn’t changed our dynamic. Regardless of what Jacob wanted for now, it was nice to have a good time with a man who enjoyed my company.
Reality Strikes
A seriesof loud knocks startled me out of my sleep. I initially thought I was dreaming. The knocks persisted, so I forced myself out of bed. I grabbed my silk robe from the other side of the bed. My body ached, and exhaustion slowed down my movements. I closed my robe as I approached the door. When I checked the peephole, I saw a white man in a suit carrying a manila envelope. While I wasn’t expecting anything, Milani could have sent me something. She and Imani were the only ones who knew where I stayed.
I decided to open the door slightly. “Can I help you with something?” I asked.
“I’m looking for Faith Baxter. Does she reside here?” the older gentleman inquired.
“I’m Faith Baxter,” I confirmed.
“Mrs. Baxter, you have been served,” he declared as he forced the envelope into my hand and walked away.
Once the initial shock of the interaction wore off, I closed the door and locked it. I placed the envelope on the counter as Imani entered the living room. I almost forgot she was staying with me for a few days.
“What was all the commotion so early in the morning?”
“Apparently, I’ve been served,” I informed her.
“What? By whom?” she asked.
“That’s a good question,” I noted as I picked up the envelope to look at its contents. As I scanned over the paperwork, I felt my nostrils flare.
“Mason filed for divorce. He wants our prenup thrown out. I can’t believe he’s being such an asshole,” I fumed as I paced back and forth.
Imani shook her head, sharing the anger I felt. “If he wants to fight, you give him a fight. Mason is doing this to try to hurt you. Remember, you’re levelheaded, so don’t let emotions take over right now,” she advised.
“It’s hard to be levelheaded when he keeps coming for me. The Aquarius in me just wants to go fuck some shit up. I’m tired of him trying to take my kindness for weakness. I couldn’t give him a baby, so he wants ownership in my business. This is crazy,” I ranted. The pacing wasn’t helping, so I found my way to the balcony.
When Mason mentioned the divorce, I still wasn’t completely sold that we were truly over. I hoped he was taking our time apart to think about us. Now, as I held onto these court documents, he proved his words weren’t said out of anger. When I checked the date on the documents, they had been filed theday after our last conversation. Mason had really been over our marriage a long time ago. I never shared this address with him, so how could he have found me?
I heard horror stories of couples fighting over everything during their divorce. Now I seem to be living a real-life nightmare. He wanted us to sell the condo in the city. The house in Long Island that he didn’t care for, he wanted to keep. On top of that, he stated he had given me the initial investment for Love Faith. With his initial investment, Mason argued he should be a co-owner in the business. I was going to be sick. This was too much.
Against my better judgment, I allowed him to invest in my business. At the time, he posed it as a wedding gift. Love Faith was much smaller than it is now when we first met. I had been in business for two years before I met Mason. As I was just getting my feet wet in the industry, he gave me money to cover business expenses. After that, I secured my first major client. There was no way to determine whether his investment led to that. It was all so frustrating. I never thought my marriage would end like this. The prenuptial agreement was supposed to protect both of our assets. I had no idea how long I had been on the balcony before Imani came to check on me.
“I know you’re upset about Mason, but how did things go with Jacob last night? You came in pretty late, so it must have gone well,” she teased.
“Really? Since you need to know so badly, I had a good time with Jacob. We went to the cute coffee shop on Pine Street and closed the place down,” I shared.
“Are you going to see him again? Please tell me he’s single,” she insisted.
I rolled my eyes. “Why does he need to be single?” I asked.
“Read the room, girl. I’m in search of a new brother-in-law. The old one was a clown. Jacob seems to have long-term potential,” she joked.
“Yes, he’s single, but I’m not yet. I told him I was separated, but we could work on our friendship. Sorry to burst your bubble, but you won’t be getting a new brother-in-law anytime soon,” I assured her.
“We’ll just see about that. Let’s get dressed. We need to get some food. You’re going to need a shark of a lawyer to get rid of Mason’s ass once and for all,” she affirmed.
