Page 2 of Watercolors
His eyes wandered around the room until he caught a certain set of photos. He got up from the sofa and walked over to the small corner, where various photos of Aaliyah doing tattoo work graced the area. She always wore tank tops and her hair in a bun so there wouldn’t be any distraction.
The pictures were taken during various times of day and they all showcased a concentrated Aaliyah working on numerous clients with her trademark water-coloring tattoo.
Ocean took all of the photos.
He knew she kept the photographs because they were beautiful and probably served as a reminder to Aaliyah how far she’d come from where she’d been. Nothing more, nothing less. A part of him did wonder if Aaliyah kept the photos because deep down, she still wanted to be connected to Ocean, even if she couldn’t stand the sight of him.
Ocean shook his head. As “You Oughta Know” played in the background, he had a lot of making up to do. Aaliyah barely let him in the front door, literally and figuratively. She went upstairs to shower and change before they went out to dinner. He booked an entire restaurant just for them to ensure privacy and no interruptions.
All he needed to do now was just wait. Patience was never Ocean’s strong point.
~~~~~~~
“So, he found you?” Brittany began over the phone. “And yet you’re calling me so obviously there’s no makeup sex.”
Aaliyah bristled and rolled her eyes. Ocean’s security detail drove her home from the tattoo shop. She stayed nestled upstairs in her master bedroom getting ready for what…a date? No, it wasn’t a date.
It was an outing between two people who used to have sex, be in love (at least she was), and now they’re pretending they don’t hate each other. At least Ocean was pretending he didn’t hate Aaliyah.
She still had the anger of a scorned woman. “I hate him. I hate him. I hate his fucked-up family. I especially hate his manipulative-ass daddy. I hate everything about him.”
“But…” Brittany blew on the gel nail polish settling on her fingernails. “…he’s downstairs in your condo waiting to take you out?”
Brittany didn’t know much about sports but she just scored a slam-dunk with her assessment. “He insisted and didn’t listen when I told him no.” Aaliyah defended.
“You told him no? I’m pretty sure Ocean would’ve listened if you said no.” Brittany countered.
She just scored a homerun. “I didn’t say yes,” Aaliyah revised.
“Girl, bye.” Brittany rolled her eyes. “There’s a chance he’s truly sorry for what happened, Liyah.”
“Two, almost three years later?” Aaliyah retorted. “I’ve seen the women he’s been linked to since our breakup. None of them look like me and that was intentional.”
“I thought you no longer paid attention to what Mr. Senator did?” Brittany asked as she chewed gum. “I thought, in your words, you no longer cared about what he did.”
I always didAaliyah wanted to admit. Selfish pride wouldn’t let her. “When he’s in the papers, I’m going to see it. When people are talking about that hot, young, available senator from California, I know whom they’re referring to. I can’t avoid all of the political gossip.”
“So, what do you want out of this?” Brittany asked. “He wants you back and it’s clear you’re seriously considering it.”
“Excuse you,” Aaliyah defended, “I’m about to go out to dinner with him, that’s it. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“Didn’t I just say he’s waiting downstairs inside your condo?” Brittany replied. “This is more than just a friendly get-together and adding each other on Facebook now.”
Aaliyah hated how well Brittany could read her like a librarian. “It’s complicated,” she sighed, “even if we do get back together, do you know the scrutiny I’ll be under? I’ll have cameras following me everywhere. No one will leave me alone. And the fact he’s an Ellison? I can forget any thought of privacy for as long as I live.”
“But that’s what you wanted some years ago, Aaliyah. You were prepared for that, remember? You were going to cover up your sleeves, cut your hair so you can be all Stepford Wife-ish, and call it a career. That was what you wanted to do for him.” Brittany countered. “Now why is it a problem now?”
“No one knew who I was back then,” Aaliyah’s popularity grew within the past several years. She was in talks about getting her own reality show as it show her artwork and some of her personal life.
With Ocean’s sudden and swift reappearance in her life, even the reality show was proven problematic. “Ocean wouldn’t dare to be seen with me in public. Not now.”
“I think that’s a risk he’s willing to take,” Brittany replied, “I have a strong suspicion Ocean would not care about anything else as long as you’re back in his life for good.”
“Easy for you to say because you’re not the one dealing with any of this,” Aaliyah chuckled. “You’re home and pregnant, and engaged to a doctor.”
“Hey, it’s a hard life but somebody’s gotta do it.”
“Speaking of a hard knock life,” Aaliyah let out a small sigh, “you have a cousin that’s a P.I., right? How much does he charge?”
