sympathetic look then reached out for my hand.
“I know,” he replied sympathetically. “And I’m trying to be sensitive to that. I really am. We need to be strong together, okay? This is a test for us.”
I hadn’t really thought of it like that, but James was right. He pulled me in his lap, and I sat there for several minutes, enjoying the simplicity of the moment.
The next few days I coasted by on autopilot. James talked with Kristin, and supposedly she took it okay. I was surprised at first, thinking that she would completely lose her shit over the whole thing. But then I thought she must have realized that it would have been hypocritical for her to cause trouble over this.
About ten days ago, James found some mail she had left sitting on one of the tables outside. When he went to retrieve it, he found a beer cap under the chaise lounge. He delivered the mail to her door, bottle cap in hand, but she didn’t answer. He knew something was wrong. Fortunately, she had left the door unlocked, so he went inside and found her passed out on the bed. Her pulse was weak and he couldn’t get her to wake up all the way.
Long story short, he called her mother and told her that she needed to go into a treatment facility. So they called and made the arrangements, and she’s supposed to leave this Sunday.
We’ll have two whole weeks to ourselves. Not that we don’t already have that for the most part, but I haven’t gone out to swim one single time since I moved in here. James said that I could, but I’ve been too worried about Kristin coming out and starting shit with me.
So, I was putting some clothes away in the guest room after doing laundry, even though I wasn’t still sleeping in there. But we had it set up to look like I was for the simple purpose of appeasing Kristin and preventing her from getting any weird ideas.
“Pack your bags, baby!” James announced.
I stopped dead in my tracks.
“Why? Where am I going?”
“ We ,” James said, “are going to the Sea Mist Estates.”
The Sea Mist Estates was a high-end coastal vacation spot for the elite and the very wealthy.
And by elite and very wealthy, I also mean very white.
I couldn’t believe James was taking me. I mean, don’t get me wrong. Every girl has dreams of vacationing there, of even getting married there. I seriously wanted to go. But I was surprised that James was on board with being seen with me there.
“Are you serious? The Sea Mist?”
“Of course I am,” he replied. “So get your little tail ready to go. We leave first thing in the morning and we’ll be there through Sunday.”
So we won’t be around when Kristin leaves for treatment. Nice touch. I was ecstatic.
“You do realize that I’ll probably be the only non-white person there who doesn’t actually work there, right?”
James walked up to me and cupped my face.
“Sweetheart, you might be the only black woman there. But regardless, you will be the most beautiful woman, and I can’t wait to show you off to any of my colleagues.”
I was elated that James felt that way about me, but it still conflicted with his public persona. If he was hesitant about telling me about his divorce, surely his colleges didn’t know. So how would he handle all the questions? It seemed to me that his business was more important than that.
“What about your public image?” I asked, needing answers and a little reassurance that this wasn’t a situation where he would make me hide out in the hotel room all weekend.
James belted out a laugh and I just raised my eyebrow at him.
“Well, I appreciate that you care about my public image, but really, it’s not like I’m Donald Trump or anything.”
I pulled away from James and crossed my arms over my chest. It always hurt my feelings a little when he laughed at my comments. I’m sure with my hormones raging I was a little more sensitive than usual.
“Oh, honey, I’m sorry.” James swept the curls out of my face. “The truth
“I know,” he replied sympathetically. “And I’m trying to be sensitive to that. I really am. We need to be strong together, okay? This is a test for us.”
I hadn’t really thought of it like that, but James was right. He pulled me in his lap, and I sat there for several minutes, enjoying the simplicity of the moment.
The next few days I coasted by on autopilot. James talked with Kristin, and supposedly she took it okay. I was surprised at first, thinking that she would completely lose her shit over the whole thing. But then I thought she must have realized that it would have been hypocritical for her to cause trouble over this.
About ten days ago, James found some mail she had left sitting on one of the tables outside. When he went to retrieve it, he found a beer cap under the chaise lounge. He delivered the mail to her door, bottle cap in hand, but she didn’t answer. He knew something was wrong. Fortunately, she had left the door unlocked, so he went inside and found her passed out on the bed. Her pulse was weak and he couldn’t get her to wake up all the way.
Long story short, he called her mother and told her that she needed to go into a treatment facility. So they called and made the arrangements, and she’s supposed to leave this Sunday.
We’ll have two whole weeks to ourselves. Not that we don’t already have that for the most part, but I haven’t gone out to swim one single time since I moved in here. James said that I could, but I’ve been too worried about Kristin coming out and starting shit with me.
So, I was putting some clothes away in the guest room after doing laundry, even though I wasn’t still sleeping in there. But we had it set up to look like I was for the simple purpose of appeasing Kristin and preventing her from getting any weird ideas.
“Pack your bags, baby!” James announced.
I stopped dead in my tracks.
“Why? Where am I going?”
“ We ,” James said, “are going to the Sea Mist Estates.”
The Sea Mist Estates was a high-end coastal vacation spot for the elite and the very wealthy.
And by elite and very wealthy, I also mean very white.
I couldn’t believe James was taking me. I mean, don’t get me wrong. Every girl has dreams of vacationing there, of even getting married there. I seriously wanted to go. But I was surprised that James was on board with being seen with me there.
“Are you serious? The Sea Mist?”
“Of course I am,” he replied. “So get your little tail ready to go. We leave first thing in the morning and we’ll be there through Sunday.”
So we won’t be around when Kristin leaves for treatment. Nice touch. I was ecstatic.
“You do realize that I’ll probably be the only non-white person there who doesn’t actually work there, right?”
James walked up to me and cupped my face.
“Sweetheart, you might be the only black woman there. But regardless, you will be the most beautiful woman, and I can’t wait to show you off to any of my colleagues.”
I was elated that James felt that way about me, but it still conflicted with his public persona. If he was hesitant about telling me about his divorce, surely his colleges didn’t know. So how would he handle all the questions? It seemed to me that his business was more important than that.
“What about your public image?” I asked, needing answers and a little reassurance that this wasn’t a situation where he would make me hide out in the hotel room all weekend.
James belted out a laugh and I just raised my eyebrow at him.
“Well, I appreciate that you care about my public image, but really, it’s not like I’m Donald Trump or anything.”
I pulled away from James and crossed my arms over my chest. It always hurt my feelings a little when he laughed at my comments. I’m sure with my hormones raging I was a little more sensitive than usual.
“Oh, honey, I’m sorry.” James swept the curls out of my face. “The truth
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