Private Affairs by Jasmine Garner Page A

showing up like this, but I just had to apologize for last night. I was wrong; I don’t know what I was thinking. I have been told I’m a little O.C.D.”
    I raised a hand to stop him; I wasn’t interested in hearing his excuses- or anything he was trying to say, actually. “No, it’s fine. You and I just have different… preferences.”
    “I was just nervous. It was our first time, and I wanted it to be perfect. I guess we’ve been seeing each other for so long, I’ve had a chance to fantasize our first time a million times in my head. I wanted to be as close to that as possible. Can I have just one more chance?”
    Honestly, what he said made sense. But I believed that if you wanted someone, you don’t worry about the schematics. If you want someone, clothes need to ripped off and lips need to be pressed against another’s no matter what your surroundings are. I thought about the wedding and the nightclub with Wes; at least we agreed on that.
    The first child walked in with her father. Steven watched me with his brows furrowed as my thoughts drifted.
    “I’ll think about it. I have to get to work. I’ll call you, okay?”
    I slid past him and greeted the family at the door; Steven left without another word.
     
    I lied; I actually didn’t think about it. By the time I pulled up to my house after work, I hadn’t thought about giving Steven a second chance- not even once. All I could think about was my conversation with Amira. I was beginning to think that something was wrong with me for not being head over heels for Steven, despite all of his romantic gestures. But maybe he just wasn’t the right one for me. I had to figure out what I wanted in a man.
    Upon first thought, seeing Wes standing at my front door was like God answering my question. But God wouldn’t want me with a liar and a cheater.
    Kevin was arguing with him at the door, but he stopped once he saw me. Wes turned around and walked to me, his jet black hair ruffled messily on his head.
    “Leave me alone,” I said, trying to brush past him to get inside.
    He clinched my arm.
    “Let her go,” Kevin said, stepping out of the house.
    “Just listen to me. You’ve been ignoring my texts.”
    I snatched my arm away from him. “That’s because I want nothing to do with you!”
    “That’s not true. That can’t be true.”
    “It has to be true,” I mumbled, my chin quivering.
    I imagined what Wes’s online profile would look like. Favorite hobbies: exploring new restaurants, watching black and white movies, and visiting museums- my favorites, too. His perfect date? A midnight picnic in the park with finger foods for feeding each other. Sounded like heaven to me.
    What he was searching for in a partner? Someone to grow with, someone to explore the world with, and someone to start a family with. Just what I wanted, too. Except, mine had an extra requirement- fidelity. He was so close to being perfect.
    “We were fine until your mom called! Forget about her; we can get back on track.”
    “You didn’t tell me you talked to your mom,” Kevin said.
    I lifted one of my shoulders into a faint shrug. “It went as well as expected; she’s dying.”
    “What?” both men asked at once.
    “Why didn’t you tell me?” Kevin asked with wide eyes. He approached to comfort me with a hug, but I brushed it off.
    “Because I don’t care.”
    “Babe-”
    I cut Kevin off. “Nope. I don’t want to talk about her, and I don’t want to talk to you ,” I said, turning to Wes.
    “I’m not leaving until you talk to me, Key.”
    “Then I’ll leave.”
    I quickly turned and walked back to my car. I sped off with nowhere to go. All I wanted to do when I got home was curl up on the couch and not think. And now thinking was all I could do.
    I met Wes my first day of college. It wasn’t my school of choice, but it was the only one Kevin and I both got accepted to, and we had to go to college together. After getting settled into our dorm rooms, Kevin and