Zane's the Other Side of the Pillow by Zane Page A

look.
    â€œWhen do we all get to meet him?”
    â€œLilibeth, I am not in a relationship, so there’s no reason for you to meet him.”
    â€œWhy can’t he come up here and have lunch with you one day?”
    â€œIn the teacher’s lounge? Not going to happen.” I giggled. “Besides, he’s so fine that I would have to beat Ms. Landry and Ms. Jacobs off of him.”
    â€œIt would make for an interesting afternoon. If I wasn’t married, I might have to throw my hat into the ring.”
    â€œYeah, right. Your husband cherishes you. We all know that.”
    Lilibeth blushed. “He does indeed, and he brings me lunch twice a week. You should have Dr. Harris do the same.”
    â€œA, the man is a surgeon and has no time to bring me lunch, and B, you snatched up a good man when good men still existed. My generation and the generations after us are screwed. Men only want to play a bunch of games.”
    â€œNot that I know much about your business, Jemistry, but can I offer you a little motherly advice, being that I am old enough to be your mother?”
    I didn’t respond, but I’m sure she read the curiosity on my face.
    â€œDon’t push a good man away trying to prove a point that you can have a cold heart. We’ve shared a few things and I understand that you’ve been hurt in the past, but most women have been. Most men have been as well, truth be told. It doesn’t mean you have to become some kind of stone statue for the rest of your life.”
    â€œIt doesn’t mean that I have to become some kind of sacrificial lamb and breakdance into the slaughterhouse either.”
    â€œIs that what you really think about love? Taking a chance? Baby Girl, you are an amazing woman and you deserve to be happy. Give it a shot. You cannot win a race until you get in it.”
    I took the vase of flowers, went into my office, and closed the door as Lilibeth turned back to her computer screen. She had a point and she and I both realized it.
    I removed the card and read it:
    Jemistry,
    I hope your day is going well and that you’ll consider going away with me this weekend. I want to spend some time alone in isolation with you. No pressure. Just good conversation and exploring life together. Call me.
    Tevin
----
    I read the card at least a dozen more times that afternoon, wavering in my decision to take him up on his offer or refuse. Tevin definitely didn’t give off the kind of vibe that he would force me to have sex. In all honesty, I was more worried about being able to control myself. Taking what we were doing to a sexual level meant catching feelings. I would not be able to disconnect myself emotionally like I did with Anthony and Gregory, the other dude that Ihad been sleeping with on and off for about a year. I had not gone to be with either of them since that last time with Anthony when I started feeling guilty.
    What was there to really be afraid of? If I got officially involved with Tevin, and it did not work out, it was not like the entire world would know it. It wasn’t like it would end up in a book, or anything ridiculous like that. Outside of Winsome and Lilibeth knowing that Tevin had run a game on me like every man prior to him, no one would have to know.
    Up to that point, Tevin and I had only shared kisses. Many, many awesome kisses. One time I even had an orgasm and it scared me. I had never had an orgasm from a kiss, which made me petrified about what he might do to me with his dick.
    There was a cold, hard truth staring me in the face that could no longer be ignored: I wanted him.

Chapter Eight
    â€œTrue love isn’t easy but it must be fought for, because once you find it, it can never be replaced.”
    â€”Unknown
    W insome and I were walking out of the Regal Theaters at Gallery Place.
    She was shaking her head in disbelief. “If I had known that was what that movie was about, I wouldn’t have come.”
    â€œI