let me go.”
“Hey, Gwen!” Joanna walked to the end of the counter where Gwen and Ransom stood. She leaned in provocatively and added, “Hey, Ransom.”
“What’s up, Joanna?”
“You, gorgeous…always.”
Gwen tried to ignore the stab of jealousy that whipped around her heart as soon as Joanna started flirting. Ransom was not her business; maybe if he focused on Joanna he would leave her alone.
“You sure do get around, Ransom,” Joanna continued. “What do you do? Get a heads-up from city hall whenever somebody new moves in?”
“What I do is mind my own business,” Ransom replied. “You would do well to do the same.”
Kristy chuckled behind the counter, which drew a heated glare from Joanna.
Ransom turned and gave Gwen a hug. “I’ll see you later,” he vowed. And was gone.
Joanna eyed Ransom until he was out of view and then whipped around to Gwen. “How’d you meet Ransom?”
Gwen’s female antennae instantly went on high alert and her plans to ask Joanna about Ransom changed in that moment.
“Here, at Kristy’s.”
“You guys didn’t seem too casual. In fact it sounds like you’re hooking up later on. If that’s true, I need to warn you. There’s a line a mile long ahead of you trying to tie him down.”
“Don’t listen to her,” Kristy chimed in. For the moment, they were the only three in the shop. “Everybody tries to act like they know Ransom’s business, but nobody does.”
“Including you,” Joanna snapped.
Gwen groaned inwardly. More and more, this lunch idea with Joanna was proving to be a bad one. She had no desire to sit down and be interrogated for an hour by an obvious busybody. When her phone rang and she saw Chantay on the caller ID, she could have kissed her friend.
“Hello?”
“Hey, girl, what’s happening?”
“Yes, this is Gwen Smith.”
“I know who the hell you are. What are you doing, drinking Sienna tap water and losing your mind?”
“Oh, I see. Well, I’m at lunch actually, but I could come right now.”
“Who are you trying to give the heave-ho to? It better not be that fine man you keep acting like you don’t like.”
“Okay, I’ll leave right now and get there as soon as I can.”
“Okay, Oleta Adams. Railway, trailway, cross a damn desert and come see my ass!”
Gwen ended the call and crushed down a guffaw. When she saw Chantay, she would strangle her!
“Is everything okay?”
“Actually, no, Joanna. That call was regarding something urgent. I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to take a raincheck. Kristy, can you make me a large double-Dutch to go?”
As soon as she got in the car, Gwen couldn’t get her Bluetooth on fast enough. She hit Chantay on the speed dial and eased out of Kristy’s parking lot. Chantay was laughing hysterically when she answered her phone.
“That wasn’t funny,” Gwen said, unable to contain the laughter spilling out of her own mouth. “You don’t know what was going on. It could have been important. I could barely keep a straight face. Chantay, stop laughing!”
Chantay tried to stop, and spit words out between giggles. “Okay, girl. Ooh, man, I haven’t laughed like that in a long time. Whew, that was good.” She took a couple deep breaths to regain her composure and wiped tears away from her eyes.
“Yeah, well, I’m glad I helped you get your laugh on.”
“Who was it…Adam?”
“No, Joanna, the first-grade teacher. And I can see right now that she’s messy, and will be the last one in town who I tell my business.”
Gwen relayed what had happened at Kristy’s and made plans to visit her true-blue friend the following weekend.
11
Gwen faced a barrage of mixed emotions as she drove to Chantay’s apartment. Where had her calm life gone? And why was the usual placid, handle-any-circumstance Gwen on a perpetual emotional roller coaster? She wanted to blame her period, but it wasn’t due for another two weeks. Of course, part of it was her mother’s move and another part was her divorce from Joe Smith. And as significant as these events were, it chagrined her that they weren’t the main reasons for her turmoil. She hadn’t seen Ransom for several days, but he was never far from her mind.
Determined not to think about him, Gwen reached for the radio knob and turned up the sound. She’d brought along her favorite CD for this very reason—so she could tune out any unwanted thoughts and keep her mood happy. The Greatest R&B Hits of 1984 CD switched from one song to another, and Gwen tapped out a beat on the steering wheel as she sang along to a Rockwell classic. As she thought about who might be watching her, a pair of coal black eyes swam into her consciousness. Dangit. What’s the matter with me? she thought. Gwen considered herself a self-contained, practical adult, not prone to flights of fancy or childish crushes. That she couldn’t seem to shake a man who obviously thought he was God’s gift was getting on her nerves. Peeved, she punched the CD track button again.
“…and now it’s solid…solid as a rock!”
Ashford and Simpson could normally take Gwen straight back into junior year and the Showtime skating rink with Chantay and company. But now all that thinking about something solid did was take her back into the memory of that hard chest she ran into on her first visit to Kristy’s. She tried not to react, but her body wouldn’t listen. A squiggly feeling fluttered inside her va-jay-jay. She squeezed her thighs together, getting angrier by the minute at the man who’d cast his spell over her and awakened a sexual hunger she hadn’t known existed.
“Jesus Christ! Is there nothing that can stop me from thinking about that man?” She punched the CD button once more and New Edition had a message for her. She smoldered at first but by the time the cutesy chorus came around, she couldn’t help but laugh at the answer that seemingly came from above. Yes, she definitely needed to cool it immediately. Gwen laughed out loud, pushed the repeat button, and jammed with her teenage heartthrobs until she pulled into Chantay’s driveway.
Gwen stood amazed as she eyed the young woman who stood almost as tall as she. “This can’t be Sharonna,” she exclaimed, as a totally disinterested teenager shifted from one foot to another.
“Mama, dang. Can I go with Niecy ’nem? I’ve asked you twice.”
“And if you ask me again the answer will definitely be no, how ’bout that? And did you say hello to Gwen? You probably don’t remember her from Mama’s funeral last year, but this is my best friend from high school, best friend in the world. You’d better recognize and show some respect!”
“Hi,”
