“So, could you see yourself marrying her?”
He bobbed his head. “I can see a lot of shit with her but it’s dead now.”
Danira got up and walked over to the couch he was on. She sat next to him sideways, while resting her chin on her closed fist.
“So, what now?”
“Shit.” He shrugged “Move on.”
Danira’s gaze descended to the dazzling diamond chain on his chest. She adjusted it before looking at him.
“Do you ever think about us?”
He looked her square in the eye. “Not no more.”
“Ouch.” She chuckled.
“What you mean ‘ouch’? You know how long ago that was? Why would I think about something thatyouended?”
She sighed deeply. “How long are you going to hold that against me?”
“I’m not holding shit against you. I’m reminding you that you chose yourself over your life with me.”
“But it wasn’t easy,” she whispered before looking into his eyes. “Noble, I wanted you. I swear I did but I didn’t think you would change your ways. You and Tuck used to be in the streets heavy. I didn’t want to be that girlfriend who waited for that call that you were either locked up or in jail. I had big dreams and I knew you would hold me back.”
“Was it worth it?” he asked her, honestly.
She seesawed her head. “Yeah, in a way. I accomplished a lot. Got my master’s in social work. Opened my own practice and was featured in St. Parklynn’s Medical Magazine. I did what I said I would do.”
Noble respected Danira so much. Instead of her being his woman, she broke things off and pursued her own life. At the time, he was hurt but he understood her stance. His lifestyle was dangerous and would’ve hindered Danira if she stayed with him. Above the pain he felt, he was vastly proud of her.
“Then that’s all that matters. You being happy with the decision you made. Plus, if our breakup didn’t happen, I wouldn’t have my son. So, it’s a win on both parts.”
Danira licked her lips as her chest heaved then fell. “I want you to know I never stop loving you, Noble. You’ll always have a special place in my life because I experienced a lot of firsts with you. You were my person, one point in time, and there are moments I think about the what-ifs. Like what if I gave up too soon or what if I didn’t choose myself?”
“You did the right thing,” he assured her.
“Sometimes, I don't feel that way. I remembered feeling like shit when I found out you had gotten married. I think a part of me thought we would always find our way back together. How foolish of me to think that?”
“We all think foolish shit,” he noted, retreating back to his thoughts. He assumed he and Irish could’ve been something special. He too unwisely thought this was the woman, who he would settle down with for good. Deep down under his stubborn nature, Noble pondered maybe this was just a break. That they would find their way back to each other the same way Danira thought she would to him.
“So, that’s it?”
“What you mean?” he quizzed.
“As far as you and this girl. Are you gonna fight for her or what?”
Noble was thankful Danira had changed the subject from their past relationship. He didn’t feel like opening up feelings that he no longer possessed for her.
“I’ma do what I always did. Move on. A man like me don't get stuck on shit that clearly won’t work. You of all people should know that.”
She chuckled. “Yeah, because as soon as I went to college, I got a call about some hoe sitting on your lap. You definitely move on fast.”
“That wasn’t shit. I was only trying to soothe the pain. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Silence engulfed them as Faith Evans crooned in the background. This was the part Noble hated about breakups. The yearning that seemed to be never ending. The emptiness because your person wasn’t around. Nothing mattered during the transition from love to no more. It was something he wished he could skip.
