“Who is it?” I asked, just to be sure.
“Ya man.”
His response made me giggle, and it was like a balm had already started to soothe my aching heart. A part of me knew I was overreacting, but after so many emotional things happened today, I was jaded. As soon as I opened the door and saw him, I couldn’t help but grin. Ali had on a low sitting snapback anddark shades, a form fitting V-neck T-shirt, and loose sweats. He looked good as fuck without even trying.
“Hi,” I spoke, heart settling at the sight of him.
“Why you in here hiding?” he asked, stepping around me and entering my room.
“You actually came.”
“Of course. You didn’t sound like yourself, so I had to check on you.”
“Well yes, but . . . I just didn’t think you’d actually come inside.”
“I’d risk being spotted to check on you a million times, Avery. Don’t ever doubt that.”
His declaration made my eyes water. I was already emotional, and him being all kind and caring didn’t help. Closing the space between us, I wrapped my arms around him for a much needed hug. Ali picked me up and carried me to the chair that was next to the bed. He got comfortable with me on his lap then asked, “You wanna talk about it?”
Nibbling my bottom lip, I exhaled deeply. “My boss wants me to come home and start a new assignment if I can’t get the interview from you.”
His chest deflated and head bobbed once. “Oh.”
“Yeah.” A soft, bitter chuckle escaped me. “I know you don’t want to give me an interview, and I wouldn’t want to write the article on you without your consent. I don’t want to feel like I failed, and in a sense I don’t because I got something better than an interview. I got a piece of you.” I smiled and cupped his cheek as he squeezed my waist. “But I can’t lie and say it wouldn’t be a huge boost for my career and the magazine to feature you.
“This is a monumental moment for you, and it means so much to the city of Memphis. So I’m conflicted. A part of me is okay accepting the fact that I’ll never get you to agree to the interview, but the other part of me wants to keep trying.”
“Try not,” he said, quoting Yoda, making me giggle before he could even finish. “Do or do not. There is no try.”
“That’s easy for you to say, baby.”
“And it’s easy for you to decide whether you want to continue to pursue the interview, or whether you just want to be here with me.”
“If I give up on the interview, I’ll have to leave.”
His brows wrinkled and mouth twisted to the side as his head shook. “Why?”
“Because I’ll get another assignment.”
“Or you could stay here with me. Can’t you work from home? Even if you couldn’t, Memphis is only a three hour drive from here.”
“Well . . . that was the other thing,” I muttered, playing with the gold chain around his neck. “I’ve been here trying to convince myself that what we have isn’t real. That you would’ve been like this with any woman who showed up at your doorstep.”
Ali laughed heartily as he pulled his hat off his head. “Nah. I’ma have to stop you right there. You could try and convince yourself of that, but it would be a lie. I ain’t on no last woman on Earth shit with you, Avery. I’m not attached to you because I haven’t seen a woman in years. I’ve tried to date, but no one was worthy . . . until you. I chose you because I want you, not because you were the only woman available. What I feel for you is real, and whether you leave today, in a year, or never, the feelings I have are reserved for you and only you.”
“Do you trust me?” I asked, holding my breath as I waited for his answer.
“I trust you enough. It’s not about you. It’s my own trauma I have to work through. Even in those moments where doubt creeps in, it’s not about you. I trust that you wouldn’t steal from me or use me or lie and lead me on. And that trust is a solid enough foundation for me to want to be with you.”
My head shook, and I swallowed hard as relief filled me. “You don’t know how much I needed to hear you say that.”
His smile was soft as he wrapped his hand around the front of my neck and used it to pull me close for a kiss. “I will assure and validate you every day if you need me to. But what I need from you is to decide what you want to do. I ain’t doing that interview, honey. If that means you have to leave me, I’ll accept that, but if you want to stay . . . I would love that. Shit, I’ll fund you starting your own magazine or whatever the fuck else you wanted to do. Whatever it took to keep you as happy as having you has made me.”
Wiping away a tear, I snuggled against him and buried my face in his neck.
Damn this not being reality.
And if it wasn’t, Ali was my personal fairy tale.
