The Ex Chronicles

by Penelope Christian

  Through the years, Paige had introduced Erika to nine different men who were either too short, too chubby, no money, too many kids, didn’t want kids, too serious, not serious enough, and so on. The closest Erika came to finding a man she enjoyed was the young trumpet player she met at the jazz club. He soon became her “boy toy” and the one she called when she desired the company of a man. He could’ve been around longer if she hadn’t found out about his wife. But letting him go hadn’t been hard. She just refused his calls and moved on.

  So, until her Prince Charming came along, Erika buried herself in her work and tried desperately not to make loneliness her new friend.

  The real estate business was booming around New York City and Erika was in the midst of it. She enjoyed her job, and when one of her regular clients called her to check out commercial property in Twin Hooks, New York, she reluctantly agreed to meet him. Even though Twin Hooks wasn’t in the nicest area, she couldn’t turn down a possible deal.

  As Erika was hailing a cab, her phone rang.

  “Hey girl!” she said, answering when she saw Paige’s name. “How’s the beaches in Florida? Ooops! I meant to say, how’s the conference going?”

  Evan had whisked Paige away to some legal conference in Florida, but Erika knew her friend was spending all her time at the beach.

  Paige laughed. “Gurrrrrl, it’s so damn hot down here, I’m ready for some New York weather like yesterday! What are you doing?”

  “About to go meet a client in Twin Hooks,” Erika said, climbing into the cab and giving the driver the address.

  “You’d better be careful in the Hook, and don’t hang around too long,” Paige warned.

  “Believe me! I won’t! In and out, that’s my plan!” she responded. “Besides, I have a date tonight with a cup of hot chocolate, some fuzzy bedroom slippers, and the Sparkle movie with Whitney Houston, and you know I can’t be late!” They both laughed, and then Paige continued.

  “Oh! But if you happen to pass Chip’s Diner on the corner of 21st and Pine, stop in to get a cheesesteak with chili! You won’t be sorry! Okay, girl, we’ll talk soon, Evan and I are on our way back to the beach. Ooops! I meant to say, we’re on our way back to the conference!” They laughed again and hung up.

  Erika grinned at the thought of Paige’s suggestion, because she most likely wouldn’t be stopping at any diners in Twin Hooks.

  After the meeting, her client was so impressed with the property, he told her to expect his bid in the morning. To celebrate, Erika told the cab driver to drop her off at the corner of 21st and Pine so she could treat herself to a delicious cheesesteak smothered with chili since she was starving after all.

  It only took one bite for Erika to know that Paige was right. The cheesesteak was delicious. Erika sat alone, devouring her meal. She was so focused on her sandwich that she almost didn’t notice the tall, handsome man in the business suit standing at the counter admiring her.

  Embarrassed at how she must’ve looked, she quickly dabbed her mouth with a napkin, pretended to check a text on her phone, and prayed he hadn’t seen her gorging… but he did. As if she wasn’t totally embarrassed by her eating display, she felt mortified when he started walking toward her.

  “Your man won’t be mad if I sit with you, will he?” he asked in the sexiest, smoothest voice she’d ever heard.

  Dabbing her mouth once more, she struggled to find her words. “He won’t… I mean, no man. I’m here by myself,” she said. “I usually don’t eat alone… so… and I usually don’t eat this fast… because I usually don’t eat alone… and I’m…I’m babbling, aren’t I?”

  “It’s the cutest babbling I’ve ever seen.” The handsome man smiled and extended his hand. “Hi, I’m Christopher. And can I say that you are much too beautiful to be dining alone.”

  Erika blushed. She was flattered that he would even refer to the way she was just eating as ‘dining.’

  “You mind?” he asked, pointing to the seat across from her.

  “No, please,” she said, dabbing at her mouth again just to make sure she didn’t look like some kind of pig.

  He slid into the seat and she had to catch herself from slipping into a trance from the scent of his mesmerizing cologne. His light brown eyes were just one of his many gorgeous features. He had almond colored skin and short wavy light brown hair.

  “Pretty good, huh?” she asked after he took a bite of his cheesesteak.

  He closed his eyes, savoring the sandwich as he nodded.

  “So, you live around here?” Erika asked.

  He finished chewing, licked the sauce from his lips then said, “I’m in town on business from California. I used to come here as a kid, and whenever I’m here, I try to stop by for a cheesesteak. What about you?”

  Surprised at how comfortable she felt with a stranger, Erika began to tell Christopher all about herself.

  She’d learned from their conversation that he was thirty-three, single, and made a decent living in Los Angeles as a popular nightclub owner.

  Erika and Christopher didn’t realize how long they’d been talking until the waitress mean mugged them.

  “Ummm, I think she’s mad that we’re taking up booth space for so long,” Erika said.

  Christopher smiled, then much to the relief of the waitress pulled out a twenty dollar bill for the tip.

  “Let’s get out of here.”

  Erika didn’t want the evening to end. “Oh, okay,” she said, slowly gathering her things.

  Just as they reached the door, he said, “Do you want to catch a cab to the city?”

  “I’d love that,” she replied.

  From the bright flickering city lights, the soft jazz sounds oozing from the cab’s radio, and the arousing fragrance of a sexy man, Erika found herself traveling down that ‘what if’ road. You just met this man, she reminded herself.

  It didn’t feel that way, though.

  In the city, they’d walked around with her arm snuggled comfortably inside his, before stopping at a hookah lounge for drinks. They talked for a few more hours and then ended the night in his hotel room. Everything in Erika’s mind said no, but her body didn’t bother listening.

  That night, Christopher did things to her that she only read about in romance novels or watched online! And by the time they were done, her body and her mind knew that this man was the one.

  The next morning, Christopher flew back to California. He and Erika kept in touch regularly. Mostly, Erika would fly out to California to see him. They texted all day, every day and soon found themselves in a committed relationship. For seven months, they dated. At her age, Erika was ready to settle down and have the family she always wanted.

  ***

  This was going to be the perfect Valentine’s Day, Paige thought to herself. She was finally going to meet Erika’s new man. They were doing a double date for dinner and Paige couldn’t wait to meet the man who had brought such joy to her best friend.

  The evening started like any other. Paige and Evan arrived at the restaurant early and were engaged in their own romantic conversation when Evan looked up to see Erika and Christopher walking toward their table.

  “Well, you must be Christopher.” Evan stood to greet Christopher with a handshake.

  Paige turned to greet them as well, but when she laid eyes on them, her heart felt like it had stopped. She had trouble catching her breath as she forced herself to smile. When she looked into Christopher’s eyes, the silent stare he gave her back told her immediately what he was thinking. But before he could say anything, Paige held out her hand toward him.

  “Nice to finally meet you, Christopher,” she said.

  Obviously shocked at her greeting, he reluctantly went along. Throughout dinner, Paige did everything she could to avoid eye contact with Christopher. When she laughed, he laughed. When she spoke, he couldn’t stop staring at her mouth. Paige tried her best to lessen the fixation he had on her every word and prayed no one else had noticed the odd behavior between the
m. They hadn’t.

  Somehow, she got through dinner, but when the four of them hugged before ending the evening, that all-to-familiar tingle returned with a vengeance and she remembered what she desperately pretended to forget.

  Sitting in her office early the next morning, Paige was staring out the window, thinking about the previous night. She and Christopher had not seen or spoken to each other in over ten years.

  Why had he stayed away so long? she wondered.

  Her thoughts were interrupted when her secretary buzzed in.

  “Hi, Paige. You have a call on line three. He says his name is Christopher.”

  Paige’s heart raced. She almost said to take a message, but she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t turn her back on him when he was her lover, and she couldn’t do it now.

  “Hello Dre,” she said.

  “Hey baby girl… I missed you.”

  The sound of his voice brought nostalgic tears to her eyes. “I – I’m sorry I couldn’t let them know we had history,” she told him.

  “It’s okay, I understand. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again… you are as beautiful as I remembered,” he said.

  “You still got your charm I see, still smooth with the tongue.” Paige smiled, relaxing. As the Director of Marketing, she pretty much did as she pleased. She closed her office door, lounged back in her seat, and indulged in conversation and laughter for well over an hour.

  For the next few weeks, they continued to secretly text and call each other when on one was around. By this time, Paige was in a whirlwind of confusion. The undying love she had for Christopher was reborn… the passion for him, rekindled.

  “I want you back,” he’d told her during an earlier conversation.

  Those words had caused her to toss and turn all night. What happened to the woman who was so self-assured and confident about what she wanted? Evan meant the world to her and could give her the life she always dreamed of, but Christopher was the once love of her life, a love she thought was long gone. Yet, the thought of breaking Evan’s heart was unbearable, because he loved her with the deepest kind of love. And of course, there was Erika.

  That’s why she made the decision to tell him their secret conversations had to stop.

  When she finally got up the nerve, her heart sank as she found the words to end what never should have started.

  “Fine,” he said firmly. “If that’s what you want, I’m out!”

  His words hurt like open heart surgery with no painkillers. Yes, she was the one ending it, but how could he give up just like that?

  Over the next few days, Paige buried herself in her work, trying to put Christopher out of her mind. It hadn’t been working. She missed reading his naughty late night text messages and the calls that made her blush during the day and giggle late at night the few times she lay alone in bed.

  “You will never believe what I’m about to tell you!” Erika screamed when Paige walked in the door the next evening after a long day at the office. “Christopher asked me to move to California with him and I said ‘yes’! I’ll be leaving in two weeks!”

  Paige was having trouble finding the right words to say. She tried to appear excited for her friend, but inside her heart was shattered. The thought of him with Erika living happily ever after was torture.

  Two agonizing weeks passed, and Erika was returning to New York to gather the last of her belongings before leaving for good. Paige had planned to take Erika out for drinks that evening as she’d summoned up all her strength and convinced herself that it was for the best.

  “You have to let him go,” she mumbled to herself right before opening the front door and stepping inside the apartment.

  The door had barely closed when Erika came stomping toward her.

  “When were you going to tell me?” she yelled. “When were you going to tell me that Christopher was your ex-husband and that he was still in love with you?”

  “I-I…” Paige couldn’t get her words to form.

  “You should’ve been the one to tell me, not him,” Erika cried. “Why would you do that to me?”

  “I’m so sorry, Erika,” Paige said. “I didn’t know how to tell you.”

  “So you were just going to let me run off with a man who was in love with my so-called best friend?”

  “I-I…”

  “Do you love him?” Erika snapped.

  “It’s not like that,” Paige stammered.

  “Like what?” Erika snapped again.

  In tears, Paige tried to explain her love for Christopher and why she had buried those painful memories.

  “You can’t have them both, Paige!” Erika yelled, then took a deep breath. “I’ve waited all my life for a man like Christopher and I’m not losing him now. I’d rather have a man who quietly longs for another woman, than to be alone one more day. He has assured me that he will never act on his feelings for you. Now I need to know… will you do the same?”

  “Christopher is your ex-husband?”

  Both Erika and Paige turned to see Evan standing in the doorway. The hurt look on his face was heartbreaking.

  Erika didn’t bother saying a word as she picked up her suitcase, brushed past Evan, and walked out the door.

  “Is it true?” Evan asked, his eyes filled with tears. He continued when she didn’t respond, “And he still loves you?”

  Paige took his hands. “I wanted to tell you. But I didn’t know how.”

  “Why did you lie?”

  The pain in his voice told her she owed him an explanation. She took a deep breath.

  “Back in the day, Christopher was known as Dre and we loved each other very much. We grew up in the streets and used our hustling skills to make money. I was his ride-or-die and helped him with his drug business. At eighteen I got pregnant and I was devastated. Dre didn’t want me to be alone, so we got married. Just before our baby was born, we were both arrested on drug charges. Dre took the rap for me and was sentenced to two years. Some thugs broke into our place looking for money and drugs, but found me instead. I couldn’t tell them what I didn’t know, so they beat me and left me for dead.

  When I lost my son, a part of me died, too. With no Dre, no baby, and nowhere to live, I left Twin Hooks vowing never to return. Homeless and alone, I later found a place with strangers who introduced me to doing unthinkable things. I lied, begged and stole just to survive, and later, I found a way out. I went back to school, I worked hard and studied harder until I made something of myself. After the darkness was over, I promised myself never to talk about it or think about it ever again… until now.”

  She stopped there, telling him as much as he “needed” to know.

  When Paige finished, Evan was still sitting there. Although the pain remained etched across his face.

  “Please forgive me.” When he didn’t respond, she added. “Please don’t leave me.”

  He released a heavy sigh, then didn’t say a word as he took her into his arms.

  ***

  Eight weeks later and the void in Paige’s heart was nowhere near healing. But she knew she had to move on. She was moving in with Evan and she owed it to him to give him her all.

  It was a perfect day for packing as the rain continued to fall. Paige had just taped up one of the last boxes for the movers when the doorbell rang. She swung the door open, thinking it was the movers. She was stunned to see Christopher.

  “Can I come in?” he asked.

  Paige reluctantly stepped aside and let him in.

  “What are you doing here, Dre? You shouldn’t be here.”

  Christopher closed the door behind him. “I had to come. I can’t get you off my mind, I’m crazy without you baby girl. I left Erika at home in California and jumped on a plane. I came to get closure.”

  He placed his hands on both sides of her face and pulled her close to him and said, “I’ve loved you all my life and I never stopped loving you. I can go on without you, if that’s what you really want, but I need to know, do you still love
me?”

  Paige tried to back away, but he wouldn’t let her go.

  “I need to know do you still love me?” he asked again.

  “Why?” she replied. “All I have left from us are memories and my memory of you is full. I have no more room for new memories. What difference would it make if I still loved you?”

  Christopher whispered in her ear, “It makes a difference to me. Do you still love me?” He lifted her chin and looked her directly in the eyes. “Do. You. Still. Love. Me?”

  Paige could no longer hold back. “Yes! Yes Dre, I still love you!”

  She burst into tears. He held her close, their bodies as one, hearts pounding, and burning with desire. They stood still, his cheek gently touching hers, and she felt the warmth of each breath he took. His lips were soft on her neck. His hands gently caressed the sides of her face, down her shoulders to her waist, and then her hips, and down to her thighs. He kissed her tenderly on her lips. He stopped, kissed her again.

  Strong passion overtook everything they tried to resist. They could no longer control themselves or deny the burning they both hid deep inside for months. He lifted her up high against the wall and pressed his body hard against hers. They kissed passionately as he undressed her slowly. He removed each layer of clothing, piece by piece. He slipped away her bra straps, exposing her breasts. The rain fell hard and long and strong, and the thunder was like their personal love song, beating uninterrupted for the next hour and twenty-two minutes.

  Afterward, Paige lay still not knowing how to feel. But despite her conflicted feelings, the two of them agreed to meet later that evening around 6:00, so they could figure out how they were going to be together again. They got dressed, embraced with a kiss, and Christopher left.

  Paige cried as she continued to pack her things. While packing, she came across photos of her and Evan having lunch in Paris, skiing in Switzerland, and enjoying the beach in Hawaii for her thirtieth birthday. She stared at the smile on his face and the love in his eyes. Paige wiped away her tears and sent Evan a text.