After All This Time: What She Wished

by Brittainy Brown

  *******

  The next three months were a dream to Tina. She had resumed work two weeks after David helped her paint her parents’ room. They still spoke every day after that. He had followed her to Charlie’s place the next week where they all sat around the dining table and gossiped like they were still in high school.

  Tina had never seen love like David’s. David was caring and thought of two of them instead of one. Tina was secretly happy that Toby had left her now, she was far happier with David than she ever was with Toby. Toby had been uncaring and allowed their relationship to become pedestrian many times. It had taken an intervention from her to normalize things. But with David, things could never become pedestrian.

  He noticed she loved red nail polish and bought her a whole packet one Saturday. It was a surprise. It was the surprise that convinced Tina that David was the man for her; he had evolved and matured after school to become a handsome, loving man.

  “How did you know I love red nail polish?” she asked.

  Her smile was threatening to spread past her face. She had been caught off guard by his gift. She couldn’t control it.

  “Baby that’s the only thing I have ever seen on your nails and we have been together for months now. What else would you love?” he answered.

  Tina jumped into a hug with him and kissed him on the cheek. She had not expected this. And he bought a complete packet of the best kind.

  “Sometimes I am scared I don’t deserve you.” she said.

  “Tina, you deserve me and more. So now you have me and nail polish.” he added, mischief evident in the set of his eyes.

  Tina smiled at his cheeky comment. She stared at his eyes and got lost in the clear green seas they were.

  “Baby I think something is burning in the kitchen.” he said.

  That was when Tina left him and ran to save her cooking.

  His birthday was on the 27th of October and Tina had planned for that day long before it came. It was a Friday, Tina was glad. She left work quickly and drove home. She changed and left for David’s firm, taking public transport. She had been there a couple of times now and the security and receptionist knew she was David’s girlfriend, they let her in.

  She called him when she got outside his office.

  “Hello baby, what’s up?” he said.

  “Are you in your office?” she asked him.

  “Yes sure, I am rounding up for the day so I am filing the unfinished documents. I need to mark the ones I haven’t worked on so I don’t make mistakes when I get here on Monday.” He replied.

  “I am coming in now.” Tina replied.

  She waved to his receptionist and walked into his office. He was behind his office table, looking tired and still ravishingly handsome. He had removed his tie and had files stacked beside his laptop.

  “Tina” he said looking up. He was surprised to see her.

  “Don’t be surprised David. I came to get you away from here.” she answered.

  She walked to his desk and crossed over to his end of the desk. She sat on the desk, facing his direction but just beside him.

  “Well, I am almost done.” he said.

  “Be done, because I am taking you out for your birthday.” she replied.

  Charlie’s face lit up like a Christmas tree.

  “I thought you forgot.” he said.

  “That would be a travesty now, wouldn’t it?” she answered.

  “I would never forget something like that.” she said.

  He cleared up his table and finished for the day in record time. Then they went to his car. Tina drove him to a restaurant in the middle of the city where they had a lovely evening. When they were leaving, David wanted to drive but Tina insisted.

  “Where are you going Tina?” he asked when he saw the direction she was driving towards.

  “You are sleeping at my place.” Tina replied.

  “This is kidnap, taking me without my permission.” he replied.

  Tina looked at him, her eyes promising a beautiful night. She turned back to the road and asked.

  “Are you sure you want to go back?” she asked.

  “Go back, who said anything about going back, we are going to your place. I am sleeping over.” he replied.

  Tina grinned when he said that. He knew how to get her to laugh. When they got to her place, she had a gift waiting for him in the middle of her sitting room. She knew David still loved soccer and had bought a PS4 gaming consul for him with a football game already programmed on it. David loved it. When she told him she bought it for him. He lifted her up and twirled her round and round. He kissed her before dropping her.

  “What would I do without you?” he asked her.

  “Nothing.” she answered.

  “There is no without me, we will always be with each other.” she replied.

  “Always.” David reiterated.

  David and Tina were present and active at Charlie and Ronda’s wedding the next month. Tina was one of Ronda’s bridal train and she looked as beautiful as ever on that day. She wore a pink satin dress like the rest of the ladies in the train but she wore a pink pair of shoes and a blue bag that lit her up. David looked enthralled.

  The wedding took place at a Ronda’s Methodist church in front of their parents and the rest of their friends and family. Her mom and dad attended, they came in a week before the day. They had fallen in love with the new color of their room when they got there.

  “You chose the right color, did you rent a hand to help you?” her father said, after coming back out of the room.

  “No, David helped me.” she replied.

  “He did.” her father said, looking around at the changes in the sitting room too, “Now that is wonderful.”

  She had told her parents about her relationship with David months ago. He came to see them the Friday evening before the wedding.

  “David, it’s a pleasure setting my eyes on your after so long. I thought you had left California for good.” her mom told him.

  She was a far better cook than Tina. She was placing the food she had just cooked on the table outside. They were having dinner in their garden.

  “I left something behind. I would always come back for it.” he replied, looking at Tina as he said it.

  Tina felt a mushy warmth spread in her chest. He would always come back for her.

  The wedding had been lovely and when the pastor said, “You may kiss the bride.” Charlie grabbed Ronda like she was being taken away from him and their kiss lasted for so long that only the shouts from the congregation broke it up. The rest of the wedding was lovely. Charlie and Ronda were the first to leave. They had planned a trip to Paris and were leaving the next morning. They bade farewell to everyone taking time to thank their friends, Tina and David before they left.

  David led Tina to the second floor of the church. They were just beside the bell and had a view of a lot of the area around the church. They were alone there too.

  “Did their marriage ever seem in doubt?” David asked her.

  They had sat down on the balcony, very close to the banister. David was holding her hand and massaging them softly.

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “I mean, we’ve known them since we were kids. Ronda didn’t want to date Charlie at first, I had to get my handsome face in.” he said.

  Tina used her elbow to nudge his side when he said that.

  “It’s true but that is not my point. From the moment Ronda agreed to be his girlfriend, after she let him know she had lied about that African voodoo stuff, they had always been committed to each other. They thought about themselves in twos, Ronda didn’t do anything without planning for Charlie first and vice versa.” he said.

  Tina agreed. Their attachment was unreal.

  “I think the gift we dropped off at their apartment was fitting.” she replied.

  “Though I am pretty sure we would receive a call anytime now. We probably would need to keep them till they come back from their ho
neymoon at Paris.” she said.

  Just as she finished speaking, David received a call from Charlie. They had seen their gift and loved it but had sent someone to drop it at Tina’s place. They would get it when they came back.

  Tina and David had gotten them a pair of pigeons in a cage. Pigeons mated for life, pairing up early in life and sticking together for the rest of their lives. Tina had suggested the gift. It stood for the promise of love, togetherness and eternity that marriage stood for and it was a small representative of that undying love that Charlie and Ronda inspired in her. David agreed with her. They got one white and one black, both birds unblemished by any other color. It was representative of the different races Charlie and Ronda stood for. It had taken them a bit of time before David found a pair that fit the profile but it was the best gift they could have gotten them. They attached a note to the cage too, explaining what it stood for.

  “I want us to love like that.” David said.

  Tina looked at him and the emotion in his eyes. David had never looked so open to her. She snuggled close to him and entwined her fingers in his.

  “I want it too.” she answered.

  “I have loved you since I saw you at Evergrant high; it was never in doubt Tina. Maxine was a stoppage that I had gone through because I was scared my emotions would kill our relationship. It turned out we were never meant to be just friends. The way we ended things before I left for Texas convinced me. I wished I had never left but there was nothing I could do. I had to follow my family and thank God I did, my parents needed me.” he said.

  “What is yours will always come back to you.” Tina said.

  “You came back to me, didn’t you?” she said.

  “Yes, I did. Thank God Charlie had that accident.” David said.

  Tina broke into deep laughter when he said that. It was weird, them being happy their friend was involved in an accident but that had been the catalyst. They were grateful for the accident.

  “I have been thinking about this for a long time Tina.” David said.

  “What is it?” Tina asked.

  David knelt gradually in front of her, his left hand dipped into his pocket.

  “Tina Jordan, I lost you only to find you again. Now when I am with you is the happiest time in my life.” he said, bringing out a black ring case and opening it to show a diamond ring.

  “I have been carrying this ring everywhere lately, trying to find the right time to do this. And I wanted assurance; I wanted to know we would stick.”

  Tina could feel tears well up in her eyes. Her throat was choking.

  “Today Charlie and Ronda convinced me. Our love is as real as any. Tina Jordan, will you marry me?”

  Tina felt the tears of joy run down her cheek. That was a dumb question that David asked, the perfect rhetorical question. She screamed the answer so loud, David was sure the people downstairs heard.

  “Yes, yes, of course, I want to marry you.”

  She jumped into his embrace and refused to let go.

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  Look out for the next book in the series.

  Snaps of Book two in the series

  Breaking Point

  BOOK DESCRIPTION BREAKING POINT

  The world is great when love is perfect. . .

  Young and successful Tina Jordan and David Chase are having the time of their lives – finally. They plan to take their passion to paradise to a romantic beach vacation at the Outer Banks. So when the usually-attentive David suddenly pulls back and doesn’t say why, Tina starts to wonder. Both David and her emerged from bad relationships so Tina knows the signs all too well when something isn’t quite right.

  David Chase has a secret and he cannot share it. It’s killing him the woman of his dreams is doubting him, but he just can’t bring himself to tell her what is going on. When she says she is going to walk away, he can’t blame her; she’s been betrayed before. He has to go after her and explain to her it’s not that.

  He knows just where to find her.

  Tina takes their planned vacation alone after saying goodbye. David shows up too. After all, he paid for half. Can being in the same house force the two to finally admit they are in love and that they have the best thing going? Or has David tested the bounds of Tina’s trust to the breaking point?

  CHAPTER 1

  BREAKING THE RULE

  The yellow rising sun filled the sky with a mighty power of red, spreading its endless rays of pink across the sky.

  David had been waiting for her in his car but she was not coming out.

  “Baby! It’s breakfast and not a party! Will you hurry up!” He shouted, even though he knew she couldn’t hear him. The only way to hasten her up was to keep honking the horn on the car.

  Tina chuckled as the horn kept blasting for the hundredth time that morning.

  “I’m coming!” She shouted at the top of her voice as she quickly picked her bag and rushed out of the house.

  “Sorry baby! I didn’t mean to keep you waiting.” She said as she got into the car.

  David was quiet, he pretended to be angry, there was one thing she would always do which he wanted her to do.

  Tina laughed as he kept mute. “Are you angry babe?”

  He said nothing, so she had to lean closer to him, kissed him on the cheek, then the neck and then finally settled for his earlobe, as she nibbled on it teasingly. She knew he could never keep up the act with what she just did.

  “You are so naughty you know that.” He said with a chuckle, now pulling her closer to kiss her fully on the lips.

  ‘You will spoil my lipstick like that David!” She cried out, trying to pull away.

  “I know you have it in your bag.” He replied, as he bent to kiss her neck, inhaling her scent. “My God, you smell like chocolate. I feel like eating you right now.” He said, holding her close and planting several kisses on her face, before finally releasing her.

  Tina sat down comfortably dipping a hand in her bag and brought out a red lipstick which she began to apply generously to her lips while he started the car. Some minutes later, they were sitting outside their favorite restaurant, eating their breakfast.

  Coming to Lyn’s restaurant has always given Tina this beautiful feeling, it was, after all, the place she had run into David a few months back after they had lost contact for many years.

  They had been friends at Kingston’s college and not only that, David had been her crush for many years and even though they were in a relationship now, she has never told him that.

  She looked up slightly as his eyes were fixed on the newspaper in his lap; unaware of his audience…She smiled. Each time he’s not looking, she would always take his time to study him and each time, she would pinch herself to be sure that she was just not dreaming. David has been the source of her happiness lately, with his perfect jawline, Roman nose and dirty blonde hair, she still couldn’t believe they were officially a couple after being friends for more than five years. Everything was going perfectly between them, he had gotten his job back at a business firm while she just got promoted at her place of work – a media house. She had been craving the position of an editor for months and a few weeks after starting a relationship with David, everything just clicked. He was her good luck.

  David caught her looking at him and he smiled, reaching across to hold her hand so their hands were both joined on the table as he stroke the back of her palm with his thumb.

  “I caught you looking at me….” He started. “Care to tell me what’s on your mind or were you just trying to undress me with your eyes?”

  Tina blushed, leaning forward to rest her body against the table carefully.

  “Well, I’m still finding it difficult to believe that we are a couple.” She replied.

  He smiled, now holding her hand t
o his lips.

  “So do I.” He replied before kissing the back of her hand. “Seriously, I don’t know why you accepted to go out with me that day. I mean, I was really lucky to have come back here and met you being single. What happened to the eyes of the bachelors around this place? Were they blind all this while?”

  Tina chuckled. “Maybe they were just letting me be so that you could have me anytime you come around.”

  “Well, if that is the case, then I am so lucky to have you, dearest.” He said, bringing her hand to his lips and kissed it tenderly.

  “I am also surprised that all those beautiful ladies that used to fall over themselves at Kingston those times back, finally decided to let you be. I mean, who would have taught that you wouldn’t end up marrying Keisha. You remember her right?”

  David smiled. He remembered the girl in their class then who was obviously obsessed with him. Everyone had thought she was sick or probably had mental issues, it turned out that she was just crazily in love and obsessed with the school’s football team captain.

  “I am so glad you are finally mine David,” Tina replied almost in a whisper, but loud enough for him to hear despite the noise around.

  David sighed, now placing both their hands on the table. He loved it each time she says that. He was incredibly proud of her and he knew he was definitely lucky to have someone like her. After his last heartbreak, he never actually thought he could still have this kind of feeling for anyone again. Now, they were both looking at each other without saying a word, yet they kept smiling. Unable to keep still he leaned forward to kiss her, he knew he shouldn’t have done that, especially since she wasn’t the type that loved a public display of affection but he couldn’t stop himself, she was looking so beautiful and he just had to do that.

  While their lips touched again for what could have probably been the hundredth time since they met that morning, Tina was assured that each kiss would always be like the first time and even though she never liked public affection, with him, it was irresistible. Each time their lips touched like this, for David, all the worries of the day would evaporate into the thin air like a cold shower unto a hot car. His usual way of rushing to the next thing was always suspended as he would always wish for the kiss to continue. He was clearly drunk in her love as his only desire all the time was to touch her and move his hands over her layers of voluminous brown hair…