Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 74450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
“To me, too. You know there’s something beautiful about a man owning his shit. Especially when he messes up.” India said.
“It’s even more beautiful when he changes course, makes amends, and tries to right a wrong. Caspian is about making things right. The bulk of his career is helping families get closure. He started out writing political articles and dabbled in missing person cases. He got so good at it, police departments started contacting him because he seemed to have this sixth sense, this insight. His podcast is a hit, and he has millions of followers on his social media. Not only because he’s easy on the eyes, or intelligent, but because he has this unbelievable way of making people feel at ease, and he’s relatable. I understand that he’s an actor, too. He knows how and when to be charming, but with me, I feel in my soul I am getting his authentic self. He’s been through too much to even speak of, and yet, he survived.”
“He sounds like a good catch. Too good to be true, actually.” Everyone sighed as Fatima got started again. “Come on now, just hear me out. How do you know he doesn’t have other women, Azure?”
“He never tried to tell me I was the only woman when we were first dating. He told me straight up, ‘I got other bitches. Move around. If we get serious, they’re gone.’ And that’s just what the hell he did. I didn’t fall in love. I walked in faith. If you fall, it’s an accident. My love for him was deliberate and I trusted the process. After we were official, he deleted all of those other women in a day’s time until I was the last one standing. I didn’t ask him to do it right in front of me—he volunteered. He called each and every one of them and let them know that he was exclusive with someone, so he wouldn’t be contacting them anymore. Give me the truth or give me nothin’ at all. It’s bullshit the way some men say we can’t handle the truth. Of course we can. What we can’t handle is the disrespect. He’s one of the most honest men I know, and I’m talking about actions, not just words. Words come and go. Words change with moods. Our daily habits tell the truth about us, and that says a lot because honesty and men typically aren’t synonymous.”
“You can say that again!” Her two friends nodded in agreement.
“Girl, you are in deep! All in love with this man!” Heat rushed to Azure’s face. “I only got to meet him for a few short minutes when I ran into y’all the other day at the mall, but his attractiveness aside, and yes, the boy is fine, but I like his energy.” Fatima placed her small, pecan-colored hands around the stem of her wine glass and dropped a bit lower in the water, chin touching the surface.
“Energy and vibe is everything, ain’t it? See, I can admit he has red flags, too, but he is taking them down. He’s not simply talking about it, attempting it… but doing it. That’s why I respect him. He doesn’t deny his shortcomings. He doesn’t demand that I honor him and give him his props on his potential, but on his actual actions and current status. This is grown folks’ love. He doesn’t see a problem and does nothing about it.” She brought her cigar to her mouth, took a drag, then exhaled real easy like. “He genuinely wants to make it better, and the great things about him are simply out-fucking-standing.” She winked. “Smart. Sexy. Ambitious. Witty.” She bit her tongue on the rest… Now that they were an official couple, some things she preferred to keep to herself, close to her heart.
“See, I think you an empath, Azure. I been tellin’ you that for years.” India fixed the strap of her bathing suit then placed her joint in an ashtray. “You won’t say it, but I feel like you are because you be droppin’ knowledge. You’ve always been on point and when you spot bullshit, you don’t respond emotionally. It’s like you were always prepared. You ghosted him to see how you wanted to proceed. Gave yourself some time.”
“We all need to think. To look before we leap. I think I’m just realistic about things, you know? Of course I’ve gotten my feelings hurt in relationships just like everyone else has at least once. I’ve been lied on and lied to.” She shook the sudden flood of bad memories from some prior courtships that had ended up in flames. “I’ve been played, cheated on, and discarded like trash. At one point in time, I lost myself after chasing some man. Now, in fairness, I was much younger back then and I learned my lessons since, but I kept holding on even after understanding that he was stunting my growth and my blessings.”