She hugged Rachel and said, “I am sorry I screwed up Jake before you came back into his life.”
Rachel touched her cheek and looked into her eyes. I know the feeling for the many times she had looked into my soul. She said, “Jake is right. You are beautiful.”
I had never seen Keisha be so emotional before, but her joy lifted my spirits. I knew this was the right decision to invite Keisha here.
————————————-
We went to bed late that night. We let Keisha stay in our room instead of kicking her to the couch. The following day, we introduced Keisha to Wayne and Sarah. Sarah was bouncing off the walls to meet Jake’s friend. She would have been bouncing off the walls anyway, but she was thrilled to meet Keisha.
Finally, after breakfast, we ended up back in our bedroom, and Keisha said, “Jake, I wanted to clear up this sex thing between us.”
“Don’t worry about it. I have Rachel now.”
“I know, but I don’t have someone now.”
I paused and considered this and wondered where she was going with this.
“Jake, I have been in love with you ever since we met. I was still in love with you when Jessica was around. I still have feelings for you. Maybe you are not happy to hear that, but–”
“Keisha, it is okay. That does not bother–”
Keisha interrupted me, “I still need to come to terms with it. I am not sure how to talk about this.”
Before I could respond, Rachel took me by the hand and led me to the door, pushed me out, and closed the door on me. I was not sure what to think, at first; there had not been a door between us for a long time. I was not offended, or anything; it just felt strange to be without Rachel.
Wayne looked over at me from the couch. “What’s up?”
“Rachel just kicked me out to talk with my old friend.”
“You will be fine. Just trust my sister to work her magic.”
I went over to Wayne to watch the game, where one of my favorite teams was playing. I had planned to watch it with Wayne, but forgot about it when Keisha came to visit.
I was so engrossed in the game that it startled me when the door opened, and Keisha asked me to come back in. When I entered, Rachel sat calmly at the desk with her sketchpad. Keisha spoke, and I turned to look at her.
“Jake, I was still in love with you when I left, but I am willing to accept that we will not be together. But I want you to have these to remember what we shared.”
Having confessed her feelings, Keisha handed me something Rachel had drawn. I was surprised to see that Keisha had posed nude for Rachel, and I had forgotten how gorgeous she was.
“You are amazing. Thank you for sharing these with me. You are still the most beautiful woman I know.”
Keisha was glowing from my praise of her and how beautiful the drawings were. She fulfilled her wish that I still would accept her. Her joy and excitement filled the room.
Keisha came over to me to hug me. Before we could embrace, I had to set the drawings down. I turned to Rachel and handed her the drawings. I said, “You got to see an ebony goddess after all. These are marvelous. Could you take these from me?” And then I nodded slightly.
Rachel took the drawings willingly and nodded back.
Seeing it was safe to hug me now, Keisha stepped forward and hugged me. We stayed like that for a few moments. She often liked to give me a long hug. She said softly, “Now, I can move on.”
I had sensed it before but never said anything before, “Is there someone else?”
She whispered, “Yes.”
“Go to him.”