The Realest Ever (21 page)

“When?”
she asked.

“Um,
last week.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You were, um, you were busy with your new job and stuff.  It wasn’t that big a deal.  Plus I didn’t want you to think you had anything to do with it.”

“Are you sure I didn’t?”

“I’m positive,” Donovan said.  “Me and Brianna were having problems, for a long time.”

“But you didn’t break up until I got here.”

“That’s why I didn’t want to tell you,” Donovan said.  “I knew you wouldn’t understand.  I didn’t want to put that on your conscious.”

Okay, that makes
sense
, Kyra thought.  “I’m sorry y’all broke up.  Are you sure you’re not hurting.  I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.  Do you miss her?  Do you want to talk about it?”

“It’s fine,” Donovan
assured her.  “I feel at peace right now.  Seriously.”  He smiled.  “We’re both in a better place.  Brianna wasn’t good for me.  That stuff happens.”

So what about us
? Kyra wondered.  She knew it was selfish to want to claim Donovan right after his breakup, but she couldn’t help it.  They may never get an opportunity like this again.  She wanted to ask him outright, but she couldn’t bear it if he rejected her.  Donovan was her only childhood fantasy that hadn’t been dashed yet.  A few awkward moments passed while Kyra waited for Donovan to broach the subject.

“What about you?” he said.  “You haven’t met anyone?”

“No.” 
Nope.  I’m totally single
!

“I’m sure you will,” Donovan said. 

Okay….
  Kyra frowned.  Was he really not interested at all?  Maybe it was because he was still hurting, from Brianna.  Surely that was it.

“What
’s up?” Donovan asked.  “I see that look…”

“Huh?”

“Somebody
has
hit on you!” he said.  His eyes brightened.  “Come on, break bread.  Who was it?”

Wow
.  Kyra couldn’t believe he totally misread her signals.  She needed to work on her womanly vibes.  “There’s nobody,” she said.  “The only person who has asked me out since I been here is the UPS guy who comes to my school.”

Donovan’s heart sank to the pit of his stomach. 
Oh shit!  There is someone!

“Did, did you get his number?” he muttered.

“Um…”  Kyra’s heart thudded.  Did he really want to talk about this, like they were just friends?  Were they just friends?

“Come on,” Donovan said.  He felt sweat on his forehead, but he was too embarrassed to wipe it
away.  “Obviously you did, Kyra.  Why don’t you want to tell me?  We can talk about anything, right?”

She nodded.  “Yes, of course
we can.  I took his number.  But I wasn’t going to go out with him, though.”

“Why not?”

“Because, I…”  Kyra realized she didn’t have a reason.  Roland, the UPS guy, was handsome and polite.  Everyone in the office thought he was a dreamboat.  Kyra was flattered when he asked her out.  She told him she’d think about it.  He insisted she take his number, just in case.  The only reason Kyra had to reject Roland was Donovan.  “I don’t know,” she said.

“I think you should go out with him,”
Donovan said.  He swallowed.  His throat was bone dry.  He tried to clear it.  “You should get out and have some fun.  You deserve to have fun, and be happy.”

Donovan didn’t notice Kyra’s smile crack
and fade.

“I don’t think so.
”

“Why
?  Is there something wrong with him?”

Again Kyra had to shake her head.

“Then go, Kyra.  You deserve to have a good time.  When do you get to enjoy yourself – outside of when you’re with me?”

“
I guess I don’t.”  She sighed.  “Okay.  I’ll go out with him.  I mean, if you give your approval.”

Donovan
felt like he got kicked in the stomach.  “Kyra, you don’t need my approval for something like that.”

“But I value your opinion,” she
stressed.  “I wouldn’t go out with anyone, if you don’t think I should…”

Donovan
didn’t understand why she wanted him to make the decision.  He couldn’t have been more biased.  But he loved her too much to interfere with her happiness.  He fought to keep his voice steady as he said, “Go ahead.  Seriously.”

Well
.  Kyra’s shoulders slumped. 
I guess that settles that
.

“Hey,
” Donovan said, eager to change the subject.  “Do you remember the time we were at the park, and that naked man was hiding in the tree?”

Damn you, Donovan
!  Kyra almost screamed at him: 
Hey, do
you
remember the time we were at your mother’s house, and I told you I liked you, and you said you liked me, too.  And we kissed.  You kissed me like I’ve never been kissed before, and your hand was under my shirt, and my heart was beating so fast, and I was in love with you.  Do you remember that, Donovan?  ’Cause it’s fun to remember all of these other stories, but when are you going to ask me if I remember when we kissed?  When are we going to talk about that??

Kyra forced a smile.  “Yeah, I remember that.  That, that
guy was wild.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

ROLAND

Donovan dropped Kyra off at 9:45, like a proper gentleman.  When she walked through the door, Aunt Ruth checked the clock and told her she would charge $10 per hour for babysitting when Kyra went out with Donovan or anyone else she might meet.  Ruth said she’d only charge $150 a week for babysitting Kat while Kyra was at work, rather than use the hourly rate.  After talking with Donovan, Kyra thought that sounded reasonable enough.  She surprised her aunt by saying, “Okay,” before retreating to her room to change into something comfortable.

By ten-fifteen
Kyra was nearly bored out of her mind.  She wished Donovan would’ve taken her to the movies after dinner or even to his house.  It was clear they weren’t going to get anything freaky going on, but she would’ve liked to spend more time with him.  She wanted to call him now, but Kyra was a little upset about their conversation at the restaurant.

Why would Donovan tell her to go out with
the UPS guy?  Kyra found it hard to believe Donovan didn’t have any feelings for her at all.  Their one kiss was a long time ago, but it meant a lot to Kyra.  She would’ve sworn it meant something to Donovan, too.

Guess not.

Kyra lounged on her aunt’s sofa with her cellphone in hand.  She could hear Quinell and Kat in the bedroom laughing at a DVD she brought them.  Aunt Ruth was hidden away in her room, where she preferred to spend most of her time.

Kyra pulled up the contact list on her cellphone, in search of someone she could talk to about her
man troubles.  She couldn’t talk to her best friend because Donovan was the person she wanted to talk about.  Kyra had less than forty contacts.  It only took a few seconds to realize she didn’t have any other confidants.  She paused at the newest contact she saved and stared at the name.

Roland
.

He
gave Kyra his number three days ago.  She noticed he was awfully sweet to her whenever he delivered packages to the school, so his approach wasn’t a big surprise.  At the time Kyra told him, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

He asked her,
“Why?”

“
This is where I work,” Kyra had said.  Roland didn’t work for the school district, but his and Kyra’s only interactions were at the school.  She didn’t want any drama there.

“I understand how you feel,”
the UPS guy had told her.  He was a tall man, not as tall as Donovan, but almost.  He wasn’t as big as Donovan either, and his skin was dark where Donovan’s was golden brown.  But once Kyra was able to look at Roland objectively (without Donovan reigning supreme over all men who dared to walk on two legs), she had to admit that the delivery man was attractive.

He wore glasses
, and he had a perfect baby-afro.  He opted for shorts with his uniform.  He had a nice build.  He was speedy with all of his deliveries, no matter how many or how big the parcels.  And he never broke out in a sweat.  He was definitely fit.   

“Trust me, I don’t do this at every place I deliver to,” Roland had told her.  “I find you very attractive
, Miss Reynolds.  I would like to see you for more than two minutes a day.  Take my number.  If I get shuffled to a different route tomorrow, and I never see you again, I’ll feel better knowing that at least I tried.”

Roland
had a great smile, with the cutest dimples.  His eyes were dark and alluring.  His job may have been blue collar, but he carried himself with an air of dignity and authority.  Kyra found it hard to reject him.  It wasn’t possible at all while he was standing there, staring at her with those pretty brown eyes. 

She told him, “
I’ll think about it,” and she saved his number in her phone.  She stared at it now wondering if it was time to give up on her dream.

Going out with a handsome
man with a good job is
not
giving up on your dreams
, she told herself. 
But you are living a dream if you’re waiting for Donovan to profess his love to you.  He told you to go out with this man, for Chrissake.   And he
didn’t
tell you he and his girlfriend broke up.  Don’t you think that would’ve been something worth mentioning if he wanted to be with you
?

Kyra pressed the call button,
mainly to shut up the voice in her head.  And then she regretted it when she saw what time it was.  10:17 pm.  Was it too late to call?  She’d been out of the dating game for so long.  She didn’t know what the rules were nowadays. 

“Hello?”  The voice that answered didn’t sound sleepy.

“Hi.  This is Kyra.  Is, may I speak to Roland?”

“Hey, this is me.” 

His voice was not as deep as Donovan’s –
Stop it
! Kyra told herself.  His voice was nice.  It was just fine.

“Hi, this is Kyra, from J.T. Elder.  Were you in bed?”

“
No.  Thanks for calling.  I didn’t think you would.”

“Were you busy?”

“Nope.  Watching TV.  Relaxing.  Had a rough day.”

“You had to work?”

“Yeah.  But it’s cool.  Stacking that overtime.  Thanks for calling.  What made you change your mind?”

“
I still don’t know if I changed my mind.”

“Oh. 
Is, do you want me to help convince you?  ’Cause I can put up a pretty strong argument.”

Kyra
giggled.  “Okay.  Go ahead.”

“Well
, you may not know this, but Roland is stand up guy,” Roland said.  “He’s been working the same job for fourteen years, so you know he’s getting that paper.  He got his own car and his own apartment, and he’s not living with his mom.  They don’t even like each other. 

“And he’s been telling me how much he likes you.  He never stops talking about this woman named
Kyra
who started working at J.T. Elder.  He said you’re not just beautiful, but you’re professional, too.  He would love to take you out, treat you like a lady.”

Kyra was surprised and impressed
with his self-promotion.  Her smile was ear to ear.  “I don’t care how much money you have.”

“Oh, that’s cool,” Roland said.  “I was just
saying, you know, I do got some.”

“You
make an impressive argument for yourself.”

“Roland’s
the best man I know,” he said.  “Nobody does it better.”

“Cocky?”

“No.  But I’m confident.”

“Why don’t you like your mom?”

“She’s on drugs.”

“Mine, too.”

“See, we already got something in common.”

Hmmm.  Honestly Kyra expected Roland to give her a reason not to go out with him, so she could tell Donovan, and he’d stop looking for someone to take his place.  But Roland was
witty and hard-working, and apparently he had money (which Kyra really didn’t care about).  But more importantly, Kyra knew that she couldn’t be with the one she was saving herself for, so why was she saving herself?

“So, can I take you out?”
Roland asked.

“Okay,” she said.

“What are you doing now?”

She laughed.  “It’s a little late, don’t you think?”

“Is tomorrow good?”

“I can do tomorrow afternoon.”

“Okay.  Do you go to church?”

“No,” Kyra said.  But
she felt that was something she should do.  Maybe with Donovan.  He did invite her, after all.