Page 13 of Ember

“I’m sorry for reacting to you the way that I did as well, and like I said, we may not know each other well, but I do understand what you’re dealing with. And if you ever need somebody to listen, I’ll be there.”

“Do you want to come over for dinner?” Danica blurted before she could stop herself. Suddenly flustered, she tried to give him an out before he turned her down. “I mean, if you don’t, that’s fine. I probably shouldn’t have asked when I don’t even know if you’re seeing someone or…”

“Are you always this nervous?” He laughed, interrupting her tirade.

“Not particularly,” she admitted with a shrug. “Only you seem to bring that side out of me.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Tucker gave her a wink. “But if you’re offering, I would love to come over.”

“Okay, great.” Danica’s head nodded wildly. They exchanged numbers, and Tucker waited until she was safely in her car before heading back towards the grocery store. Danica was so thrown off by the turn of events that her hands shook to dial her sister’s number to let her know what happened.

“What’s up, boo?” Miesha answered cheerfully.

“I think I messed up.”

“Ah shit, hold on,” She chirped.

“Miesh, don’t you dare call…”

Danica trailed off when she realized that she was talking to a blank line. Growling lowly, she had no choice other than to wait and stew until her sister came back.

“Okay, hello?” Miesha greeted cheerfully.

“Why y’all always gotta call me and include me in these gossip sessions?” Casimir huffed.

“Because yo ass is always complaining about how we don’t ever tell you shit.” Miesha snapped at him. “Now, Dani, what happened?”

Knowing that it was no use to try and hide anything from her siblings, she dove right into everything that happened between her and Tucker, leading up to her asking him to dinner.

“Okay,” Casimir said when she was done with her story. “I’m missing the issue here.”

“The issue, oh, slow one,” Miesha drawled. “Is that she feels guilty for asking him to dinner, because she’s still attached to Amad.”

“Exactly.” Danica confirmed. “How good of a person am I to be attracted to someone else in such a short time frame?”

“You’re a human being, Dani,” Casimir said softly. “It’s a sad situation, and I would never try to downplay or disregard your feelings for Amad, but your life doesn’t stop just because he’s not here anymore. You can’t spend the rest of your life at a standstill. He’s not coming back, Dani.”

“I know that,” she sniffled, fighting back tears as best as she could.

“Dani, bae, there’s no timetable on healing or grieving,” Miesha murmured gently. “And nobody can live your life but you. You’re not marrying the man, you’re just having dinner with him.”

“Exactly,” Casimir co-signed. “And if anybody has anything to say about whatever the fuck it is you doing, I’m beating their ass. Simple as that.”

“Cas,” Danica chuckled at her brother’s attempt to cheer her up.

“What? I’m dead ass serious.”

“Oh, we know, psycho.” Miesha snickered.

She thought that they were crazy as hell, but Danica appreciated having a pair of siblings that had her back the way Miesha and Casimir did. Despite their age gaps, they’d grown up thick as thieves, something that spilled over into their adult lives. One of them couldn’t function without the other two.

Danica chatted with them the rest of the way home, and after grabbing a quick shower, began to throw dinner together for herself and Tucker. She was so nervous that she’d downed half a bottle of wine by the time he arrived.

The sound of the doorbell ringing nearly caused her to jump out of her skin, and her palms immediately became sweaty as she swallowed deeply. Willing one foot in front of the other, Danica made her way to the door, checking the peephole to make sure that it was Tucker before opening.

“Hey,” she greeted, attempting to catch her breath.

“Hey,” his voice rumbled as he nodded at her.