Josephine was alone at the condo. She stood in the parlor, looking at a picture of Howard. Maybe she should give him a second chance. But why? He�s been spending all his time with an ex. They seemed�happy. She would probably just get hurt again anyway. She didn�t want that to happen. Besides, she was starting to get on with her life. Not dwelling on the past. Although, she loved Howard very much and always will, she couldn�t keep thinking about him. She had to move on. She and Howard were in the past. Or were they?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. She just stood there and continued looking at the picture of Howard. There was another knock and she put the picture down. She slowly walked to the door and opened it.
�Howie?�
�Josephine.� They just looked at each other. �Are you living here again?�
�Oh, no. I just came by to get some papers for work. Sunn�s not home.�
�Actually�I�m looking for you.�
�For me?�
�Don�t be so surprised. I still love you.� She lowered her head. �I went by Venus� and you weren�t there. I decided to try here. Can we talk?�
�Sure; let me get my stuff quick.� Howard watched her walk away and get her stuff. After she was back at the door she said, �I can only talk for a few minutes, because I have to get to work.�
�Ok.� Josephine closed the door and they began to walk to the elevator. �How are you doing?�
�Alright I guess. You?�
�If you asked me two months ago I�d say great, but now I�m not so sure.�
�You did this.�
�I know and I feel horrible. I hurt you and I�m sorry.�
�For being in love with Sunn?�
�Being in love with Sunn and hurting you.� They got on the elevator. �Even though I love Sunn, I still love you and always will.�
�But you�ll always love Sunnie more.�
�That�s not fair.�
�What�s not fair is you pulling me along like this.�
�I�m sorry. I want to make it right between us, but you won�t leave me. You�re putting so many obstacles between us.�
�I can�t be with you when I can�t make sense of what is happening with all this. I�m just so confused.�
�I want to be with you.�
�Because you can�t be with Sunn. That�s why you want to be with me.�
�Why must you always mention Sunn?�
�To get use to the fact that you�re in love with her.� They got off the elevator and walked outside.
�I didn�t plan on falling in love with her. It just happened.�
�Just like you didn�t plan on kissing her.�
�That happened months ago.�
�And you kept it from me. Hurting me. I gave you so many wonderful nights and the whole time you were thinking about Sunshine. Thinking about Sunshine while we were making love.�
�I was not thinking about Sunn. I was thinking about you�about us.�
�Ok, then you were wishing it was Sunn you were making love to.�
�No; I never wished that when I was with you. I enjoyed making love to you.�
�But you�d enjoy it better if you made love to Sunn.�
�No.� They stopped at Josephine�s car and looked at each other. �Do we have to fight like this? I hate fighting with you.� He took her hand in his. �Yes I made a mistake and feel horrible. I�m sorry I fell in love with your best friend. Can we still be friends? Please?�
She wiped away a tear and said, �I don�t know. What I do know is that I�ll always love you. But I can�t be with you when you�re in love with someone else.� She removed her hand from his.
�Josie.�
�I�m sorry, Howie.� She opened her car door and got in. Howard stood there and watched her drive off. After a minute, he walked to his car thinking.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
�Brian,� Danielle said. �Telephone.�
�Bring it here,� Brian said.
�Where are ya?� Danielle peeked in the dining room. �I found him, Nick. Here he is.� She handed the phone to Brian. �It�s Nick. He sounds happy.� She smiled.
�That�s good.� He put the phone to his ear, as Danielle sat down. �What�s up, Nick?�
�My spirits,� Nickolas replied. �The most amazing thing happened last night.�
�What would that be?�
�Sunnie was here last night.�
�Sunn was with you.� Danielle looked at him. �No wonder we couldn�t find her last night. I�m hoping it was good.�
�I think we made some progress. She didn�t come to see me though. She was just walking the beach.�
�In Apollo Beach? She wanted to see you, Nick, whether she admits it or not.�
�She said she wanted to get away from you guys.�
�So what happened?�
�We were talking, basically clearing the air a little bit. I told her what she really means to me.�
�What�d she say?�
�Nothing; she didn�t have to say anything, because the sparkle in her eyes said it all. We were looking at each other, moved in closer, ready to kiss, and��
�She stopped it.�
�No, the phone did.�
�Did you answer it?�
�Yeah.�
�You passed up a perfect moment to kiss Sunn to answer the damn phone. You�re a bonehead.�
�It was a family matter.�
�That you have all the time that doesn�t matter. You�ve wanted to kiss Sunn since you broke it off. You finally get the chance and you answer the stupid phone instead. It should have never been invented.�
�Then we would�ve gotten interrupted by the messenger.�
�Did she stay until you got off the phone?�
�No, she left saying fate wasn�t on her side. I should�ve went after her and made her stay.�
�By doing what?�
�Kissing her. What else?�
�How do you know she would�ve stayed?�
�I know Sunnie and kissing her always worked in the past.�
�If you believe that.�
�I do.�
�It�s up to you, Nick, to get things back on track with Sunn. If last night was great for you both then you need to take the next step. Put the ring back on her finger.�
�I�ve been thinking about that a lot since last night. I even dreamed I stuck it back on her finger.�
�See you want to. Do it tonight when we�re all together at Kevin�s. You�re still coming, right? Sunn�s going to be there.�
�I don�t know. I still want to think about it more. Make sure it�s the right time.�
�This is your opportunity. Don�t let it pass you by. The third time�s always a charm, Nick.�
�Brian, I�m going to go,� Danielle interrupted. �I�ll see ya tonight.�
�Alright, Babe,� Brian said giving Danielle a kiss.
�Don�t call me Babe again,� Nickolas joked.
�Not you,� Brian said. �Danielle.�
�Whatever,� Nickolas snickered. �I�m just going to give it some more thought. I know it�s the right thing, but what if Sunnie don�t.�
�I�m sure she will. Just cross your fingers.�
�I�ll need a miracle, Bri. This is a huge thing for me. Putting the ring back on her finger needs to be perfect. I just can�t go ahead and do it. It needs to be romantic.�
�I understand, but you can�t wait forever.�
�I know. I�ll do it soon.�
�Alright.�
�I will.�
�Ok.�
�I�m going to go. I just thought I�d share the news.�
�Thanks. I�ll see ya later.�
�Later.� Brian turned off the phone and just sat there. Were Sunshine and Nickolas actually going to get back together? It was all on Nickolas now. Sunshine took a step forward and Nickolas had to take the next. Brian hoped Nickolas would do it soon and not waste anytime.
CHAPTER 19
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