MasukSince the night of her debut, everything changed.Exploded is the right word for it. That night, she not just played, she enchanted the audience. We are stared at her breathlessly. I fell in love with her all over again. There’s nobody in the audience who didn’t.She had raw talent, and her hard work very apparent with every controlled stroke on the keys. I wanted to be those keys so badly. The audience erupted into an applause, confetti raining from the ceiling, the single tear that ran down her cheek, and then she looked right at me. My heart stuttered.That clip nearly broke the internet.Everyone was talking about it. There was no social media platform without the video or at least an image from the performance. I’ve saved everyone I come across, like I wasn’t there that night, like we didn’t stay up all night gushing about it. In a pale purple, silk dress, she looked elegant, almost cinematic.‘Ivory and Silk some called her, ‘Moonlight in Silk’ to others, ‘Euphony Empress’ t
We had our very first fight before the third date. If you can believe that.He didn’t want me to cook dinner one time. Just once, and I had watched videos and everything. He had been cooped up in his little studio, and I knew the painting he was working on was extra large, I mean I saw it with my eyes. For a newly wed couple he said. He pays extra attention to couples. Every dinner had been late since he started.I didn’t mind. But I wanted to do it for him, since he had been cooking for us without any complaints. “Seriously, I am okay with cooking for us for the rest of our lives.”“Well, I am not. I want to do this for you.”“And I want you to rest, you have a big day tomorrow.”The big day is to play as a second pianist at a fine dining just at the edge of town. They have some sort of program going on, and they reached out via my social media. They were the first ever to reach out, and I have been practicing like my life depends on it. “You are working on something big too, w
The second date comes with jeans and a cropped top.He doesn’t say where we’re going. He holds my hand and kisses the top of it every five seconds. I am full of giggles and smiles that threaten to split my face into two.Thea had set up my social media with a video of me playing at Lara’s boss’s party. It already garnered a few hundred likes and more than a thousand views, especially since she used the hashtag Kolin Karter. She says a few practice videos would be going up next. I believe her.I tell all of this to Hosea who listens patiently like he is hearing it for the first time. He beams like it is his story. And I realize, when you love someone, their story becomes yours. Sometimes even more important. “I am so happy you’re doing this. I like how happy you look.”True. This is the happiest I have ever been in my life. Every second feels like the best, like I am finally free. I don’t know what I would have done without Hosea, he made of this possible. “An arcade??”“You don’t
I should have known it would be about moving.Well, this is good. The universe forcing us to talk about the elephant in the room in the shape of moving boxes scattered all over his living room.“Away from the apartment?” Away from me is what I was going to ask, because it’s pretty obvious when someone says they are moving, they are going away from their current apartment. Gee, Regina.“Yeah… I was looking at new places, but none of it has the specifics I wanted.”They are a few months left on my own lease, okay well, five months isn’t that few, but I am already thinking about moving in with him. Wait… he could move in with me.“What are the specifics you’re looking for?”He breathes hard, eyes above as he gets lost in his thoughts. “I need a space to work. My bedroom was okay to paint in, that kind of space.”Then just stay in your current apartment? Don’t move away from me if you won’t move towards me. “Is there a reason you can’t keep your current apartment?” I am proud of ho
It has been less than three hours since we became a couple.Wait, it still hasn’t sunk in yet.Hosea and I, an actual couple. He is mine, and I am his.More than friends that sleep together, more than friends. It still gives me the butterflies thinking about it. I want to touch the sky, I feel like I could if I tried. With our reputation, you would think we would have jumped under the sheets by now. But Hosea has been doing all the soft things that make my belly flop around. Gazing into my eyes whilst holding unto my hand and drawing circles on the back of my hand, as he listened to me talk. I stutter a few times, but it doesn’t faze him, even a bit. Then he suggests a walk, even exchanging shoes with me when my feet hurt.I laughed at how large his shoes were on my feet, he laughs too, but it feels warm, he laughed with me, not at me. We hold hands as we walk down the street.I swear I hear background music from somewhere. If this was those movies he watches, this would be the
I ignored everyone’s calls and texts, and they had been a lot.From my coworkers, Yvette especially sent light texts, asking for my whereabouts, and they went downhill at some point, becoming strongly worded. I wonder what HR would say about that. Lara called too, and she texted to apologize for ever thinking it was a good idea to keep me away from Hosea, in her words. “He’s a good guy, Regina. I never thought I would ever say this about a man. But you found the one in a million.” I did.Even as my fingers hurt from playing, and my neck hurt from bending down to stare at the keys, I know he is a good man. He has worked so hard to attain the level he is on right now, and if I am to remain at his side, I would never want to drag him down. Returning back to the apartment, I meet Thea there instead.She narrows her eyes at me, “If you wanted me to take him as an elder brother, you should have known that I would be his younger sister, and younger sisters don’t take kindly to their eld
I told her I would cash it in later, what I wanted in exchange for being called by my middle name, and that seemed to placate her, and she took the second cup of coffee after reminding her it was for the first cup I spilled on her the first day we met, she nodded her thanks as she walked into
“I want to sleep with him.”“I’m sorry what?” Lara’s voice comes through my phone speakers, I can feel her shock as if she were sitting right next to me, and not at a fashion event miles away from me. Her eyes would be the size of the moon, and her mouth hanging open. That is expected considering
His hands wrapped around me, hoisting me through his window and through mine, steady hands, holding me. I watch his face for any sign that he knew what he was doing to me. His lips are ticked into his mouth in worry, brows furrowed in concentration, he is trying really hard not to drop me. Howeve
What was I thinking inviting her over?The first time she was at my apartment, I could excuse it, she forced her way in, I would never have invited her, I was completely free of blame… and this time I could have declined eating with her. “Your right to be silent only works with the cops Stephen, a







