Can't Let Go - A Contemporary BWWM Romance by Shayla Harris Read Free Book Online

bottle of water from the refrigerator and took a few swigs.

 
    “We’re
getting low on everything,” I said as I noticed the lack of milk and general
food in the refrigerator.

 
    “Yeah,
we should go to the store soon,” LaLa said. “We’ve both just been so busy this
week.”

 
    I
grabbed my food and went back out to the living room, plopping down in the
chair once again.

 
    “You
know,” I said. “I just realized that I haven’t even thought about Antoine once
today.”

 
    “Ha,”
LaLa laughed. “That’s, um, good.”

 
    “Ever
since I found out about his engagement, I’ve been obsessed,” I said. “He’s all
I’ve thought about.”

 
    “You
only want what you can’t have,” LaLa said, rolling her eyes at me and pulling
her throw blanket up to her neck. “Typical you.”

 
    “Whatever,”
I said between forkfuls of unevenly heated food. “I just think maybe meeting
Kevin was a sign that it’s time for me to move on. Maybe he’s the one for me?”

 
    “Aren’t
you kind of jumping the gun?” LaLa asked. “You’ve only known this Kevin guy
for—what, a week or two? Slow down, little filly.”

 
    “I’m
not saying anything definitive,” I said. “I’m just saying maybe it’s a sign.
That’s all.”

 
    “So
are you officially back to being over Antoine?” she asked. “Like no more
stalking him? No more stalking Ayla? No more obsessing over why you shouldn’t
have dumped him and how much happier he is without you? No more—”

 
    “All
right, all right,” I said. “Enough. I get your point. And my answer is I don’t know,
but I’m certainly trying to be. Kevin is a good distraction for me right now.”

 
    “That’s
good,” LaLa said. “Because you know Antoine’s going to marry Ayla and there’s
not a damn thing you can do about it.”

 
    I
knew LaLa was right, but her words still stung. As excited as I was about the
prospect of dating Kevin, deep down it didn’t fully change the way I felt about
Antoine. On the inside, I was a complex, emotional, hot mess of a woman.

 
    “Your
phone just went off,” LaLa said as she pointed to my purse on the ledge by the
door.

 
    My
big leather purse was so thick I could hardly hear my phone when it was in
there, but LaLa had impeccable hearing. I usually just relied on her to let me
know when it was going off.

 
    “Text
or call?” I sprung up and ran to grab it.

 
    “Text,
I think,” she replied. Her eyes glazed over and fixated on the T.V. screen.

 
    I
couldn’t whip my phone out fast enough, and the moment I saw who the message
was from, my heart skipped a beat or two.

 
    “It’s
from Kevin,” I said in a sing-song voice. I could feel
my grin growing wider by the millisecond.

 
    “And?”

 
    “He
said sorry about last night. Sorry about this morning. And can he take me on a
real date next Friday,” I said. I did a little happy dance and hoped to God
LaLa didn’t see me.

 
    “You’re
such a dork,” she laughed. She totally saw me. “Don’t reply too soon. Make him
wait a little bit. You don’t want to seem desperate.”

 
    I
could feel my palms sweat a little as I clutched my phone, my fingers aching to type back a message right away. But I had to listen to
LaLa. She was so much smarter than me when it came to dealing with people. I
was much more impulsive and naïve. I believed everyone and rarely tried to read
between the lines.

 
    “Hey,
Demarius and I are going to grab dinner tonight,” LaLa said. “You want to join
us?”

 
    “Oh,”
I said. “You’re going out with him again?”

 
    “Yeah,”
she replied with a half-smile. “Is that okay with you?”

 
    “Of
course,” I said. “Just surprised. It’s not like you. Usually you play coy for a
bit and make them chase after you.”

 
    “He’s
different,” she said. “I don’t feel like he’s a game player, so I’m trying not
to be a one, either. You have to