Never Say Never by Victoria Christopher Murray Read Free Book Online Page B

“I was accepted to UCLA, but just a couple of days after graduation, I had to leave for Mississippi. You know, for my grandmother.”
    Well, since this topic wasn’t going to go away, I decided to use it. “Where does . . . did your grandmother live in Mississippi?”
    â€œIn Natchez. Do you know where that is?”
    I nodded. “Natchez is about ninety miles south of Jackson.”
    â€œWhich is where you’re from,” he said, more like a statement, but I answered like he was asking a question.
    â€œCorrect.”
    Though there were others at the table and a whole program that went on from the stage, Jamal and I kept talking, keeping our conversation to a whisper. I found out that he’d just enrolled at West Los Angeles College, the same college where Chauncey was, as a second-year student studying to become an EMT. He told me that their lifelong dream was to become firemen.
    We talked about school, sports, a little bit about our pasts and our hopes for our future. By the time Jamal helped me out of my chair when the program was over and we walked back to the car, we were officially friends, the first accomplishment of my mission.When we got back to the townhouse, Jamal walked me and Michellelee to the door while Miriam stayed in the car with Chauncey.
    At the door, Michellelee said, “Good night, Jamal,” without even making eye contact with him as she spoke.
    But once she stepped inside, I lingered outside with him. “It was great meeting you.”
    â€œYou, too. You’re kinda refreshing.”
    I didn’t know what he meant by that; it sounded positive, but I was certainly aiming for something more than refreshing. “So . . . I hope to see you soon.”
    â€œOh, yeah. Definitely.”
    Definitely! That was a great word. “Okay, I’ll see you later.”
    He stood right there until I stepped inside; I leaned against the closed door, but I wasn’t able to stay in that moment for long.
    â€œYou’re really feeling him!”
    My eyes snapped open. I’d forgotten that I wasn’t alone. “Yes.” I nodded at Michellelee. “I really like him,” I said as I fell onto the sofa. “Not only is he hot, he’s smart, and cool, and interesting, and . . .”
    She held up her hand like she didn’t want to hear my litany, which was too bad because I could’ve gone on and on and on.
    She said, “I get it, and he seems like he’s into you, too.”
    â€œHe’s going to call me.” Then I sat up straight. “Oh no. I didn’t give him my number.”
    Michellelee laughed. “Don’t worry. He knows where to find you.”
    I settled back down. She was right. He was Chauncey’s best friend. He was probably asking for my number right now . . .

    I blinked three times and came back to the present, though the memories stayed with me. When I closed the door that night, little did I know that Jamal and I were a long road and many years away from our bliss.
    But we’d found each other, felt each other, and I’d always been convinced that anything that God put together could never be taken apart. So once we married, though I was aware of the danger of Jamal’s career, it had never been a concern. We would last forever.
    Of course, I knew no one lived forever. I just never thought death would separate us. Instead, I preferred to think that Jesus would come back and lift me and Jamal up at the same time.
    Today, though, had proved that I couldn’t hide from reality.
    That’s why I didn’t want to take my eyes off Jamal. Not that I had ever taken my eyes off him. From the first time I saw him, I knew that, physically, he had all the gifts. He looked just like that actor that my girls loved so much. Idris Elba. Yes, Jamal was Idris Elba before there was even an Idris Elba. He was sexy and soulful. In the way he walked, in the way he