“Okay so what do I do? Do I call him or just let the whole thing go?” Nevahe questioned her best friend. Tamera took a deep breath. She has never been in this type of situation. As a matter of fact, glad that she hadn’t. Nevahe had put herself in between a rock and a hard place.

“I really don’t know. He has a girlfriend, yet acts as though he wants to be with you. I can’t read him like most of the guys that you are with. He just hides it so well.” Tamera replied to her. Nevahe nodded her head in agreement.

“I don’t know. I know that it is hard to read him. I have never been able to read him.” Nevahe replied turning into her driveway. They had just come back from Jeff’s house. It was almost five in the morning. They had to leave before his girlfriend Kennedy got home from work.

The two went into the house and sat on the sofa. Nevahe picked up the phone debating with herself to call Jeff or no. Finally she just put the phone back on the charger, and picked up a pillow. She ran her fingers through the fringes on the edge.

“I’m going to make him call me. If he wants me in his life that bad he knows my number and where I live.” she told Tamera. Tamera looked at her and nodded her head in agreement. That was probably the best idea that she had heard out of Nevahe’s mouth all night.

“That sounds like the best idea I have heard tonight. But girl I got to get to bed. I have to work at three.” Tamera stood from the sofa and stretched. Nevahe nodded her head.

“Okay. Have a good night and fun at work. I’ll see you sometime tomorrow. I don’t know what I am going to do for sure yet. Maybe go shopping.” she replied with a big smile. Tamera could tell that it was only a halfhearted smile though and that hurt her too. She had never seen her best friend down about a guy like this.

Nevahe sat on the sofa until almost 8 thinking about the night before. She just couldn’t see how he could act the way he did, but talk as though they had a future together. She knew that she had to see Jeff every day at work, plus the town was small. They were bound to run into one another. She tried to wipe the thoughts from her mind so she could sleep. It was past 8 when she did fall asleep.

Nevahe jumped when the phone rang the next day. She shot up and looked at the clock. It read 5:27 pm. So much for her shopping she thought before grabbing the phone. She didn’t look at the caller ID, she just answered.

“Hello.” she yawned. At first there was no answer from the other end of the line. Nevahe waited few moments longer. “If you’re going to call my phone, you better answ...” she was interrupted.

“Calm down Nevahe. I wanted to make sure you made it home OK last night. You never called when you got in.” came Jeff’s voice from the other end. Nevahe’s chest sank. She was happy to hear from him, but she had also hoped that he wouldn’t call, so everything that she felt for him could start crumbling.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just didn’t feel like talking on the phone last night. Had a lot on my mind. Plus Tamera and I sat up and hung out for a while. Then we both passed out.” She tried to come up with a good story but she knew that he would see right through it. Jeff didn’t say anything; he just went along with her story.

“I was hoping to see you tonight. If you don’t care.”

“You have to come here Jeff. You need to start coming to my place. I’m not feeling right anymore, going over there and all.” Nevahe told him. Jeff let out a sigh.

“What are you talking about?” he questioned her.

“If you want to know then you’ll come over tonight and we can talk about all of this.” she answered him.

“I’ll be over around mid-night.” Jeff replied with a sigh. Nevahe took a deep breath then blew it out.

“Okay. Talk to you later.” Before Nevahe could hang up the phone he said something that blew her mind.

“Nevahe, I love you.”

“Jeff, you need to learn what those words mean before you start throwing them around out there. I’ll see you tonight.” She quickly hung up the phone, and then lay back on the couch. It wasn’t even six yet so she decided to go back to sleep.

“Girl, are you ever going to wake up?” Tamera questioned. Nevahe slowly opened her eyes. Tamera was sitting on the edge of the couch.

“What time is it?” she questioned stretching her body.

“Eleven forty-five.”

“Fuck!” Nevahe shot up and ran for the steps. Before going up them she turned back and looked at Tamera. “If Jeff shows up while I’m in the shower send him up, or just have him wait in the living room.”

“Okay should I plan on going out tonight for a while?” Tamera questioned as Nevahe ran up the steps.

“No. I don’t think he’ll stay long. Nevahe replied closing the bathroom door. She jumped in the shower. At first in a hurry, then slowed down. She realized what she was hurrying for and if he couldn’t wait for her then that was his own problem. She was never worth the time to him.

Tamera sat on the couch turning on the TV, waiting for either Nevahe to get out of the shower of for Jeff to show up. She left the station on CSI: Miami and curled up on the couch. She had a long day at work.

She was almost asleep when there was a knock on the door. “Come in.” she called not moving from her spot. The door opened slowly and Jeff stepped in. He looked at her and smiled.

“Nevahe here?”

“Yeah shower.”

Jeff shook his head and sat in the chair across the room. Tamera watched then turned back to the TV. She wanted so bad to speak up on her friend’s behalf. But the two had agreed to stay out of one another’s love life, unless asking the other for advice. So Tamera just sat there and waited to see what the outcome might be tonight, after seeing how Nevahe acted the night before when Jeff told her that she had to leave because Kennedy would be home.

“Has she been in long?” Jeff questioned. Tamera shook her head. Her eyes never leaving the TV. She was flipping through channels again.

“She should be out any minute.” was her reply.

“I’m right here.” Nevahe startled the two of them. Both looked back to the steps. Nevahe stood on the bottom step wrapped in her towel. She held a hair brush in her free hand. “Been waiting long?”

“No just got here actually.” he replied looking her up and down.

“Well, I got to go get dressed. I’ll be right back.” Nevahe disappeared back up the steps. Tamera looked over at Jeff, as he watched her head back up the steps to her room.

“You really got her confused Jeff. She just doesn’t know what to do anymore.” Jeff looked at her confused.

“Nevahe knew from the start it was all about the sex and that was all it was going to be.” Tamera nodded at him and chuckled.

“No. Try two months in her found out Jeff. You never told her about Kennedy when it first started. If you would have done you think that she would be handling everything this way?”

“Okay Tamera. This is a conversation for Nevahe and me to have. I’m not leaving Kennedy. It’s not that I don’t care about Nevahe; it’s just that there is over a year between Kennedy and me. I love her. She is more than likely the one that I am going to marry someday.” Jeff told her.

“Yeah, a full year worth of cheating. How can you marry someone and think that you can be faithful. When you couldn’t be faithful the whole time that you were dating?”

“Whatever Tamera. Can’t be any worst then sleeping with your boss now can it.” Jeff retorted back to her. Tamera looked at him and shot him an evil glare.

Upstairs Nevahe just threw on some shorts and a tank top. She couldn’t believe that Jeff had actually shown up to talk about everything. But she really didn’t believe that there was going to be much talking. She knew that she had to stay strong though and hold her own. She just didn’t know how to approach him with the fact that they had to end everything that was going on.

“Oh my god. What am I doing?” she questioned herself out loud, sitting on the edge of the bed. She jumped when Jeff walked into the room.

“You okay?”

“Yeah just thinking.” she replied. Jeff placed himself never to her on the bed. He looked over and smiled wiping the hair back from her face, and then he began to kiss her neck. Nevahe moaned, and then stopped. She pushed him away then stood up.

“I can’t Jeff. This has to end. We can’t keep this going on any longer. It’s not fair to Kennedy or I. Knowing that you’re getting what you want while hurting the two of us if only she really knew.” Nevahe told him standing against the closet door. Jeff looked over at her and frowned.

“Okay if that the way you want it to be then fine. But remember though, you’re the one that said it had to end.” Jeff told her pushing himself off the bed.

“That’s not how I want it Jeff. But I know that I am never going to have you to myself. I can’t keep myself tied down to you and you have no intention of leaving her.” Jeff looked over at her and shook his head.

“No I don’t.” he replied and walked down the steps. Nevahe followed him out to the landing on the top of the steps and watched him.

“You’re just going to leave it at that after what you told me on the phone?” she questioned through sobs. He spun around and looked up at her. She waited for him to go on a screaming rampage.

“What the hell do you want me to do? I’m not giving up Kennedy. But I do love you… Nevahe.”

“No, don’t keep saying shit that you don’t mean. Just get the hell out of my house. Go home to Kennedy. I just wish I was cold enough to tell her about your cheating ways for the last six months.” Nevahe yelled at him.

“Right.” Jeff replied. He headed to the door and with one last look back at her; he slammed the door and walked out of the house. Nevahe watched him through her tear filled eyes. She never moved to follow or make him come back in and talk to her.

Tamera came up the steps and sat next to her. “They come and go babe. Just don’t get down over this one that played with your emotions.” she soothed to her friend.

~A MONTH LATER~

Nevahe had been lucky not to run into Jeff around town. She hadn’t spoken to him or seen him since that night he left her house. But now it was time to return to work. This was going to be her true test to see if she could be strong enough to stay away from him.

Nevahe showed up at the arena in New York. Before getting out of the rental car she took a deep breath.

“Just be strong.” she told herself the opened the door. She popped the trunk open and grabbed her bag. She looked around then headed inside.

As soon as she was heading down the hall filled with locker rooms, Jeff stepped out of his locker room. Nevahe grabbed her cell phone from her hip and called Tamera. She waits for an answer, but she never did pick up. Nevahe hung up and pushed the phone back on the clip. Jeff was approaching quickly and she knew she had to find some way out of talking to him.

“Nevahe, girl. WELCOME BACK.” came a voice from behind her. She spun around with a smile ‘Thank god. Saved by John’ she told herself.

“John Thanks for all those phone calls. It was good to hear from a voice that was kind and caring.” she told him giving him a hug. Jeff walked by and heard her comment. He gave her a look that said ‘We need to talk’.

“All I know, it just wasn’t the same cat fight without you. But hey, what was that looked all about?” he set her back on the ground and motioned toward Jeff as he turned the corner.

“Oh. Yeah him. Well were done. Almost a month. Haven’t talked or seen him until tonight.” she explained to him.

“So your free for me to start moving in on?” he questioned.

“You got to wine and dine me first baby.” she called to him with a smile heading down the hall to her room. John looked at her and grinned.

“You know I can do that baby.”

Nevahe resumed down the hall until she found the door with her name on it. When she did she entered. On the table say a dozen roses, with a card. Nevahe smiled and picked up the card.

~WELCOME BACK! We Need To Talk~~

~All My Love Jeff~

Nevahe put the card back on the table and shook her head. She sat down on the couch and smiled at the thought of finally being back to work. It seemed like it had been years when she really was only gone a little over a month. She was ready to get back in the ring and handle her business. Nevahe looked up when the door opened.

“Can’t I come in?” Jeff stuck his head in. Nevahe just looked at him. “Can we talk?”

“What about Jeff. This is just about as good as a time as ever.”

Jeff stepped in and closed the door. Nevahe looked him up and down. She couldn’t help it. The way that he was built had always made her want to jump him. There was just that one thing about him that set her off. She knew that he had it too.

“Nevahe, I know you said it had to end. I thought a lot about it after that night. I just never knew what I was losing when I walked out that door that night. I wanted to call you so bad. I wanted to see you, hold you everything Nevahe.” he told her sitting next to her on the couch.

“Okay so what are you getting at with this? Why didn’t you call me then if you wanted to so bad?” she questioned him. Jeff looked at her and shrugged her shoulders. He really couldn’t answer that question.

“I really don’t know. I just want to talk more about this but I need to get all my thoughts together. I don’t know how to put all this out to you after everything that I did then and how I handled it.” he told her standing up. She looked at him confused. She wanted to know where he was going with this and she wanted to know soon. He was making her wait.

“Okay so what is it that you really need to talk to me about? I really need to know like soon.” she told him standing up next to him. Jeff looked at her. He looked at the outfit she was wearing, a camouflage mini skirt and a white tank top. He just loved the way that she dressed.

“I don’t know. Let me think how to put all this. I don’t know what to say to you except don’t run off on me. I have to talk to you. So much has changed since we last talked.” he told her walking out the door. Nevahe looked at the door in shock. She couldn’t believe that he had come in wanting to talk then never told her what about.

By the end of the night Nevahe had racked her head about everything. She didn’t know what he could want to talk to her about. She sat in her locker room waiting for him to come back. It was almost an hour after the show and she was packing her things up to leave when the door to her room came open. She looked up and smiled when she seen it was him. Jeff looked at her and smiled back.

“Decide to come back to finish what you started?” she asked him. He smiled and nodded at her.

“Yeah. I thought about what to say to you.” he told her.

Nevahe sat on the couch. Jeff stood next to the door for a few minutes, and then sat in the chair across from her. Nevahe looked over at him with opened hands.

“Well?” she questioned him.

“Okay, first off I guess I want to tell you that Kennedy and I are done. She moved back home with her family. I kicked her out a week after all that. You are the only one that has been on my mind. I want things to work between us. I want to be with you Nevahe.” he told her. Nevahe looked at him with wide eyes.

“After all the hell I went through. You know how many nights I went crying because I couldn’t call you. I couldn’t see you. Nothing Jeff. All because you said you would never give up with Kennedy. Now you are telling me that you are done with her?”

Jeff hung his head and nodded at her. He rubbed his hands together. Nevahe watched him, she could tell that he was nervous and that wasn’t Jeff and she knew it.

“Nevahe, you got to believe me. That is how I feel. I love you and care about you. At the time, I didn’t think that you really cared. I thought it was more of a show to prove that you could steel someone away from someone else.” he told her. Nevahe looked at him with wide eyes.

“I don’t know where you got that idea, but that isn’t the way I am. I don’t want someone that I don’t care about. When I met you it was like we clicked.” Nevahe ran her hands through her hair and watched him. “Jeff I am going to have to think about this. I will call you later on your cell phone.”

Nevahe grabbed her bag and walked out of the room. She was going to go back to her hotel room and think about all this. She had to do a lot of thinking.

Nevahe sat in her hotel room, on her bed. She didn’t know how to start to process everything that Jeff had told her. She wanted to give him a chance to show that he did love and care about her. But Nevahe was scared that he was going to rip her heart out again.

“Oh what do I do?” she questioned herself. Finally she decided to call Tamera. She dialed the number and smiled when her friend picked up the phone.

“Hey honey. How was it?” Tamera questioned. Nevahe could tell that she was once again with Sean her boss from the office.

“Well he wanted to talk so we did. Tamera he is done with Kennedy. She moved back home with her parents, and he wants to see if we can mend things and make them work.” she told her.

“Nevahe look what he did to you before…”

“Tamera I don’t think by the sounds of things that you are the best person to be telling me about this. Look at Sean.”

“There is a difference there…”

“Yeah the difference is… He is married. Jeff isn’t and wasn’t. It’s not like he married her then left her for me. Tamera you should think about things before you start messing with him again.” Nevahe told her friend. “Just some advice from a friend.”

“I know. It’s just so hard to say no. And you have to believe me right now it’s just so hard to say no to him.” she whispered in the phone. Nevahe was sure it was so Sean couldn’t hear what she was saying.

“Yeah I know how that goes. You see what I went through for a month because I couldn’t get over Jeff. Now it’s like I don’t know. I think I am going to take my chances and try it. I got to give him the chance to prove to me that it really has changed.”

“Okay girl. You do what you got to do. I am getting back to business back here. I will see you when you get home or talk to you tomorrow.” Tamera told her.

“Okay. Love you hun…”

“Love you too.” they both hung up the phone. Nevahe smiled. She had smoothed everything over. She chuckled though at the thought of Tamera sleeping with Sean again. She knew that it was going to happen. Just like Tamera knew that Nevahe wasn’t going to stop with Jeff. It was just going to take her seeing him again and she was going to fall right back into his game

Jeff stood outside Nevahe’s hotel door. He needed an answer and he needed one now. Jeff knew he messed up and gave up the woman that he though was probably the best thing in his life. Why he hadn’t seen it before he lost her was what really upset him.

Jeff knocked on the door. Not very hard seeing it was already midnight. Even if Nevahe said ‘No’, to his offer, he still wanted to see her and hold her in his arms. ‘How much I miss all that’ he told himself waiting for an answer.

“Hey.” Nevahe answered the door with a smile. He looked at her. Nevahe never heisted to let him in this time. Jeff knew something was going to happen tonight and he believe that it was going to be good.

“How you doing?” he questioned sitting in the chair next to her bed. Nevahe smiled and looked at the ground. She placed herself back on the bed and then looked back at him.

“Jeff I think that I can do this.” Nevahe answered his question from earlier in the night. Jeff’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe that she had agreed to get with him.

“Are you serious?” he questioned her answer.

“Do you want me to reconsider?”

“No. Please don’t.”

Jeff stood up and picked her up in a hug. Nevahe smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. Finally she had the guy of her dreams.

Jeff and Nevahe laid in bed and talk for a long time before finally falling asleep in each other’s arms.