Page 29 of Love At Close Range

I laughed because that was about as good as a workday could get. “See, that’s what I like to hear. Did Trina’s crew make it over to the new office contract this morning?”

“Yep, and she already sent me the pictures,” Tasha confirmed as I heard her tapping at something. “Everything looked good, so you really don’t have anything to worry about today, boss lady.”

“Well, it sounds like you have everything under control and don’t need me, huh?” I smirked.

“Correct,” Tasha replied with a laugh. “We got it, so enjoy your day.”

“Alright, I’m gone let you get back to it. Call me if you need anything,” I insisted.

I heard the line beep and looked and saw that it was Dorian. I rolled my eyes because I didn’t feel like being bothered with him right now.

“I won’t,” Tasha joked as she laughed. “Enjoy the rest of your day, Ree.”

“Noted,” I replied before ending the call and clicking over to Dorian. “Hey,” I answered as I took another sip of wine.

“Wassup, baby?” Dorian greeted once our call connected. “I was just calling to check on you and see how you doing.”

“I’m good,” I replied as I watched Mona sit back down across from me. “I’m over Mona’s right now.”

“Oh, aight,” Dorian responded before pausing for a second. “That’s wassup. I’ain really want nothing. I just wanted to hear your voice and make sure you were good.”

“I’m good,” I repeated. “Are you?” I countered.

“Yeah, I’m straight,” Dorian assured me. “Just handling a few things. I’ll probably call you later.”

“Alright,” I replied as I looked down at my phone.

There was a brief pause like he expected me to say something else, but I didn’t have anything else to give the conversation. We had already been through enough talking around shit, and I wasn’t about to force small talk just because he called.

“Ok, Ree. I love you, baby,” Dorian confessed.

“Mhm… I’ll talk to you later,” I countered before disconnecting the call and setting my phone on the table.

“Was that Dorian?” Mona asked.

“Yeah,” I confirmed as I picked my glass back up. “He was just checking on me.”

“I want you to stop dragging this shit out, Ree,” Mona replied as she leaned back in her chair. “You’on trust him… you’re not in love with him, and now you sound irritated every time the man calls. What exactly are you waiting on?”

I looked at her for a second before taking another sip. Normally, I would’ve had some argument ready, but I didn’t. Everything she said was true, and I was getting tired of hearing myself make excuses for why I hadn’t ended it yet.

“I honestly don’t know,” I admitted as I sat the glass back down. “I think part of me kept waiting to see if whatever he got going on would clear up and shit would go back to normal.”

“But normal wasn’t enough either,” Mona pointed out as she raised one eyebrow. “You just said that man brought up marriage and you couldn’t even picture marrying him.”

“Ugh… I know,” I huffed.

The truth was Dorian’s weird behavior didn’t create all the problems between us. It just made me stop ignoring the ones that were already there. I had been comfortable with him, but comfort wasn’t love. We had been together for two years, and I still didn’t trust him enough to believe him when he told me everything was fine.

Mona watched me for a second before speaking again. “You’on need to catch him cheating or lying about something huge before you leave. If the relationship ain’t working for you anymore, that’s enough.”

“You’re right,” I admitted. “And honestly, I think I’m done.”

“Then be done.” She nodded. “Don’t keep letting him think y’all are moving toward marriage when you already know you’on even want that with him,” she added.

“You’re right,” I agreed. “I need to talk to him and cut it off before this shit gets any deeper.”

Saying it out loud made the decision feel more final, but it didn’t feel wrong. I wasn’t angry enough to hate Dorian, and I wasn’t hurt enough to feel like he had broken me. I was just tired of being comfortable.