Book One of the FAME Trilogy
Raya. Michael. Symone.
Ray, Mikey, and Mo.
No matter which way you put it, you couldn't say one name without mentioning the other two. Those three names together formed the R&B trio that became a soundtrack to a gener...
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"Do you want anything to drink?" Raya asked Chance as she made her back into the living room.
"Nah, I'm good." He responded, his eyes not looking away from the local news playing on the television in front of him.
The two of them were currently bound to the walls of her home, seeing that they were in the midst of the last winter storm of the season.
Chance was in town on business and hit Raya up in hopes to meet up and catch up on each other's lives, taking the steps necessary to build a proper friendship. And Raya invited him over, planning to have lunch, snow starting to fall just as their takeout arrived at the house, catching them both by surprise.
"What are they saying?" She asked curiously as she took a seat, making sure to keep her distance. A move that Chance noticed as he glanced at her from the other side of her sectional.
"It's not gonna stop until midnight, 2am at the latest." He answered.
"2am?" She repeated with disappointment.
He tried to lighten the mood with a joke and smile. "And this is why my ass stays on the west coast."
"There is nothing wrong with New York." Raya defended. "Well... besides this." She pointed to the TV.
Chance just nodded softly, biting back a smile, his smile fading as a thought came to his mind. "You're cool with me staying, right?"
"Yeah, yeah, of course." Raya quickly agreed, only to bite the inside of her cheek at how awkward those words rolled off her tongue. Clearing her throat gently, she spoke again. "I'm gonna go get a water. You sure you don't want anything?" Pushing herself off of her seat, she dusted off her leggings.
"I'm fine, Ray." He insisted.
"Okay."
Making her way out of the room, Raya exhaled deeply when she was in the clear, more than aware that his eyes followed every step she took.
No matter how much she wanted to take these steps forward with Chance, she couldn't help but feel some kind of way. If it was a couple years back, they'd seize the moment and enjoy being together. But now, it was almost like they were strangers who still had yet to feel comfortable around each other.
And that simply brought along tension.
Both of them wondering which one was going to cave first and address what they were trying so hard to avoid.
It was something Raya couldn't help but think about as she stood in her shower later on that evening, preparing to get ready for bed. She left Chance in the living room, where he watched a movie, bored by the repetitive news coverage.
Her mind wandered as she let the steaming water hit her body, with thoughts that she knew she shouldn't be having. But once they came to mind, they couldn't go away.
