The Look of Love. Crystal B. Bright

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СКАЧАТЬ laughed. “You are so transparent. Just ask me if I’m seeing someone.”

      “I don’t care about that. Why would I care if you’re dating or married? It’s not like we’re going to date each other again.” He accelerated down the road.

      “You got that right.” She glanced out the window. “Besides, I’m sure you have lots of little groupies throwing themselves at you. We love you, Guns.” She puckered her lips and made a kissing sound.

      He laughed. “Really? You think I would go for a woman like that?”

      “I have no idea what you want anymore.”

      Gunnar glanced at her.

      She finished off her statement. “And I don’t care.” In her mind, Gunnar had pushed her away so that he could go off and have a different life, one that didn’t involve her. “Let’s get through this for Elizabeth’s sake. Any problems we have, we talk about it. Agreed?”

      Gunnar regarded her for a moment at a traffic light. “Agreed.” He continued on back toward his mother’s house.

      “Will you turn down this road?” Eboni pointed to the right.

      “Why? What’s down there?”

      “The center. I want you to see what it’s like now.” She watched Gunnar shift in his seat as he kept his stare on the road. “I think if you saw the state it’s in now, you’ll feel differently about helping.”

      “Or I’ll feel exactly the same.” He glanced at her when they stopped at another light.

      A stray hair escaped from Gunnar’s messy ponytail. Eboni had to fight the urge to secure it back behind his ear. She shouldn’t care what he looked like or about making him happy. He certainly hadn’t thought about her when he’d left.

      “But I’ll go.” Gunnar turned down the street and headed to the center. “I don’t want you thinking I’m inflexible. A lot can be said for someone who recognizes his mistakes and wants to right the wrongs of the past.”

      Eboni stared at him. She couldn’t get drawn into Gunnar’s web and world again. She had no doubt in her mind that once Elizabeth got better and came home, he would be out of Virginia and back in Vegas fighting again.

      Gunnar pulled into the sparsely filled parking lot of the Oceanfront Community Center. “So far looking exactly like it did when I was here.” He turned off his rental and got out first.

      He crossed the front of the SUV and opened Eboni’s door. He’d been here less than a day and she’d already gotten used to him opening doors for her. That alone should make her feel uncomfortable. Eboni couldn’t get used to him and his ways. Disappointment always followed her complacency.

      As he’d done before, he helped her out and escorted her over the slick terrain to the building. The automatic doors did Gunnar’s job. He allowed her to walk inside first and followed her.

      The sounds of basketballs dribbling off hardwood floors echoed through the open floor plan. A circular ramp ran up the right side of the wall to the upstairs area.

      “That used to be the game room up there.” Gunnar pointed up.

      “There are a couple of game rooms still up there. Mainly there are classrooms. They teach nutrition classes here, sewing, knitting.”

      Gunnar snickered. “That sounds great for a kid.”

      Eboni fought to keep from rolling her eyes. “Children aren’t the only ones who use this center.” After speaking to the man at the front desk, she led Gunnar to the upstairs area.

      She showed him the classrooms first. Paint peeled from the walls in every room.

      “Besides a basic sprucing up of the place, it also needs equipment.” She touched a sewing machine. “I think your mother donated this machine from her boutique.”

      “So my mother has done a lot for the center.”

      Again, Eboni kept herself from commenting and rolling her eyes. “The games in this room may have been here when you and I used to come here as kids.” She pointed out the stacks of game boxes in the next room. “Some pieces are missing.” Eboni walked him over to a platform overlooking the empty swimming pool. “The pool has been broken for over a year. Not enough money in the budget to repair it.”

      Gunnar remained quiet throughout the sad tour until Eboni brought him to the basketball courts. The players’ sneakers squeaked across the glossy hardwood floor as they played.

      “The nets all need to be restrung. And the floor needs--”

      “Okay, I get it. The place needs work.” Gunnar turned around and headed to the front door.

      Eboni had to step up her walk to a trot to keep up with him. “It’s a school day, so you can’t see all the kids that are normally here.”

      Gunnar burst through the door and stomped to his vehicle. He glanced to the side. “What about them?”

      A group of teenage boys hung around the back of the center by the dumpster.

      “Probably skipping school.”

      Gunnar shook his head. “Maybe the place should be leveled and made into a park or a parking lot.” He unlocked and opened Eboni’s door.

      “That’s your answer? Make something that could help people into a parking lot?” Without his assistance, she jumped into the passenger seat. When he got into the driver’s side, she lit into him. “What happened to you? I mean really. You turned your life around when you were here. Then all of the sudden, you had to go. It was like you lost your heart.”

      Gunnar stared at her for a moment before pulling out of the spot and driving back to his mother’s home without saying a word.

      “I knew it.” Eboni settled back into the seat. “You’re a cruel, heartless man who doesn’t give a damn about children or your community or anything else but yourself. I wish you hadn’t come back home.”

      Eboni didn’t care if he stopped in the middle of the road and put her out of his vehicle. She’d tried making the best out of the situation. He made it impossible by offering no explanation or showing any compassion.

      After the grocery trip and a very long nap, Eboni decided to take a bath before making herself dinner. Eboni needed and deserved a break. She had hoped that she would be in Queen’s home without intrusion.

      Eboni had had no idea an apartment even existed in Queen’s two-story detached garage. She hoped that Gunnar had his own kitchen within that apartment. He must since he’d taken his food directly to his place when they got back to Queen’s house.

      Before submerging herself into the balmy water, Eboni thought about Gunnar. It hurt her that with one call from his mother, he came back home. He couldn’t make that same sacrifice for her. Why hadn’t she rated as someone just as special to him?

      Eboni stripped and climbed into the pink bathtub. She laughed thinking about Gunnar and his equally hulking brothers bathing in this pink tub and matching pink bathroom. Queen Elizabeth epitomized girlie.

      After СКАЧАТЬ