Page 94 of The Compass Series

CONNOR

A aliyah Winters lived rent-free in my mind.

There was so much to like about the girl.

A day did not pass where she didn’t put a smile on my face.

I found myself picking up on her little quirks, and the more I saw them, the more I loved them.

Like how when she typed on her laptop and she couldn’t think of how to spell a word, she’d snap her fingers in the air repeatedly until it came to her.

Or whenever she was about to eat food, she’d do a little excited jig.

When we’d be out in public and she saw a dog, she’d always react as if she just met an angel and she’d beg the owner to let her cuddle the fur ball.

I loved how she tried to tell me corny jokes, but always forgot the punchline. I loved how when she had a bite of food, she’d moan a little and then always offer me a bite, too, so I could moan along with her.

I loved her ass—I know, shallow—but damn, her ass. The way it moved in dresses, in skirts, in jeans. Fuck, in jeans. I could get a stiff one solely from watching Aaliyah Winters move in some blue jeans. Must’ve been the Southern boy in me.

Sometimes, when we’d leave a restaurant after tackling some interview questions, I’d let her lead so I could watch her walk away. The way her cheeks moved side to side. The way I wanted to move those cheeks side to side.

“What are you doing?” she asked the last time I trailed behind her. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine.” I slid my hands into my pockets and smirked. “I just had the craziest craving for some plums.”

I knew she blushed after I said that, and I loved that, too.

I loved how she blushed when she was around me. It made me think that maybe this “catching feelings” thing was happening on both sides of the fence.

Catching feelings.

I didn’t know my heart knew how to do that.

“You sound well-rested,” Mom said as I sat in my office after giving her a call during my lunch break. I couldn’t recall the last time she said those words to me, and I knew they were solely due to Aaliyah and her forcing me to slow down a bit. Roommate Breaks were becoming my new favorite thing.

“Yeah. Been getting a good amount of sleep each night.”

“Oh, sweetheart! That makes me so happy. It’s good to hear you’re taking some time for yourself. Speaking of time for yourself, how’s that promise you made me? About finding a hobby?”

“You’d be happy to know that it’s going swimmingly.”

“Are you serious?” she exclaimed. I could feel her joy through the phone. “What is it you’ve been up to? What’s the hobby?”

I sat a bit straighter in my chair as pride beamed against my face. “I’m a life coach.” Silence hit the line with a deep, painful hush that made me raise an eyebrow. “Uh, Mom? You there?”

“I’m sorry, I’m just trying to understand, sweetie. It sounded as if you said you were a life coach.”

“Yeah. I did.”

“Well, okay. Honey, my sweet, sweet child of mine. I mean this in the most loving, nurturing way possible, but, um… How can you be someone’s life coach when you don’t have your own life?”

“What?! I have a life.”

“No, honey. And I mean that from a place of love. All you do is work, work, work. No play at all.”

“I’ll have you know that I’ve been getting a lot of play lately thanks to my roommate forcing me to take breaks.”

“Roommate? What do you mean roommate? I haven’t heard anything about this.”

It’d been a while since I’d spoken to Mom, seeing how work had become so busy. I felt instant guilt for that fact. “Oh, a friend of mine was in a bit of a pickle. I didn’t want her to struggle too much, so I offered to let her move in with?—”

“ Her ?!” Mom exclaimed. “Oh, my lanta, you’re living with a woman?

! Tell me all about her? Is she pretty? Is she kind?

Is she your girlfriend? How long have you been seeing her?

Have you two been in a relationship for a long time?

Oh, my goodness, my baby has a girlfriend.

This is so amazing,” she cried out, clearly spiraling down a tunnel of insanity.

“Mom. Chill. Aaliyah’s just a friend. Nothing more.”

“Well, you need to bring her down here for me to meet. It’s been far too long since I’ve seen you, anyway. Oh! I have to bake her a pie. You know, everyone loves my apple pies.”

“Yeah, actually, that’s why I was calling. Aaliyah is a journalist and she was assigned to interview me and do an exclusive article for the magazine where she works. I wanted to show her my hometown, show her where I grew up. I figured it would?—”

“Oh, my goodness, you’re bringing home a girl! I have to tell Danny!”

Not this Danny guy again. Was he really still in the picture?

“Mom. Remember. She and I are solely friends. That’s it.”

“Yeah, okay, I hear you. I’ll just make sure everything’s perfect for when she arrives. Oh, my goodness, a girl!”

My mother was officially losing her mind. I was convinced that she was already planning a wedding for Aaliyah and me. I prayed to God that when I got down to Kentucky, the church doors weren’t opened wide for me to say, “I do.”

“Can we change the subject?” I asked.

“Do we have to? I just love the idea of this all, but I can hear it in your voice that you are getting irritated, so we can shift directions. Tell me more about this life coach thing. Who are you coaching?”

Somehow the conversation went right back to the girl I was trying to shift from.

“Aaliyah, actually. She’s been through a lot of shit from crappy men. I wanted to help her find some self-love again. She’s truly amazing and deserves to know it.” Mom began sniffling on the phone, trying to muffle the sound, but I heard her. “Stop crying, Mom.”

“I’m sorry, but that’s so sweet of you. You’re a good man, Connor Ethan, and I’m so proud of you.”

I rolled my eyes but felt a slight tug at my heart. Something about your mama saying she was proud of you hit a certain chord of emotions. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Although, I have to say, it sounds like she might be coaching you, too. Didn’t you say she talked you into taking some breaks from work?”

“Yeah, she did.”

“Maybe at the end of the day, you needed her as much as she needed you.”

I smiled at the thought.

Maybe.

“Oh goodness, Connor. I really like this girl, just from the sound of everything. She sounds wonderful.”

I knew she’d love Aaliyah. It was kind of hard not to think she was wonderful.

Before I could reply, there was a knock at my door. I looked up to see Marie standing there with a basket in her hands. She smiled brightly, and mouthed, “Is this a good time?”

Perplexed, I arched an eyebrow. “Hey, Mom. I’m going to need to call you back.”

“All right, sweetie. I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

“Tell Aaliyah I said hi!” she added in before ending the call.

I placed the phone down and smiled over to Marie.

I hadn’t seen her since the wedding had been called off.

All I knew is that Aaliyah had to tell her to back off a bit and give her space to breathe.

I understood both sides of the situation.

When a relationship ended, it wasn’t only two people who had to deal with the heartbreak; it was everyone who loved the individuals.

It was clear that Marie loved Aaliyah. She treated her like her own, so losing someone you’d grown to love, someone you thought would be in your life forever, had to be challenging.

“Well, good afternoon, Connor,” Marie said, walking into my office after I waved her in.

“I was in the neighborhood, visiting Walter at work, so I thought I’d stop by.

Last night I went into a baking frenzy, and I needed to get some of this food out of my house.

” She set a container with treats in front of me and then took a few steps back.

“I would say you didn’t have to do that, but I’m glad you did,” I said, opening the container and finding my favorite cookies: oatmeal chocolate chip.

I could’ve shoved all of those into my mouth in a heartbeat, but I didn’t want to appear like a slob in front of Marie.

“Yes, well, I know those are your favorites. Now, I don’t want to keep you, but I wanted to see if you’d heard from Jason recently.”

“We emailed back and forth a few times to finalize some paperwork and had a call last week, but that’s about it.”

“Oh, right. That makes sense. The two of you boys are just work, work, work. Just like Walter. I’m surrounded by workaholics,” she seemingly joked. She shifted around in her high heels before saying, “I don’t want to hold you up, but do you have a minute for us to talk?”

I tilted my head in confusion but then gestured toward the empty chair beside her.

She sat and crossed her legs. Her lips were painted a fuchsia color, and her fake eyelashes batted my way. I swore, Marie was always made up as if she were on her way to a runway show.

She pursed her lips together and began to tap her fingers against her thighs. “It was a shame, wasn’t it? What happened at the wedding.”

“Yeah. You could say that.”

Or the biggest blessing in the world.

“I just feel awful for all sides. I know my poor Jason just got cold feet and panicked. Now, I’m not making excuses for him, but he’s just not used to having someone as good as Aaliyah.

All of the girls before her were exactly that—girls.

They played games and always got Jason in trouble.

But Aaliyah…” Her eyes flashed with emotions, and she shrugged her left shoulder.

“Aaliyah is a saint. She is a grown woman with a good head on her shoulders.”

I couldn’t disagree with that, but for the life of me, I couldn’t connect the reason Marie was telling me this information.

“I’m sorry, Marie. What happened was terrible, but I don’t know what this has to do with?—"

“I heard a rumor about you doing an interview for Passion . Is that true?”

I sat up a bit straighter. “Uh, yes. It’s true.”

“And Aaliyah is interviewing you?”