Hey everybody, y'all still good? I'm back with TWO new chapters. I had some free time, so I used it to write. As always, thank you all so much your reviews and the kind PMs. So happy you're all going along on Elliott and Satchel's journey with me. Stay safe, wear a mask and get vaccinated if you can. Enjoy.
TBOT
Elliott walked into the kitchen of her parent's D.C. home from the garage, late Saturday afternoon. She could hear the sounds of one of her mother's favorite artist, Kamasi Washington, playing in the family room, along with voices. She grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and then made her way toward the sounds. She'd expected to see her tante because her car was in the driveway, but was surprised to see her grandmother, who'd apparently hitched a ride with her daughter.
Elliott paused at the entrance as she looked at the three Pope women sitting and smiling at her. Her father and her siblings were at a Nationals game, so it was just her and these formidable three. Instantly, she knew they had been lying in wait for her.
"How're you doing, patootie?" Cecily asked, grinning at her niece.
Elliott looked at her beloved aunt. "I'm..I'm good, tante," she said, hesitantly, before walking back into the foyer and setting her purse and leather weekender on the bottom step of the staircase, and walking back into the room, or lion's den, because that's certainly what it felt like. "How are you?" she asked as she walked over to the sofa and kissed Cecily's cheek.
"Hello, Yaya," she said, as she leaned down to hug and kiss her grandmother. "What's going on here?" she asked as she stood and looked at the three of them.
"Not a thing," Olivia said, standing from an overstuffed chair and walking over to her daughter. She kissed Elliott's forehead before taking her hands in her own. "Mom, Cis and I had lunch together earlier and when I mentioned that you were coming home to have Sunday dinner with us tomorrow, they decided to stay for a while so they could see my baby; my beautiful broken-hearted baby."
"Lib," Cecily snapped, cutting her sister off before she could get started.
Elliott had a puzzled look on her face as she tried to figure out what was going on. "Is this…is this, an intervention?" she asked incredulously.
"Of course not, Elli," Maya said as she stood from the sofa and walked over to granddaughter. She gently eased Olivia aside as she stood before Elliott. "How are you doing, baby girl?" she asked.
Elliott shrugged and smiled. "I'm really am good, Yaya."
Maya nodded in approval. "Good. Have you spoken to Satchel? How's he doing?" she asked.
Satchel? Where did that come from, and why is she asking me about him?
Elliott's smile faltered. She thought of him all day, every day. Missed him. Loved him. Still.
"Elle?"
She blinked when she heard her name being called, bringing her back to the present. She looked at her mother. "Yes?" she asked.
"Mom asked you about Satchel," Olivia said gently.
"I haven't spoken to him," Elliott admitted. "But I'm sure he's just fine," she said with a hint of sarcasm.
And I am not calling him again.
Weeks had passed since they'd seen each other at the art show, with nothing between them, except silence. Her calls weren't returned, so she stopped calling. Satchel clearly had no intention of speaking to her, and she gave him what he wanted.
The three women shared a look. "What?" Elliott asked, slowly easing away from her mother and grandmother.
Maya sighed deeply before speaking. "Elli, for the last nine years you have been leading that young man around by his wide-open nose," she said, admonishing her granddaughter.
"Longer than nine years, Mom," Cecily added, before standing and walking across the room to join her mother and sister.
Elliott's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe it. Her tante had always been in her corner, had always had her back.
"I love you, baby, but you've enjoyed snapping your fingers and seeing him run to you since you were a little girl," Olivia added. Elliott's jaw dropped lower. Her mother too?
"Do you still love him?" Maya asked in a serious tone.
Elliott looked at the three women standing before her. She couldn't lie to them. "Yes," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears.
"Do you want any other man besides him?" She shook her head. "No, Yaya."
"Aww, patootie, don't cry," Cecily said, softly.
Olivia took her daughter's face in her hands. "Do you believe Satchel still loves you?" she asked.
Elliott shook her head. "I haven't heard from him since I saw him at Hakeem's art show, and we both know how that turned out. So no," she said trying and failing to sound nonchalant. "Satch ended things…he should have to come back to me."
"Patootie…" Cecily sighed.
Elliott shook her head again before Cecily could finish. "Nope, he will have to come to me," she said with a conviction she didn't really feel.
That day at the art show had been a blow to her already hurt pride. He'd hidden from her, and then he'd walked away from her as if he couldn't stand the sight of her.
I'm the one with the the broken heart, remember?
Elliott shook her head trying to free it of his words.
"Do you want him to come to you?" Cecily asked.
Do I want Satch back in my life?
"He ended it, he will have to come to me," she repeated.
"And what is he coming back to?" Olivia asked. "Are you ready for what he's offering?"
Maya nodded. "If not, why should he come back, Elli?" she asked.
Elliott closed her eyes as a deep pain of hurt and regret hit her.
I miss him so much.
"Elli," Maya said, softly. Elliott opened her eyes and looked at her grandmother.
"Yes," she said, wiping at the tears that had began to fall down her cheeks.
Olivia left the room while her mother led her daughter to the sofa where they sat next to one another. When she returned, she handed Elliott a few Kleenex and sat on the other side of her daughter while Cecily sat on the ottoman in front of her niece. They waited for Elliott to finish wiping her eyes and nose before speaking.
"You know, Elli, we were all little girls with dreams of knights in shining armor too," Maya said, as Elliott laid her head on her shoulder. "And then we got older and what we thought we wanted changed as we changed. Getting older has a way of making you see life so differently."
"Thank God for growth," Olivia said, squeezing her daughter's hand.
"Right?" Cecily said, nodding in agreement.
"You're experiencing what we call 'grown folks love,'" Maya said.
Elliott lifted her head and looked at her grandmother in confusion.
Maya smiled and patted her granddaughter's leg. "Grown folks love last through the good times and the bad because it comes with understanding and forgiveness. It's about accepting and loving someone, flaws and all, and being willing to open yourself up to be loved just as you are," Maya said.
"It's imperfect but it's real, and it will last and survive any storm that you and Satch may come up against," Cecily said, rubbing her niece's knee. "And it's not always pretty."
"It's also not about playing games and having rules about who does what and when, and always having things your way," Olivia said, reaching out and gently touching her daughter's cheek. "Sweet pea, you are at an age where you have to decide what table you're sitting at when it comes to love," she said. "Are you still at the children's table looking to have everything your way, or are you ready to sit with the grown folks?"
"Don't let your fear stop you from being happy with the love of your life, patootie," Cecily advised, smiling at her beloved niece.
Elliott reached out and squeezed her tante's hand.
"We've all been where you are, and had our different fears," Maya said. "And look where we are now."
"Mom and I were both at some point in our long journeys to become surgeons when we got married. I was scared to death that I couldn't be a wife and surgeon, even though I was marrying a surgeon, and I had a great example," she said smiling at her mother. "I realized that I could do both, and become a mother, with sacrifices and communication. You and Satchel need to sit down and have a real conversation because marrying a doctor requires an understanding spouse. Your life and time are very unpredictable. But when you really love that person, you make it work."
Elliott nodded. "Grown folks love, huh?"
Olivia nodded. "Sweet pea, we love you, but you messed this up. You love Satch and you need to fix what's broken, like a grown woman."
She let out a heavy breath. "I guess I should call him."
"Not so fast, patootie. He did walk away from you. Twice. Make him sweat a little longer. You'll see him in New York in two weeks at Nola's wedding," Cecily said. "You can talk to him then."
"Cis!" Olivia said, glaring at her sister.
"Cecily Marie, don't encourage her to play games with that man," Maya said, frowning at her eldest daughter. "That's how she got into this predicament."
"It's not a game, Mom. I'm just suggesting that she give him a little while longer to think about what he's missing," she said winking at her niece.
"Don't listen to your aunt, Elli," Maya said. "Stop sitting around like a little spoiled girl who broke her toy and is mad no one fixed it for her. Fix it yourself, and get ready for grown folks love."
Word.
X
Two weeks later, New York City
Satchel sat looking at the newly married Mr. and Mrs. Ahmad Cisco Guillory, as they sat on the dais smiling, and whispering to one another, and wondered if he and Elliott would ever be right again. Earlier, he'd been floored as he watched her walked down the aisle on the arm of a very tall basketball player. As always, she was amazingly beautiful in a one-shoulder, royal blue, floor length dress. She was sophisticated elegance and as he watched her, he couldn't help imagining her walking down an aisle as his wife-to-be.
It had been a lovely ceremony, or so he guessed. He wasn't one hundred percent sure because his focus had been on Elliott Grant, and hers had been surreptitiously on him. The love and attraction between the two was still deep. Unfortunately, they still had some things to work out, things that were claiming too much space between them, and keeping him from the woman he craved and loved, with everything in him.
Throughout the ceremony and reception, she was never far from him physically, but he still kept his distance. Even her siblings, including his main man, Rowe, were staying away from him. He was sure the reason Nola had sat him at a table with some of her Howard classmates, whom he knew, instead of Elliott's immediate family, was to make everybody comfortable. Otherwise, it would have been awkward.
The longer he sat stealing glances of his "girlfriend," sitting on the dais with the rest of wedding party, he knew what he had to do. They needed a private conversation, and if necessary, a confrontation. Whatever it took to resolve their mess, and find their way back to them, he was willing to do. He sat for a while, waiting for the right moment and when it finally presented itself, he pushed away from the table and stood, ready to make his move. She was on the dance floor, and he was going to cut in.
X
Elliott had been exchanging glances with Satchel throughout the ceremony and reception, but they hadn't spoken one word to each other. As always, he was impeccably groomed and gorgeous. His gray suit was tailored to fit like armor, and accentuated every inch of his fit and trim six-foot plus physique. She smiled because she knew what lay underneath.
Against her mother's and grandmother's advice, she had not reached out to him, nor he to her. She knew he would be here today because Nola had given her a heads up and told her that he'd RSVP'd without a plus one, and that he would be seated at the HU table during the reception, and not with her family. No one wanted to risk him and Spencer sitting together. She was still waiting for the right time to "square up" with him. Elliott shook her head and chuckled thinking about her feisty and hot headed little sister. She loved her siblings and would go to the mat for any of them. The girl took no prisoners when challenged.
Elliott had been dancing with one of her many male cousins, when she saw Satch stalking toward the dance floor, and her. She breathed a sigh of relief when her father stopped him to introduce him to the Mayor and his wife. She took that opportunity to return to the dais, away from him.
X
Satchel stood half-listening to Mr. Grant and the Mayor, and watching Elliott, who'd returned to the dance floor with another tall guy. They were dancing to a slow song and the guy kept putting his hands on her, trying to grind on her, despite her trying to move away from him. Tall guy was obviously looking for an ass whipping. Satchel saw red seeing another man putting his hands on her. Excusing himself, he stalked toward the dance floor, and Ahmad appeared out of nowhere. He used his hand to stop him, and spoke so only Satchel could hear.
"Don't do it, Satch."
That cleared Satchel's head. Never would he disrespect his friends or their celebration by making a scene.
"Take a walk. Cool off," Ahmad advised. Satchel nodded as he stared across the floor at Elliott who'd stopped dancing the moment she saw him coming towards her. The tall guy tried to pull her back to him, but she was out of his reach, moving away from him. She saw the look in Satchel's eyes and immediately knew what was going on. Quickly, she turned and left the room.
X
From his seat across the room Fitz Grant watched as Elliott rushed towards the nearest exit with Satchel hot on her heels. He smiled. Maybe tonight would be the night those two came to their senses. He'd seen Ahmad intercept Satchel, who was on his way to the dance floor to take care of the tall guy who wouldn't stop putting his hands on his daughter. He was seconds from handling the young man himself, but when he saw Satchel, he relaxed. Taking a sip of his drink, he set the glass on the table and reached for his wife's hand.
"May I have this dance, Mrs. Grant?"
Olivia smiled at her husband. "Of course you may, Mr. Grant."
He helped her stand, from her seat. She was stunning, as usual, wearing a silver, off the shoulder evening dress. The mermaid skirt hugged her svelte frame and ended in a sweep train. He stood admiring her for a few seconds, before leading her to the dance floor as the first notes of the old Barry White classic, 'Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Baby,' began to play. They remained on the floor for a few more songs.
X
"Elliott!"
Damn.
"Elle, can we talk?" Satchel asked as he followed her outside of the room, and down a hallway.
His voice almost had her melting, but she toughened up quickly. "No, that isn't possible," she said as she continued to walk away from him.
"I need it to be a possibility, baby."
"Whatever, Satch. I'm done."
"Well that's a problem seeing as I love the hell out of you."
She exhaled. "I can't do this."
"You don't have to do anything, Elle. Just let me say what I need to say."
"Satch, what do you need to say that I need to hear?"
"Forgive me." There was a long silence.
"For what, Satch? For leaving me? Twice. For not wanting to talk to me?"
"Yes. Can I get forgiveness for that? And for everything else?"
"You've been gone how long, Satch? And you're just coming to say this now, after all your silence?"
"I'm stubborn sometimes, Elle. So are you."
She sighed. "Fine, Satch," she said. "I hurt you. But saying you were okay with our relationship as it was, when you weren't, was wrong. We should've talked it out then, but you left, and wouldn't talk to me."
They were interrupted by members of the catering staff walking by. Elliott looked around and angled her head toward The Gallery bar, next to the Rainbow Room, where the ceremony, and now the reception, were taking place. He followed her into the bar which was nearly empty, and they went to a secluded table in the back. The bartender came over and took their drink orders, and they waited for him to return before they began to speak.
He took that time to simply take her in. Elliott was everything he'd ever wanted. She was what he'd been missing for almost two months. But that was his fault. He'd been uncommunicative and distant, punishing her for not feeling or seeing things the way he did.
Elliott took a sip of wine before she spoke. "So what is it, Satch? You don't want to be with me anymore?"
"Elle, you know that isn't true."
"Do I?" She said, slightly raising her voice. "Because you left me! You left us, Satch! You actually abandoned our relationship."
"I was messed up, Elle. I wasn't thinking. But I do love you, and I know you love me."
She nodded. "You're right, I do. But you didn't want to listen to what I had to say, and you were ready to throw all of these years we have together away. You know, I was always confident that you would protect me and not hurt my heart, until now."
"I'm sorry," he said with regret. "I am so sorry."
Elliott crossed her arms over her chest, shaking her head. "So am I, Satch."
He reached out and took her hand in his, breathing a sigh of relief when she didn't take it back. "How do I make this up to you, Elle? Because I would do anything."
Elliott looked across the table into Satchel's face, with those eyes that he loved so much. "I don't know if you can, Satch. I love you, I'm in love with you, but you threw my love back at me when I was being honest with you. I tried to explain my point of view but you didn't want to hear it, and you left me. I can't go through you cutting me out of your life again the next time something goes wrong."
Elliott's words held an edge of finality to them. "Baby, I swear it won't happen again. I won't ever doubt your love for me or your commitment to us."
She nodded. "I believe you, Satch."
He looked at her, desperation written all over his face. "So what now?"
She didn't answer his question. Instead she stood and walked over to the windows with their magnificent views of Rockefeller Center. Satchel stood and walked over to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her cheek. Elliott turned in his arms and looked up into his handsome face.
"If you want back in this relationship with me, Satch, you're going to have to work for it. And I don't plan to make it easy."
Satchel looked stunned. "Well, can I at least visit you in Baltimore?"
Elliott stared at him for a moment. "No."
"No?! Elle, how are we going to fix us if I can't see you?"
Elliott smirked at him. "What makes you think I want us fixed?"
"Come on, Elle, you have to understand-"
"Oh, I understand!" She interrupted.
"Everything okay here?"
Elliott looked over Satchel's shoulder to see her father standing near their table.
"Everything's fine, Daddy," she tried to assure him.
"You sure?" he asked.
She nodded. "Yes, I'm sure."
"Okay," he replied, skeptically. "Well they're serving dessert right now, so…" He left it there, nodded at Satchel, and left them alone.
They watched as he walked away. Satchel walked closer to Elliott and touched her cheek.
"I know I hurt you by walking away from you, and saying some things that were uncalled for. I admit that. But don't you think we deserve another chance?"
Elliott looked up into his face. God how she missed him. She missed him more than she'd ever imagined. She missed his smell, his laugh, his touch, the sound of his light snoring, and the way he held her when they slept. But she couldn't make coming back easy for him. He would have to want her as much as she wanted him if they were going to find their way back to each. Yes, they deserved another chance, but he didn't deserve her making it easy for him.
She stepped up and kissed his cheek one last time. "No," she said, "right now, you don't deserve me." She turned and walked away, a smile tugging at her lips, leaving him staring at her back.
X
Elliott felt a weight lift from her shoulders as she walked back into the Rainbow Room, where the reception was still in full swing. She'd had a while to think long and hard about Satchel and their relationship. Over the nine years they'd been a couple there were many firsts. He'd been the only man she trusted, the only man she'd said 'I love you' to, the only man she'd ever been vulnerable with, and the only man she'd ever been intimate with. She trusted Satchel like she trusted her father and the other men in her family. She also trusted that he would do the right thing when it came to the two of them, and their relationship. The love that she and Satchel had when they were teenagers was innocent and sweet, but this love, the love that they were building now, that was grown folks love. She smiled to herself and went to find her mother.
X
"So you and Satchel finally talked?" Olivia asked her daughter.
Elliott nodded and grinned at her mother. "Yes we did and we're both committed to working on us." She didn't tell her mother that she'd told Satchel that she wasn't going to make it easy.
"Are you committed to giving Satchel your everything now, Elle?"
"Mom, I want him to have all of me. Completely. I don't want a world without my boo."
Olivia chuckled at her daughter's statement. "So I take it you've changed your mind about marriage."
"I've changed my mind about a lot of things when it comes to my with future Satch," she said.
"Sharing your life with a man is a big commitment, Elle," Olivia advised.
"I know, Mom, and I'm ready for it. Satch and I just need to work on some things first."
"That's good. Just stay honest and open. Okay?"
Elliott nodded.
"Now, how can your father and I support you?"
Elliott squeezed her mother's hand. "You're already doing it, Mom, just being here for us."
"Always, Elle," she said, and kissed her cheek.
"I want you to start planning my wedding because I am getting my man back."
Olivia laughed. "Do you still want to get married in a castle at Disney?" she asked remembering one of her daughter's childhood dreams.
Elliott laughed along with her. "I'd marry Satch in the tree house in the backyard. I just want to be his wife."
Olivia looked at her daughter. She could tell she was serious. "Well you know your father and I are here whenever you need us."
"I know." She put her arms around her mother. "Thank you, Mom."
They turned to watch Fitz on the dance floor with the triplets.
"You know, Elle, I've learned a lot about Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III in the almost twenty-six years since first meeting him, and his love is strong for his family and his children. I see a lot of him in Satchel."
Elliott smiled at her mother. "I know. That's why I love him so much."
X
Weeks later…
"How long do you plan to make Satch suffer?" Nola Grant Guillory asked her cousin.
Elliott had her on speaker phone while she busied herself making coffee.
"Trust me," she said. "Satch is not suffering."
Nola laughed. "You sure about that?"
Elliott took a sip of her coffee. "Yes, I'm sure."
"Girl you play too much. You better call that man before he gets tired of calling you."
Elliott laughed. "He won't get tired. Satchel Mondesire loves me."
"He does. But you cannot ignore that man forever, Elle. He's learned his lesson. You're just torturing him now."
After Elliott had put the ball in his court at her cousin's wedding, Satchel had begun to text and call her faithfully, again. They were so numerous and consistent that she could set her clock by them. She always smiled when she read his texts. Some made her blush profusely. No, Satchel was just fine.
"I'm not torturing him. Satch felt we needed time and space apart, and I'm giving him that." She took a deep breath. "That and I needed to get past being angry with him. It really hurt my heart that he left the way he did without talking to me. We can't move forward if we don't talk. Good or bad, we have to be open and honest with each other. If we'd returned to the way things were, with everything going on with me, med school, rotations, study group, and him feeling as if I'm making him wait, we probably wouldn't have made it. Now that everything is in the open, we have a fighting chance. I love him, No, and it scares me to think of what my life would be like without Satch."
"Well damn, Elle!"
The cousins laughed, loudly, and continued to talk until Elliott's doorbell rang.
"Are you expecting someone?" Nola asked.
"No," she responded, looking at the security camera to see who was at her door. "It's Jose, the concierge with a large bouquet of flowers."
"Ooh, someone got flowers," Nola said in a sing song voice.
"Good morning, Miss Grant, these came for you." She reached out to take them. "On no, this is heavy. Do you mind if I bring them in?" She stepped aside and allowed him to set the bouquet on island in her kitchen. "I hope you enjoy them," he said, before giving her a small wave and running back to the elevator.
"Look, No."
"Lillies. He's laying it on thick, Elle."
Elliott nodded. "He knows they're my favorite." She sniffed the sweet aroma before removing the card from the envelope. She read the words and smiled. "I told you he loves me," she said, smiling.
"We both know that, Elle, so stop torturing the man!"
"Ha ha, No, love you. Goodbye."
"Bye Elle, love you too."
X
Satchel called Elliott but she still hadn't answered or returned his calls or texts. He took that as a good sign though. He knew her well enough to know that if she was really done with him, she would have sent a message for him to stop trying to contact her. There would have been no doubt about her not wanting to hear from him ever again. He'd sent her flowers and took a chance and called her, again. This time she answered.
"Hey!" he said when her smile came across the screen.
"Hey, yourself," Elliott said, smiling back at the love of her life.
"How are you, baby?" he asked.
"It's a good day. Thank you for the flowers. They're beautiful." She turned the phone so he could see them.
"You're welcome. They're beautiful, just like you."
She grinned.
"I was just thinking about you. I miss you, Elle," he said softly.
Elliott swallowed, tears filling her eyes. "Can I call you later?" she asked.
Satchel nodded. "If you don't, I'll call you."
X
After a few fits and starts, they were slowly getting back to them, sharing time and space within the confines of their digital world. Elliott's schedule was still chaotic and his wasn't much better. There was also the time difference, and Satchel was always mindful not to call her too late. But, the time they were able to FaceTime or talk on the phone became important to them both. And they talked everyday…about everything. He filled her in on his project and she told him about her final year of medical school, and studying for boards.
There was more depth to their relationship now. They communicated honestly, openly. Their discussions were light, and deep. They varied. Since they had different temperaments, they didn't always agree, and that was okay. Satchel had always been mellow, but passionate and driven, whereas Elliott was opinionated and determined. But it worked for them. They were far from perfect, but were both now committed to giving their best selves.
They discussed their hopes and dreams together as a couple. Satchel listened to her fears, really listened. And Elliott believed and understood his assurances that his support of her and her career would never change or waver, whether they were married or not. He just wanted to be with her.
X
Two weeks later…
"I'm coming home next weekend," Satchel said.
"To Hampton or Baltimore?" she asked.
"Well if you're extending an invitation, I might be open to accepting it."
Elliott laughed. "Call me later and we'll talk about it. I'll need to see if I have any openings in my schedule."
Satchel laughed. "You know you can't wait to see me!"
"True. I just wanted to make you sweat a little bit more," she admitted.
"There are much better ways to make me sweat," he said, suggestively.
She smiled, remembering, and loving her some him. "Goodbye, Satch." She heard his deep-throated laugh before ending the call.
Later…
Satchel called and woke her from a deep sleep.
"Hey," she whispered.
"Hey, baby. I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep."
"No, I was waiting to talk to you. I wanted to hear your voice."
"You were sound asleep, Elle."
"I still wanted to hear your voice so I could dream about you, Satch."
"You flatter me, Elliott Grant."
"Then I've done my job successfully!" she said chuckling. "How was your day?"
He sighed. "Long and busy."
"Sounds like you need some sleep yourself."
"And I'm ready for it, too. But I had to call you first."
"So I could talk dirty to you?" she asked in a low and sexy voice.
Satchel laughed. "Brilliant and freaky! You're my dream come true. But you've always known that."
She had. "I aim to please!"
Satchel tried to suppress a yawn. "Elle, I can't keep my eyes open but I really need to talk to you," he said.
She sat up in her bed. "Is everything okay, Satch?"
He sighed. "I'm not going to be able to visit next month. We're trying to work out the glitches on this project and it's taking longer than we expected."
"Oh…okay," Elliott said, disappointment in her voice. "I was really hoping to see you."
"I was too, but you know how it is."
No I don't, she wanted to say, but then she thought about all of their cancelled plans because of her, and closed her mouth.
"I'll reschedule, and we'll see each other soon, Elle."
"Okay."
"We have a few things we need to talk about, decisions to make."
"Oh?"
"Our relationship, for one. I'm not feeling the long distance thing, and even though we're talking again, I don't know that we've made a whole lot of progress. You know what I mean? We need to make some decisions, one way or the other."
Elliott frowned. "Where is this coming from?" she asked, his comment surprising her.
"Are you saying you haven't thought about it?"
She hesitated. "No, I really hadn't…"
Satchel interrupted her. "Well, give it some thought. It might be time for us to move on. But we can talk tomorrow. Goodnight, babe."
"Goodnight," Elliott whispered, but Satchel ended the call before she could get the words out.
Elliott sat up wide awake, replaying the conversation over and over in her head. She was confused. She'd thought they were back together, on the same page, wanting the same things, but somewhere along the way it seemed Satchel had decided he wanted something, or someone, else. Maybe her mother, grandmother, aunt, and even Nola, had been correct, she'd taken him for granted, for too long.
On the West coast, Satchel lay on his back, with hands behind his head staring at the ceiling, and a smile on his face. He could only imagine what Elliott was thinking. And he couldn't wait to kiss the doubt and anxiety away from her beautiful face when he saw her again.
TBC