"Thank you for taking me out to dinner." Ayanna smiled. "But I still don't understand why you both brought me here."

Kristal and Dave invited Ayanna out to dinner one evening to clear the air between the three of them. Ayanna was unsure to go out with the couple since she felt they both indirectly cause the breakup of her relationship. Yet, Ayanna wanted to go out with her friends. And with her money situation being a little tight, she also wanted a free dinner.

Kristal reached over and grabbed Ayanna's hand. "Well, I'm here to offer my deepest and sincere apologies for what happened. I knew I should've just asked you first instead of jumping to conclusions."

"Kristal, I would never do that to you. I mean, yeah, I think Dave is hot but I would never do that to my sister." Ayanna said. "I have way too much love for you, girlie."

"Well, I understand that now. I hope you can forgive me." She pleaded.

"It'll take some time, but I will. We're much stronger than that." Ayanna gave Kristal's hand a quick squeeze.

"I want you to come back to Parker-Williams." Dave said. "It's where you belong."

"I don't know, Dave." Ayanna couldn't bear to face embarrassment of her fellow co-workers. "I'm not sure if I should."

"Ayanna, Randy has been dealt with and he knows his place now. I can understand if you don't want to come back but I think you should reconsider." Dave said.

Ayanna contemplated the offer. Her temp job working at a car dealership wasn't the excitement Parker-Williams brought on a daily basis. And she truly missed going out with Melina for Happy Hour every Friday. "Will I get a raise if I come back?"

"Of course." Dave replied.

"When do I start?"

Dave laughed. "Anytime, whenever you're ready. However, there's another reason why we brought you to do dinner, Ayanna."

"Oh? What is it?"

"Randy wants to talk with you."

Ayanna rolled her eyes. She should've known better when it came to Dave. He always had an ulterior motive. "I think I lost my appetite."

"He's not asking you to get back with him because he knows he screw that up. He just wants to clear the air." Dave explained.

"About how much of a dick he is?" Ayanna asked.

"He understands you're angry and he expects it. But he just wants a chance to prove to you what's become of him." Kristal added.

Ayanna felt pinned against the wall. She knew she wasn't obligated but she also felt she needed to hear Randy out. "When does he want this?"

"Whenever you're ready." Kristal added. "He apologized to both me and Dave as well to the entire staff of Parker-Williams."

"Alright. But I'm only giving him five minutes." Ayanna reluctantly agreed. "Then, he can go on and do his business."

---------------------------------------

Ayanna slouched down on her sofa. She leaned against the sofa arm and sighed. Randy was going to come over soon and Ayanna still wasn't sold if he being there was a good idea. The pair had a disastrous breakup almost two months prior and Ayanna swore she would have nothing to do with him ever again.

Easier said than done.

Randy left personal items of his at Ayanna's apartment. After he stormed out of her home, Ayanna gathered everything and shoved all the items in a box. She sat the box by the front door, waiting to take it out to the trash the following morning.

The next morning came. Then the following morning. Then the following week. The box was still there.

Ayanna tried to convince herself that she was merely too busy and she didn't feel like dragging a heavy box down two flights of stairs. But that wasn't the case and she knew it. Despite how much he hurt her, she was still in love with Randy. The exhilarating fragrance of Obsession, the cologne Randy wore almost daily. Then there was the countless hours he spent teaching Ayanna how to program her iPod. And then there were the homemade videos the two made. Ayanna smiled as she reminisced the first "video shoot."

"Are you sure you're not going to show anyone this film?" Ayanna asked nervously.

Randy pointed the video camera at his girlfriend. She was lying on the bed, with a leg folded up. She was wearing nothing but a smile. "I'm positive."

"Because I don't want myself out there like Pam and Tommy."

Randy nudged Ayanna's legs open. He zoomed in on her snatch. With his free hand, he caressed her folds, emitting soft moans from his girlfriend. Ayanna's moans had a porn star vibe to them. She cooed during certain positions and screamed in others. "I promise this is between us." He then placed his shaft inside Ayanna and began to thrust inside her.

Randy switched the camera angle from the pumping motion to Ayanna's face, so he could watch her reaction. "You like that, Yani?"

"Yes, I did." Ayanna heard herself say. She stared down at the box and shook her head. That was the past, Yani. Wait a minute. My name is Ayanna. Ay-yan-a. She picked up the box and opened her front door when she was greeted by Randy.

Ayanna almost dropped the box upon seeing her ex. He looked heavenly and smelled like sex. Dressed down in jeans and a hoodie, Randy was looking mighty fine. "Hi."

"Hi." Randy smiled uncomfortably. "How are you?"

"I've been better." Ayanna set the box down. "You?"

"I've been better as well." Randy paused. Just like Ayanna, Randy swore he could get over her but he just couldn't. She was permanently etched in his heart. "Um, do you have a minute?"

"You have five."

"I can do five minutes."

Ayanna opened the door wider to let Randy in. "The clock is ticking."

Randy walked inside Ayanna's apartment. He took a deep breath and turned around. "I'm sorry." He admitted to her. "I completely fucked up."

"The first step is admittance." Ayanna countered.

"I know I don't deserve you, especially after all that bullshit I said to you. But Yani, you mean so much to me. You know what I did? I went to anger management classes. And I'll admit it, at first I went because I wanted to do whatever the company wanted me to do and be done with it."

"Geez, thanks, asshole." Ayanna retorted.

"But…" Randy interjected. "I started to listen to the speakers and I took several self-evaluation tests. I realized that, geez, I am a dick!" Randy stated, causing a smile from Ayanna. "But Yani, that's behind me. Yeah, I'll still get pissed off but I won't explode anymore."

Ayanna still wasn't convinced. Randy demonstrated a side of his personality that had serious implications. She seriously thought he was going to hit her. "Come here. I want to show you something." She led Randy to her bedroom.

Once they entered, she pointed at the wall where Randy threw the vase. Since their breakup several weeks prior, Ayanna didn't fix the damage. "I need to know if that's going to happen again." Ayanna said.

Randy walked over and surveyed what he did. It blew his mind how angry he became.

He turned around and walked over to his ex-girlfriend. He immediately got on his knees. "It won't happen ever again. In fact, this is proof of how committed I am to you." Randy rolled up his sleeve and showed his right arm.

Ayanna looked at Randy's forearm. It black and cursive lettering, Randy had "Ayanna" tattooed. She could tell it was just fresh as the skin was still raised. "Did that hurt?"

Randy smiled and shook his head. "No, not at all."

"Really?" She questioned. "What about now?" She slapped his tattoo hard.

Sharp pain surged through Randy's body and he quickly grabbed his arm. "Mother…son of a…" Randy breathed, creating giggles in Ayanna. "Goddamn….motherfu….shit…fuck…"

Ayanna kept giggling as Randy continued his berating. She knew he was trying his best to contain his anger and she appreciated his effort. "You're sure it didn't hurt?" She smiled.

"Yes, I'm sure." Randy swallowed and breathed hard. "Uh, Yani?"

"Yes, Randy?"

"I didn't blow up."

"And I thank you for that." She sat beside him. "It's going to take some time but I'm willing to work on us if you are."

"I am." Randy then removed his hand and saw his intricate black tattoo now had splotches of blood around it. "But first, can you take me to the ER?"