Free Dirty Little Secrets by Joy King Page A

know; that’s what my therapist said, but it’s hard not to feel some sort of guilt,” I said, playing with the ice cream
     that was now melted.
    “Honestly, for a while I felt some responsibility for what happened to Trey. Then one day I had to admit the truth to myself.When Trey had that gun, it could’ve just as easily been us lying there dead. Trey was a ticking time bomb, ready to explode.
     Instead of blaming ourselves and letting that dark cloud continue to linger above us, we need to count our blessings and thank
     God that we’re alive and able to go on with our lives.”
    “Baby, I knew that was true, but I needed to hear it from you.”
    I gave Patrick a hug, relieved that we had finally discussed that night and our unresolved feelings. After getting over that
     emotional hurdle, Patrick’s and my relationship began to prosper.
    “So, baby girl, what you wanna do today?” Patrick and I had gone to every fancy restaurant, seen every movie, and shopped
     nonstop. I didn’t know what was left, besides making love. The funny thing was that as close as Patrick and I were, we had
     never made love. It didn’t seem to bother him, but he was a man and I’m sure he had needs.
    “How about we go to the park and have a picnic?”
    “A picnic? You’re kidding, right?”
    “No, what’s wrong with a picnic?”
    “I have a better idea. Why don’t you go to the dresser, open the top drawer, and look inside the box?” I gave Patrick a quizzical
     look but followed his directions. When I opened the drawer, I found a Tiffany and Company box along with an envelope. I opened
     the box first.
    “Patrick, you got this for me? I can’t believe it. It’s the most beautiful bracelet I’ve ever seen.” The tennis bracelet had
     over forty huge diamonds that were clear and flawless. It was stunning. I looked back at him, still shaking my head in disbelief.
    “Why don’t you open the envelope?” Patrick prodded. I hadmomentarily forgotten about it because I was so caught up in the iced-out bracelet. I opened the envelope and saw a first-class
     ticket to Chicago dated for next Friday.
    “Will you come, please?” Patrick was now standing next to me, and he held my hand as he asked me the question.
    “How can I say no after you just gave me this unbelievable gift?”
    “I don’t want you to come because of the bracelet; I want you to come for me.” The sincerity in his voice moved me.
    “Of course I’ll come, and not for the bracelet but for you.”
    After Patrick left, I missed him immediately. We so enjoyed each other’s company, and I was looking forward to visiting him
     in Chicago.
    Because of all the time I spent with Patrick during his visit, I barely had a moment to hang out with Lisa. We decided to
     meet for lunch since I knew I would be going out of town in a few days. “What’s up, stranger?” Lisa said when she sat down
     at our table in the Cheesecake Factory.
    “Girl, what is good? I like your braids; when did you get them done?” I asked, checking out her micros.
    “Tawana did them a week ago.”
    “Damn, she has gotten good. Your shit look tight.”
    “Thank you,” Lisa said, posing to give me side views. “But enough about my hair, girl; I thought you had run off and gotten
     married to Patrick. I haven’t seen you since you ran into him at the club. That was so crazy.”
    “Wasn’t it? I thought Patrick had disappeared from my life forever, and then to see him again while we were celebrating our
     graduation was almost too good to be true. He just left the other day and I already miss him. I can’t wait to go to Chicago
     so wecan be together again.” As I continued to go on about Patrick, I noticed that Lisa couldn’t take her eyes off my wrist.
    “Tyler, where did you get that bracelet from?” she said, holding my arm and examining the diamonds. “Is it real?”
    “It’s very real. Patrick gave it to me before he left. Isn’t it beautiful?” I said