Free May the Best Man Win by M.T. Pope

mate.”
    â€œSo you are saying I should be friends with someone first and then move on gradually in the process? No sex first?”
    â€œThat’s what I’m saying.” He nodded in agreement.
    â€œSo what evidence do you have to back this up?” I asked him.
    â€œTurn toward the door,” he instructed me. I did as I was instructed to do. “That was my reward for patience and starting out friends. She is my life and all I need. Today I am about to propose to her and move forward,” he said as he got up out of his seat to greet her.
    â€œHey, baby.” She kissed him on his cheek and then looked at me. “Who is this well-dressed young man?”
    â€œOh, baby, this is . . .”
    â€œLewis, my name is Lewis.” I stood up and shook her hand. She was statuesque and gorgeous. She was beautiful. She had on a nice business suit that hugged her curves but gave enough room for movement. He had his hand around her waist. They looked like Barack and Michelle Obama standing in front of me.
    â€œWell, Lewis, thank you for keeping Arthur company while he waited on me to get here.”
    â€œNo problem at all.” I smiled while jealousy enveloped me. “He is a very knowledgeable and helpful person. It was my pleasure.”
    â€œThe pleasure was mine as well.” He reached out to shake my hand.
    â€œThank you for the help. I will take what you said into consideration. One step at a time.”
    â€œNo problem,” he said to me and then turned to his wife-to-be. “Honey, can you find us a table by ourselves while I go to the little boys’ room?”
    Like magic a table opened up, and she was seated, waiting for him to return. It didn’t take long for him to get back to her, and pretty soon she was screaming yes to his proposal to be his wife.
    Sitting there watching gave me hope for my future, and now all I had to do was be patient and wait for my future to show up. Just like anyone else though, me and patience didn’t get along, but I was willing to try it out again. One more time.

Chapter 9
    Kardell
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    Back to the Basics
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    It took me about a month to mourn the death of my love life. If that is what you want to call it, because there truly was no love involved. During this period of mourning I had moped around work and at home. I was like a dog with a limp and a slight whimper, totally helpless. I tried my best to focus on work and hope that the pain that I was feeling would subside. I also tried to numb it with eating out and intense shopping sprees. Just to return home alone. Well not completely alone; during my bereavement I would take walks during my lunch break. And while on one of my walks I passed a pet shop. Desperate for some kind of companionship I hesitantly went in to only “look” at a prospective furry roommate. After about an hour I was walking out of the establishment with an orange-colored kitten. He was adorable and we took to each other like magnets.
    But he too was a temporary fix. I loved him (Grey), but I still longed for someone who would share my life. He had to cherish me and himself. He had to have self-respect and respect for others. A good job and be a family man. Was I asking for too much? For him to smother me with love and affection? Surprise getaways and gifts? Spontaneous lovemaking? Was that too much to ask? I didn’t think so. There had to be someone out there who could fill these qualifications. Where was he? I was bendable with some of these requirements, but I was tired of settling for less. I was not perfect, but I came from good stock. It was the American dream to have a prosperous career, own property, and having a decent, loving family. I had the career and I owned my home, but where in the hell in the world was my man at? Was he lost in traffic or on the other side of the country wondering where in hell I was? They say there is someone for everyone. I was beginning to believe that only