After All Read Online Free Page B

palm.”That's more than
enough.”
     
     

Chapter 2
     
     
    Anthony sat at his desk head down, the
blueprints spread in front of him. He had been sitting in this
position for thirty minutes.
    “ What're you doing, man,
trying to memorize 'em?”Cedric lifted one corner of the
paper.
    “ Just looking to make sure
everything's okay.”Startled to see his partner standing in front of
him, Anthony began to fold the blueprints.
    “ Hey, we still need those
out,” Cedric held the blueprints.”Your head is definitely somewhere
else today. What's up?”
    “ Nothing. I'm okay. The new
library on East Boulevard is the biggest job we've gotten yet. I
want everything to be done just right.”Anthony took a sip of coffee
then frowned.”Cold.”He got up to refill his cup from the pot in the
small kitchen down the hall.
    “ Well, I ain't buying it.
I've known you long enough to know that sitting around with a
stupefied look on your face means one thing, you saw Michelle,”
Cedric called out.
    “ Bull. And lower your
voice.”Anthony hurried back down the hall looking over his
shoulder.”Keisha is supposed to be here any minute. She's taking me
to lunch.”
    “ So? She should have gotten
the message by now. She's been chasing you for months and you
haven't even been on a date.”Cedric clasped his hands to his chest
and batted his eyes.”Oh, Anthony, do you like my hair like this?”He
pretended to fluff his hair.
    “ I know, but we've been
working really close on the City-wide Church Committee. And she
does have feelings. I just have to let her down easy.”
    “ Okay, okay.”Cedric
stretched his tall lanky frame in one of the black imitation
leather chairs opposite Anthony's desk.”So how is Michelle these
days?”
    “ What makes you think I
know?”
    “ Quite playing games with
me, man. I know you saw her at the station and she let you have it
with both barrels.”
    “ So you went over to
Shantae's house to visit little Devonne, right? No doubt to give
the little tyke some lessons on baseball or is it football?”Anthony
tried changing the subject.
    “ Don't even try it. Yeah,
I'm seeing Shantae. And Devonne plays on both of the peewee teams I
coach. The boy is gonna be an all round athlete. Now back to
Michelle.”
    “ Damn! I should have just
said hello and walked away. No, I had to make a fool of myself
trying to be friendly. She still blames Uncle Ike for her father's
business problems,” Anthony said in a voice tight with
exasperation.”And me for not agreeing with her.”
    “ You still got a thing for
that woman. Course I don't blame you. She's got the
look.”
    “ I don't have a thing for
Michelle. I just hate that we broke up the way we did. All through
high school we were so tight, remember? We even had a five year
class reunion. Almost everybody showed except Michelle.”
    “ Man, some of those
bourgeoisie girls did give her the cold shoulder when her dad was
having financial problems. Y'all was kinda stuck up.”Cedric stuck
his chest out.”They only accepted me cause I was the star of the
football team and so good-lookin'.”He chuckled.
    “ We weren't stuck up. Maybe
we were into our own clique, but that's normal for
teenagers.”
    “ All the same, she got
treated differently after that.”
    “ But not by me,” Anthony
blurted.
    “ Well--”
    “ I didn't turn on Michelle,
Cedric.”
    “ Let's just say you kinda of
backed off when she started talking about your Uncle Ike being a
crook.”Cedric examined his fingernails.
    “ We had a couple of big
arguments about him, sure, but I wasn't going to stop seeing her
because of it. We could have worked through that. She was just too
angry to listen.”
    “ And you were too proud to
beg. I still say you ain't lost that lovin' feelin' yet, my
brother.”
    “ I moved on long
ago.”Anthony refused to look him in the eye.
    “ Hello, Anthony,
dear.”Keisha swept in. She wore the long deep purple cape that
matched her dress as though it were a