She looks so elegant and sexy.

I study her stature as she smiles at her friend and Cam, wishing that she'd smile the same way at me.

She's gorgeous, dressed up in a black piece that reveals all that is right and hides the things that are wrong. I want to explore all the wrong places of her; they were calling for me to touch her. Plus, the wrong places make for great adventures.

Her twists are in a tight bun and that red lipstick shines in the dim lighting, making a man's heart race.

Once she turns to see me, her smile grows even more and I'm excited in both places. Good thing nobody can see how hard I am.

You ever said something strange or stupid when you see somebody you feening for bad? Well...

"Right beside your molecules..."

Everybody gasps and looks around, wondering what the hell I'm talking about. Kyra widens her eyes, then silently claps while laughing.

That is not what I'm supposed to be reading. This is the wrong thing but I don't have my notebook and...

This feels right to say, all of the sudden.

Journee's smile falls, her eyebrows furrow, and her arms cross over her chest as I stand there looking stupid on stage.

I know my way around this. I can get around this strange phrase somehow. Just need to figure out how it relates to my inner being.

Rubbing my hand against my face, I snicker a little and say "Close to every molecule, follicle, gland, cell, and atom is where I want to be. It's all I want to see."

The band catches on to the rhythm of this poem I pulled out of my ass. They begin playing some mood music and that gets me going.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath in before "Your bones, your veins, your structured insides is where I want to rest. I want to monitor your blood flow as it moves throughout your body gracefully. I envision putting together any and every bone that's been broken and every vein that's malfunctioned."

All I can picture is her smile, whether she's laughing at me or enjoying the poem. My mind could only see myself wrapped around her, holding her close to me as I feel her heart beating and her warm body.

My fists are closed tightly as my heart rests, knowing exactly who I'm talking to. The made-up poem makes me smile even though it's corny.

"Expect nothing but the best trained muscles, ready for action. I want to be your source of oxygen that you breathe in and discard your carbon dioxide. I want to fight the bad bacteria that dare touches your body and help clean your system even when backed up."

Where the hell did that come from, Tripp? That's just going to far, man.

Nope. That's from the heart and mind. I had no control over it.

Everybody else laughs as I open my eyes to a very intrigued Journee, who is leaning on the table and smiling at me. That beautiful tight smile inspires me to keep going.

"Through the thunderstorms that rage in your nervous system to the sunshine in your reproductive, I want to be there. Ridding you of toxic files that lay mist in that brilliant mind of yours, instructing hormones to the appropriate places in your body, and keep your heart beating. Not in control but in assistance. I want to be close to every follicle, every body system, every cell, molecule. That's all I'll ever want to be."

Crickets.

Nobody makes a sound after my crazy ass, stupid poem. It's odd but something about those words, that phrase that came from my mouth, the atmosphere and tension made me want to keep going.

The tension between her and me. That's enough to get to a purple volume level and win much more money. She's who I wanted.

Everyone looks around at others to find an answer but mine was right in front of me.

Maybe I did a little too much but both women are in here and the main one I'm paying attention to is the one I needed.

Suddenly, a slow clap from Kyra starts and another person follows. Everybody soon claps and cheers, scaring me out of my thoughts and shit.

It feels good to know that there are still people out there who understand the underlying meaning behind stupid, made-up art.

I walk backstage and Hayden is waiting for me with open arms. She hugs me tightly again and rubs my back.

"That was absolutely brilliant! If that was about me, I'd be making out with you right now. Whoever that was for is one lucky woman."

You'd think she's the lucky one when it's really me.

We laugh off the comment but that was awkward as fuck, honestly. She's my friend and all but it's pushing a boundary.

Anyway, we're off to the bar for some drinks but Kyra stops us midway and hugs me. After hugging me, she gives Hayden the evil eye before Hayden tells me to meet her by the bar soon.

Damn it, Kyra!

"New woman of yours?" Kyra asks as she places her hands on her hips in an offended posture.

My eyes speed through the tight red dress she has on and I clear my throat. "Why would it be any of your business?"

"Guessing it's not. She tried though. Anyway, I thought your speech was wonderful. It really came from the heart and I felt every word."

Speech? Speech?! Strike two, Kyra.

Nodding is the best thing to do right now, making no conversation so she can leave me alone. I guess silence isn't the answer when it comes to Kyra.

"Have you thought about what we talked about? I know we've had our issues before but come on, Trippy. Let's not deny the fact that we have feelings for each other. We can just cut through the bullshit and..."

There's Journee, standing by the entrance and searching the crowd for me. When her eyes land on me, her lips fall flatlined and it looks like she wants to leave but she sticks around. She sees Kyra talking to me and rolls her eyes.

I'm watching Journee watch me talk to Kyra, not even paying attention to Kyra. How could Journee not be the one for me?

That's it. It's time to try something different now.

"You know something, Kyra? Somehow, my feelings for you got lost in the mail."

She looks up at me like I'm kidding, with that entertained grin on her face, and laughs afterwards. I'm still going to stop her.

"Look, Kyra, I care about you so much but this has got to end. Being your crutch, your sloppy seconds, and your fix is getting old. Somebody else has my heart."

After that, I walk around Kyra and meet up with Journee by the entrance. Both of us have goofy smirks on our faces and there's this awkward tension between us that helps us become more connected.

"So...I'm assuming you want to help clean my system even when I'm backed up, huh?"

Oh no, that's so embarrassing but I meant every word and not in a controlling way.

I just chuckle at her tone as she looks so confused. Explaining how this came about was the only way to get her to understand why I did that. She understands it but...

"It's super cute but don't ever do that again unless we're alone together." She laughs as we sit down at a nearby table.

Does 'don't ever do that again' mean that there's still the option of a serious relationship? Because that's giving me some hope right now.

Watching her emotions change is cute but her looking down to the ground isn't cute at all. Something's on her mind.

"Tripp, this is not a coincidence that we're here together. This has to be fate telling us that we need to address this long-distance thing so I'll start it off.  How would we be able to manage that? You don't think we'd drift apart after so long?"

I couldn't run away from this anymore. There isn't a way to get out of this and, if I want this bad enough, we have to work through this together. There's a lot to consider with this relationship but I think I could manage a long-distance relationship.

Taking her hand in mine, I think about what to say but come out with "Maybe we should just take things slow over the next few days. We can spend more time together and let our feelings lead the way. I can say that I feel good about where our feelings will lead us though."

"Will our feelings lead us to something serious in the matter of four days?"

Oh shit.

****
HEEEEEYYYYYYY EVERYBODY!

Y'all I loved writing this chapter. Like I wanted to bring Corny Tripp out so bad!

Thank you guys for reading and reaching 1k! I'm so excited to see where this book goes!

What do you think will happen next with Journee and Tripp? Do you believe that they will go through with this relationship?

What you think about Tripp's free verse? Cringe-worthy, right? I know. I know. Lol

Again, thank you for reading and I'll see you on Wednesday! Have a great weekend!

Love ya!