Keeper of My Soul. Keshia Dawn

or even acted as though they would budge, Stoney took that as a sign to get moving.

      “Uh-uh. You are for real, aren’t you?” Brother Mike called out with one hand on his muscled hip. “Stoney, why would you break our routine? You know we do brunch every Sunday.” he crossed his arms in front of his heaving chest hidden behind his off-white summer blazer.

      Taking a step closer to the two, Keithe felt out of place. He even wondered if he should have kept his hotel room for his brief stay. “Look, if it’s me, if I’ve intruded, please forgive me.” he then turned his attention to Mike. “If you give me your key, I’ll go ahead and head to your house so you guys can do your thing. I don’t mean any harm, Stoney.” Keithe turned back to Stoney with a weak, but bright, smile.

      “You drove?” Mike broke the monotony with a worried question. When Keithe nodded, Mike said, “What’s up with that? It better be on doctor’s orders, too, man.” Keeping in contact mainly through e-mails and text messages, Mike knew all too well Keithe’s prescription for driving: don’t.

      He said my name. Stoney bit her bottom lip, still stuck on the fact that Keithe acknowledged her by name. Not wanting the visitor to feel inadequate, or as though she was Miss Prude of the Year, Stoney rethought her entire approach.

      Stoney thought going to brunch with the two could actually be beneficial for her, especially when she really wanted—no, needed—to know more about Keithe. But she couldn’t go. He was her first crush ever and she had no clue how to act in front of him.

      “Oh. No, please.” She paused. “It’s fine. You’re fine,” she addressed a ready-to-depart Keithe. “I’d just rather you all go along and catch up. I really, really have lots of stuff to do, Mike.” She hoped her friend would get the picture and forgive her this one time.

      “You sure?” Keithe asked, raising his eyebrows to add depth to his question.

      “I’m sure,” Stoney answered as she turned toward the church’s exit.

      “Whatever you say,” Mike mumbled, and resumed his walk in the opposite direction.

      Hesitating in his own departure behind Mike, Keithe extended his hand toward Stoney. “It was nice meeting you, Stoney.”

      “Likewise,” she oozed from her cotton-candy-glossed lips, and turned back toward Keithe. Placing her hand in Keithe’s palm, Stoney knew she’d be repenting for thinking the thoughts she had. And for lying. She had no doubt she’d lose a dress size for all the fasting she’d have to partake in.

      Picking at the roasted chicken she’d bought from a local chicken shack, Stoney hadn’t been able to release her thoughts from Keithe’s manly build. While sitting at her two-seat dining table, dazed and rocked, Stoney daydreamed and just wondered. She wondered how she could allow herself to get so caught up with one man in particular…and so soon. But deep down, she knew why. The fineness he possessed was deep enough. The thoughts lingering in her mind were more of a fulfillment of sorts.

      After her meal, tired from an exciting afternoon, Stoney could do nothing but nap. Waking from the short energizer, Stoney sat in the middle of her bed, looking over schoolbooks with the pages staring back at her. The month of May had finally made its way into Dallas and the spring semester was just about over. Finals were the only things keeping her from enjoying the outside.

      She couldn’t believe how Keithe had waltzed into her life. There were too many things she’d thought of within the last five hours of leaving the two friends, and she couldn’t believe it was all happening in her world.

      Stoney had been plagued with thoughts of getting into Keithe’s life and luck had just landed in her lap. There was no doubt in her mind that God had opened a door. Believing the Bible, Stoney was stuck on the “What my heart desires” part. Yes, she had fought the instinct that told her that God didn’t like ugly. But as Mike had filled her in later that night, Keithe just existed in a marriage; he definitely wasn’t living. Now she just needed to know which move to make next.

      Right as she snapped her fingers, her cell phone rang.

      “Hello?” she stated, still holding her snapped fingers closed. “This is she. Hey, Mike. Wassup, dude?” she looked around for her favorite candy.

      “Oh nothing, gal,” Mike joked. “Keithe felt bad for you not being able to hang out with me today and wanted to invite you to dinner tomorrow night. Of course, I’m choosing the restaurant since you still stuck on Dairy Queen.”

      Crossing her legs in the middle of her bed, Stoney popped a stick of licorice in her mouth and bit off a wad. “Raw, das tweet.” She talked through a mouthful, doing the silent happy dance. Thinking she could brave the waters the second time around, Stoney was happy for the opportunity to be able to breathe in the same room as Keithe at least one more time.

      “What? Girl, stop chewing that licorice and talk to a brother.” Mike knew her all too well.

      “I said, ‘aw, that is sweet.’ what time should I be there?”

      Hearing his line beep, Brother Mike told Stoney to bring a change of clothes with her and to just come right over to his house after work. Hanging up the phone, Stoney stood in the middle of her bed and did the Funky Chicken.

      A knot in her stomach caused her to suddenly kneel in the bed and hold her torso. Ever since she was a little girl, nerves that plagued her caused her to get a sick feeling. The pain that shot around like a loose pellet from a BB gun sent Stoney almost crawling to the restroom for her medication.

      Grandma Susie had said it was ulcers from always worrying about not having a mama or daddy. Standing in her tiny restroom with a cup of water, Stoney reached for the bottled medication that still had her Grandma Susie’s information on it. Thinking about being in Keithe’s presence, Stoney almost forgot about the striking pain until a jolt caused her to kneel once more.

      “Uh-oh.” Stoney took a peek inside of the large orange bottle and saw the small amount of pills left. “Shoot. I forgot to call in the prescription,” Stoney said aloud, popping two of the pills in her mouth. Stoney stood at the mirror, holding her side with her free hand. The pain she often felt was just the courage she needed in order to continue her fraudulent intake of Grandma Susie’s medications. Working at a doctor’s office gave her the negative confirmation to never wean herself from the daily doses.

      She had long since fought and won against her guilty feeling of taking medications specifically ordered for her grandmother. Since it had been Grandma Susie who initially prompted Stoney to take pills in order to make her feel better, the young woman rolled with the punches. She figured her grandmother would want her to take care of herself. One way or the other.

      Going back into the bedroom, Stoney found her cell phone lying on the dresser. She pressed the speed dial number that held the drugstore’s number. Using the automated service, Stoney spent the next ten minutes refilling all five medications prescribed for her late grandmother.