Teach Me Tonight. Jacquelin Thomas

accident on Washington Street S.W. near Memorial Drive.

      Kyra was already seated at a table when Tamara entered the restaurant. She waved to get her attention.

      “I’m so sorry I’m late,” Tamara stated as she sat down in the chair across from her friend. “Have you ordered yet?”

      “Not yet.”

      A waiter arrived minutes later prepared to take their orders.

      “So how was your sister’s wedding?” Kyra inquired after he left.

      “Beautiful,” Tamara responded with a smile. “My sister looked so happy and in love. It was very romantic.”

      “I guess the pressure’s on for you to get married, huh?”

      Tamara laughed. “Can you believe that my mother started in on me as soon as the service ended? We’re standing there posing for pictures and she’s asking me why I didn’t bring a date to the wedding. She asked me if there was anyone serious in my life.”

      Kyra chuckled. “What did you tell her?”

      “The truth,” Tamara stated. “That I don’t have a man and right now I’m not looking for one.” She changed the subject and said, “Homecoming is a couple months away. Time moved by fast.”

      “Are you planning to attend the cocktail party on Friday?”

      Tamara nodded. “I’ll be there. Chloe wants me to cover the event for Luster magazine. I’m also thinking about doing a story on the fact that the alumni got together and agreed to donate money to restore the original administration building and use it as staff offices instead of tearing it down.”

      “Sounds good,” Kyra said. “The school needs all the free press we can get.”

      The waiter returned, carrying a tray of food, which he set down on the table. Tamara blessed the food.

      She sampled her gumbo while Kyra cut into her chicken.

      “I’m actually looking forward to homecoming this year,” Tamara announced. She didn’t add that it was because Micah might be attending.

      “It’s going to be nice.” Kyra stuck a forkful of macaroni into her mouth. “I can’t wait. It’s always good to see old friends.”

      Tamara agreed.

      They continued making small talk as they finished off their meal.

      “I need to get back to work,” Tamara murmured, checking her watch when they were done eating.

      “I can’t believe how disciplined you are,” Kyra declared. “If I worked at home, I think I’d be doing everything else around the house instead of focusing on my job.”

      An easy smile played at the corners of her mouth. “I like getting paid.”

      “As if you need the money,” Kyra retorted with a chuckle. “Tamara, who are you trying to kid?”

      “My mother has money,” she corrected, pushing away from the table. “I don’t.”

      After paying the check, she and Kyra rose up and walked out of the restaurant.

      They paused at her car to hug.

      “It was so good to see you,” Tamara told her. “We should get together more often”

      Kyra agreed. “We need to do this again real soon, soror.”

      “Sounds like a plan,” Tamara responded. “Talk to you later.”

      Tamara got into her car and drove the two miles to her home in midtown.

      The telephone rang as soon as she walked through the front door of her apartment.

      “Hello,” Tamara uttered.

      “Hey, this is Samantha.”

      Tamara broke into a smile when she heard her editor’s voice. They had recently discussed her becoming the features writer for the entertainment section.

      “How would you like to interview Justice Kane?” Samantha asked. “You would have to fly out to Los Angeles for his album release party.”

      “I’d love it,” she responded. Justice Kane was a performer signed to Micah’s record company, Ross Red. If she did a great job on the story, this would better her chances in getting the position.

      Tamara was sure that he would be attending the party so she considered this a sign. She would finally get that chance to mend her friendship with Micah. She knew that he never married and had read about his relationship with the model.

      I had my chance and I blew it.

      Micah hadn’t only been her tutor but he’d been her friend—her best friend. They had spent a lot of time together. She and Micah used to attend the college football and basketball games together; there were times they went to the movies, clubs and even attended church together. Micah would even join Tamara on her visits to see her grandmother.

      “This has to be a sign,” she whispered.

      Tamara knew that wanting to see Micah again had so much more to do with the fact that she was still in love with him. She had tried for years to get Micah out of her system, but to no avail—he still owned her heart.

      She winced at the memory of how cruel she had been to Micah and desperately wanted the chance to explain why she had been so fearful of getting involved with him.

      She prayed that once they sat down and talked he would understand and find it in his heart to forgive her.

      Chapter 2

      Tamara wanted to share her good news with someone, so she called Kyra later that evening. “Hey, girl…you won’t believe where I’m going this weekend,” she said when her friend answered the phone.

      “Where?” Kyra questioned.

      “Los Angeles,” she announced. “I’m covering Justice Kane’s album release party. Luster magazine wants me to do a story on him. Can you believe it?”

      “That’s great,” Kyra responded with excitement. “Tamara, this is the kind of story you’ve been wanting to do for a long time. Hey, isn’t Justice Kane with Micah’s record company?”

      “That’s why I’m so excited,” Tamara told Kyra. “I’m hoping to reconnect with him. I really miss our friendship.”

      “We used to have some good times back in the day. I used to try and get you to party with us, but you wanted to stay home and read. The only time we could get you out was when Micah asked you. Why didn’t you two ever get together?” Kyra inquired. “I know you had feelings for him back then.”

      “Micah was my tutor and my friend,” Tamara stated. “That’s really all it was. I had too many issues for anything more.”

      “So you didn’t have any feelings for him?”

      “I didn’t say that,” Tamara answered. “Kyra, I was crazy about Micah, but the timing was all off and things just never worked out. You know how it goes.”

      “I always felt that something was bothering you,” Kyra said. “It was just a feeling though because you were always walking around with a smile and you seemed really happy…still, I felt there was something.”

      Tamara considered Kyra one of her best friends, and they were close, spent time together often, but there were things from her past that she never shared with anyone—including her soror.

      She had never told Kyra what happened between her and Micah on graduation night and decided against mentioning it now. Deep down, she didn’t want anyone to know just how gullible she’d been back then.

      “So what about now?”

      “Kyra, he’s seeing someone,” Tamara responded. “His relationship