Long Distance

Long Distance
“Will I see you later tonight?” Arianna innocently asked as she wrapped her arms around Reggie’s neck while they stood on the Stevens’ doorstep. It was the following morning, and the pair had spent the last thirty minutes trying to say goodbye.
“Mhmmm,” Reggie confirmed before biting down on Arianna’s bottom lip. If she had panties on, they would’ve flooded. “I’ll pick you up when you get out of school,” Reggie promised, delivering one more seductive kiss before leaving Arianna on the doorstep, weak in her knees.
Arianna waved to Reggie as he backed out of the driveway and let out a breath of relief. “I need to be careful around that man,” Arianna whispered to herself.
She closed the door and proceeded to her lair but was stopped by Jynelle.
“Good morning, Arianna. Would you like to join Dallas, Xaya, and myself for breakfast?” Jynelle sweetly asked.
“It depends on what’s on the menu.”
“Dallas’ famous cheesy, bacon, hashbrown casserole.”
“No eggs?”
“Ew, what the fuck? No eggs.”
“I have never met another individual who despised eggs as much as me,” Arianna giggled as she followed Jynelle to the kitchen. She washed her hands and scooped Xaya out of her baby swing before taking her seat at the table. Arianna found herself growing closer and closer to the little girl as the days went on.
“Are you sure you don’t want to be our nanny?” Dallas asked before shoveling a pile of food onto Arianna’s plate.”
“I’m sure. Thanks for breakfast. It looks delicious,” Arianna expressed.
“Mhmm, that’s what Reggie said,” Jynelle childishly teased.
“W-what are you talking about?”
“What did Reggie try to do? Suck your whole neck off? Jesus Christ,” Dallas mumbled.
Arianna’s hand flew to her neck, and she warmed in embarrassment from the light ribbing she received.
“Alright, that’s enough. You two look good together,” Jynelle confessed. “I hope you both don’t live in your heads and give each other a chance.”
“Thanks. I will certainly take your advice into consideration. Thank you for breakfast, but I’ll be taking it downstairs,” Arianna informed as she put Xaya back in her swing. “Also, I won’t be coming home tonight.”
“Alright. Have fun and stay safe. Next thing you know, you’ll be bringing your own Lil Xaya home,” Jynelle warned. Arianna wouldn’t dare lie to herself. She almost considered giving up her v-card last night but reeled herself back in. The long-distance relationship with Reggie was appealing. It would allow her to still focus on herself without a man up underneath her or in her face whenever she turned around. It would also give the couple a chance to build a foundation and not allow sexual desire to be a driving force behind their relationship.
Arianna had a lot to consider, but she liked Reggie. The only red flag she detected so far was that he was friends with Dallas and Jynelle, but other than that, he seemed to have his shit together. And while there was still an age gap between Arianna and her potential partner, it was much smaller than the one she had with Pierce. With Reggie, Arianna could enjoy her youth and achieve her goals without the pressure of popping out a kid, but that was something she would need to discuss with Reggie. Arianna would hate to be out of the fire and into the frying pan.



Arianna quickly texted Reggie once he arrived to pick her up, letting him know she would be out as soon as possible. She was wrapping up things with her school counselor.
“To answer your question, Ava. We do have a campus located in Austin, Texas.”
“Would I be able to transfer without losing any of my credits, and are the same courses offered?”
“Yes, to both. Are you considering leaving us soon?”
“Not soon, but possibly in the future.”
“Sounds good. Would you like me to give you some informational pamphlets on our Austin campus?”
“Yes, please.”
Arianna slid the sleek pamphlets into her binder and stuffed them into her backpack.
“Is there anything else I can help you with?”
“Nope. Thank you for your time,” Arianna replied before swiftly leaving the helpful woman’s office.
Arianna spotted Reggie in his rental car and slid into the passenger seat. Reggie’s lips were on hers before she even had the chance to greet him properly.
“What took you so long?” Reggie whined.
“Well, hello to you, too,” Arianna giggled as she fastened her seatbelt.
“I’ve been waiting out here forever.”
“You’ve been waiting for five minutes.”
“That’s a long time to be without you,” Reggie argued.
“Shit, I’m surprised you survived the day.”
“Me too. I guess it just wasn’t my time.”
“How do you feel about kids?” Arianna haphazardly asked, causing Reggie to slam on the brakes. “Jesus Christ! What happened? Did a dog run in the street or something? Thank God I had my seatbelt on. Are you okay?”
A car started honking behind the pair. Reggie waved them off and pulled into a vacant parking spot.
“Ava...do you have a kid?”
“No.”
“Are you looking to have them soon, because I’m not?”
Arianna let out a huge sigh of relief.
“No. I’m asking because my ex was a little older than me and wanted to have children sooner than I felt I would be ready. You’re 28, and I don’t know if that’s where your head is going.”
“I believe children are a blessing, but I want to make it at least halfway through my 30s before I go that route. I hope that’s okay with you.”
“That’s more than fine with me,” Arianna replied with a smile.
“Good. Now, can we go eat?”
“Do you mind if we wait a little bit? I’m still full from Dallas’ cheesy bacon hashbrown casserole.”
“What? Dallas made hash brown casserole?”
“Yup.”
“Damn, I should’ve stayed for breakfast. Dallas, for some reason, would always wake up very early after a night of partying and cook breakfast. It was the perfect cure for a hangover.”
“He gave me the recipe,” Arianna boasted.
“Promise to make it for me one day?”
“I promise.”