11. Clarissa

“Babe, today is our lunch, right?”I yell from the bathroom between brushing my teeth.

“Yeah. I wish you were there last night. We had fun, and Tam missed you. Halfway through, I could tell she wished there was another woman there,” Tyree yells from the closet.

I had a list full of things I needed to handle. Plus, Tyree’s mom dropped by to talk about the guest list. She had a few people she wanted added, so now I’m working on getting an additional table and rearranging place settings.

“I hate I missed it, but I really needed to update the seating arrangements. Rissa helped with a few things, but your mom keeps adding on.”

I love Mrs. Williams to death, but her dropping by unannounced to go over the place settings was not how I intended to spend my free time. I’d planned on taking a bath and watching my favorite shows with popcorn alone.

I rinse my toothbrush and wash my mouth before taking off my scarf and untwisting the flexi rods from my hair. I look feral if you catch me before six a.m. because beauty is a process. Once these are all removed, though, my curls will be full and bouncy all day.

“I’m sorry. She means well. She knows so many people and is so excited to celebrate with us; she’s afraid of leaving anyone out. I would help, but I’m more of a ‘tell me where to stand’ type.” He cackles from the door, and I shake my head.

“Right,” I say with my mouth twisted, although not loud enough to be heard. Tyree walks from the closet, buttoning his shirt with a tie hanging loose in his hands.

“I made reservations at Jacob’s for one o’clock. Is that good for you?”

“Yeah, that should work.”

We move around the bedroom in sync but separately as we get ready for work.

“I still can’t believe y’all never met in person.”

“Why is he the only friend I’ve never met?”

“He’s like Marissa, except he stays gone longer than a few weeks.”

“Oh, so he’s about his wanderlust.” I laugh. Rissa could never manage to sit still for long, so if he’s anything like that, I bet his passport is full.

“Yep, he went out to Spain for a job right after college and was always back and forth between a new place, but these last few years, he stayed gone until he recently decided to go out on his own.”

“Wow, that’s cool. It feels like everyone’s traveling,” I say while fluffing out my hair in the mirror. My parents are set to take that trip to Paris in a few weeks when my dad officially retires, and Rissa is already planning her next destination.

“We’ll be on our honeymoon soon. Just think about it—you and me, white sand, limitless drinks, and water so clear you can see the fish swimming.” Tyree comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. “You always smell so good,” he says, giving me kisses. I giggle but continue to fluff my hair.

“That sounds amazing.”

He kisses my cheek and goes back to getting ready. “It will be.”

I left the office a little bit early since the restaurant is across town. I park and smooth down my dress as I step out. Big curls frame my face, and I can feel them expanding as the day goes on. What started out as minimal fluff has become the perfect day-one hair as the atmosphere goes to work, doing more than what my manual fluffing could do. That’s what I love about natural hair. It defies gravity.

I make my way into the restaurant, and the hostess gives me a big smile and uncrosses her arms, preparing to speak, but I stop her. “Actually, I see my party over there.” I point to the back, and she nods in acknowledgment, going back to her computer.

Tyree waves when he sees me. He’s at the table alone, but the jacket slung over an empty chair lets me know Tyson is here somewhere. The place isn’t super crowded, but there’s still a steady flow of traffic and chatter as I walk to the table.

“Hey,” I say, leaning down to kiss Tyree’s cheek.

“Clarissa, hey. Tyson should be back in a minute.”

I nod and place my purse on the arm of my chair.

“So, how’s your day going so far?”

“It’s going,” Tyree says with a frown. I give him a smile, but it’s more of a pitiful grimace than anything genuine.

“That bad?”

“It’s not bad, just busy.”

“Oh, we could have rescheduled.”

“No, it’s already been a ridiculous amount of time without y’all meeting. We’re getting married in six months, and I want my best man to know my wife.”

I smile and tilt my head. “Aww.” Tyree winks at me as I squeeze his hand.

The next few minutes can only be described as a complete and utter jolt to my senses. The first thing I notice is the energy. It’s like an awareness that prickles my toes, and as I’m looking around to see what happened, our eyes lock. Impossibly dark eyes that I’ve seen before. I choke on nothing and quickly take a sip of water.

“You okay? What’s wrong?” Tyree asks, leaning over to rub my back.

“Nothing, I— Do you know who that man is?” I point across the room, and sure enough, he’s still looking our way and walking with purpose.

“Him?”

“Hmm.”

“Yes. Tyson, I want you to meet Clarissa. Clarissa, this is Tyson.”

I choke again, and my stomach sinks.

“You okay?”

I’m screaming in my head because what in the actual fuck is this?! “Yeah, wrong pipe,” I say, taking another sip of water slowly this time.

“It’s nice to finally meet you.” Tyson has his hand outstretched, and I hesitate for a second before I lean over to shake it.

“Same.”

Tyree claps and rubs his hands together with a smile as he and Tyson take their seats. “I can’t believe it’s finally happening.”

My stomach hasn’t stopped spinning, and I’m at a loss for words.

“So, Clarissa, Tyree tells me you work in IT support. How do you like that?”

I clear my throat. “It’s good. I like it.”

They both look at me, waiting for something, but I move my focus back to my water.

“Well, that’s always good.”

“Tyson is thinking of moving back full-time.”

“Yeah, that’s true. I love living in different places, but there’s something special about being home.” He rubs his beard as he leans back in his seat. “I’m planning to open a PR firm here. I’d still travel, but not as much.”

I take another sip of water.

“You good, Clarissa?” Tyree is looking at me with intensity.

“Hmm, yep.”

I sit back with my stomach still doing flips. The waitress comes and takes our order, and the guys talk about something. Honestly, I can’t focus long enough on any of the words to make sense of it.

“You sure you’re okay?” Tyree asks me again.

“I think I’m just tired,” I say, and he squeezes my hand. Just as he’s about to speak, his phone rings.

“I need to get this.” He stands and walks away from the table.

I look over, and the darkest eyes I’ve ever seen are focused on me. He doesn’t speak, but he does smile, and it’s like a flashback. His face is identical to the man in my dreams. The one standing at the end of the aisle dressed as the groom as I freaked out.

The man who, even though I can’t explain how or why, felt like he loved me from the depths of his soul. I still can’t believe how vivid that dream was. I’ve seen old college pictures of Tyson in passing, but he does not look the same. The facial hair has completely changed his features.

I clear my throat as he stares at me.

“Sorry, that was work. I need to get back to the office. There’s an emergency meeting.” Tyree reaches into his back pocket to pull out his wallet.

“Nah, man, I got it. We’ll have them wrap up yours to go.”

Tyree pauses and looks over to Tyson. “You sure?”

“Of course.”

Tyree stuffs his wallet back in his pants pocket and gives me a kiss. “Sorry, babe. I’ll see you when I get home. Have fun.” With those words, Tyree is jogging out of the place, and I stare at his back until he disappears out of the front door.

“We can pack it up if you want to leave,” Tyson says with a wary expression.

I turn and mull over his words. “No. No, it’s fine.”

“So, Clarissa. It’s nice to finally meet in person.”

“Yep.”

Okay, this is awkward. For some reason, I feel like I did something wrong, like I was just caught in a lie, but I didn’t do anything. It was just a dream. It was a wildly vivid and terrifying dream of a stranger, but a dream, nonetheless.

“You sure you want to stay? I know it’s probably a little awkward since we don’t know each other.”

I release a breath and smile. “Honestly, it is a little awkward.” I laugh, and he joins in.

“It is.” He nods and takes a sip of his water.

“Okay, let’s start over. Hi, my name is Tyson, and I’ve been Tyree’s good friend since college, around fourteen years now. I’ve been living in London for the past two years, and my business partner Lance and I are in the process of opening a branch here because, in the words of my mom, ‘you bet not miss another Christmas at this house,’” he says with a laugh, and I join in.

“Parents are all the same.”

“They are.”

“Hi, I’m Clarissa. I work in IT support for a tech firm, and I’m getting married in six months.”

He smiles while running his hand through his beard. “Nice to meet you, Issa.”

“What—what did you call me?”

“Sorry. I have a thing about nicknames, and you just look like an Issa.”

“Am I dreaming right now?” I ask, looking around with a scowl.

“Is this…a dream?” he repeats, and I nod again. My heart rate increases, but his focus doesn’t shift.

“I’m afraid not. We’re all blood and bones over here.”

At his words, I stall my breath and narrow my eyes to slits. What the hell is happening?

“You don’t look so good,” he says, shifting to get up.

“No, I’m fine. I need to use the restroom. Be right back,” I say and sprint off to the back.