“Damn, I hate even looking at that.” Nyelle’s eyes surveyed her girl again and she cringed.
“It’s not as bad as it looks.” Joi didn’t want anyone feeling sorry for her, the situation was messed up enough as it was.
“So, what happened with East?” Joi had only mentioned that he was arrested and her aunt and Cabo helped get him out but left it at that. She was still unsure about how things were between her and East because they didn’t really say much this morning and the only communication she had with him throughout the day was a text he responded to with a “yeah,” after she asked if she would see him later.
“He was pissed but he stayed here last night. I’m supposed to see him later but I’m not sure what to expect.”
“Don’t stress, I get why he’s pissed but it seems to me like the cop was going to do whatever he could to get at him.”
“True but I handed that over to him.” Joi still couldn’t believe how things played out. The only good thing was the connection East had with Cabo. She was sure he would have handled things out of the love he had for her aunt but the fact that he actually knew East made it that much better.
“Joi, don’t. I mean you fucked up. You should have gone home like he said but you can’t put all that on yourself.”
“Easier said than done, Ny. The man got arrested.”
“But they fixed it, right?”
She nodded, considering the conversation she had with her aunt a few hours ago, assuring her that aside from the memories they all had about last night, none of it existed anymore. East didn’t have a record of arrest and no one could prove he was ever there.
“Now if I can figure out how to fix us.”
“Us?” Nyelle grinned at her girl. “So you’re feeling him like that?”
“Yeah but it’s not up to me. I’m sure he isn’t trying to deal with my insecure ass.”
“Girl, stop tripping. So what, you’re insecure? Hell we both are, but for good reason. It made you do something dumb and you will continue to do dumb things but it’s not like anyone can blame you. Look at your history. Anyone who goes through a list of cheating ass men and says they don’t have trust issues is a gotdamn lie. You’re allowed to doubt. Lord knows I do, it’s human nature, but you have to think before you react. You damn sure don’t need to put yourself in situations you can’t control. I swear if I would have known…”
“Don’t. If it’s not my fault then it’s not yours either.”
“So what about the chick who was with him? You think something’s up with that?”
Joi considered the woman from last night. “Based on his reaction to her, my gut says no, but I can’t be a hundred percent. I can’t penalize him because I have trust issues.”
“True.”
Joi angled her head to the side, looking at Nyelle like she had just sprouted two heads, which had her laughing instantly and holding her hands out in front of her, palms facing Joi, like she was trying to keep space between them, even though Joi hadn’t moved.
“Hold on, hold on. Stop looking at me crazy. I know I’ve been the main one on the ‘don’t trust these men’mission but I’m bitter too. Reese’s stupid ass had a whole baby on me. You can’t expect to get good advice from my crazy ass because I was on some ‘I hate ’em all’ type shit.”
“So you’re admitting you were being a bad friend?” Joi rolled her eyes slightly but pushed out a smile.
“Yes and no. I’m a good friend because I wanted you to protect your heart from a man who wasn’t going to treat you right, and in the process, I may have fed into your insecurities.But in my defense, I was being a good friend because I didn’t want to have to cut a muthafucker over you. I just wanted you to be smarter than I was because I damn sure dropped the ball.”
“Well so did I with Reg.” Joi shook her head, getting angry all over again.
“We both did but it’s not like we had facts to back it up. I just should have trusted my gut and you should have trusted yours. Even now, you have to trust your gut.”
“It’s so hard because I feel like East is not trying to be on any dumb shit but then my mind starts overthinking, making me second guess.”
“Yeah, I’m the same way with Vega but I’m going with it until something feels off or he shows me different. If things feel right with East, then you have to trust that, and I’ll keep my big ass mouth closed with my opinions unless I really feel like he’s on some fuck boy shit. Deal?”
Nyelle leaned forward and extended a hand to Joi who looked at it then her girl.
“Did this hoe really put her hand out expecting me to shake on it?” Joi mumbled before she lifted one of the throw pillows and threw it at Nyelle. She caught it and hugged it against her chest, falling back against the arm of the sofa again.
“You’re so damn hateful.” She rolled her eyes and pushed out a sigh. “Now it’s my turn.”
“Oh lord, do I even want to hear this?”
