“I did,” Sloan answered.
“Oh, Elliegon’kill your ass. You know her rules about her brother. She used to beat bitches up who tried to get close to her just to shoot they shot at Cassidy back in the day. She wouldn’t even let us stay the night too often because she knew I wasgon’fuck that nigga if I ever came across him in the bathroom in the middle of the night,” Shy laughed.“Be brushing my teeth and accidentally let him put the tip in.”
“Thisisn’t funny, Shy,” Sloan snapped, torn on what she should do.
“You let him hit raw?” Shy asked.“All that condom talk you be giving us, and you let a jailbird hit you without wrapping up?”
“Don’t call him that,” Sloan whispered. It was insane how she was defending him to others but villainizing him for the exact same thing.
“I mean, I love Cassidy. He’s family, but he is very much so institutionalized,”Shy said.“How could he not be? He spent half his life locked in a cell.”
“Ughhh!” Sloan groaned as she paced the room. Shy’s assessment wasn’t making her feel any better.“How did I let this happen?”
“Girl, when did this start?” Shy asked.
“When did what start?” Courtney interrupted as she walked into the room, carrying her son.
Shy pursed her lips and shook her head.“Itain’t my business to tell,” she said.
“Bitch, yougon’tell her anyway as soon as y’all out of my earshot,” Sloan fussed.
“She’s fucking Cassidy, and now she got to decide if she wants to take a Plan B,”Shy spilled.
“Hmm,” Courtney stated.
Sloan frowned. It wasn’t the response she was expecting.
“What’s that? What’s that hmm? What does that mean?” Sloanasked.
“I mean, I’m not that surprised. You’ve always kind of been in love with him. Ever since we were kids,” Courtney stammered, shrugging like it was no big deal.
“We all had our eyes on Cass as teenagers. That doesn’t count,” Sloan dismissed.
“No, Sloan. Our shit was hormones. The way you looked at him was different. All that time you used to spend at Ellie’s wasn’t just because of her. He was kind of your first love; y’all just never admitted that y’all was feeling one another. Anytime he would come around us, it was you he teased, you he wrappedan arm around, you he brought shit back from the corner store. He made you smoke with him and him only when he found out you were smoking weed. And he hated that nigga, Deyontae! He beat the nigga up over you, Sloan.”
“That beef was not over me!” Sloan defended. She was lying through her teeth because Cassidy had already confirmed that it was, but they didn’t need to know that.
“Girl, be fucking for real,” Shy moaned, rolling her eyes.“The truth is Ellie made you choose. You loved her friendship more than you loved a boy. You never put niggas over your girls, and you never will. You chose Ellie over Cass back then.”
“If he hadn’t gone to jail, I always thought y’all would have ended up together,” Courtney admitted.
“Girl, they mama used to call you her daughter-in-law!” Shy exclaimed.“Why are you playing dumb?”
Sloan’s eyes betrayed her.
“Whoa, is this serious with you and Cass?” Courtney asked.
“No, we’re done,” Sloan said.“We just can’t be together. It will never work.”
“Then why are you hesitating to take that pill?” Shy asked.
“Because I’m almost forty years old and I don’t have a kid yet. I don’t even have a man to help produce a kid. I haven’t had a man in two years. I don’tdate. I might as well be celibate. I have no one, and I really want to be a mom. I froze my eggs, and I was preparing to find a donor to fertilize one and start the process of having a baby alone,” Sloan admitted as she flopped down on her king-sized bed.“But now this. I don’t know what to do.”
“Oh, sis,” Courtney whispered, sympathetically.“Maybe talk to Cassidy. He doesn’t have kids. What if y’all want the same thing?”
“He won’t. Not with me,” Sloan feared.
“That man loves you,” Courtney said.“I can tell. Whenever you’re around, his eyes are on you. He like secures your space or something. I can’t explain it, but I’ve noticed it. It’s like he’s looking at everything within ten feet of you that could bring you harm and trying to figure out how to prevent it. I know because I don’t have that, and I admire what you have with him. And you don’t even appreciate it. He would step in front of a bullet for you.”
