I was standingbehind the check-in counter at my gym when a ghost from the past strolled through the door. My molars gritted as Andrea slowly approached the counter with absolute fear etched onto her face. She was smart to come to me in a public place. No matter how many people were in the gym, if she saw the way her presence made my trigger finger twitch, she would have taken off running in the opposite direction. Despite appearing terrified, Andrea walked up to the desk.
“Hi, Blaze. I don’t want to bother you or take up too much of your time, but is there somewhere we can talk?”
“I can’t think of anything that you should have to say to me. You didn’t have shit to say when you packed your things and shit that didn’t belong to you and left my crib.” I kept my tone even.
“I was hurt, upset, and I wasn’t thinking.” Eyes laced with fear and regret darted back and forth across my face. I knew her ass only regretted it because her brother was missing. “If I could take it back I would.”
“You can’t and it’s been a year. I’m not sure why you picked today to come to my place of business, but I’d appreciate it if you got the fuck out.”
“No one has seen or heard from my brother in over a week. I’m not sure if you think that he ha-“
“I don’t think shit about your brother,” I cut her off. “He’s as irrelevant to me as you are.” Curiosity would plague her for the rest of her days because I’d never admit to doing anything to Chauncey.
“I can pay the money back. Not all at once, but I can afford to maybe give you $2,000 a month.”
Her weak ass offer made me chuckle. “Andrea, get the fuck out my face, and I’m not gon’ tell you again. I still owe you. And the longer you stand here, the more I want to act on some shit that will have you regretting the day you ever met me.” That was my last warning.
Andrea’s throat bounced as she swallowed hard. She wanted to say more, but she was smart enough to leave well enough alone. I watched her as she walked out the door dressed in designer from head to toe. That bitch wasn’t sorry she stole from me. She was sorry that her brother lost his life behind it, and she was afraid that she was next. The only thing that made my facial muscles relax was seeing Rhapsody slowly inching toward the exit. Shorty looked like she was going to pass out at any moment.
I could have been tripping because it had only been four days since I saw Rhapsody, but her waist already looked smaller. And that ass was sitting. It could have been the leggings that she had on, but I could see that she wasn’t playing. I didn’t see anything wrong with her the way she was, but one thing was for sure. If Rhapsody continued to work out and eat healthy, she was going to be a fucking problem. She looked over and caught me staring. Her brows furrowed, and her lips turned down a bit.
“Why does it look like you’re smiling?”
Holding my hands up in surrender I shook my head lightly. “I don’t want no smoke. How have you been?” I asked since the window was open for conversation. I hadn’t reached out to her,and she hadn’t reached out to me. I wasn’t looking for anything serious, and I didn’t want to move wrong with her since she was fresh out of a relationship.
“I’ve been okay.” I wasn’t sure what okay meant, but I could look into Rhapsody’s eyes and see that she was still sad. “I’m about to go home and soak. I’m taking myself on a solo date later to a museum.”
“A solo date, huh?”
“Yes. A solo date. I bought myself flowers today, and I’m taking myself to a place that I’ve been wanting to go for a minute.”
My head bobbed. I went places alone all the time, but if shorty said she was taking herself out on a date, that’s what it was. “Has old boy been bothering you?”
The question made Rhapsody’s eyes roll. “Other than calling me from different numbers since I have him blocked and sending text messages, no he hasn’t bothered me at all,” she stated in a sarcastic tone.
I didn’t go around judging men’s looks because why the fuck would I? But when I saw that nigga at Rhapsody’s place, I wanted to ask her was she cool. She was entirely too bad to be sad over that lil’ lame ass nigga. That wasn’t my business though.
“As long as he doesn’t pop back up at the house,” I warned. Involving myself in people’s domestic disputes was generally something that I didn’t do, but it would bring me immense pleasure to knock Jeremiah’s ass out one time.
“I’m trying not to crowd you. Give you room to heal and all that. But reach out to me whenever you want to talk. Or need a massage.” My dick stirred at memories of our sex session.
Rhapsody giggled. “Thank you and will do.” She tapped the desk once with her palm and limped away.
I wasn’t the type to spend too much time sitting around thinking about women, but Rhapsody crossed my mindfrequently. I had been more than good to a bitch that didn’t deserve it, and I could only assume that Rhapsody had been a good woman to a fuck nigga. Over the last year, I’d convinced myself that I’d never trust or love another woman. One assumption. One insecure ass assumption that I was cheating because someone saw a female in my car, and that bitch left me and took a hundred thousand with her. A woman that I went to high school with had a flat tire, and I gave her a ride to her mother’s house because she didn’t have a spare tire in the car. One nosey bitch to tell Andrea that they saw me with her was enough to change everything.
She called me spazzing and after I told her what it was, she kept going, and I hung up on her. Explaining myself over and over was some shit that I wasn’t going to partake in. From that moment, our relationship was hell. For two weeks, anytime I left the house, got a call, or text message, I was accused of cheating. Andrea actually opened her mouth to say that if I loved her and wasn’t cheating, I would propose to her. When I laughed in her face, she cried. And that was her out. That was her reasoning behind leaving me and robbing me. Like I owed her for pain and suffering when I hadn’t even done shit. With the way she’d been tripping, I wasn’t even mad that she left. But the fact that she stole from me, that was an unforgivable violation for sure.
In the past year, I’d fucked a married woman and a woman that was waiting on her man to be released from prison. Women were just as sneaky as men and trusting one wasn’t on the agenda. I didn’t even have plans on taking one serious but Rhapsody, she had my interest piqued just a bit. And I was still trying to figure out what that meant.
A few nights later, I was attempting to watch a movie, but I was horny as fuck. I was trying to stick to what I said and not reach out to Rhapsody. I was certain she wasn’t using me for a rebound because she pretty much acted like I didn’t exist. Which had me wondering if she was still hung up on that fuck nigga. My phone vibrated, and I grabbed it off the end table. Seemed as if my horny ass mind had conjured her up.
“Hello?”
“Hi. Are you busy?”
“Nah. Sitting here watching a movie. What’s up?”
“So, I went to dinner with my siblings, and I cheated a little. I had a few shots. And now I’m horny,” she giggled like she’d told a joke.
