“Yep,” she picked up her wine glass. “Turns out, he doesn’t want to commit but wants to fuck whenever he touches down. I’m getting too old for that.”
“Yep, let’s break these damn plates so we can move on with our lives.”
On the count of three, we both lifted the plates and smashed them on my back patio. It was crazy, but I hadn’t stepped foot out here since I put Kileen out. This was one of my favorite places to sit and clear my head after work. The view of the cityalways gave me peace. Casi grabbed me and gave me a tight squeeze as the doorbell chimed.
“Now who could be fucking up our vulnerable moment because we don’t do this often?” I said.
“Go grab the door and I’ll get the broom so I can get this up,” Casi told me.
I tiptoed to see who was at the door and got an attitude when I saw Kileen on the other side. With Casi being here, I knew this was not going to go good for him. My friend was the type of girl that once you do me wrong, ain’t no coming back from that. That’s why I didn’t get her mixed up in some of my stuff because she would hate you forever.
“What are you not getting?” I stepped outside the door and closed it to give us some privacy.
“Tati, I’m begging you. I can’t live without you. I’m sick without you.”
“Now is not a good time to do this. I have company.”
“Casi is not company. She’s family. Just like you and me.”
“Kil, can we just talk tomorrow? You constantly bombarding me and showing up all the time is not helping me. I’m trying to clear my head and make the right decision for me.”
“Us is all you need to be focused on.”
I crossed my arms and leaned my head to the side. “Did you focus on us? See, this is why I said let’s talk tomorrow, because every time your ass shows up, you say the wrong thing. Good night.” I walked back in the house and closed the door without saying anything else to him.
The next day, I sat across from Kileen as he turned his phone off and gave me his full attention. I decided to meet him in a public place instead of the home we once shared.
“You’re beautiful,” he said.
“I know.” I picked up the menu.
He didn’t have to tell me that. I told myself that every damn day. If he thought I was going to feel like less of a woman because he couldn’t control his desires, he had me fucked up.
“I really appreciate you for meeting me and letting me explain myself. I hope by the time lunch is over, you’ll see my side, and we can move from here.”
“I came to hear what you had to say so you can stop coming by my house unannounced.”
“I met Siya on one of my job sites. She was there dropping off lunch with UberEATS.”
Just fucking great.
“She reminded me of you and I sparked a conversation. It was like I felt like the teenage me again when we met in college. We exchanged numbers and it went from there.”
He was leaving out a lot of damn details. How did she afford the house she lived in with UberEATS money? The car she drove was brand new.
“You’re skipping things, aren’t you?” I peeked one eye from behind my menu.
“No, that’s how it went. What else do you want to know?”
“How long? Whose house is that? Whose car is that? Why the fuck does her house look like mine? Why does she wear her hair like mine? It’s a lot. You want me to keep going?”
He cleared his throat, “The house…the house was a gift for her having the baby.”
“And the car?”
“I just helped her with the payments. She got that on her own.”
“You know what, I thought I was ready to talk to you. But this is a lot and I can’t do it right now. You literally had a whole baby on me and laid your ass next to me every night. The same thing I’ve been struggling to do for years. I want you to royally go fuck yourself and leave me the fuck alone.”
