As soon as I closed the door, a throat cleared behind me.
“Ahhumm.”
I turned to face Sassy.
Smiling, she shook her head. “You and Breeze be really doing the most, Summer. I practically had to drag Jinny out of here, while she was asking a million damn questions. Now, I stopped her from seeing anything, but I can’t say what she heard. So, what if she says something to Harlem?”
I sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe she’ll be taking me out of my misery. I wouldn’t even be mad.” I shrugged.
She shook her head. “I’ma need you to stop playing. For real. When we were back in Cali, I used to laugh at your shenanigans.You were having your way, and Breeze was living in Chicago. Besides, you really can’t trust these niggas. So, I never blamed you. But this is different. Breeze is always in and out of this house. You literally had me scrambling to hide his clothes from Harlem. So, I don’t know why the fuck would you agree to let Harlem move in.”
“Because,” I sighed.
“Because what? You were mad at Breeze? He was on punishment for some random thing you didn’t like?”
I gasped. “Really, Sassy?”
“What?” She opened her arms. “I’m just saying. You know damn well that you only deal with Harlem to spite Breeze. To make him pay for having Ora around, when all you had to do was tell Breeze that you were willing to work on y’all being together, once he got rid of her. But nooo. You’re hard headed and want him to read your damn mind. Now, look at you. Harlem is all sprung, when you ration the pussy to him. Got ‘im thinking that you have a low sex drive. Meanwhile, Breeze is fucking you out of your shoes and socks. Then I guess that niggas from the burbs is just slow. Like…Harlem really watches you leave to attend all these special occasions that he’sneverinvited to. Down to your damn birthday. You really flew out the country on your birthday with Breeze, while Harlem wanted to throw you a surprise party, Summer. His feelings were so hurt when I told him that you’d hopped on a flight. You should’ve put him out of his misery then.”
My face flushed with embarrassment. “I really did all that, huh?”
“Yes, you did.”
“Damn. I really been fucking up. So…how do you suggest that I handle this?”
“Honestly? By gradually pulling away, and letting him focus on his first year in the league. Otherwise, I think that his head will be too fucked up to focus. Because I believe that he really loves you. And you aint gotta love him back, but at least consider how your next moves will affect him.”
Chapter 17
Back to present day…
“Oh, wow. You really believe that you’re some type of victim. On what fucking planet?”
“On the planet where you told Breeze that y’all weren’t together,” Ora seethed. “The same fucking planet where youknewthat we were together.”
I sighed, feeling exhausted from the conversation. “Ora, when was there any confirmation of you being Ricky’s woman, outside of you claiming it? Girl, that nigga don’t even claim you.”
“Right. Because of the games you constantly play.” She bucked her eyes.
I shook my head. “This is stupid. You know that, right? Like…why stick around for all this? You’re a pretty girl, and you’re really mismanaging your pussy. The minute Breeze showed you that he was never giving you what you wanted, you should’ve made new plans. Using him as a stepping stone. There’s no way in hell that I’d let a nigga fuck bitches in my presence, and not at least snag one of those other athletes from the circles he introduced me to. You should have options. Doing you, until the right man comes along.”
She tilted her head. “What circles?”
I frowned. “Ricky never takes you to any events or parties?”
“No,” she revealed. “We usually do stuff away from the public, because he said that he didn’t want the media in his dating life.”
“Huh?” I scratched my head. “Most of the parties and events I’m referencing are private.”
“So, I guess that you’ve been to some of those events with him.”
“Any time we were in the same city. Or…he’d fly me out.”
“Well, there it goes. We haven’t gotten to that point. Because you take up that space.”
My lashes fluttered. “And that’s my fault?”
“Yeah, it is,” she ignorantly claimed. “You can pull a hundred Breezes, Summer. I clearly can’t. So, we don’t see him the same way. He needs a girl like me, and is sometimes just too slow to realize it. You’re gonna always put yourself first. No matter how successful he is or how much he does for you. Meanwhile, I appreciate everything, and he’ll never come second to anything.”
