I could feel Kira’s eyes burning a hole in my back. Looking over my shoulder, I raised my brows. “You need something?”
“I came up here to see you,” I could hear a hint of defense in her tone.
“This is my place of business, shawty. I’m working. If you’re not buying, I’ll holla at you later.”
Kira drew back a bit, but she knew better than to make a scene. Clicking her tongue, she spun around and stalked toward the door.
“You didn’t have to do all that. I was just going to pay and go.” Leighton didn’t seem bothered, and that lowkey bothered a nigga. I didn’t want her to be jealous. I wanted her to care.
“I did have to do all that. This isn’t a hangout spot, and she’s not my girl. And you don’t have to pay.”
“Rodney, yes, I do. You’re not making them for free. I’m not accepting no for an answer.”
“You just gonna leave the money on the counter? Because I’m not taking it. I owe you.”
“You don’t owe me anything.”
“I do.”
“What is it that you feel you owe me?” I couldn’t quite read the look on her face. She almost looked angry.
“I owe you more than what I gave you. I owed Charlotte a chance. I just said fuck it. I didn’t fight or anything because I feltyou’d be better off without me. You were chasing big things, and I had dope boy dreams.”
“What I wanted back then was for you to choose us. You didn’t owe me that. I only wanted it if you wanted it, and you were honest. You didn’t want it. So, you don’t owe me anything. And you don’t have to give me free grills. This is how you make a living.”
“I wanted us, Leigh. You can’t think it was because I didn’t want you.”
“That’s exactly what it was. More than once, you were simply supposed to come visit. Not move there right away but just come visit and spend the weekend with me, and you flaked on me twice. “
“Because a nigga was scared, Leigh!” I stated a little louder than I had intended. “All I know is Diamond Cove. I was intimidated. I can admit I was childish as hell and not ready for the grown man shit that you needed, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t love you.”
Leighton sighed. “It’s water under the bridge.”
“Is it because you were just spazzing like you been holding that in for a minute. Kinda look like you want to hit me too.”
“I have to get going. Do you still have my number, so you can text me the designs you come up with?”
“Yeah, I still have your number,” I felt defeated. I didn’t want her to still be pissed with me.
“Okay.”
I watched her walk away. Blowing out a breath, I ran a hand through my wicks. I felt like I’d fucked up all over again.
“Hey, do you know about what time you’re going to arrive? I want to get some movie tickets.”
Closing my eyes, I cursed under my breath. “I didn’t know you wanted to do anything today, baby. I got caught up with D, and I haven’t even left yet. I probably won’t get there until around ten.”
I knew from the silence that I was about to get it. “So, you were only planning to stay for two nights, but one of those nights, you’re getting here when the day is practically over which cuts into our time together. And the excuse is you got caught up with D? You know what, don’t come.”
“What you mean don’t come? I’ll stay all day tomorrow and Sunday.”
“Tomorrow it’ll just be a different excuse why you can’t come. You flaked on me last weekend because it was the first of the month, and there was too much money for you to leave. It’s obvious that there’s something in Diamond Cove that has your attention and is more important to you than me, so stay there and do you.”
Leighton ended the call, and I called her back. She didn’t answer. The second time I called her, it went straight to voicemail. For a second I thought about just getting in the car and driving to Charlotte, but something was stopping me. I made money in Diamond Cove. Most times, I made the most money on the weekends. I loved the fuck out of Leighton, and I missed her. As much as I missed her, cupcaking in Charlotte every weekend and losing money didn’t sound appealing to me.
I couldn’t be mad at Leighton for going to Charlotte and following her dreams, but my life was in Diamond Cove. If I kept trying to juggle time with Leighton and my life in Diamond Cove, I was going to end up disappointing Leighton again. Despite the fact that I loved her more than I’d ever loveda woman that wasn’t my family, I made the decision to stay away.
It was going to look like I gave up without a fight. Leighton had only been in Charlotte for three weeks, and we had already broken up. That was all it took. Three weeks. Letting her go completely without any kind of explanation ended up being something that I couldn’t do. Over the course of a week, I attempted to call Leighton ten more times, and she ignored every call. After that, I decided to let it go. She was done with me, and I couldn’t blame her.
