"Man, what the fuck?" a voice roared.
I knew that voice, but I was too afraid to turn around to see if he was there for real. I had to get off this ground and get the hell out of here.
"What the fuck is your problem? You've lost your got damn mind!" Jamari bellowed.
I quickly got off the ground to see that Jamari had the man pinned against someone's car, throwing blows into his face. The man groaned, trying to hit Mari back, but he was no match for him. Only when the man hit the ground did Mari step away from him.
It was too damn cold for this shit. I shivered when Jamari turned his attention back to me. He had a deep scowl on his face as he studied me. He stepped closer and grasped my face in his hands. As much as I wanted to lean into him, I didn't. I was still very pissed off at him.
"Are you good?" he asked, caressing my cheek with his thumb.
The feeling felt too good, and I almost closed my eyes to savor the moment. Jamari did things to me without even trying. Still, the hold he had on me had to be broken. I couldn't keep letting him do me the way he did.
The Same Night
"Are you sure you're good? I could kill that muthafucka for putting his hands on you like that," Jamari growled.
The rage I saw on his face should've scared me, but it didn't. He clenched and unclenched his hands together. I had never seen him like this. It made me feel like he'd protect me against any and everything. I just wish he'd fully embrace what we had.
"Yes, I'm fine," I replied, trying to get out of the hold he had on my face. If I didn't, I'd fall weak and didn't need that. He had too much power over me already.
"Look, about the last few days. I haven't gotten back in touch with you because Zach was sick, so I had to focus all my attention on him."
I scoffed and jerked away from him. "That's still not a good reason to ghost me. You could've texted and let me know what happened, but you chose not to. If that's the excuse you want to use, you can miss me with that bullshit."
"It's not an excuse. It's the truth," he shot back.
"I see it as an excuse. Even if it's the truth, it doesn't take two seconds to send a text. You could've let me know what happened, and I would have understood. I'm not some toy you can pick up and put down whenever you want. I have feelings just like the next person." I dropped my head to my chest and shook it.
Jamari reached for me again, and I let him pull me into his arms. Regardless of how I felt right now, I loved being in his arms.
"You're right, Chy. I should've reached out. I apologize for not doing so. What can I do to make this right?"
Jamari said everything I wanted him to say, and he apologized. I hadn't counted on him doing that.
I sighed deeply. "You hurt me when you didn't reach back out. I'm going to need time to get over that. You need to realize I'm not in your life to hurt you. I don't know what you've been through in your past, but I'm not the one who did you wrong. Just give me some time."
My throat felt like it wanted to close up when I said that. My eyes welled with tears, too. This was not how I thought a relationship with Jamari would go. I couldn't even say we were in a relationship, given how things have gone so far. I just knew I wanted him in my life, but he had to want me too.
Jamari nodded. "I can give you time. Just don't take too much time. If you do, I'm coming after you." He pulled me back into his arms and dropped a kiss on my lips.
I didn't want him to leave me. It felt like I'd be losing him. My heart broke into pieces as a tear slipped out of my eyes when I stepped back away from him.
I peered around for my keys that I had dropped on the ground. Once I found them, I made my way to my car and got in. With a deep sigh, I wiped away the tears that were on my face. I was grateful Jamari came to my rescue today. Itwas appreciated. I'd never take someone looking out for me for granted.
On the drive home, I peered into my rearview mirror, seeing that Jamari followed behind me. I couldn't help the smile on my face. Even though I wasn't talking to him, he still looked out for me. That was why I loved him. Fresh tears filled my eyes at that thought. I could admit that I had fallen in love with him. He was too damn blind to see it, but I couldn't dwell on that any longer. I had to stand my ground and not let him think he could do whatever he wanted. He couldn't want to be in my life one minute and then go ghost the next. Nah, no man would ever treat me that way. I got enough of that from my father, and I refused to allow it to happen again.
My eyes flutteredopen at the sound of someone knocking on my door. This wasn't part of my Monday plans. Truth be told, I didn't have any plans, so I wanted to lie in bed and scroll on TikTok all day. Since I didn't have to work tonight, I planned to enjoy my day off. I didn't have my parents down my back, nor did I have a man. I felt depressed when I thought of not having a man. Jamari hadn't reached out to me. It had been three days since I had last laid eyes on him. Even though I said I wanted him to give me time. I didn't need this much time. It had me wondering when he would reach out to me again.
The knock came at my door again before my cellphone rang. I reached for my phone on my nightstand and eyed the name. It was Jamari calling. It had me wondering if it was him beating on my door, too. I scrambled out of bed and exited my bedroom. I quickly made it to the front door and peered through the peephole. It was Jamari, and he had a bag in his hand from Crème Coffee Café. I unlocked the door and moved aside to let him in. He had caught me by surprise.
"Good morning, Chy," he greeted with a smile on his face.
"Good morning." I closed the door when he walked in.
"Since I had some free time on my hands, I wanted to come chill with you. I hope that's okay."
I could only stare at him as he moved to the kitchen. He set the food on the counter and turned to me. Neither of us said anything to each other. We only stared, but I needed to get to the bathroom to get myself together. The only thing I did was roll out of bed.
