“I know.”
“You gotta come home.”
“I knowwwww,”I dragged.“He’s gonna kill me.”
“And everybody that knew. Fuck. I’m too young and way too fine to die. I only sold two houses this month. You know my goal is three. Tell him to stall me out. It’s only the 15th.”She rambled jokingly to ease my mind, but that shit was not working.
“He’s gonna hate me.”I teared up.“Then, he’ll hate our baby. I’m so stupid, E.”
“Awww, boo. You not stupid. Answer the FaceTime.”
I tapped the camera on the screen, and Ebone appeared in her silk pajamas and flexi rods in her hair.
“Hey. You are not stupid. You just made a decision based on emotion. It wasn’t being mean spirited, and he’ll know that. That’s not even you.”
I gave her a dead look. She was trying to convince me of something we both knew was bullshit.
“Are we talking about the Pryce Sullivan we both know, Ebone? Cause be so fuckin’ forreal.”I wiped my tears.“He’s going to hate me.”
“How bout we cross that bridge when we get there? For now, let’s get your flight booked, then you get some rest, okay?”
I hesitated before replying. “Alright.”
“No matter what, yo’ best friend got you always.”
“I appreciate that,”I said honestly. Only I didn’t want just her to have me. I wanted Pryce to have me too. Have us.
CHAPTER 2
A Gentle Reminder Text
PRYCE
Isat on the edge of Alexis’ couch, staring at the message I’d sent Adai hours ago. The bright light from my screen was the only light in the room. It was three in the morning, and I was getting dressed to head home. My jeans and wife beater were on, and my sneakers sat on the floor beside my feet. My thumb hovered over the screen as I contemplated whether I should send a third message.
My text stared back at me unread. Or even worse, read and unanswered. The thought of being ignored further pissed me off. We didn’t carry each other like that. No matter what, we always answered, even if the response was short and dry. But it had been over six months since we last spoke.
Her silence felt intentional. And the fact that I hadn’t seen a typing bubble to indicate that she at least thought about responding bothered me. Shit didn’t really bother me. And if you looked up the definition of unbothered, my picture sat next to it.
My jaw flexed. Running my hand down my face, I exhaled slowly and leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. I was more tired than I cared to admit in the text. My sleep pattern had been thrown off ever since she abandoned a nigga. I could sleep for days under Dai. Her body always curled perfectly into mine.I missed her giggling and mumbling in her sleep. I didn’t think she ever had a bad dream. I was sure that if she’d ever told me she had, I’d find a way to get in that muthafucka to handle who or whatever was fucking with her.
I missed those days. Being able to hold her and listen to her talk about any and everything until I fell asleep. Now, I had to force myself to sleep most nights. Some nights, I just laid in bed and stared up at the ceiling, thinking. Tonight was one of those nights, and I found myself here. Alexis called and asked if I could come over, aka she wanted some dick. Bored, I took her up on her offer.
I’d sent the text to Dai before leaving my crib and took my phone off DND as I entered Alexis’ place. I wanted to make sure that Dai got through. Only she’d made it clear that she wasn’t fucking with a nigga by not answering.
I heard a door creak open, followed by footsteps across the floor. Then, the light flickered on. I looked up, and Alexis stood at the entryway of her living room, leaned up against the wall. She had on an oversized shirt, big enough to let me know that it didn’t belong to her or me. Her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail, and she sported a lazy smirk.
Alexis was a new waitress at my cousin Amil’s diner. She’d been flirting with me for months, and the more I ignored her, the more persistent she was. That shit was annoying at first. Unlike most niggas nowadays, I didn’t like to be chased. I had no desire to trade places like that nigga, Usher. She’d slid her number under my check one night at the diner, and I called her on it. Instead of backing down, she confidently said she wanted to see what was up with me.
She was cute. Her body was stacked, and she had a cool personality. But she wasn’t Dai. Still, I was a man who had needs, so that night when she posed that we link after her shift,I agreed. I bussed her down in her car in the parking lot of the diner.
The pussy was good, and she ain’t press me afterwards, which led to us eventually chilling. I was clear that she didn’t need to expect anything from me because I didn’t have anything to give other than dick. I couldn’t promise her much conversation either. Half the time, I just didn’t want to be bothered with people. She agreed to the terms, but lately, it seemed like she’d been wanting more of my time.
“You alright?” she asked, walking into the living room and sitting on the arm of the couch. “You sitting in the dark like you plottin’ on something.” She laughed lightly.
“I’m straight,” I said, grabbing my shirt from next to me and pulling it over my head.
She studied me for a few seconds. “You sure?”
