Chapter 6 #2
Nodding, I took my seat at the table and slid his phone beside me. The spread in front of me looked more than delicious in my current state of mind.
“Were you able to speak with your mother?” Miss Lynn asked genuinely.
“I was. Thank you for asking.”
“Are the two of you close? You have any siblings?”
“We are, and no. I’m an only child,” I answered honestly.
“That’s good. Shane is an only child as well. I think that’s one of my few regrets in life. I wish my husband and I would’ve had more children when we had the chance. Shane had his cousins growing up, but it’s nothing like having brothers and sisters.”
“I used to tell my mom the same thing all the time. It would’ve been nice to have a sibling, but there were times I enjoyed being an only child.”
That was the truth. If I had a sibling, I would have someone whose pain mirrored mine.
Mentally, I’d be able to share the load and not have to deal with everything on my own.
Jade did her best to be there when I needed her, but her upbringing was different from mine. She could empathize, but not relate.
“Oh, I’m sorry, did your husband pass?”
“Sometimes it feels like it, but no. He’s in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.”
My heart broke for her and Shane and I couldn’t help but to turn my attention back to him.
His facial expression gave nothing away, but his body language said it all.
He was tight and this was probably a subject he didn’t want to speak about.
Thankfully, Miss Lynn changed the subject to a much lighter topic and that was how we continued breakfast. When everyone was finished eating, I insisted Miss Lynn let me help her with cleanup.
It took some doing but she eventually gave in and allowed me to do the dishes.
Before saying her goodbyes, Miss Lynn informed Shane and me that she had afternoon plans.
I could tell he wanted to question her, but refrained since I was here.
“Get dressed so we can leave with my mom,” Shane instructed as he walked past me and headed upstairs.
A half hour later, Shane and I were in his truck pulling out of his mother’s driveway.
I fastened my seatbelt before letting my head hit the headrest in frustration.
As bright and beautiful as the day was, a part of me felt gloomy.
I wasn’t ready to go back to reality and didn’t want to deal with Allen.
“You want me to take you by the phone store first?” Shane’s voice broke the silence.
“You don’t have to do all of that. You’ve done more than enough. I can go to the phone store once I have my car.”
“Celeste, I’m not keeping tallies. If I’m offering to take you to the store, you don’t have to worry about if I have time.”
“I’m not trying to be difficult, but I don’t want you to feel sympathy for me. You caught me at a bad time last night and I—”
“Don’t finish that shit. Bad time or not, we’re here and I just need a simple yes or no. I promise I’m not thinking about it that deeply,” he responded, like it was nothing.
My insecurities were showing and I needed to get my emotions under control. I still hadn’t figured out the reason, but what Shane thought of me mattered.
“Yes.”
“Okay. I wanna know what happened last night though. You was outside of a strip club about to fight. You said you own that store I brought my mom to, right?”
“Yes.”
“So why would you be out here fighting? I’m all for laying hands if you’re defending yourself, but shorty, you were the aggressor last night and that’s not a good look. You got too much to lose for all that,” he chastised.
I appreciated Shane and all he’d done for me, but I wasn’t his child. He didn’t know me like that to put me in my place. What angered me even more was that it turned me on.
“Listen, I was angry. How would you feel if you just saw pictures of your girlfriend and a nigga you knew she was cheating with on the internet?” I asked angrily.
“I would feel like that’s more of a reason to control my temper and keep myself in check. Whether I’m deep in love with a mothafucka or not, once I find out you for everybody, it’s a wrap. What the fuck is there left to fight for? Then, you just said you knew he was cheating. Why stay?”
Folding my arms across my chest and throwing my back against the seat, I turned to the window and focused on traffic.
I wasn’t upset at Shane for seeing my situation logically, I was upset because everyone thought the answer was so simple.
Shane didn’t give me the vibe that he was a surface level thinker, so it shocked me when he’d responded the same way people on the internet had.
The strong connection I felt to him made me feel like he should be in tune with me, but that wasn’t realistic.
I felt so many emotions that I had no control over the tears that started to fall.
“Why are you cryin’, man?” Shane quizzed with concern.
I was so out of it that I hadn’t realized we were pulled to the side of the road until I heard the hazard lights.
“I’m okay. Please just take me home,” I whispered.
“Celeste, look at me.”
I took a deep breath to calm myself and wiped my face again. Once I had myself somewhat together, I granted Shane’s wish and gave him my attention.
“Listen, all this shit is confusing right now. It feels like everything between us is being done out of order. I should’ve talked to you last night, but I was trying to let you calm down and take a step back from it all.
I’m not tryna lil girl you, but I wanted you to see the bigger picture.
All I’m saying is don’t lose it all on behalf of someone else. ”
“I know. I let my anger get the best of me and made a mistake. Thank you for stopping and getting me last night. I appreciate it and your mother is a sweet lady,” I stated, switching the topic.
Talking about Allen was the last thing I wanted to do. Out of nowhere, it hit me that if Shane had seen me arguing last night, he had to be at the club himself.
“Were you at the club last night?” I quizzed.
“Yeah, I was.”
“You were there because you knew the guy whose party it was or you just heard about it?”
“I was invited by Jay,” he answered.
“How do you know him?”
“We do business together.”
“What kind of business?”
“Damn. What, you the FBI now? Five minutes ago, I couldn’t get your ass to say shit. Now you wanna know my social security number,” Shane joked, making me laugh.
“I just asked a question.”
“You asked a few. But nah, I’m a music producer, so we all run in the same circles at times.”
“I thought you were in the jewelry business. You came to Allen’s house with Mr. Dennis. Did you already know Allen?”
I couldn’t help all the questions that came spilling out.
His answers to my questions would also determine if this whole thing was genuine.
Since he was in the music industry, he could possibly have a hidden agenda.
Allen was high in the ranks. Shane being able to say he had me in some form could be a part of some dick swinging contest.
“Dennis is my uncle. He’s trying to get me to take over the company, that’s the only reason I came to your appointment. As far as Spinna, I knew who he was, but we never conversed until I came to y’all crib.”
“You know Serenity?”
“We’ve crossed paths a time or two, but I’ve never worked with her.”
“Crossed paths in what kind of way?”
Shocked at my own boldness, I waited for him to answer. If Shane so much as breathed the same air as that woman, he’d be letting me out of this truck right now. The last thing I needed was to be associating with yet another man she had.
“I fucked her about two months ago,” Shane answered, like it was nothing.
“Let me out up here, please.”
Approaching a red light, Shane laughed like he was in the front row of a comedy show. Meanwhile, I was fuming inside.
“Yo, Celeste, I’m just fuckin’ with you. I’ve never touched that woman a day in my life. I just wanted to get under your skin. But how you askin’ me all these questions? Last time I checked, Spinna was still yo’ nigga.”
Silence
“It’s cool. You ain’t gotta answer right now.”
The rest of the ride was silent. I was in my head and needed to think.
I observed rather quickly that silence didn’t bother Shane, since he wasn’t a talker anyway.
When we made it to True Mobile, Shane stayed in his truck while I went inside.
Thankfully, there was an attendant available when I stepped inside.
I was squared away in no time. Everything worked out in my favor since I didn’t have to put any money down for the phone.
Once I was back in the truck, I gave Shane the address to where I wanted him to take me.
I wanted to be alone with my thoughts and that wouldn’t happen at Allen’s house.