CHAPTER FOUR IESHA
CHAPTER FOUR
IESHA
It hurt seeing Seven so mild at the office yesterday.
Just the fact that he didn’t really speak to me was weird.
When he left my house on Saturday, he said I was his.
Basically, it didn’t matter what I said.
Then yesterday, he practically ignored me.
Was he finally giving up? Whatever it was, it had me crying my eyes out when I got home.
Heartbreak was a beast to overcome. I didn’t think I would have to overcome it with Seven.
I thought he would eventually get his act together.
I was so wrong about that.
I supposed I was doing what the old people always said not to do.
I was wanting to change the parts of him I didn’t like.
Actually, I was trying to force him to change by withholding my love.
That was manipulative, the very thing I accused him of being.
This was crazy. I couldn’t take what I’d been dishing out to him.
I would go around his family and try to ignore him. What was I thinking?
It took him ignoring me yesterday for me to see that.
I supposed I would be moving on. I just wished he knew how much I loved him.
I loved his smile and sense of humor. I loved his physical attributes as well.
Seven was light as the sun with curly hair and full lips.
He had a physique like a basketball player.
He was almost as tall as one. I loved that too. I would climb that tree all day.
It was his mean streak that I hated. I didn’t like the tone he used to talk to me with sometimes.
Whenever he got irritated or angry with me, he could flip the script .
. . just like his ass did Saturday night.
I didn’t care about how he talked to people that had offended him in some way.
I didn’t want him talking to me or my family that way.
If my dad ever heard that shit, he would snap his neck.
“Cuz, you good? You just staring at your computer. You been like this since yesterday.”
“I’m okay. Seven just got under my skin yesterday.”
“What that nigga do now?”
“Nothing. He didn’t even speak to me.”
He chuckled. “Well, that’s what you wanted, right?”
“Honestly, Quincy, I don’t know what I want.
I love him though. That’s why this shit hurts.
I feel like I’m heartbroken. I can’t even work without my mind being consumed with all the good times we shared.
Everything goes haywire when other people infiltrate our bubble.
It’s like he doesn’t know how to function around people besides his family.
Shit, judging by the way he talks to some of them and gets away with it, they probably enabled his behavior. ”
“Well, you’ve met his family. Are they the same way?”
I chuckled. “His dad and his older twin sisters are the same way, but I don’t think any of them are as bad as him.
I would have to see them in some similar situations.
They were a little standoffish when I first met them.
I was uncomfortable as hell at first. His mom and his other sister are sweet.
His younger brother is kind of quiet, but he’s a teenager.
He doesn’t smile a lot though. So, I guess he gets it honest.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Plus, he’s younger than me.”
“Damn. By how much?”
“Five years. I’ll be twenty-nine in a hot minute, and he’s twenty-four.”
“Well, shit. No wonder. Most guys don’t really start maturing until they are twenty-six or older.
He’s just leaving his YN phase. I heard the way he talked to you before he left Saturday.
That nigga is demanding and possessive as fuck.
If he’s ignoring you, take that as a sign to leave his ass alone. ”
I nodded. I was done with this discussion. Seven and all of his bullshit was my heart. Quincy couldn’t begin to understand how we started.
How you doing, Miss? You need some help?
I turned around to see this light-bright, fine man walking toward me. I was struggling with all the stuff I bought at Michael’s Craft Store. “Umm . . . sure, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all, beautiful. My name is Seven. What’s yours?”
“Hmm, I like your name. It’s different. My name is Iesha. It’s nice to meet you.”
“I-eee-shaaa. You are the girl that I never had. And I want to get to know you betteeer.”
I died laughing. When I finally calmed down, I asked, “How old are you? There is no way you should know that song. I shouldn’t even know it.”
“I’m twenty-two, but my parents and older cousins keep me educated.”
He grabbed my bags as I opened the door. Once he got everything inside, he turned to me and smiled. “So umm . . . can I really get to know you?”
My eyebrows lifted. “Yeah, sure. What we gon’ do? Play Nintendo?” I asked, referring to the lyrics of “Iesha” by Another Bad Creation.
He laughed loudly. “Yeah, we can do that. You probably have to be home by nine.”
We laughed so much. He was cute. “I’m five years older than you, but I’m willing to get to know you, Seven. What’s your last name?”
“Henderson. Yours?”
“Teorey.”
“You can’t be from around here with a last name like that.”
“No,” I said and chuckled. “I was born in New York. We moved here when I was in high school. My dad was in the military.”
“Makes sense. Can I get your number?”
“Yeah, of course.”
He handed me his phone, and I saved my number inside of it, then called myself. I could see him in my peripheral, staring at me, scanning my curves. When I looked up at him and handed his phone back, I said, “You’re so tall.”
“Yeah. My dad is six-eight, and all my uncles are over six feet. I didn’t have a choice.”
“Six-eight! You’re kidding.”
“Nope. I’m six-five.”
“Goodness. Well, I look forward to getting to know you, Seven.”
“Same, Iesha. Let me get in here and get what my mama needs before she start blowing me up.”
I giggled as he grabbed my hand and kissed it.
“Talk to you soon.”
I nodded and watched him walk away. He was so damn fine. When he got to the door, he turned around to look back at me and found me still staring at him. He gave me a wink and went inside as I forced my limbs to move so I could get in the car.
I stood from the computer chair and headed to my room. I hadn’t cooked a thing, so I immediately turned around and went back to the front. “Quincy, you wanna check out Riverside Grill tonight? It’s downtown, close to Riverfront Park.”
“Yeah, sure. Let me go get dressed.”
I went back to my room and stared at my phone, wishing Seven would be blowing it up, like he normally did.
Jesus. I wasn’t sure why this was so hard.
He was giving me what I asked for. At first, I was asking him to grow up.
Lately, I’d been asking him to leave me alone.
I should’ve never let him introduce me to his family.
However, when he got shot, there was no way I wasn’t going to go see about him.
I sat on my bed in utter disgust. I didn’t know if I was disgusted with him or myself.
Maybe it was a little of both. I should have communicated better.
He should have listened better. We both contributed to this downfall.
I shouldn’t have been so excited in the beginning.
I didn’t know him. Ugh! I was going to make myself sick going over the things I should and shouldn’t have done.
The point was that we weren’t as compatible as I thought.
I got up to find something to wear for dinner, when my phone chimed. All that time that I was just sitting there with the damn thing in my hand, no one tried to contact me. Then as soon as I stood and walked away, I had action. It never failed.
When I picked it up and saw Seven’s name on the screen, my heart rate picked up speed. I opened the text to see what he had to say.
Hey. I’m sorry I didn’t speak to you yesterday.
It’s just hard being around you and not having you as mine.
You said I needed to move on and find the woman right for me because you ain’t her.
I just wish you were. So I guess I’m saying that I’m gonna let go.
I fumbled a good woman. I’ll never forgive myself for that. See you around.
Just like that, I was in my feelings all over again.
He was giving up. He was no longer going to chase me, because I told him to leave me alone.
I just wanted him to fucking act like he had sense!
I closed my eyes, trying to subdue my tears.
I was in shambles, and I didn’t even know why.
I forced myself up from the bed and texted my family to see if they wanted to join us at Riverside Grill.
Once they all responded in the affirmative, I went to the bathroom and cleaned my face, then got ready for dinner without responding to Seven’s text.
“You look like you lost your best friend.”
I frowned at Tas’zhane. “What?”
“I don’t know. You just have this sad aura around you. You’re normally bubblier. You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m good. I’m just tired. I had a lot of work to do. I had to design a page on the Henderson’s website.”
“Oh okay. If you say so,” she said under her breath.
She didn’t believe me. I supposed I didn’t sound all that believable. I mainly invited my family to keep Quincy company. I just wanted to lie in bed and forget about everything. The waitress came and took our drink orders. Once she left, someone said, “Iesha!”
I looked up to see Angel and Rylan. I couldn’t help but smile. They were so cute together. I stood from my seat because I knew Angel would want a hug. “Hey!” I said, trying to sound excited.
Sure enough, Angel hugged me. She held me a little longer than normal though. “You okay?” she asked in my ear.
“I will be. Thank you, Angel.”
I refused to start crying in front of everyone. I stood up straight and spoke to Rylan. He was so damn tall, even taller than Seven. “Hey, Rylan. What did y’all do with the kids?”
“My mama is watching them.”
“It’s our first date since I had the baby,” Angel said.
“Aww. How is she?”
“She’s growing fast. She’s so beautiful.”