Chapter 1 #2
“You can’t say shit.”
“I wasn’t trying to.”
She looked out the passenger window. “I’ve still been holding you down all these years.”
She really thought that one landed. “What am I doing all this for if you never planned on taking me seriously?”
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. “Aye, you’re ruining my first day home.”
“No.” Adrienne shook her head. “I’m protecting my peace.”
Another silence fell between us. By the time she spoke again, Adrienne’s voice was barely above a whisper. “When we get back to Edgewood, you can go your way.”
I looked over at her. “Aye, Adrienne, make sure you go your way too.”
She nodded. “It doesn’t have to end like this.” She had the nerve to fucking smile.
“It didn’t…”
“Hood, it’s ending exactly the way you’re choosing.”
“Adrienne…You knew what type of nigga I was when you met me.”
I paused for a second to shut the fuck up. This conversation was starting to piss me the fuck off.
“When I started dealing with you, I already had somebody, Fumi. You didn’t seem to have a problem sharing me then, so why the fuck is it an issue now? If I remember correctly, you approached me and told me you didn’t give a fuck about my bitch. That’s why we’re here.”
I shook my head.
“Aye, and let’s be clear: you held me down on my fucking dime. I was never a burden to you. I always had fucking money, and I made sure you were taken care of. You got exactly what you fucking signed up for; any bitch would’ve gladly done what the fuck you did.”
Adrienne looked out the passenger window, then turned back to me.
“All I’m saying is, Fumi didn’t stay.” Her voice was calm. “I did.” She let that shit hang between us. “Why can’t we just be together without the other women?”
“This ain’t got shit to do with Fumi,” I shot back. “She checked out before I even went behind that wall.” I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. “If you wanted more, you could’ve told me while I was still locked up.”
I looked over at Adrienne. “You wouldn’t even be sitting in this fucking Porsche right now.” A bitter laugh escaped me. “I would’ve had another bitch make this fucking drive, trust me.”
I turned the music back up. Adrienne had pissed me the fuck off. It was cool, though. Truth be told, I needed her out of the way anyway if I was ever gonna make shit right with Fumi.
A few seconds later, she turned the music back down.
“Hood…”
I sighed. “What, the fuck do you want now, Adrienne? You said what you had to say.”
“What you said was disrespectful.”
“I kept that shit a hundred.”
I kept my eyes on the highway. “Someone else could’ve been sitting in this seat.”
She looked over at me. “I feel like I wasted seven years of my life.”
I laughed under my breath.
“Adrienne, I told you years ago you could leave. You stayed because you wanted to.”
I glanced over at her. “This ain’t my first bid, but it’s my last.” My voice turned serious.
“I don’t need a bitch around me with ulterior motives.”
She frowned. “Ulterior motives?”
“Yeah.” I nodded.
“I’m sitting here, tripping over the fact that you got another nigga. Does that nigga know you’re sitting right here, getting on my fucking nerves?”
Adrienne let out a short laugh. “Hood, you had other hoes.”
“I ain’t hiding that.” I had to catch my breath; she wanna be real about everything else. “I ain’t never hid that, but you hid that nigga, and you didn’t have to.”
I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel. “You could’ve been honest from day one. I’d have respected that much more.”
Adrienne stared at me for a long moment, then shook her head. “You really don’t hear yourself.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’re asking me for honesty while expecting me to accept everything you refused to offer.”
Silence.
When she spoke again… Her voice was almost tired. “We’re good, Hood.”
I looked over.
“When we get back to the city…” She turned toward the window. “You keep doing you.”
A small smile crossed my face. “And I’ll do me.”
I turned the music back up and started eating up the highway. I couldn’t wait to get back to the city and put as much distance as possible between Adrienne and me.
The drive back to Atlanta took a little over six hours. Man, the longest six hours of my fucking life. We barely said another word to each other. Hell, we didn’t even stop to grab anything to eat. One conversation had ruined the entire fucking ride.
By the time we reached the city, I didn’t even want to fuck Adrienne before sending her on her way. I pulled up in front of her house and put the truck in park. Adrienne sat there for a moment.
Neither of us spoke. Finally, she reached for the door handle, then stopped.
“You wanna come in and talk, for what it’s worth?” Adrienne stood on the curb with the passenger door still open, looking back at me, damn near begging a nigga to come inside.
If Adrienne got another nigga… She could keep him. The last thing I needed was to get caught slipping over a bitch I wasn’t planning to build a life with.
“I’m good, love.” I reached into my pocket and tossed the iPhone she bought me onto the passenger-side seat.
“You be easy.”
Adrienne looked down at the phone, then back at me. “So…” Her voice cracked just enough for me to notice.
“It’s really over?”
“Yeah.”
Without fucking hesitation.
No second thoughts.
“It is.”