Chapter 7
Standing outside of my truck, I kept trying to situate my hair around my neck. It was the first day back from Christmas break at school, and my morning was already off to a crazy start.
I’d tried telling Breeze to sleep in his bed, but he wouldn’t listen. Instead, he camped out in my room, as he’d been doing every night, and fucked me, until the sun was rising.
So, I hadn’t had very much sleep, and had just realized that there was a huge hickey on the side of my neck, when I checked my reflection, before getting out of my truck.
“What chu doing all that for?” Breeze questioned, as he stood beside me, peering down at me.
Claiming that he was going to let me take a nap, on the ride there, since I was still sleepy, he’d driven my truck on campus. Meanwhile, his car was at home, parked in the driveway. And now, we were standing in the student’s parking lot, preparing to head into the main building.
“I’m trying to hide the evidence. You know what you did,” I snapped.
“For what?” He opened his arms.
I narrowed my eyes into slits. “Really, nigga? Why the hell did you mark my neck up like this?”
“Cause.” He shrugged. “I can.”
I shoved him back, before I heard heavy footsteps approaching us. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Harlem stepping up.
“Aye, what’s up?” He spoke, voice dripping in sadness.
Seeing him, I felt so bad. With Breeze tripping, I hadn’t spoken to him since Christmas morning. Even when he’d popped up at the house a couple of times, Breeze refused to let me answer the door. So, I could only imagine what was going through Harlem’s head.
“Hey,” I spoke back, as I turned to face him. While literally feeling the heat radiating off Breeze’s body.
I watched as Harlem’s eyes traveled to Breeze, who was still standing right next to me. Awfully closely. Our arms were literally kissing. “What’s up, bro?”
Breeze shrugged. “Aint shit.”
Harlem nodded. “But aye, let me holler at Summer, right quick.”
Breeze briefly paused, looking like he was fighting against himself. Turning to gaze up at him, I pleaded with my eyes, hoping that he didn’t blow up the spot.
“Alright. You got it,” he conceded, before stepping backwards, then turning around, and strolling off.
Harlem shook his head. “I don’t know what’s up with him, but that nigga’s energy aint been right.”
I sighed. “What did you wanna talk about?”
Harlem’s eyes locked with mine. “Shit, everything. Let’s talk about how you just flipped the script on me. You stopped answering my calls. Ghosted me on Christmas. The fuck did I do?”
Anxiously, I kept brushing my hair against my neck, trying to keep that huge ass passion mark covered. “You didn’t do anything, Harlem.”
“Okay. So, what’s the problem?” He opened his arms.
I took a deep breath. “I think that we should break up.”
“What?” He grimaced. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. I…I’m not happy. And I been trying to ignore it, but I just can’t, anymore.
I really like you, but sometimes…sometimes I wish that we never started a sexual relationship.
Because…you’re not ready. I never cum. And it feels like that’s all you focus on, these days.
So, maybe…maybe you need more experience.
Date around. Figure yourself out. Then maybe… we can get back together. Later.”
He shook his head. “No. This shit came out of nowhere, when you was just smiling not too long ago. It gotta be another nigga. Just keep it real.”
“Harlem, are you telling me that there’s no other girls?”
His eyebrows dipped in the middle. “What?”
“Didn’t I see texts from other girls in your phone? Weren’t there girls offering you head? How do I know that things didn’t go further than texts? Maybe you’re so unwilling to satisfy me, because you’re trying to be with me, her, and her.”
He shook his head, not having anything to say about that. And the sad part was that I wasn’t even being manipulative. Harlem was factually texting other girls. I’d seen other girls’ naked pictures in his phone. Found condom wrappers in his car.
No, I wasn’t turning a blind eye. No, I wasn’t accepting anything, just to have a boyfriend.
I was just a realist. A boy will be a boy.
We were young. He was handsome. A star athlete.
So, there would be competition. Being with a desirable person just comes along with that type of baggage.
And I understood that he simply lacked the discipline to keep his dick in his pants.
That had nothing to do with me, nor implied that I had shortcomings.
Personally, I never kicked up dust, because I understood who I was dealing with. I also kept that information tucked in my back pocket, as I navigated through day-to-day life. And would keep that in mind, whenever something tempting came along. And would do me, virtually without a conscience.
“Harlem, look,” I breathed out. “We both know that you have options. I aint the only girl in the world. So, you’ll be okay.
I promise.” I closed the gap between us, stood on my tiptoes, and kissed his cheek.
“Go have fun, and fuck all the girls you want. We have all the time in the world to get serious. Later.”
He stood stiffly as I pulled back. “You trying to pull some reverse psychology on me, Summer. I’m not stupid. But I’m also not about to beg you to be with me. Cause like you said, I got options. Fuck you.” He spat, before stomping off.
Standing there, I situated the hair around my neck for the umpteenth time. “Okay, I definitely pissed him off.” I adjusted the Gucci belt on my waist. “But he’ll get over it.”
***
“Okay, girls, there’s seafood pasta, honey hot wings, deviled eggs, garlic bread, and cobb salad in the kitchen,” my mama announced, as she leaned into the living room.
“Okay,” everyone responded simultaneously, as my mama retreated back to the kitchen.
It was a Saturday night, and all my girls had come over to spend the night, and we were posted up in the living room. We’d usually rotate homes every other weekend, and it was now my turn.
Honestly, my girls had been on me, because I hadn’t spent a night at anybody’s house in a couple of months. So, we were catching up on all the gossip I’d been missing out on.
“So, Summer, did Shilo tell you who we ran into at the Galleria?” Tarin questioned.
“No. Who?” I arched a brow, as I had a leg tucked under me, while we were all lounging on the sectional.
“Harlem,” Tarin revealed.
“And he was there with Brion,” Shilo blurted.
“Hugged up, kissing,” Tarin added.
“Oh.” I poked out my bottom lip, and scratched the back of my neck.
Renny gazed at me. “Seems like you don’t care.”
I shrugged. “We’re broken up. So, he’s free to do whatever he wants.”
“Right,” Tarin agreed. “But Brion messes with Breeze. And they’re friends. Which makes her nasty.”
“Brion used to mess with Breeze,” I corrected.
“So, Breeze doesn’t talk to her, anymore?” Asha probed.
“Nope.”
“Mmm. You sure about that?” Asha wanted to know. “Because I just saw Brion riding with Breeze two days ago.”
“What?” Heat flashed over my face.
“I saw Brion leaving school with Breeze the other day,” Asha reiterated.
Angrily, I slid my tongue across my teeth, and nodded. “That’s real funny.”
“Wait,” Shilo spoke up. “Summer, why the hell do you seem more bothered by Brion riding with Breeze than you are when it comes to your ex?” She whispered.
My lashes fluttered. “I’m not bothered.”
They all sucked their teeth.
“Girl, who do you think you’re fooling?” Asha wanted to know. “You don’t think that we have eyes? You literally have three different hickeys on your neck, when you’ve been broken up with Harlem for weeks now.”
I frowned. “Okay. But what does that have to do with Breeze?”
“Really, Summer?” Renny cut her eyes at me. “I thought that we didn’t keep secrets from each other?”
“Huuh,” I huffed. “You bitches are too damn nosy sometimes—”
“Aye, what’s up, y’all?” Breeze spoke, as he moseyed into the room.
“Hey,” everyone responded simultaneously.
Looking over at him, I saw that he was rocking all white Dolce, down to his shoes, and was carrying a bag from Shipley’s, which was a Houston based donut franchise.
“What you got there?” I asked him.
Smiling, he sauntered up to me, and placed the bag in my lap. “You kept saying that you wanted some donuts from the one on 34th.”
I frowned in confusion. “And you just so happened to be out there, across the city?” I asked, because the Shipley’s on 34th was the best in the city, due to it being the only location that didn’t make your donuts until you ordered them.
The only problem was that it was on the other end of the north side.
“Nah. You was just saying that you wanted the donuts this morning. So, I made that trip.”
“Oh.” I looked him up and down. The gesture was sweet, for sure. However, I couldn’t bask in that, as there were more pressing issues to address, right then. “What was Brion doing in your car?” I had to ask.
All my girls snickered.
He sighed. “I was leaving practice, and she was leaving cheerleading. The girl she usually rides home with didn’t come to school that day. So, I gave her a ride.”
I sucked my teeth. “That girl has an entire family. I’m sure that somebody could’ve came scooped her up. Besides you.”
“Well, I was just looking out,” he claimed.
I rolled my eyes. “Boy, fuck you. Looking out my ass.” I was losing my cool, right there, for my friends to witness.
He shook his head. “You wanna go upstairs and talk about it?”
“Nope. I aint got shit to say to you.”
Shaking his head, he ambled over to the opposite end of the sectional and sat down.
Glaring at him, I thought about demanding that he leave the living room…but I knew that would be doing entirely too much. After all, my mama was right in the kitchen, and I didn’t need her putting two and two together.
The back of my neck was hot, as I was angry in a way that I’d never experienced before. On our worst days, Harlem could never evoke that type of emotions from me. And it was right there in that moment that I knew that this situation with Breeze was completely different.
Breeze
Summer was mad at me, and I knew that I probably should’ve gone upstairs, giving her some space. But truthfully…whenever I was at home, I now had to be in her space. Even if we was doing no more than existing.
Then her friends were all spending a night, so I knew that there might not be a time where I’d have her alone to talk.
I told myself that we would deal with our little drama later. In the meantime, I was hanging back to observe. I wanted to see her interact with her girls. Study her. Learn something new.
“Okay, so, I read the rough draft of the new book, Summer,” Renny mentioned. “And I feel like…you’re making the female main character too mean.”
Sitting back, I realized that all four of Summer’s friends would test read her books. It was interesting to listen to them bounce back and forth with their thoughts. It was giving me a glimpse into their thought processes.
“And then that was kinda crazy how she broke up with that boy, knowing that she was pregnant,” Tarin added.
“Yeah, I think that was to show how Erica was afraid of accepting what she felt for him,” I spoke up. “That type of love was intimidating. So, she ran.”
All the friends looked at me with shock written all over their faces.
“You read the rough draft too?” Asha quizzed.
“I done read everything she's ever wrote, at this point. Including the four short stories she haven’t published, for whatever reason.”
“Aww,” Asha cooed. “That’s so sweet.”
“Mr. Basketball star and future tech genius, when do you have time to read like that?” Tarin wanted to know.
“He reads aloud. Every night,” Summer answered.
Yeah. When we’re in bed together, before I slide between those legs.
“And you just so happen to be right there with him, huh?” Renny sarcastically questioned.
Summer blushed, while biting the corner of her lip.
Her curly hair was pulled up into a bun at the crown of her head.
Wearing a simple Alo cropped top and leggings, she was undeniably fine shit.
Her friends were cool too. But her? She stood out.
Like the moon, amongst the stars on a clear dark night.
“Y’all gotta stop it,” Summer smirked, while absently rotating a throw pillow. “This chapter aint ready to be dissected, yet. We’ll talk about it when the time comes.” She locked eyes with me.
I slightly nodded, as something unrecognizable rumbled in my stomach.
“Ricky, it’s not that serious,” Array chattered, as she came switching into the living room, with my pops right behind her.
“I call bullshit, bae,” my pops fussed. This was in front of company, so I knew that whatever the issue wasn’t that deep. “I been texting and calling you all day about this damn winter storm. And y’all didn’t even go pick up that generator from the shop like you told me you would.”
Array dropped down onto her favorite chaise. “That’s because I honestly feel like the news was exaggerating. It’s not even that cold for all this freezing they’re claiming is gonna happen.”
Sitting back, I chuckled as I realized that Array could sometimes be childish.
Yes, we all knew about the impending freeze that was supposed to happen overnight.
They were encouraging everyone to stay at home and be prepared for harsh road conditions, or power outages.
Personally, I hadn’t thought twice about preparations, because that was the type of thing the adults usually handled.
And with Array being a woman about her business, I naturally assumed that she had everything handled.
Meanwhile, she’d been pressing on with her day, giving no regards to the predicted bad weather, just like us.
Apparently, my pops had expected her to take precautions, while he was out handling business, and she’d failed the mission. Miserably.
“You are fucking hard headed—” My pops got out, as the lights flickered.
“Oh, shit,” I grumbled.
“I know got damn well—” Array mumbled, before the power fully shut off.
“Now, I’ll be damn,” my pops vented.