49
When she parks, I pull in right beside her, just like before, before exiting my truck. She doesn’t even look at me as she steps out of her car and starts walking toward the building.
“You shouldn't be here, King,” she says, like she’s already tired of this.
“We weren't finished speaking,” I tell her.
As she heads into the building, she climbs the stairs, and when we reach her apartment door, she opens it and blocks the entrance with her arm. She looks at me and says, “King, you're not allowed to come in here.”
“Erica, I’ll, I...”
“Goodbye, King.” She cuts me off and then closes the door.
First of all, that's very disrespectful of her. Second of all, I wasn't finished saying what I had to say. My hand raises to knock on the door.
“Go away, King,” I hear her muffled voice shout from behind the door.
“I'm not leaving until you open the door and we finish our conversation,” I respond.
After knocking for the third time, she opens the door and swings it so hard it hits the wall. She walks away, so I go inside, close the door, and take off my shoes. Then I head over to feed the turtles.
“I already fed them,” she says, then she looks away from me.
“Erica,” I start to say, “just please listen to me. Because I have a lot to say, and you're gonna let me finish what I have to say.”
Erica turns toward me, pouring a drink for herself and then one for me.
She extends the cup in my direction and says, "I'll let you say what you have to say if you have a drink with me.
" A smirk plays on her lips as she holds out the glass, and even from where I'm standing, I can tell without getting any closer that it's alcohol. Whiskey to be exact.
I sigh, my eyes moving from the glass to her face. I say nothing. Neither does she, for a moment. Then she shrugs and says, "Okay, I guess you have to leave."
“Why would you want me to drink alcohol just so I can talk to you?” I challenge her.
She raises both glasses, one in each hand, and says, "Because this is who I am, King.
" She rolls her eyes and smiles and says, "I can't pretend to be the demure little Sister Aaliyah," she says with some mockery, "that you need me to be, and you trying to change me into something that I'm not is not gonna work out long term for whatever it is we're supposed to be to each other. "
“We're nothing to each other,” I answer her. But that sounds cold, and when I see her face fall a little bit, I change my tactic.
“I mean, we're friends, but we're not... nothing is...” I trail off, not knowing what to say.
Wiping my face, I try to start again. “Erica, I'm sorry.
I didn't set a good example. And to tell you the truth, I wasn't a good influence to you either, so I guess we can both admit and agree that we did wrong.”
Erica smiles and shakes her head and says, “I didn't do anything wrong. Your moral compass is completely different than mine. Me wanting to fuck you is not wrong in my eyes.”
My face burns again and I swallow. My dick throbs in my pants, getting a little harder.
“Please don't talk to me like that,” I stutter, looking away momentarily.
“Why, King? If you want to be around me, this is how I am. This is how I speak. I'm tired of censoring myself around you. And you're right, if you can't handle this...”
“But I should be able to,” I cut her off.
“Yes, but if you're going to hang around people who you're going to be bringing the gospel to, you think every single one of them are going to raise their hands in the air,” she mirrors the gesture with her own hands mockingly, “and say, ‘Yes, King, thou art holy and righteous. I praise the God that you have brought to me. And I will serve him now’ and bow down on the dirt and kiss the ground, pretending it's Jesus' feet?” she finishes mockingly.
“The real world doesn't operate like that, King. I know you know that.”
Nodding, I say, “Yeah, you're a perfect example of that. And that's why I need practice. And I guess I've been sheltered within my community, but you're right. If I'm going to go out there, then...”
She cuts me off and hands me a drink and says, “And sometimes to win people's hearts and to make them feel like you're not all hoity-toity and think of yourself above them, you're going to have to have a drink with them once in a while.
And if you can't handle that , then you shouldn't be anywhere near them. You should worry about keeping your faith and keeping God happy and stay in your lane.” She says firmly, never breaking eye contact with me.
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